CONTINENTAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Rockets gain 7-4 win over Bombers

Justin Cassel's hat trick and two goals by Mike Hanna led the locals.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- The Mahoning Valley Phantom Rockets are getting offensive. That makes head coach Bob Hawthorne very happy.
Justin Cassel's hat trick and assist, and two goals and an assist by Mike Hanna propelled the Phantom Rockets to a 7-4 win over the Brownstown Bombers in a Continental Elite Hockey League game Sunday at The Ice Zone.
"We started off slow and usually it's the second period that has been our undoing," Hawthorne said. "I don't know if it was the three days off, but our legs just weren't fresh at the outset."
The win snapped a two-game tailspin for the Phantom Rockets (6-11-0) as they moved to within a half-game of Brownstown (7-11-0).
The Phantom Rockets drew first blood at 13:51 of the opening period when Hanna, assisted by Brooks Harvey and Jay St. John, scored the first of his two goals.
Bombers take lead
The Bombers then reeled off three unanswered goals by Matt Blair, Cory Konecny and Sam Dismuke in a 3:45 span to take a 3-1 lead after the first period.
"Take nothing away from the play of the Phantom Rockets, but we played just terrible after the first period," Bomber coach Mike Boileau said. "This was a pivotal game for us and we bailed on our own system after taking a two-goal lead."
Cassel provided the spark for the Phantom Rockets, scoring the first and last of the four Mahoning Valley goals in the second period (Hanna and Paul Fonte also scored as well) while the Bombers were limited to a single goal by George McGlynn.
The Phantom Rockets led 5-4 after two periods.
"You have to remember that Justin Cassel is just an 18-year old who is still in high school," Hawthorne said. "He's been our most consistent player all year, both defensively and goal scoring. He's looking to go to Harvard and if he keeps playing like this, then he'll be able to write his own ticket."
Signet shuts down Bombers
With 16 year-old Nick Signet in goal the Phantom Rockets shut out the Bombers in the final period, using goals by Cassel and Saunders.
"We made a decision not to pull Nick at all tonight," Hawthorne said. "He worked through their early scoring outburst and basically shut them down the last 30 minutes of the game. That says a lot about his character in goal."
Signet rejected 22 Bomber shots, allowing just one goal in the final 40:25. Bomber goalie Chris Larson had 25 saves, but allowed six of the game's final seven goals.
Mahoning Valley will play host to Dayton Thursday at 7 p.m.