U.S. National Team is Phantoms Final Regular Season Hurdle
Published on March 27, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
BOARDMAN, Ohio (Thursday, March 27, 2008) - Sporting a 34-18-4 record and having clinched second place in the North American Hockey League's North Division, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms get two last tests this weekend against the U.S. National Team as they gear up for next weekend's start to the NAHL playoffs.
"I think it is important for us this weekend to be playing the way we expect to play in the playoffs," says Phantoms head coach Bob Mainhardt. "It is important to execute the game plan, fine-tune, and make sure you are hitting on all cylinders.
"You can't be afraid of getting someone injured. We have already proven we have the depth this year - we have more than 20 men right now that can get the job done."
Last weekend, the Phantoms split against Alpena, setting the stage for at least three more games against the Ice Diggers in a first round best-of-five playoff series beginning next Friday at the Ice Zone.
Goaltending led the way for the Phantoms, as Garrett Bartus turned in two solid performances in stopping over 93-percent of the shots he faced and earning an honorable mention for player of the week in the process.
"Garrett played very well for us (last) weekend - he gave us a chance to win both nights," said Mainhardt. "It came down to goaltending in each game, and we expect it to be that way down the stretch here for the rest of the season and the playoffs."
While the Phantoms fourth liners were red-hot coming into the weekend, it was the usual suspects lighting the lamp against Alpena. Veteran forward Miles Winter had three points to extend his point scoring streak to six games, while Derek Graham became the all-time Phantoms scoring leader on Friday night with a goal and an assist. He is currently tied for seventh among NAHL scorers with 69 points.
Additionally, second year forward Chad Boeckman, has now tallied an assist in five straight games to remain second on the team in points with 15 goals and 39 assists. With his helper on Saturday night, Boeckman notched his 100th point as a Phantom.
Along with veteran defenseman Eric Ringel, Graham got a bit of a rest when the two were held out of Saturday's contest. While the breather was definitely earned by both players, with the playoffs just a week away now, Mainhardt does not expect to sit anyone out this weekend.
"Those are two guys that have played a lot of hockey," Mainhardt explains. "If you add the top prospects tournament, they've logged a lot of ice time. A lot of teams key in on them and play them very physical, and they are both highly competitive players, so they give it their all. The only real way to get them a rest is to take them completely out of the line-up. That was an opportunity to get them some rest coming down the homestretch."
While the Phantoms were getting a glimpse at their first-round foes, the U.S. National Team (28-24-4, 60 points) was busy securing their spot in the fourth and final playoff spot in the North, sweeping Marquette last weekend by scores of 3-0 and 4-1.
The U.S. enters this weekend at the Ice Zone with a 4-1-1 record over their last six games, and has been led lately by forward Kevin McCarey. The 18-year-old collected four goals and an assist last weekend. In two games against the Phantoms this season, McCarey has managed two helpers.
Mahoning Valley owns a 5-4-1 record this season against Team USA - including a 6-2 win the last time the two met back on January 12. Graham, Alden Hirschfeld and Johnny Meo each notched three points in that last contest - coming one night after the U.S. used a pair of unassisted goals from David Wohlberg to comeback and beat the Phantoms 3-2.
"Every team gets better and learns from their mistakes, and continues to grow. They were out of the playoffs, and managed to climb back into it," says Phantoms assistant coach Curtis Carr when asked about what he expects to see from the U.S.
"With the type of team that they are, and the type of program that they have, those kids improve at a pretty quick rate, and they are definitely going to be a different team than what we saw in January."
Despite the fact that neither team has any playoff positioning left to play for, the Phantoms coaching staff realizes the importance of ending the season on a positive note and is expecting an intense series.
"We are taking these games very seriously," says Carr. "Obviously, there are things we can learn from our game, and things we can tweak going into the playoffs. The thing we are going to have key on is the d-zone. We need to tighten it up, and make sure we are making simple plays and keeping them to the outside."
"We're gearing up and still trying to figure out who our top 20 are," Mainhardt says. "Right now we've got 23 guys that are playing very good hockey. So we have to become very selective and very picky, and make sure we have the right combination heading into the playoffs."
Game time on Friday and Saturday night is slated for 7:15 p.m. at the Ice Zone in Boardman. Catch all the action live on the web at www.mvpphantoms.com.
The Mahoning Valley Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company - Phantom Fireworks, located in Youngstown, Ohio.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2008
- St. Louis Bandits Announce Playoff Schedule - St. Louis Bandits
- Phantoms / Ice Diggers Playoff Schedule Announced - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Bobcats North Dakota Rivalry No More - Bismarck Bobcats
- U.S. National Team is Phantoms Final Regular Season Hurdle - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
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