Phantoms hold on to win home opener
October 30, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
Boardman, Ohio (Saturday, October 29, 2005) - It took 51 days for the Mahoning Valley Phantoms to play a home game, and they didn't disappoint the hometown crowd, racing to 4-0 first period lead before eventually defeating the Traverse City North Stars, 7-5, Saturday night at The Ice Zone.
Anthony Ciraulo had two goals and two assists, Drew Satterley added two goals and Marc Menzione chipped in with a goal and three assists for the Phantoms (6-6-0).
"I'm happy and so is the team to be back in the friendly confines of The Ice Zone. We had a fast start tonight but made some young mistakes that we will need to correct," Phantom coach Bob Mainhardt said.
"I am pleased with our win tonight because seven goals prove that we can put the puck in the net. It's been an emotional roller-coaster, however, so we'll just hope to improve each and every time out. The season is young, but we need to work on some things immediately if we expect to compete down the road."
Ciraulo, the team's leading scorer after 11 games, scored the first of his two goals at the 4:32 mark of the opening period to stake the Phantoms to a 1-0 advantage.
Satterley's goal at 6:23 made it 2-0 and when Menzione scored a shorthanded, unassisted goal just 62 seconds later, Mahoning Valley had a 3-0 lead just 7:25 into the game.
The Phantoms scored their fourth unanswered goal, a loose puck in front poked in by Jason Simota at 11:43. Both Naaman Moorman and Drew Fortney assisted on the goal, but the North Stars' got on the board with a fluke goal.
Steven Oleksy's slap shot from the right point was wide to the near left side of the goal. But the puck bounced hard off the glass and slid to the right side goal. Jake Erway charged the puck, and was taken down by a Phantoms defenseman. But as he fell, the puck deflected off his skate and bounced into the goal with 5:31 remaining in the period cut the Phantom lead to 4-1.
"You cannot spot a team like the Phantoms a four-goal lead and not expect to suffer the consequences," said North Stars (6-6-2) coach Scott Gardner. "We did an excellent job in the second and third periods overall, but our opening period performance proved costly."
Traverse City's Jared Mullen scored the only goal of the second period, at the 5:20 mark, to cut the Phantoms' lead to 4-2, but Ciraulo's second goal of the night, a roofed wrist shot in the slot, was his eighth of the season at the 3:10 mark of the third period, increasing Mahoning Valley's lead to 5-2.
Milan Drevenak's slap shot deflected off the crossbar for his first goal of the season, assisted by Simota and Bret Larson at 8:30 of the final frame, and increased the Phantom lead to 6-2. But unanswered goals in 36 seconds by Anthony Sarno at 12:15 and Mullen's second tally at 12:51 made it 6-4.
With 1:50 remaining, the North Stars called a timeout and pulled goaltender Jeremy Kaleniecki for an extra attacker. 11 seconds later, with two men alone in front of the net, Adam Sponseller made it 6-5 as he backhanded a loose puck over Zapolski, who was lying on his side when he made the initial save.
The North Stars placed Kaleniecki back in net before the ensuing faceoff. When the puck was thrown back in the Phantoms zone, he bolted back to the bench in favor of another sixth skater. But the Phantoms immediately cleared the puck and kept it tied up in the neutral zone before they took advantage of the empty net, as Satterley scored his second goal of the game and his seventh of the season, with 11.2 seconds remaining to seal the win.
The Phantoms outshot the North Stars, 52-50, as Zapolski registered 45 saves for the win. The teams meet again today at 3:00 p.m. at The Ice Zone.
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North American Hockey League Stories from October 30, 2005
- Outlaws deflate Spirit, move over .500 for first time - North Iowa Outlaws
- Phantoms spook North Stars - Traverse City North Stars
- Phantoms hold on to win home opener - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Jets to Trick-or-Treat for Great Plains Food Bank - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Jets Make Trade for Defensemen - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Outlaws sink Spirit, move back to .500 mark - North Iowa Outlaws
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