Phantom Rockets do 180 at Ice Zone

Goalie Nick Signet had an outstanding game in a 3-2 win over Traverse City.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- Less than 24 hours after allowing seven goals to league-leading Detroit, the Mahoning Valley Phantom Rockets played a near-perfect game at both ends of the ice as they defeated Traverse City, 3-2, in a Continental Elite Hockey League game Sunday night at The Ice Zone.
"We hope this is a start for us," said Phantom Rockets coach Bob Hawthorne. "We've shown we can play with the top teams in the league, we're just unable to get the puck to bounce our way at the right time.
"We were outshot tonight but had a number of quality shots and to me that is a good sign."
Top Rockets
Dave Wilmert had a goal and an assist and Brennan Mugala two assists to pace the Phantom Rockets, while Nick Anton scored both goals for Traverse City.
Anton got the Enforcers on the board first, assisted by both Justin Barth and Justin Barry, with a power-play goal at 16:59 of the opening period. It was the only goal of the period.
Twelve penalties were called, including eight on Traverse City, resulting in the ejection of the Enforcers' Eddie Zagunis. The teams served a combined 52 penalty minutes.
"Take your hat off to their goalie [Nick Signet] as he had an excellent game," said Enforcers coach Scott Gardiner. "They capitalized on their opportunities and we didn't.
"When you get 61 shots on goal and only come up with two goals, you cannot expect to win," he added. "You need to score more when that many opportunities are presented to you during the course of a game."
Dave Wilmert of the Phantom Rockets knotted the score at 1 when he found the net at 10:09 into the second period. Chad Blumes, assisted by Mugala and Wilmert, gave Mahoning Valley the lead for good with a goal just 3:30 later.
Shot rejection
With 16 seconds remaining in the second period, the Phantom Rockets' Bobby Boutellette was called for interference, resulting in a penalty shot by the Enforcers' Jack Wilk. Signet rejected the free shot and after two periods the Phantom Rockets held a 2-1 advantage.
"Nick Signet has done an excellent job in goal for us the past two nights," Hawthorne said. "He saw over 50 shots [Saturday] night and 61 tonight."
Wilmert and Jarred Frey assisted on Mike Hanna's power play goal at 6:22 of the third period to increase the Phantom Rockets' lead to 3-1, but with 1:03 remaining in the game, Anton, assisted by Eric Frank, cut the Mahoning Valley lead to 3-2.
Despite a 61-34 shots advantage, the Enforcers (7-13-1) dropped the second game of their three-game road trip, while the Phantom Rockets (6-15-0) snapped a four-game tailspin.