Phantoms' Special Teams Can't Bridge the Gap
Published on October 24, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
BOARDMAN, OH (Friday, October 24th, 2008) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms' special teams were nearly perfect on Friday night but the team struggled at even strength as the Phantoms fell to Team USA 4-2 at the Ice Zone in Boardman.
The Phantoms' penalty killed returned to its perfect ways, killing off all six Nationals man advantages while their power play struck twice in five opportunities.
Mahoning Valley, however, struggled in the closing minutes of periods as Team USA struck with five seconds left in the first period to tie the game at one and scored twice in the last 33 seconds of the second period to claim a 3-1 lead. Emerson Etem scored two of the late-period tallies, including the game winner.
The Phantoms suffered a similar fate last weekend in Alpena, surrendering two late period goals in the series finale against the IceDiggers.
Austin Czarnik, a player the Phantoms had courted this past offseason, opened the third period by slapping an insurance marker between the legs of Phantoms' netminder Jordan Tibbett, who suffered his first loss of the young season. Tibbett finished with 22 saves.
Robert Harrison opened the scoring for the Phantoms, wiring a slapshot over the glove of Team USA goalie Jack Campbell on the power play. Alex Lippincott scored the other Mahoning Valley goal, also on the power play, by redirecting a Carl Nielsen shot past Campbell for his fourth of the year.
Jarred Tinordi also scored for Team USA, breaking the 1-1 tie with his first goal of the year with 33 seconds left in the second.
It is the second loss in a row for the Phantoms (6-2-1, 13 pts), who fall to third in the North Division behind Traverse City (11-2-0, 22 pts) and Team USA (7-5-1, 15 pts). Mahoning Valley will go for the series split with the Nationals Saturday night at 7:15 PM at the Ice Zone in Boardman. The game will be broadcast live on the internet at MVPPhantoms.com.
Season tickets and individual game tickets are now on sale at the Ice Zone in Boardman. Call (330) 965-7500 for more information.
North American Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2008
- Blues Win, Beat Witchita Falls 6-2 - Springfield Jr. Blues
- U.S. National Under-18 Team Falls to Michigan Tech, 4-3 - U.S. National Team
- Stars win club-best 8th straight, 3-0 - Traverse City North Stars
- U.S. National Under-17 Team Defeats Mahoning Valley, 4-2 - U.S. National Team
- Phantoms' Special Teams Can't Bridge the Gap - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
