Phantoms' win streak climbs to even dozen

Dustin Cloutier had two goals and two assists in the Phantoms' 5-1 victory.
MARQUETTE, Mich. -- The Mahoning Valley Phantoms won their 12th consecutive game by defeating the Marquette Rangers, 5-1, Sunday at Lakeview Arena.
The Phantoms (18-7-1) jumped into a tie first place in the North American Hockey League's North Division with the Alpena Ice Diggers. Alpena (18-6-1) and the Phantoms have 37 points.
Dustin Cloutier led the Phantoms with two goals and two assists.
Chad Boeckman added two third-period goals and Miles Winter chipped in three assists.
Derek Graham assisted on two Phantom goals, extending his point scoring and assist streaks to seven games.
The Phantoms set an immediate tone in the first period, forcing a turnover to set up their first goal. Nathan Longpre stole the puck behind the Rangers net and quickly found Cloutier charging in between the circles.
Cloutier scores early
Cloutier's caught Longpre's pass on the tape and fired a snap shot high over the stick side of goaltender Matt Brooker 73 seconds into the game.
"We didn't want to give the Rangers a quick lead like we did the last two nights," Cloutier said. "Longer [Longpre] made a great play behind the net and hit me in stride."
Cloutier added an assist later in the period. After passing to Miles Winter on the left wing, Cloutier skated toward the net again, as Winter fed Eric Ringel on the left point. Ringel used Cloutier's screen in front to fire a wrist shot past a blinded Brooker at the 12:09 mark.
Ahead 2-0, the Phantoms added to their lead in the second period on the power play after the Rangers' Raymond Gillies cross-checked Phantoms' captain Chris Fairbanks in the face.
Cloutier strikes again
Trent Bonnett fired a hard pass to Graham on the left wing goal line for a scoring chance. Unable to shoot, Graham controlled the puck flat and tapped a nifty pass to an open Cloutier at the top of the crease. Cloutier roofed the puck high over Brooker's glove.
Boeckman's first goal of the game came on the power play at 1:39 of the third period on a pass from Cloutier.
Nick Kosinski ruined the Phantoms' bid for a shutout when he scored shorthanded with 5:40 remaining.
The Phantoms return home for a weekend series against the U.S. National Team on Friday and Saturday at the Ice Zone in Boardman.
Face-off both nights is at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling (330) 965-7500.