Rangers upset Phantoms
February 8, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Marquette Rangers News Release
Boardman, Ohio - The Marquette Rangers roared out to a three goal lead after the first period in their North American Hockey League North Division matchup with the Mahoning Valley Phantoms and cruised to a 6-2 win Friday night.
Special teams were the key for the Rangers who scored four power play goals and a shorthanded marker for the teams' first win at Mahoning Valley this season.
"It was a great effort top to bottom" said Rangers head coach Randy Enders. "We were strong when we needed to be strong, played great defense and took advantage of our opportunities. Any time you can jump out to a lead, on the road, against a team with the kind of firepower Mahoning has its huge; and our guys kind of fed off the momentum and never looked back after the first period when we got out to the big lead."
Derek Grogan, Josh Bussell and Nic Weight all scored in the opening period, with Grogan and Weight's goals coming with the man advantage.
Mahoning Valley would cut the lead to 3-1 early in the second period before Grogan answered shorthanded from Collin Saint-Onge at 7:03 to regain the three goal advantage.
Going into the third period with a 4-2 lead, the Rangers added scores from Trevor John and Jake Watchorn for the 6-2 final score.
For Watchorn it was his first as a Ranger after being traded to the team from Wichita Falls of the NAHL South Division in late December.
The coach was quick to point out his teams' defensive effort as being a big part of the win.
"We locked down a very good team with good defense and great goaltending from Beau (Christian) and when we can be solid in our own end good things happen" Enders added.
Christian stopped 59 of 61 shots on the night for the win while the Phantoms' Garret Bartus was called on to stop 39 of 45 Rangers shots on the evening. With the win Marquette now stands at 23-19-3 on the season, Mahoning Valley falls to 25-13-4 on the season.
The two teams meet again Saturday night at the IceZone in Boardman, Ohio with the face-off at 7:15 PM.
All Rangers games are available online through B2 Networks via the teams website www.marquetterangers.com.
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