Phantoms Rally, Outlast Machine 4-3
January 23, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
YOUNGSTOWN, OH (Friday, January 23rd, 2009) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms rode a wave of special teams past their divisional rival, the Motor City Machine, scoring three power play goals on the way to a 4-3 win at the Chevrolet Centre Friday night.
The win, however, did not come easily as the Phantoms had to rally from a second period deficit and then hold off a late charge by the Machine to insure the victory.
Motor City's Ryan Misiak staked the Machine to a 1-0 second period lead, scoring on a penalty shot after being hauled down on a shorthanded breakaway just 12 seconds into the period. The goal was third that Misiak scored against the Phantoms in the last three games.
The Phantoms would immediately answer, getting consecutive power play goals from Cole Schneider and Nick Kenney in the next minute and a half to put the Phantoms on top 2-1.
Schneider was able to knock home his own rebound past Machine netminder Joe Moore while Kenney batted a blocked shot out of mid-air past Moore. After the game, Kenney said his experience in other sports contributed to the marker, his seventh of the year.
"[Erik] Higby took a shot from the point and it got blocked high into the air," recalled Kenney, "and I just took a baseball swing at it. I used to play baseball when I was a kid and that helped me right there."
Phantoms Head Coach and General Manager Bob Mainhardt said he was pleased with his team's ability to bounce back from the early deficit but still gave his team a lot of room for improvement.
"I think in a lot of cases we're maturing to the point where being down doesn't bother us," said Mainhardt, "but we're still having trouble getting over that hump of finding a way to play that perfect sixty minutes of hockey and stay focused all game long."
The two teams would trade goals the rest of the way, with Phantoms leading scorer Jordy Trottier breaking a 3-3 tie when he swatted a power play rebound past Moore for the eventual game-winner with 11:07 left in regulation.
The two teams combined for five power play goals and one shorthanded goal, with the Phantoms finishing 3-for-8 on the power play and Motor City going 2-for-3.
George Saad scored the only even-strength goal of the game with 1:50 left in the second period to briefly give the Phantoms a 3-2 lead.
Andrew Tate and Cody Holzworth also scored for the Machine, who dropped to 6-28-1 on the season.
The win helped the Phantoms (23-9-3, 49 pts) maintain their two point first place advantage in the North Division standings over Traverse City (21-9-5, 47 pts), who knocked off Marquette 3-1 at home on Friday.
The Phantoms and Machine will wrap up their two-game series on Saturday night at the Chevrolet Centre with a 7:15 PM contest.
The game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks. The pregame show will begin at 7:00 PM.
Fans can also meet and greet Phantoms players on Saturday as they will be in attendance at the Wendy's Chili Open golf outing at Bedford Trails Golf Course in Lowellville. The event, run locally by the Poland Rotary, is in its 23rd year and has raised over $1.2 million for Valley businesses in the previous 22 years.
The Chili Open kicks off at 10:30 AM on Saturday.
Phantoms season tickets and individual game tickets are now on sale at the Phantom Box Office at the Ice Zone in Boardman. Call (330) 965-7500 for more information.
The Mahoning Valley Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company - Phantom Fireworks, located in Youngstown, Ohio.
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North American Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2009
- Stars best Rangers, 3-1 - Traverse City North Stars
- Phantoms Rally, Outlast Machine 4-3 - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- T.C. Topples Rangers - Marquette Rangers
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