Phantoms rally for 5-2 victory

Mahoning Valley scored five unanswered goals to beat the Ice Diggers.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- Dennis Urban's goal at 8:21 of the final period proved to be the game-winner as the Mahoning Valley Phantoms rallied for five unanswered goals in a 5-2 victory over the Alpena Ice Diggers in a North American Hockey League game Saturday night at The Ice Zone.
Marc Menzione's team-best 29th goal of the season with under a minute to play increased his team scoring total to 73 points on the year, breaking the Phantoms' old mark of 72 which was set by Rob Rassey.
Sweep series
The Phantoms (34-17-4) swept the weekend series with the Ice Diggers. They have won 11 of the 12 outings between the teams played this season.
The Ice Diggers (12-38-5) fell for third straight time and were officially eliminated from post-season play.
Alpena got on the board first at 12:46 of the opening period when Drew Pierson scored his team-leading 26th goal of the season. The score came on a two-man power play.
Alpena increased its lead to 2-0 on Matt Suggs' unassisted launch at 4:02 of the second frame.
The Phantoms began their comeback when Mike Maltese's goal at 9:43 of the period cut the Ice Digger lead in half, and when Matt Atsoff added his 10th score of the year 32 seconds later the Phantoms knotted the score at 2-all, heading to the final 20 minutes of play.
Urban's goal at 8:21 came within seconds of his previous shot and score which was waived off by the referee.
Tommy Upton's goal at 15:08, also a power play try, increased the Mahoning Valley lead to 4-2 before Menzione's score finished the scoring on the night.
Hold shot advantage
The Phantoms held a 42-36 shots on goal advantage, outshooting the Ice Diggers 19-9 in the deciding third period.
The Phantoms converted 2-of-8 power play tries, holding Alpena to just 1-of-8 when skating with a man advantage.
Goalie Bryce Merriam rejected 34 Ice Digger shots and improved to 13-7-0 overall and 2-0 against Alpena this season.
The Phantoms conclude regular season play this week when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., Tuesday to take on the division-leading U.S. National squad, then will close out the season with a weekend series next Friday and Saturday against the Nationals. Game time is 7 p.m. for all three contests.