Phantoms sweep North Stars
Published on October 31, 2005 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
Boardman, Ohio (Sunday, October 30, 2005) - This time, when the Mahoning Valley Phantoms broke away, they didn't let the Traverse City North Stars make it interesting.
Marc Menzione scored twice and Bryce Merriam made 25 saves to lead the Phantoms to a 4-1 win in North American Hockey League (NAHL) action at The Ice Zone. Drew Satterley and Brad O'Shell each had two assists as the Phantoms are now tied with Traverse City for third place in the North Division with 14 points, though the Phantoms, now 7-6-0, have a better record than the North Stars (6-7-2). "We definitely needed two wins this weekend," Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said. "We're just happy that we played like we did in order to secure those victories. This is a great way to start the home portion of our schedule. Menzione is a heart and soul player and he gave everything that had for us today. Like Saturday, the Phantoms jumped out in front in the first period and never looked back as they led the entire weekend from start to finish.
The Phantoms special teams secured this win. Shorthanded, Brad O'Shell blocked a shot off the left point, and battled two North Stars in clearing the puck out to center. Matt Quigley jumped into the play and made a spectacular individual effort. He gathered the puck along the right wing boards on a one-on-two, skating around one defenseman while steering the puck into the slot and then splitting between a second North Star. He changed to his forehand, and flipped the puck over the right shoulder of goaltender Jeremy Kaleniecki for his third goal of the season, staking the Phantoms to a 1-0 lead with 6:30 remaining in the opening period. The Phantoms are now 6-0-0 when they score first and when leading after the first period. Later in the period, Quigley suffered a shoulder injury as he was sent crashing into the boards behind the Traverse City goal by a North Star defenseman. It is not known how much time Quigley will miss.
The Phantoms then converted on the power play in the second period. The North Stars tried to change penalty killers with their bench on the opposite end of the goal that they were defending. The puck deflected to the Traverse City blue line; in front of the Phantoms bench as the home team was changing their power play unit. O'Shell found himself with a two-on-one on the right wing. He dished across the ice to Milan Drevenak, who broke in alone. Cutting across the slot from left to right, he flipped a backhand over Kaleniecki's glove for his second goal in as many games for a 2-0 advantage at 6:02. Less than two minutes later, Menzione scored his first goal on a power play. Satterley outmuscled a defenseman behind the goal and easily fed Menzione on the left wing goal line, roofing the puck under the crossbar for a 3-0 advantage. "That line of Menzione, Satterley and [Anthony] Ciraulo had one great weekend, as did goalies Merriam today and [Ryan] Zapolski yesterday," Mainhardt said.
Adam Sponseller's power play goal for the North Stars at 9:43 of the period cut the Phantoms' margin to 3-1 after two periods, although the referee credited Patrick Nagorsen with the goal. "We're a young team and we're making some key mistakes," North Stars coach Scott Gardner said. "Our first-period play has been sluggish off-and-on all season long and that was the case this weekend. "With only one vet, Zeke Costello who played for the Texarkana Bandits last season, we're hoping that our youth and inexperience can get by the early portion of our schedule," Gardner said. "We're also hoping that by late-December or early-January, our young players will then be playing more like seasoned veterans." When the North Stars pulled Kaleniecki with less than a minute to play in favor of another skater, Menzione fought the puck out of the Phantoms zone and completed his effort with an empty net goal with 26.5 seconds remaining.
The Phantoms outshot Traverse City, 43-26, as Merriam rejected 25 North Star shots and evened his record at 3-3. The Phantoms were 2 for 5 in power play opportunities, holding the visiting North Stars to 1-of-6 on the man advantage. The Phantoms return to action on Thursday when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the US National Under-17 Team, then will play at the Alpena Ice Diggers on Friday and Saturday. The puck drops at 7:00pm each night.
North American Hockey League Stories from October 31, 2005
- Jets split Montana trip, stay in first - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Wildcats avenge loss, defeat Roadrunners 5-3 - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Bandits host fourth annual school day morning game - St. Louis Bandits
- Phantoms sweep North Stars - 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.
