NAHL SHOWCASE Phantoms beaten again by USA

Mahoning Valley lost for the second straight night to the National Team, 4-1.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- Four unanswered goals, including three tallies in the final 9 minutes, 17 seconds, lifted the USA National Under-18 Team to a 4-1 victory over the Mahoning Valley Phantoms in the final game of the North American Hockey League Showcase Sunday at The Ice Zone.
The National Team (25-9-4) won all four of its games at the Showcase to remain atop the North Division standings (they are tied with the Cleveland Barons) while the Phantoms (22-13-3) concluded finished with a 2-2 mark and find themselves just seven points away from the top spot.
"This was a great effort by our guys tonight. You cannot fault their overall play at both ends of the ice. They gave it their all and deserved a better outcome," Phantom coach Bob Mainhardt said.
"[Bryce] Merriam played really well in goal for us. The goaltenders from squads all played well, but they [USA National Team] were just a little luckier than us around the net.
"We played with plenty of intensity and that makes me really happy. If we play with this type of intensity the rest of the year then we can make some noise come playoff time."
Phantoms score first
The Phantoms got on the board first when Jason Simota and Ryan Markell assisted Matt Atsoff on his fifth goal of the year at 5:27 of the opening period.
With just 23 seconds remaining in the second period, however, and the Phantoms looking to hold the USA squad on their power play, James O'Brien's slap shot found the net, allowing the National Team to knot the score at a goal apiece heading to the final period.
Erik Johnson then assisted Nigel Williams on his second goal of the season at 10:53, a two-man advantage power play opportunity that gave the Nationals a 2-1 lead.
Goals by both Trent Palm (14:19) and Chris Atkinson (18:21) then put the game out of reach.
The USA squad outshot the Phantoms, 41-35, including 21-7 in the opening period.
In other games
In other Showcase games, Carter Camper's power play goal with :44 remaining lifted the Cleveland Barons to a 2-1 victory over the Traverse City North Stars, while Alpena raced to a 4-0 lead midway through the second period, then held on for a 7-4 victory over the Springfield Jr. Blues.
The Jr. Blues finished the Showcase with a 3-1 overall mark, the Barons split their four contests, the Ice Diggers went 1-3 while the North Stars were winless in their four outings.
The Phantoms begin a seven-game road trip Friday at Traverse City. Game time is 7 p.m.