Tibbett's Sterling Effort Not Enough as Phantoms Fall 1-0
October 31, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
TRAVERSE CITY, MI (Friday, October 31st, 2008) - A Halloween night matchup between the top two teams in the NAHL North Division turned into a nightmare for both offenses as the second place Mahoning Valley Phantoms dropped their series opener with the first place Traverse City North Stars.
Phantoms Head Coach and General Manager Bob Mainhardt was impressed with both teams in the defensive struggle.
"It was a very good hockey game between to very good teams," said Mainhardt, "very physical, very clean, and it just seemed that they got one more lucky bounce than we did tonight."
That one more lucky bounce came in the form of Kyle Jean scoring off a third-chance rebound after Phantoms goaltender Jordan Tibbett twice shut down David Johnstone on point-blank attempts. Jean's third goal of the year stood up as the game winner after a scoreless third period.
The key moment of the game came with 13:08 left in regulation when the Phantoms' Erik Higby was awarded a penalty shot after getting hauled down on a short-handed breakaway. Higby deked left on the penalty shot but his backhander was equaled by a glove save from North Stars goalie Brandon Stephenson.
The rest of the game was played in a deadlock as Tibbett (4-2-0) stopped 23 North Stars attempts while Stephenson (6-1-0) turned away 23 Phantoms shots. Stephenson emerged the victor in a battle of two of the top goaltenders in the entire NAHL.
The North Stars (12-2-0) maintained their seven-point lead in the division as Team USA (8-6-1) moved into sole possession of second with a 4-0 clobbering of Motor City. The Phantoms (7-3-1) slipped to third place in the North with the loss.
The Phantoms and North Stars resume their divisional showdown Saturday night at 7:05 PM, with Sunday's series finale set for a 12:35 PM matinee start. Both games will be broadcast live on MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks.
North American Hockey League Stories from October 31, 2008
- Stars Blank Phantoms for 9th Straight - Traverse City North Stars
- Tibbett's Sterling Effort Not Enough as Phantoms Fall 1-0 - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- U.S. Nat'l U17 Shuts Out Motor City, 4-0 - U.S. National Team
- Big Game Weekend - Jr. Blues Vs. Topeka - Springfield Jr. Blues
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.
