Pumped-up Phantoms ready for Game 2
They play Friday and Saturday night at the Ice Zone.
BOARDMAN -- The Mahoning Valley Phantoms have gathered notoriety all season for putting the puck in the net. Goaltender Ryan Zapolski has garnered equal attention with his league-record 42 regular season wins.
Lost in the mix is the Phantoms' defensive core that skates between their high-octane offense and their puck-stopping netminder.
With a 1-0 series lead in their best-of-five North American Hockey League North Division Finals against the U.S. National Team, the Phantoms blueliners continue their shutdown of Team USA.
Game 2 of the series is Friday at the Ice Zone with Game 3 scheduled for the following night. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.
The Phantoms' bench boss has no problem leaving his defensemen under their opponents' radar as long as they're doing their job.
"If the other team can't detect a strength of ours, that's fine with us," coach Bob Mainhardt.
Tuesday's 2-1 win in the series opener kept the Phantoms perfect in the postseason at 4-0 and extended their overall winning streak to seven.
"I was very happy with our intensity level throughout the game and how we took pride in the defensive end," Mainhardt said.
In their last 10 games against Team USA, the Phantoms have held the Red, White and Blue to just 17 goals.
Better than the stats
For defensemen Trent Bonnett, Mark Bores, Robert Harrison, Denny Kramarz, Doug Leaverton, Eric Ringel, Adam Snead, Bill Stemzynski and Mike Sturdevant, the results aren't shown in their individual statistics.
"When you put up some impressive numbers offensively, the game in your own zone can get away," Mainhardt said. "At the same time, stats aren't always the bottom line. For us, it's persistence and sticking with the game plan."
That persistent plan includes the Phantoms' penchant for throwing the puck at the net. They averaged seven more shots on goal than their opponents in the regular season, finishing with the second largest shot margin in the NAHL.
In the postseason, they are averaging more than 46 shots on goal per game while allowing less than 34 per contest.
Tonight at 7:30, the Phantoms will host a special "Phan Forum" Web cast on www.mvpphantoms.com with coaches and player interviews. Listeners are invited to e-mail their questions and comments to questions@fireworks.com, which will be addressed during the show.