Thursday, November 30, 2006
Mahoning Valley has won 12 straight going into the weekend at the Ice Zone.
BOARDMAN -- The Mahoning Valley Phantoms take a 12-game winning streak into the Ice Zone this weekend where they will host the U.S. National Team on Friday and Saturday.
Friday's game is 7 p.m. Saturday's contest has been rescheduled for 2 p.m. to accommodate Youngstown State University's football game.
The first 300 fans buying a ticket and attending Saturday's 2 p.m. game between the Phantoms and the U.S. National Team will receive a reserved seat ticket to YSU's 6 p.m. playoff game at the end of the second intermission of the Phantoms game.
"We have many fans, myself included, who share a tremendous interest and support for both the Phantoms and Penguins," Phantoms owner Bruce Zoldan said. "Given the recent success of both teams, we want to give fans an opportunity to cheer on both teams and show our support for YSU and the Penguins."
At 18-7-1, Mahoning Valley is tied for first place in the North Division with the Alpena (Mich.) Ice Diggers at 37 points. Last season, the Phantoms were 15-9-2 after 26 games.
"I felt that when we reached the 25-game mark in the season, our players should have a full understanding of what we expect from them," Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said. "We passed that point last weekend, and the guys have responded well."
3-0 against Team USA
Team USA and the Phantoms have met on three prior occasions, all of them in Ann Arbor, Mich. Mahoning Valley swept the U.S. on Sept. 29-30 by scores of 5-4 and 8-6. On Oct. 20, the Phantoms won 4-3 in an overtime shootout.
Center Derek Graham has a nine-game point scoring streak entering this weekend, recording 14 points over that span. He has also registered an assist in seven straight games, totaling 11 helpers during that period.
The Phantoms currently have nine players in the NAHL's top 45 in scoring, led by Nathan Longpre who is ninth. No other team has more than five in the same category.
Defenseman Bill Stemzynski will be out of the Phantoms lineup for a minimum of 8-10 weeks after breaking his collarbone, the result of a collision with a Marquette player in last Friday's game.