Phantoms Now Face the Rangers on Final Road Trip of the Season
Published on March 6, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
BOARDMAN, Ohio (Thursday, March 6, 2008) - At this point a week ago, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms had lost their last three in a row, seven of their last 10, and were preparing for two showdowns against the rival Alpena Ice Diggers - a team that had managed to climb all the way back to within a point of the Phantoms (29-16-4, 62 points) in the North American Hockey League standings.
At this point a week ago, the Phantoms were coming off their first two-loss weekend of the season, struggling to find some scoring, and limping through a myriad of injuries. What a difference a week makes.
With renewed confidence, stemming from pair of six-goal explosions and their fourth sweep of the season, at home against Alpena, the Phantoms head into this coming weekend's games at the Marquette Rangers (24-23-3, 51 points) with a chance to cushion their second place position in the NAHL North.
"When you win there is obviously a good mood around the locker room and guys are pretty happy," said Phantoms assistant coach Curtis Carr. "I don't think there was ever really a lack of confidence, it was just a matter of getting the right work ethic going. But, the mood is definitely a bit more chipper because we won two games last weekend."
The breadth of the Phantoms offensive output was the most impressive part of the series against Alpena. From the top on down, Mahoning Valley was scoring.
Not only was scoring leader Derek Graham able to regain his touch - collecting five points on the weekend, but forwards Stefan Salituro, Grant Blakey and Brian McGinty each chalked up multi-point nights, defenseman Eric Ringel tallied two powerplay goals on Friday, defenseman Trent Bonnet had a couple helpers on Saturday, and a total of 16 different Phantoms made their mark on the score sheets.
"I think we were finally able to see what kind of depth we really have last weekend," said Phantoms head coach Bob Mainhardt. "We just stuck to the game plan and played fairly disciplined, which allowed us to use a lot of players in a lot of different situations, and allowed us to use our depth."
Veteran forward Alden Hirschfeld was one of the seven Phantoms with multi-point games against Alpena. In his first game since a January 25 injury, Hirschfeld notched two assists on Saturday.
The future Miami RedHawk is one of the many Phantoms that are finally returning to the lineup after extended stays on the injured reserve.
"It's really important that we are getting healthy again," says Carr. "The playoffs are pretty intense, so we just want to make sure we have 23 or 24 guys that are healthy and ready to go, so that no matter what happens, we can put the best team on the ice that we can."
Only the status of veteran forward Brent Dexter remains uncertain heading into the weekend. Dexter sat out Saturday's 6-2 win with a shoulder injury, but is expected to be healthy in time for the playoffs.
Marquette knows first-hand exactly how potent the Phantoms' offensive attack can be, as six different Phantoms are averaging at least a point per game in the series. The Phantoms are 4-1-1 in six games so far this season against Marquette, winning by an average of three goals per victory.
The Rangers have been in a tailspin recently, having lost four of their last five games, and having won only four of their previous 17. Further hindering the Rangers' cause, is the recent injury to Aaron Pietila - the team's leading scorer.
While the Rangers have been struggling, the Traverse City North Stars have been surging. The Stars have used a 9-0-1 record in their last 10 games to overtake Marquette for the fourth and final playoff spot in the NAHL North. With just four weeks remaining in the regular season, and the Stars idle this weekend, Marquette has plenty of motivation to pull off an upset or two.
"These games are going to be highly competitive," says Mainhardt. "Obviously, Marquette is in a very tight race, so they will be putting their best effort forth. We are still in a very tight race for second place as well - so, they really don't get any more important than this, at this stage of the season."
Game time at Lakeview Arena is slated for 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday night. Catch all the action live on the web at www.mvpphantoms.com.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2008
- Jundt to Join Walters at Bemidji State Next Fall - North Iowa Outlaws
- Bobcats name Byron Pool Head Coach - Bismarck Bobcats
- IceDiggers wrap up home schedule - Alpena IceDiggers
- Outlaws update - North Iowa Outlaws
- Phantoms Now Face the Rangers on Final Road Trip of the Season - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
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