Phantoms Streak into First Place
November 22, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
ANN ARBOR, MI - A late flurry of goals from Team USA may have shaken the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, but it was the Phantoms who got the last laugh, winning 6-5 in a shootout for their fourth straight win.
The win pushed the Phantoms (13-4-2, 28 pts) into a first place tie with the Traverse City North Stars (13-3-2, 28 pts) atop the NAHL's North Division, with a matchup between the two first place squads looming on Friday.
The Phantoms led 5-3 with 1:39 remaining but a last-minute two goal outburst by the Nationals forced overtime. Neither team scored in the extra period, and Phantoms forward Brandon Saad notched the only goal in the decisive shootout to lift MahoningValley into first place.
Phantoms Head Coach and General Manager Bob Mainhardt said his team gained valuable experience by withstanding the Nationals' rally.
"We definitely learned from it," said Mainhardt, "and these are valuable lessons to learn. And that's what this level is all about, players learning from their mistakes and becoming better. We did that tonight."
Saad's shootout winner was his third goal of the night, as he netted two regulation markers-both on the power play-that gave MahoningValley a brief 4-0 lead in the second period. Saad said that his goals were a result of one of hockey's oldest adages: get the puck on goal.
"We started fast tonight and it seemed everything was going in," Saad said, "so I just got it to the net and good things happened."
Trevor Shively opened the scoring 1:05 into the game, lining a 75-foot slap shot past Team USA goalie Will Yanakeff. Alex Lippincott followed a minute later, slamming home a backdoor feed from David Chaney to put the Phantoms up 2-0 early.
Saad then scored twice to make it 4-0 with 18:24 left in the second period before the Nationals scored three unanswered goals to pull to within 4-3 at the second intermission.
In the third, Cole Schneider scored an empty net goal with 1:39 left to make it 5-3 Phantoms, but goals by Jacob Fallon and NickShore tied it up at 5-5 with two goals in the final 15 seconds of regulation.
Jordan Tibbett made 34 saves and improved his record on the season to 10-2-0.
The Phantoms return to action next Friday when they open the North Division Showcase with a first place showdown with Traverse City at 7:15 PM at the Chevrolet Centre.
The game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks. The pregame show will begin at 7:00 PM.
Phantoms season tickets and individual 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.
North American Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2008
- Six road wins in a row - Bismarck Bobcats
- Rangers fall in OT - Marquette Rangers
- U.S. Nat'l U18 Team Downs Marquette, 4-3, in OT - U.S. National Team
- Phantoms Streak into First Place - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- U.S. National Under-17 Team Falls to Mahoning Valley 6-5 in Shootout - U.S. National Team
- Jr. Blues Look For Revenge Tonight After Friday Night OT Loss - Springfield Jr. Blues
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