ICE HOCKEY Phantoms beaten by Barons, 5-2

The final game of the two-game set is tonight at 7 at the Ice Zone.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- Adam Fincik had a goal and two assists, and Cleveland scored three goals in the second period, as the Barons defeated the Youngstown Phantoms 5-2 in Junior-A, North American Hockey League action Friday at The Ice Zone.
The win, the Barons' fourth in a row, enabled Cleveland (11-5-1, 23 points) to leapfrog the Phantoms (9-4-4, 22 points) and move into fourth place in the NAHL North Division standings. It marked their first win in three tries against Youngstown this season.
The loss was the second in a row for the Phantoms as they have now dropped five of their last six outings.
At full strength
"Tonight was the first time all season that we have been at full-strength, and the result was a positive one for us," Baron coach Tim Alexander said. "With six healthy defensemen, our game plan was to jump on them early and that is exactly how we were able to wrest the momentum right at the outset.
"We have no superstars on this team," he added. "Five different guys scored for us tonight and that has pretty much been our storyline all season."
It took the Barons just 33 seconds to score the initial goal. That came when a Jason Weeks (assisted by Brian Bicek and Mike Ruberto) shot made its way into the net, giving the Barons a 1-0 margin heading into the second 20 minutes.
It was a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
The Barons then outshot the Phantoms 20-6 in the second period, and goals by Neal Sheehan (a power-play goal), Fincik and Bicek increased the margin to 4-0 in favor of Cleveland with just one period remaining.
"We knew going into the game that the team with the most discipline would win this one," Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said.
"We lost our discipline in the second period tonight," he added. "We haven't played a 60-minute game all season. We must now regroup for the second game of the series if we expect to salvage a split."
A power-play goal by the Phantoms' Kevin Huck (4:52) and another goal by Anthony Canzoneri (6:10) just 1:18 apart breathed temporary life into the Phantoms at the outset of the final period. That cut the Barons' lead to 4-2.
Jake Cepis' goal at 7:19, however, made it 5-2 in favor of the Barons, putting the game out of reach for Youngstown.
Good goaltending
Cleveland goalie Ian Keserich rejected 35 of Youngstown's 37 attempts on goal.
"Ian is an excellent goaltender," Alexander said. "He stopped 50 shots for the United States' 17-year-old World Gold Medal Team that defeated Russia in overtime this past summer in Czechoslovakia. He made some excellent pad saves tonight for us."
Equally as impressive was Phantom goalie John Murray, who stopped 33 of 38 Baron attempts.
"We didn't do much in front of John Murray tonight," Mainhardt said. "He gave us a chance to win, but we didn't take advantage of that opportunity."
The final game of the two-game set between these teams is tonight at 7 at The Ice Zone.