CONTINENTAL ELITE HOCKEY LEAGUE Zeman's hat trick paces Ice Diggers past Rockets

By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- The Toledo Ice Diggers have the Mahoning Valley Phantom Rockets' number. In fact, they have the number of almost every team in the league.
Matt Zeman had three goals, including two unassisted, as his hat trick propelled the Ice Diggers to a 6-3 victory over the Phantom Rockets in Continental Elite Hockey League action at The Ice Zone Sunday.
"This is the top team in the league and I told our squad in the locker room at the end of the game that we had the upper hand all night," Phantom Rockets coach Bob Hawthorne said. "I honestly believe this team is coming.
"They fought the system at the outset but now realize that when you run the system good things can happen. We're not lucky right now and that is our biggest obstacle."
Jim Koslowski got the Ice Diggers on the board first at 12:25 of the opening period. When Zeman scored the first of his two unassisted goals at 19:05, Toledo led 2-0.
Each team took 13 shots on goal in the opening period but at one point the Phantom Rockets had outshot Toledo 10-1 to open the game.
"We had two shots hit the metal poles tonight and another just failed to penetrate the line as well," Hawthorne said. "When you are winning those little things seem to be with you. When you struggling to find a way to win then those little things seem to go against you."
Pulling away
The Ice Diggers (13-4-0) scored four goals in the second period as they won for the third straight time. They scored three times within a span of 1:45, the first an unassisted goal from Zeman at 3:24, followed by Mike Cook (4:36) and Dave Barbe (5:39).
Both Zeman and Cook's goals were short-handed while Zeman's third goal of the night at 15:53 was a power play goal, increasing the Ice Diggers' lead to 6-0 after two periods.
Brennan Mugala of the Phantom Rockets scored at 2:19 of the final stanza as Mahoning Valley (5-10-0) avoided the shutout. Power play goals by both David Wilmert (14:02) and Brooks Harvey (17:15) rounded out the scoring. Both Wilmert and Mugala had a goal and an assist for the Phantom Rockets.
Mahoning Valley outshot the Ice Diggers 27-25. Toledo goalie Risk Sissen rejected 21 of the 22 shots he faced before giving way to Jake Archer in the final period.
It was the third loss in as many tries this season for the Phantom Rockets against the Ice Diggers, with the teams scheduled to meet again Wednesday night in Toledo.
Saturday
Late in the second period, Mike Hanna scored a goal to snap a 1-1 deadlock and lift the Phantom Rockets to a 2-1 win over the Dayton Gems Saturday night.
The Rockets took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Brennan Mugala.