Phantoms conquer U.S. National squad, 7-1

Drew Satterley, Anthony Ciraulo and Marc Menzione led Mahoning Valley.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Drew Satterley scored twice and added an assist Friday to lead the Mahoning Valley Phantoms to a 7-1 win over the U.S. National Under-17 Team in North American Hockey League (NAHL) action at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.
Anthony Ciraulo added a goal and three assists while line-mate Marc Menzione contributed three assists.
"It comes down to character and these boys have it," Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said. "We're still making some early season mistakes, but character comes through and carries you."
The Phantoms (3-2-0) jumped on U.S. goaltender Bobby Phillips early. Mike Maltese won a faceoff in the Phantoms zone and then quickly snapped a pass to Owen Meyer at the blue line.
Breakaway backhand
Meyer caught both U.S. defensemen out of position, skating past both of them in the neutral zone, and beat Phillips with a breakaway backhand at 4:02 of the opening period.
It became 2-0 two minutes later after a faceoff win and pinpoint passing. Ciraulo drew the puck back to Drew Fortney on the right point in the U.S. zone. Fortney passed diagonally to Menzione on the left goal line.
Menzione passed back to Ciraulo behind the goal, who found Satterley cutting into the low slot. Ciraulo fed Satterley and beat Phillips, also with a backhand on the stick side.
With 7:12 remaining in the opening period, Matt Quigley went behind the U.S. goal from the left wing. As he curled out from behind the right side, he backhanded a centering pass that deflected off U.S. defenseman Colby Cohen's skate and into the goal for a 3-0 lead.
The U.S. (10-4-2) got on the board in the first minute of the second period when Mike Cieslak scored on a breakaway.
Phantoms respond
The Phantoms responded when Brent Dexter scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 11:24 to restore the three-goal lead.
Moments later after a faceoff win by Ciraulo, defenseman Doug Leaverton scored his first goal of the season, firing a rising wristshot through traffic.
The Phantoms top line connected again when Satterley scored his second of the game, assisted by Menzione and Ciraulo with 2:58 remaining in the second period for a 6-1 lead. The Phantoms travel to Parma to face the Cleveland Jr. Barons tonight at 7:30 and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. All the games will be broadcasts on www.mvpphantoms.com.
Mike Maltese and Ryan Zapolski both received honorable mention for NAHL offensive and defensive players of the week respectively, for their performances last weekend against the Barons.