Red-Hot Power Play Keys Phantoms 5-4 Playoff Triumph
Published on April 3, 2009 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
YOUNGSTOWN, OH (Friday, April 3rd, 2009) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms faced some early adversity but got a big lift from their special teams as they rallied for a 5-4 win over the Traverse City North Stars to open the 2009 NAHL Playoffs at the Chevrolet Centre on Friday.
The win gives the Phantoms a 1-0 edge in their best-of-five series against the North Stars.
The North Stars opened the scoring 6:02 into the game when Kyle Bonis poked a rebound past Phantoms netminder Jordan Tibbett for his eighth goal of the year against Mahoning Valley.
The Phantoms' special teams would even the score on a 5-on-3 power play with two seconds left in the opening frame when Dave Chaney snapped a shot through traffic and past North Stars goalie C.J. Motte to knot the game at one heading into the first intermission.
"We came out pretty flat and on the other side of the coin, Traverse City came out blazing and really took it to us through the first period," said Phantoms Head Coach and General Manager Bob Mainhardt. "We were able to execute the power play, though, and get that late goal which really helped us carry some momentum into the second period."
That second period momentum particularly carried over with the power play, as Nick Kenney and Jordy Trottier scored two minutes apart with the man advantage to post the Phantoms to a 3-1 lead late in the second.
Kenney's goal came after he shoveled a Chaney centering feed over Motte while Trottier's tally came when he squeezed a bad-angle shot between Motte and the near post with 4:54 left in the middle frame.
"I saw an opening and threw it on net," said Trottier, "I saw Kenney crashing in and was actually trying to create a rebound for him; I didn't expect it to go in like that."
Bonis scored his second of the night 1:33 later when he batted an Eric O'Hearn rebound past Tibbett to cut the Phantoms' advantage to 3-2 after two periods.
The two teams played cat and mouse the rest of the way, trading goals in the third period.
Erik Higby opened the scoring in the final stanza, taking a Cole Schneider pass and beating Motte high-stick for a 4-2 Phantoms lead before Mike Schenfeld floated a high-arcing shot over a screened-out Tibbett to cut the lead back to one.
Cullen Lundholm capped Mahoning Valley's scoring with a 5-on-3 power play goal with 9:06 left in regulation, but Traverse City broke through with their lone power play goal when Eric McClintock got free on the back door of the Phantoms net to chop the Mahoning Valley edge to 5-4.
Tibbett and the Phantoms defense stood tall the rest of the way, including an acrobatic save by the Indianapolis native to deny North Star forward Kyle Jean on a shorthanded breakaway and preserve the 5-4 advantage.
Chaney led all scorers in the slugfest with a goal and three assists.
"Special teams were huge tonight," said Chaney, "we moved the puck very well on the power play and we all buried our chances. That's the biggest reason I wound up with those points tonight."
The Phantoms finished 4-for-11 with the man advantage while the North Stars went just 1-for-10 on the power play Friday.
Tibbett made 31 saves to pick up his first postseason win in a Phantoms uniform; he is 1-1 lifetime in the playoffs.
Motte stopped 15 Mahoning Valley attempts but dropped his playoff debut to fall to 0-1.
The best-of-five series will take a day off on Saturday before Game Two on Sunday at 3:00 PM at the Chevrolet Centre.
The game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks. The pregame show will begin at 2:45 PM.
Every seat in the house is on sale for $5.00 at the Centre for Game Two as part of the Phantoms' PACK THE HOUSE promotion. For more information or to reserve your seats, call the Phantom Box Office at (330) 965-7500.
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 3, 2009
- RoadRunners start playoffs with a win over Wildcats - Topeka Pilots
- Red-Hot Power Play Keys Phantoms 5-4 Playoff Triumph - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Stars shaded in opener, 5-4 - Traverse City North Stars
- U.S. Nat'l U17 Team Rallies Past Alpena, 5-3 - U.S. National Team
- Stars land trio on All-North Team - Traverse City North Stars
- NAHL announces All-Divisional Teams - NAHL
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