NORTH AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE Phantoms capsized by rally, 7-5

The USA National Team scored five goals in the third period to prevail.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- Joe Lavin's hat trick and a five-goal third period by the USA National Team lifted the Nationals to a 7-5, come-from-behind victory over the Mahoning Valley Phantoms Friday in North American Hockey League action at The Ice Zone.
The Nationals (38-14-5 and assured of the North Division crown) denied the Phantoms (34-19-4) the opportunity to overtake the Cleveland Barons for second place in the league standings.
The Phantoms (72 points) needed at least one point Friday (win or overtime loss) to keep alive their hopes of moving past the Barons (74 points).
Instead, the best the Phantoms can do is tie the Barons with a win tonight. Because the Barons own the tiebreaker, they will have home-ice advantage in the first-round of the playoffs.
"It was a combination of things in the third period tonight that led to five goals by the USA squad," Phantoms acting head coach Ian Fredricks said. "Our boys did exactly what they were asked to do, so we'll just regroup for our regular-season finale and then look to the playoffs."
Mainhardt on sidelines
Fredricks was behind the Phantoms bench for the fourth straight game as head coach Bob Mainhardt remained on the sidelines, serving the final game of his four-game league-imposed suspension.
He will return to the bench tonight for the team's regular season finale against the Nationals.
It took Mahoning Valley just 46 seconds to score as Dennis Urban gave the Phantoms the early 1-0 advantage with his unassisted goal, his 12th score of the season.
A shorthanded, unassisted goal for the Nationals by Brennan Vargas at 10:37 of the period knotted the game at a goal apiece.
Goals by Jake Coyle (5:19) and Jake Roadhouse (11:02) at the outset of the second period pushed Mahoning Valley ahead, 3-1, but Lavin's first of three scores at 13:20 of the session cut the lead to a goal.
Phantoms led, 4-2
When the Phantoms' Owen Meyer answered Lavin's goal just 20 seconds later, Mahoning Valley led 4-2 with 20 minutes of play remaining.
Matt Rust's score at 9:47 and Lavin's second goal of the game at 15:57 knotted the game at 4-all, but Anthony Ciraulo's 25th goal of the season just 18 seconds later allowed the Phantoms to regain the lead, albeit briefly, at 5-4.
Kevin Shattenkirk's score at 17:03 then forged a 5-all tie, the fourth of the game, but Vargas' second goal at 18:39 proved to be the game-winner.
Icing on the cake
Lavin's empty-net score at 19:46 the icing on the cake as USA rolled to their fifth straight win over the Phantoms.
Mahoning Valley held a 31-21 shots on goal advantage after the first 40 minutes of play, but USA out-shot the Phantoms 21-12 in the final period as each team finished with 42 shots on goal.
Brad Phillips picked up the win in goal for the Nationals, improving to 12-6-3 on the season while Bryce Merriam took the loss for the Phantoms, falling to 13-8-0 on the campaign.
Both teams will conclude regular season play tonight in the final game of their weekend series at The Ice Zone. Game time is 7 p.m.