Published: Monday, December 11, 2006
Is Mahoning Valley the Phantoms or phenoms?
Ryan Zapolski rejected 72 of 75 Ice Diggers shots in the weekend series.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN — After defeating the Alpena Ice Diggers, 3-2 on Saturday night for their 16th consecutive victory, Mahoning Valley Phantoms head coach Bob Mainhardt could only shrug his shoulders — both at the win and as he reflected on the league's best win-streak this season.
"It's our quest to play a complete 60 minutes at both ends of the ice," Mainhardt said. "That didn't happen tonight but the end result was a win and for that we are grateful.
"We'll take a win any way that we can get it, but we still need to find a way to put together that complete, overall game," Mainhardt said.
"We really wanted the sweep this weekend, especially against the team with whom we were tied for the top spot in the division," Mainhardt said. "Back in October, we went to their barn and swept them to get this streak started, so we really needed to protect our home ice this weekend.
About Alpena
"Our hats go off to Alpena because they are an excellent team, one that will make quite a bit of noise before season end," Mainhardt said.
The Phantoms (22-7-1, 45 points) have opened a four-point lead for the top spot in the North Division and remain undefeated in 11 home contests at the Ice Zone.
The Ice Diggers (20-8-1, 41 points) dropped their second contest in as many nights, concluding their 10-game road trip with a 7-3 mark.
Mike Fillinger was the just the kick-start that the Phantoms needed, giving Mahoning Valley the early 1-0 lead when his 10th goal of the season found the back of the net at 11:47 of the opening period.
"It all starts right here at home," Fillinger said. "The win streak doesn't surprise me because this team has lots of heart. Someone always seems to be waiting in the wings, ready to pick us up when necessary.
"However, don't forget to give credit to our goalie, [Ryan] Zapolski," Fillinger said. "He's been great between the posts, most especially during this win streak.
"He stops everything, knows how to play the puck and in short, has really been super all season long when in goal."
Dexter snaps tie
A power play goal by Alpena's Justin Stadler at 10:20 of the second period knotted the game at a goal apiece, but the Phantoms took the lead for good just 1:58 later when Brent Dexter tallied his ninth goal of the year.
Dexter cashed in on a power-play opportunity for a 2-1 Mahoning Valley lead after two periods of play.
Miles Winter increased the Phantom margin to 3-1 when his 11th goal found its way to the back of the net at 5:12 of the final stanza.
"As a group we're having fun," Winter said. "We aren't ready to lose. We're a third period team and that has helped us during the streak. It should also help us over the course of the season as well.
"We came to training camp three weeks early, specifically to get ready for the long grind of a 62-game season," Winter said. "We're a well-conditioned team and have had our legs late in the game, which has really helped us thus far."
Alpena's Todd Rudasill rounded out the scoring with his team-leading 17th goal and 49th point at 14:42, but it proved to be too little and too late for the Ice Diggers.
Resilient
If anything, the Phantoms have proven to be resilient during their recent 16-game win streak.
They've led from start to finish just six times, have come from behind on six other occasions (once, trailing by two late in the third period only to force an overtime session, then winning in a shootout) while in the other four outings, have broken ties and then gone on to victory.
The Ice Diggers outshot the Phantoms, 42-34 with Zapolski notching his 21st win of the season (21-5-1).
He rejected 72 of 75 Ice Diggers shots in the weekend series.
The Phantoms now take to the road as they travel to Traverse City for a weekend series with the third-place North Stars (11-13-4, 26 points. Game time at Centre I.C.E. Arena is 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Ryan Zapolski rejected 72 of 75 Ice Diggers shots in the weekend series.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN — After defeating the Alpena Ice Diggers, 3-2 on Saturday night for their 16th consecutive victory, Mahoning Valley Phantoms head coach Bob Mainhardt could only shrug his shoulders — both at the win and as he reflected on the league's best win-streak this season.
"It's our quest to play a complete 60 minutes at both ends of the ice," Mainhardt said. "That didn't happen tonight but the end result was a win and for that we are grateful.
"We'll take a win any way that we can get it, but we still need to find a way to put together that complete, overall game," Mainhardt said.
"We really wanted the sweep this weekend, especially against the team with whom we were tied for the top spot in the division," Mainhardt said. "Back in October, we went to their barn and swept them to get this streak started, so we really needed to protect our home ice this weekend.
About Alpena
"Our hats go off to Alpena because they are an excellent team, one that will make quite a bit of noise before season end," Mainhardt said.
The Phantoms (22-7-1, 45 points) have opened a four-point lead for the top spot in the North Division and remain undefeated in 11 home contests at the Ice Zone.
The Ice Diggers (20-8-1, 41 points) dropped their second contest in as many nights, concluding their 10-game road trip with a 7-3 mark.
Mike Fillinger was the just the kick-start that the Phantoms needed, giving Mahoning Valley the early 1-0 lead when his 10th goal of the season found the back of the net at 11:47 of the opening period.
"It all starts right here at home," Fillinger said. "The win streak doesn't surprise me because this team has lots of heart. Someone always seems to be waiting in the wings, ready to pick us up when necessary.
"However, don't forget to give credit to our goalie, [Ryan] Zapolski," Fillinger said. "He's been great between the posts, most especially during this win streak.
"He stops everything, knows how to play the puck and in short, has really been super all season long when in goal."
Dexter snaps tie
A power play goal by Alpena's Justin Stadler at 10:20 of the second period knotted the game at a goal apiece, but the Phantoms took the lead for good just 1:58 later when Brent Dexter tallied his ninth goal of the year.
Dexter cashed in on a power-play opportunity for a 2-1 Mahoning Valley lead after two periods of play.
Miles Winter increased the Phantom margin to 3-1 when his 11th goal found its way to the back of the net at 5:12 of the final stanza.
"As a group we're having fun," Winter said. "We aren't ready to lose. We're a third period team and that has helped us during the streak. It should also help us over the course of the season as well.
"We came to training camp three weeks early, specifically to get ready for the long grind of a 62-game season," Winter said. "We're a well-conditioned team and have had our legs late in the game, which has really helped us thus far."
Alpena's Todd Rudasill rounded out the scoring with his team-leading 17th goal and 49th point at 14:42, but it proved to be too little and too late for the Ice Diggers.
Resilient
If anything, the Phantoms have proven to be resilient during their recent 16-game win streak.
They've led from start to finish just six times, have come from behind on six other occasions (once, trailing by two late in the third period only to force an overtime session, then winning in a shootout) while in the other four outings, have broken ties and then gone on to victory.
The Ice Diggers outshot the Phantoms, 42-34 with Zapolski notching his 21st win of the season (21-5-1).
He rejected 72 of 75 Ice Diggers shots in the weekend series.
The Phantoms now take to the road as they travel to Traverse City for a weekend series with the third-place North Stars (11-13-4, 26 points. Game time at Centre I.C.E. Arena is 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Monday, December 11, 2006
After defeating the Alpena Ice Diggers, 3-2 on Saturday night for their 16th consecutive victory, Mahoning Valley...
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