Tibbett Backstops Phantoms to 3-1 Win Over Machine
Published on February 19, 2009 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
YOUNGSTOWN, OH (Thursday, February 19th, 2009) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms opened their "Pavlik Series" against Motor City with a 3-1 win over the visiting Machine at the Chevrolet Centre on Thursday.
The two-game set with the Machine has been dubbed the "Pavlik Series" because of the Phantoms' tie-in with Saturday night's world middleweight boxing title fight at the Centre between Youngstown's own Kelly Pavlik, the defending champ, and top contender Marco Antonio Rubio.
The two sides tried their best on Thursday to live up to the billing of the boxing tie-in, despite no fights, by playing a tough, physically grueling contest with occasional bursts of offense.
Jordan Tibbett made 30 saves for Mahoning Valley between the pipes, stealing the show in the third period with 13 stops as he improved his record to 22-5-1 on the season.
After the game, Tibbett said that the game's uneven pace added a degree of difficulty to his night in net.
"It was a weird kind of game," said the 2009 Top Prospects selection, "and the shots came in spurts so we all had to be on our toes at all times. I think it showed our team's maturity to be ready to handle it when they would bounce back and come at us in flurries."
Brandon Saad opened the scoring for the Phantoms on the power play, wiring an Alex Lippincott centering feed past Motor City goaltender Matthew Delaney for his 25th goal of the season just 5:21 into the contest.
The score would stay 1-0 until former Mahoning Valley defenseman Dustin Hopfner-traded to Motor City for Josh Bussell earlier this month-took a long pass from Jon Bobb and beat Tibbett glove side on the ensuing breakaway to tie the game at one just 3:58 into the second period.
Forward Cody Ganchar would restore the one-goal lead for the Phantoms seven minutes later, shoveling a backhander past Delaney with 9:58 left in the middle frame to put the Phantoms up for good.
"The puck took a lucky bounce to me off Nick Shkreli's skate and I saw daylight and just drove to the net," says Ganchar, who was called up from the Phantoms' midget major team on January 11th. "It feels really good [to get the game-winner]; it's just an exciting moment."
Erik Higby tacked on an insurance marker with 32 seconds left in the second period, sliding a Jordy Trottier centering feed through Delaney's legs for a 3-1 Phantoms lead.
The two teams battled through a scoreless third period for the final 3-1 margin for the Phantoms.
Delaney finished with 25 saves for the Machine, dropping his record to 1-10-0 on the season.
The win pushes Mahoning Valley (31-11-4, 66 pts) a full ten points ahead of idle Traverse City (25-12-6, 56 pts) for first place in the North Division; the North Stars open a two-game series in Marquette on Friday.
Team captain Johnny Meo was in the starting lineup for Mahoning Valley on the night that he made Phantoms history by playing in his team record 179th game as a Phantom, breaking Brent Dexter's (2005-2008) record of 178 games played.
The Phantoms and Machine will wrap up the "Pavlik Series" on Friday night at the Chevrolet Centre.
Friday's match-up will be preceded by Pavlik's hydration weigh-in and a pre-fight rally for the Youngstown native's title fight at the Centre starting at 6:45 PM. Fans only need their ticket to the Phantoms-Machine game to be a part of the weigh-in and rally.
The game, scheduled for a special 7:35 PM start time, will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks. The pregame show will begin at 7:20 PM.
Special group rate tickets are available for groups of 20 or more for $6 per ticket. The Phantoms are also offering a special Knockout Package for the Pavlik fight including the last remaining ringside seats for $550.
The Phantoms are also offering the ringside seats by themselves for $500 each.
North American Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2009
- Tibbett Backstops Phantoms to 3-1 Win Over Machine - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Phantoms to Auction Jerseys Autographed by Kelly Pavlik - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Another RoadRunner Commits to College - Topeka Pilots
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
