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NAHL North American Hockey League

Phantoms sweep through Showcase

January 22, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release


The North American Hockey League's entire North Division flocked to the Ice Zone in Boardman, Ohio, last weekend for the chance to not only help their team kick start the playoff race, but also gain valuable exposure to NCAA and NHL scouts at the Phantoms Hockey Showcase.

"Our division did great for itself in the way all of the teams competed and performed," said Phantoms coach-GM Bob Mainhardt on the overall success of the showcase.

"It was just an outstanding opportunity for the scouts to get out here and see these guys," Mainhardt continued. "I talked to a number of scouts about players off of each of the teams we played, and it's definitely going to open some doors for some young men on all of our teams."

The challenge of four games in four days with eight points up for grabs gave each team a chance to make a move in the standings or suffer a setback as the second half of the season hits full swing.

"It was a first-class event," said Bandits coach-GM Jon Cooper. "At this time of year, when the playoff race is so tight, the competition is extremely high.

"Anytime you can get that many top-quality teams in one arena, it benefits the players involved and scouts in the stands."

After the dust settled, the host Phantoms were the only team able to sweep the weekend, winning two games each against the Marquette Rangers and the Traverse City North Stars to move into sole possession of second place in the division.

"We obviously want to make the Ice Zone one of the toughest places to play in the league; we have to take pride in that," Mainhardt said about the importance of sweeping the weekend. "I thought the guys came out and had a commitment to the game plan. I thought we were very good defensively this weekend, and that was the difference in all four games."

One of the hottest teams in the league, the Alpena IceDiggers, came into the tournament with five consecutive wins. Although they moved that streak to seven with after a surprising 6-2 dismantling of the first-place St. Louis Bandits on Saturday, the Ice Diggers then went 0-1-1 in their last two, falling to third place in the standings.

Only an opening-day, 6-5 loss to the Ice Diggers stood between the U.S. National Team and a perfect weekend, as it won three of four to move right back into the playoff race.

As expected, St. Louis continued its winning ways. Although they took a shootout to overcome the IceDiggers on Monday morning, the Bandits were also able to win three of four games, keeping a stranglehold on first place in the North.

"It was a great test for our team because we haven't played within our division in a month," said Cooper. "I learned, however, that any of the six teams has a shot at the North title and, if you don't bring your A-game, your chances of surviving aren't very good."

Suffering through a tough Showcase weekend was Traverse City and Marquette. Each team went 0-4 on the weekend.

In the Midget Major AAA portion of the Showcase, again it was the host team that came out on top. The Phantom Fireworks Midget Major AAA team went a perfect 5-0-0, including a 1-0 win over the Keystone Generals in the championship game en route to the third tournament title of their season.

STANDINGS/LEADERS

North Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

St. Louis 39 31-7-1 63 .808 175 104

Mahoning Valley 37 24-10-3 51 .689 151 105

Alpena 39 23-13-3 49 .628 133 116

Marquette 39 20-17-2 42 .538 130 142

USNTDP 38 19-17-2 40 .526 132 134

Traverse City 37 11-18-8 30 .405 103 137 South Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

Wichita Falls 39 27-11-1 55 .705 153 116

Fairbanks 34 22-10-2 46 .676 95 70

Topeka 31 17-8-6 40 .645 97 79

Alaska 37 15-20-2 32 .432 112 145

Texas 40 12-25-3 27 .338 102 141

Kenai River 35 8-21-6 22 .314 90 150 Central Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

North Iowa 35 26-8-1 53 .757 133 85

Springfield 40 19-18-3 41 .513 136 145

So. Minnesota 35 17-12-6 40 .571 135 139

Alexandria 31 13-15-3 29 .468 116 134

Fargo-Moorhead 35 13-20-2 28 .400 121 132

Bismarck 37 12-22-3 27 .365 96 136

LEADING SCORERS

PLAYER TEAM P GP G A PTS

Cardwell, Adam WIC F 37 25 41 66

Salazar, Luke WIC F 39 28 30 58

Walters, Shea NIO F 35 14 44 58

Graham, Derek MVY F 37 26 30 56

Everett, Grant WIC F 38 15 37 52

OKane, Kyle STL F 34 32 19 51

Peterson, Erik ALP F 37 14 37 51

Warda, Ben STL F 39 15 34 49

Leone, Mike STL F 36 10 38 48

(two players tied with 43)

