ICE HOCKEY Phantoms gain sweep of Springfield Jr. Blues

Rob Rassey had two goals and Tyler Sims stopped 39 shots in a 3-2 win.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- If the Youngstown Phantoms plan on playing beyond the regular season, then they better be at their playoff best against the teams ranked above them in the NAHL North Division standings.
Saturday, the Springfield Jr. Blues, the second-place team in the league standings, found out just how tough a playoff opponent the Phantoms might be.
Rob Rassey scored two goals, Jared Katz added a score and goalie Tyler Sims rejected 39 shots as the Phantoms posted a 3-2 victory over the Blues in Junior-A North American Hockey League action at The Ice Zone.
Weekend sweep
The win gives the Phantoms (19-14-7) a weekend sweep of the Blues. Youngstown has won four out of six games. Springfield (26-10-2) is 1-2-1 against the Phantoms.
"We talked all season long about putting together a 60-minute total effort," Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said. "This weekend, we played back-to-back games with that type of effort so it pleases me to see the end result.
"We stayed disciplined during both wins and stuck to our game plan," Mainhardt said. "Some people questioned the moves that we made off the ice, but I can honestly tell you that every one of our players in the locker room has the character and attitude that makes a team a winner."
The Phantoms got on the board first at 3:29 of the opening period when Rassey, with an assist from Anthony Canzoneri, scored the first of his two goals to give Youngstown a 1-0 advantage after one period of play.
Grumaer connects
Springfield's Jeff Gumaer wasted no time after intermission getting the Blues on the board. His shot rippled the Phantoms net just 26 seconds into the second period to knot the score.
Gumaer's goal ended a streak of 55 Blues shots stopped by Sims. He also had shut-out Springfield for the first 80:26 of the two games the teams had played.
"My teammates came up huge this weekend," Sims said. "There were a lot of shots on goal the past two nights and tonight I felt like I had a couple of mental lapses. "
Rassey's second goal came at 19:00, a power-play effort and his team-leading 16th on the season, put Youngstown ahead, 2-1.
The Phantoms out-shot the Blues 41-40, with Springfield's Wes Russell stopping 37 shots.
Sims, with 39 saves on the night, stopped 81 of 83 Springfield shots during the two-game set.