Phantoms cruise 7-1 past Traverse City; Streak at 18

Dustin Cloutier and Nathan Longpre each scored twice for Mahoning Valley.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Dustin Cloutier scored twice and added two assists, Nathan Longpre also scored twice and Ryan Zapolski stopped 30 shots to lead the Mahoning Valley Phantoms to a 7-1 win over the Traverse City (Mich.) Saturday night.
The Phantoms (24-7-1) extended their team record winning streak to 18 games. They have outscored their opponents 94-29 over that span.
"These guys worked hard this weekend to get four points," Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said. "We jumped on them early and kept the pressure on throughout the game. It was a complete effort."
The Phantoms immediately set the tempo by scoring on their second shift of the game. Adam Snead threw a high wrist shot over the right shoulder of North Stars goaltender Stefan Shively for his fourth goal of the season. With assists from Matt Quigley and Mike Fillinger, the Phantoms led 1-0 just 58 seconds in.
Longpre scored his first of the night on a Phantoms power play. He took a cross-ice pass from Quigley in the right circle, controlled the puck and fired a wrister over the left shoulder of Shively at the 5:12 mark for a 2-0 lead.
With 35 seconds left in the period, Longpre scored his second power play goal of the period. Accepting a feed from Eric Ringel in the left circle, he beat Shively on the far glove side. The Phantoms, 11-3-0 when leading after the first period, did not let up.
Cloutier scored on another Phantoms power play. With 3:42 left in the second period, Longpre's pass from behind the net found Cloutier's stick in front of the crease.
He beat Shively high for a 4-0 lead, which stood after two periods. Once again, the Phantoms did not let up.
Two quick goals
Chris Fairbanks scored off a pass from Derek Graham just 28 seconds into the third period. Just 37 seconds later, Robert Harrison found Cloutier between the circles for his team-leading 17th goal of the game and the Phantoms were in control at 6-0.
"We didn't want to give them any ideas on making a comeback in the third period," Fairbanks said. "I'm very proud of the way we played."
Fillinger scored his 12th goal of the season with 4:29 left in regulation, off a pass from Cloutier. Traverse City's Brett Engelbright ruined Zapolski's bid for a shutout when he scored on the power play with 2:37 to go to complete the scoring.
The Phantoms finished 3-for-12 on the power play, while Traverse City was 1-for-8. The North Stars (11-16-5) dropped their third straight game.
The Phantoms return home to host the U.S. National Team Wednesday at the Ice Zone. The opening face-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.