Phantoms Working Plenty of Overtime
December 10, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
BOARDMAN, OH (Tuesday, December 10th, 2008) - Since the Mahoning Valley Phantoms started play at the Chevrolet Centre on November 14th, they've also started a new habit: taking games to overtime.
Dating back to that November 14th contest against the St. Louis Bandits, four of the last seven Phantoms games have headed into bonus hockey. The extra game-time doesn't seem to bother the Phantoms; they are 4-0-0 in those four contests.
Phantoms Head Coach and General Manager Bob Mainhardt attributes all of the recent overtime play to the tough competition in the NAHL's North Division.
"It's an indicator of just how tight our division is," says Mainhardt. "We can't get too carried away with where we are in the standings right now because if a couple of those overtime games go the other way, we could be looking at 4th or 5th place in the division right now."
Overall, the Phantoms are 5-0-2 in overtime games. With the exception of the Marquette Rangers, they have gone to overtime against all of their divisional opponents.
Mainhardt adds that the overtime games give the team a sort of boost in practice, as well.
"It's definitely a motivator to continue to improve," says Mainhardt, "it's something that we have to focus on: to start avoiding these overtime games, to stop allowing these other teams to come back and to start putting these games away."
In the four recent overtime games, two have gone to a shootout. In those shootouts, Phantoms goaltender Jordan Tibbett (12-2-0) stopped all eight opposition penalty shots he faced.
Division Race Heats Up
With the Phantoms (15-5-2, 32 pts) idle last weekend, some other North Division teams had a chance to make a move in the standings, and one team did.
The Traverse City North Stars (15-5-3, 33 pts) a two-game home-and-home series with the Alpena IceDiggers (12-8-2, 26 pts), losing 3-2 in Alpena before rallying for a 3-1 win at home. The win put the North Stars back into first place by one point over Mahoning Valley, who has played one less game than Traverse City.
The Friday win for Alpena helped the IceDiggers stay one win ahead of the Marquette Rangers (11-13-4, 26 pts) for fourth place in the division. The Rangers split a two-game home series with the third-place U.S. National Team (13-9-2, 28 pts).
One of the main reasons teams will be keeping an eye on the standings during December will be for the NAHL's Top Prospects Tournament, the league's equivalent to an All-Star Game, January 18-20 in Ann Arbor, MI.
The first place team in the North on December 22nd will place six players on the divisional team; five players will represent the second place team; the third and fourth place team each send three players and the fifth place team will get two selections. There will also be one wild card player from the division chosen by coaches.
The Phantoms resume their division schedule in Ann Arbor on Friday when they travel to open a two-game set with Team USA. Friday's game is schedule to begin at 7:00 PM.
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North American Hockey League Stories from December 10, 2008
- United States National Under Eighteen Team Set For Pair of NCAA Opponents - NAHL
- Phantoms Working Plenty of Overtime - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Rangers Head below the Bridge - Marquette Rangers
- Rangers Offering Special Second Half Price - Marquette Rangers
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