LEADING GOALTENDERS

PLAYER TEAM GPI MINS W-L-OTL GAA SPCT

Reichard, Cody FBX 30 1780:45 19-10-0 1.95 .936

Moss, Robby NIO 23 1353:58 18-3-1 2.04 .934

Merriam, Bryce TPK 26 1582:39 12-8-6 2.27 .900

Bartus, Garrett MVY 23 1370:38 16-4-2 2.32 .921

Heeter, Cal STL 22 1246:49 16-4-0 2.55 .911

GOALS

PLAYER TEAM P GP G O'Kane, Kyle STL F 34 32

Salazar, Luke WIC F 39 28

Graham, Derek MVY F 37 26

ASSISTS

PLAYER TEAM POS GP A

Walters, Shea NIO F 35 44

Cardwell, Adam WIC F 37 41

Leone, Mike STL F 36 38

PLUS/MINUS

PLAYER TEAM POS GP +/-

Cardwell, Adam WIC F 37 +28

Everett, Grant WIC F 38 +25

O'Kane, Kyle STL F 34 +24

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

North Division: Garrett Bartus - Mahoning Valley Phantoms

Mahoning Valley goaltender Garrett Bartus backstopped the Phantoms to three wins at the Phantoms Showcase last weekend, stopping 77 of 80 shots. On Friday, the 18-year-old made 23 saves in a 4-1 win over Marquette. The next night, the St. Charles, Ill., native turned aside 28 shots as Mahoning Valley downed Traverse City, 3-2. On Monday, Bartus made all 26 saves in a 2-0 shutout of the North Stars.

"Garrett gave us the opportunity to win," said Phantoms assistant coach Curtis Carr. "He made the saves he was supposed to and some he wasn't necessarily supposed to, and when we needed him, he came up big."

HONORABLE MENTION: Alpena forward Mike DeGrazia and goaltender Nick Graves; St. Louis forward Kyle O'Kane; U.S. Under-17 Team goaltender Adam Murray

Central Division: Robby Moss - North Iowa Outlaws

North Iowa goaltender Robby Moss, in his third game back since returning from a month-long injury, turned aside 49 of 51 shots last weekend as the Outlaws skated to a pair of wins over Bismarck. On Friday, the 20-year-old made 21 saves in a 4-2 triumph. The next night, the St. Louis native stopped 28 shots as North Iowa blanked the Bobcats, 3-0.

"Robby played strong, made some big saves and was moving better," said Outlaws coach Dave Boitz. "It's nice to have him back in the pipes. He's a terrific goaltender and a difference-maker in games like Friday night. It was good to see him get the win and the shutout."

HONORABLE MENTION: Springfield defenseman Dan Weiss

South Division: Cody Reichard - Fairbanks Ice Dogs

Fairbanks goaltender Cody Reichard backstopped the Ice Dogs to a two-game sweep over Texas last weekend, stopping 70 of 71 shots. On Friday, the 20-year-old made all 25 saves as Fairbanks shut out the Tornado, 5-0. The next night, the Celina, Ohio native turned aside 45 shots in a 2-1 triumph.

"Cody proved his worth again by stopping all the pucks he should and a lot of the pucks he shouldn't," said Ice Dogs coach-GM Rob Proffitt. "He's done this night in and night out and given us a chance to get home ice in the first round of the playoffs."

HONORABLE MENTION: Fairbanks forward Nick Guran; Wichita Falls forwards Adam Cardwell and Grant Everett and goaltender Mike Jarboe

LAST WEEK'S SCORES/HIGHLIGHTS

Tuesday, January 15

Kenai River 0 @ Wichita Falls 6 (WF: Jarboe, 23 saves)

Friday, January 18

North Iowa 4 @ Bismarck 2 (NI: Dziubinski, 2A, +1)

Southern Minnesota 5 @ Fargo-Moorhead 3 (SM: Willms, G, 3A, +2)

Marquette 1 @ Mahoning Valley 4 (MV: Graham, G, A, +2)

Traverse City 2 @ St. Louis 3 (STL: Miller, GWG, A, +1)

Fairbanks 5 @ Texas 0 (FBX: Reichard: 25 saves)

Alpena 6 @ USNTDP 5 (ALP: McCusker, GWG, 2A, +1)

