Ice Diggers deadly on defense
Tonight, the Phantoms will try to salvage the final game of the three-game series at the Ice Zone.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- You have to go back to January 13-14 to find the last time the Mahoning Valley Phantoms lost back-to back outings.
The team inflicting that pain a little over two months ago was also this weekend's opponent, the Alpena Ice Diggers.
Nolan Craner scored twice and Mike Jarboe rejected all but one of the Phantoms' 55 shots as the Ice Diggers defeated Mahoning Valley, 4-1 Friday night in a North American Hockey League game at the Ice Zone.
"This was a big win for us because it is our first win this year on the Phantoms' home ice. It's good to know that you can win in their barn come playoff time," Jarboe said.
Chances limited
"We played excellent defense tonight, but credit my teammates as they held Mahoning Valley's shots to the outside all night long. Their scoring chances were limited and my bad rebounds were cleared."
The loss marked the second consecutive night that the Phantoms allowed four unanswered goals and the second straight outing that they failed to hold on to the lead.
For Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt, it's not the ideal way to come down the home stretch of the regular season with the playoffs just two weeks away.
"It's been a while since we've been in this situation so we'll just hope that we can learn something from these past two games. We haven't done the little things that win you games, but that's not an excuse," Mainhardt said.
"It's a long haul and we've got three games left before we finish off the regular season. Hopefully, we'll come out [tonight] and play better than we have the past two nights."
The loss dropped the Phantoms to 44-14-1 overall and they have lost three of their last seven home games after winning 21 straight to start the season.
Despite the setback, Mahoning Valley remains atop the league standings with 89 points since the South Division's St. Louis Bandits (42-24-3, 87 points), the only team that can catch the Phantoms for the league's best overall record, suffered a 4-2 loss to Traverse City.
The Phantoms' Derek Graham got Mahoning Valley on the board first at 10:54 of the opening period, but Craner's first of two goals (14:31) knotted the score at a goal apiece.
Todd Rudasill's short-handed, unassisted goal with just 32 seconds remaining in the period gave the Ice Diggers a 2-1 lead.
Craner's second tally of the game, his 25th of the season at 10:12 of the second period, increased Alpena's lead to 3-1, and when Drew Pierson notched his 33rd score just 1:18 later, the Ice Diggers rounded out the scoring.
The Phantoms outshot Alpena, 18-4 in the final period and 55-26 for the game, but neither team could sneak the puck past the enemy's defender in the final 20 minutes.
Alpena, runner-up to the Phantoms in the North Division, improved to 36-20-4 (76 points) overall while notching its fifth consecutive decision.
Tonight, the Phantoms will try to salvage the final game of the three-game series when they at 7 p.m. at the Ice Zone.