Phantoms Wrest Home Ice Advantage with Split at USA
April 17, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
ANN ARBOR, MI (Friday, April 17th, 2009) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms have secured home ice advantage for the remainder of the North Division Finals after finishing with a split against the U.S. National Team in Ann Arbor, MI.
The Nationals were able to salvage the split against Mahoning Valley with a 6-4 win at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube Friday.
Team USA opened the scoring at the 8:54 mark of the first period when Frankie Simonelli took a centering feed from Emerson Etem and one-timed a snap shot past Phantoms goaltender Jordan Tibbett for a 1-0 Nationals lead.
Mahoning Valley evened the score just 13 seconds later when Carl Nielsen pulled the puck into the middle of the Team USA zone and fired a wrister past Nationals netminder Brandon Maxwell to tie the game 1-1 with 8:41 left in the first.
Early in the second period, the Phantoms grabbed the lead when Johnny Meo poked home an Alex Lippincott feed on the power play just 1:17 into the middle frame.
The National Team tied the game back up four minutes later when Austin Czarnik slapped an Etem rebound over Tibbett for a 2-2 score 5:40 into the second.
The Phantoms would reclaim the lead 42 seconds after Czarnik's goal when Josh Bussell tallied his second score in as many games, slapping a loose puck over Maxwell's glove for a 3-2 Mahoning Valley advantage.
Team USA continued the back-and-forth trend with 9:51 left in the second when Jarred Tinordi beat a screened-out Tibbett with a wrist shot from the point on a power play for a 3-3 tie.
The Nationals came out strong in the third period, getting two straight goals from Justin Faulk and Jacob Fallon to open the third, seizing a 5-3 lead in the first six minutes of the final frame.
Mahoning Valley made a late bid to force overtime when Erik Higby tapped a Meo rebound home on the power play with 4:41 remaining in regulation to cut the USA lead to 5-4.
Phantoms head coach Bob Mainhardt pulled Tibbett with 2:03 left to press for the equalizer, but Czarnik ended Mahoning Valley's comeback hopes when he scored into the open net with 1:32 left for the final 6-4 margin.
Tibbett made 31 saves but slipped to 3-2 in the playoffs with the loss.
Maxwell, meanwhile, improved to 4-2 in the postseason, making 30 saves in the win.
The best-of-five series will now take a five-day break before the Phantoms host Team USA at the Chevrolet Centre for Game Three on Thursday, April 23rd, at 7:15 PM.
The game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks with a 7:00 PM pregame show.
The winner of the best-of-five divisional final will advance to the 2009 Robertson Cup Tournament in Mason City, IA, starting April 28th.
All tickets for Game Three are now on sale for $5.00 if purchased on or before Wednesday, April 22nd. All tickets will be $8.50 if purchased on game day.
All Phantoms merchandise is on sale for 40% off at the Phantoms Team Shop at both the Chevrolet Centre and the Ice Zone while the Phantoms are in the playoffs. 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 April 17, 2009
- U.S. Men's Nat'l U18 Team Tops Canada, 2-1, in Semis att IIHF U18WC - U.S. National Team
- Phantoms Wrest Home Ice Advantage with Split at USA - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- U.S. Nat'l U17 Team Drops Mahoning Valley, 6-4, in Game 2 - U.S. National Team
- Bobcats' Wickman Wins Academic Achievement - Bismarck Bobcats
- Outlaws Honoring North Iowa's Hockey Past during Robertson Cup - North Iowa Outlaws
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