Alaska 3 @ Wichita Falls 5 (WF: Skylur Jameson, GWG, +1)

Saturday, January 19

St. Louis 2 @ Alpena 6 (ALP: DeGrazia, G, GWG, +3)

North Iowa 3 @ Bismarck 0 (NI: Moss, 28 saves)

USNTDP 2 @ Marquette 0 (USA: Murray, 26 saves)

Topeka 5 @ Springfield 3 (TOP: Hayes, GWG, A)

Fairbanks 2 @ Texas 1 (FBX: Guran, G, A)

Mahoning Valley 3 @ Traverse City 2 (MV: Graham, 2A)

Alaska 3 @ Wichita Falls 6 (WF: Salazar, G, GWG, A, +2)

Sunday, January 20

Marquette 3 @ Mahoning Valley 6 (MV: Blakey, GWG, +1)

Topeka 1 @ Springfield 2 (OT) (SPR: Cook, 20 saves)

Traverse City 4 @ St. Louis 8 (STL: O'Kane, 3G, +1)

Alpena 1 @ USNTDP 3 (USA: Brown, G, GWG, +2)

Monday, January 21

St. Louis 4 @ Alpena 3 (SO) (STL: O'Kane, 2G, +1)

USNTDP 4 @ Marquette 1 (USA: Wohlberg, 2G, +2)

Mahoning Valley 4 @ Traverse City 0 (MV: Bartus, 26 saves)

AROUND THE NAHL

TOP PROSPECTS ROSTERS ANNOUNCED: The rosters for the NAHL's first annual Top Prospects Tournament, which will be held February 17-19 at the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich., have been announced. View the complete rosters at nahltopprospects.com.

MIDGET SHOWCASE FIELD, SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED: The NAHL has announced the field and schedule for the third and final tournament of this season's NAHL Midget Showcase Series, which will be held February 15-18 at the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich. View the complete field and schedule at nahlmidgetshowcase.com.

AVALANCHE, OUTLAWS STRIKE DEAL: North Iowa has traded forwards Brooks DeZellar, 20, and Kyle Politz, 18, to Alaska for forward Larry Kincaid, 20, and defenseman Kevin Anger, 19.

BOBCATS RAISE MONEY FOR ACS: Bismarck's "Tough Enough to Play in Pink" game held on January 5 raised $1,700 for the American Cancer Society Bismarck/Mandan Relay For Life.

MILESTONE FOR BISHOP: University of Maine junior goaltender Ben Bishop (Texas, 2004-05) was named the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week after winning his 50th career game with the Black Bears on Saturday - a 41-save shutout of Providence (4-0).

CENTURY CLUB: Army senior forward Luke Flicek (Texas, 2003-04) recorded his 100th career collegiate point with a game-winning goal in the Black Knights' 2-1 victory over Canisius on Saturday night.

STARS IN STRIPES: Six former NAHL officials were selected to work minor-pro all-star games, including Brian Pochmara, who will referee the American Hockey League's contest on January 28 game in Binghamton, N.Y.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, January 23

Kenai River @ Topeka, 7:05 pm

Thursday, January 24

Traverse City @ Marquette, 7:30 pm

Bismarck @ North Iowa, 7:30 pm

Alaska @ Texas, 7:30 pm

Friday, January 25

Alexandria @ Fargo-Moorhead, 7:35 pm

Alpena @ Marquette, 7:30 pm

Bismarck @ North Iowa, 7:30 pm

Mahoning Valley @ St. Louis, 7:15 pm

Alaska @ Texas, 7:30 pm

Kenai River @ Topeka, 7:05 pm

USNTDP @ Traverse City, 7:05 pm

Fairbanks @ Wichita Falls, 7:00 pm

Saturday, January 25

Marquette @ Alpena, 7:00 pm

Bismarck @ Fargo-Moorhead, 7:05 pm

North Iowa @ Southern Minnesota, 7:00 pm

Mahoning Valley @ St. Louis, 7:15 pm

Alaska @ Texas, 7:30 pm

Kenai River @ Topeka, 7:05 pm

USNTDP @ Traverse City, 7:05 pm

Fairbanks @ Wichita Falls, 7:00 pm

Sunday, January 25

Alexandria @ Southern Minnesota, 5:00 pm

(all times local)

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