Phantoms roar at finish for 5-4 shootout victory

BOARDMAN -- Dustin Cloutier connected on the final shot of Saturday's shootout to give the Mahoning Valley Phantoms a 5-4 victory Saturday at the Ice Zone.
Down 4-1 with 4:48 remaining in the third period, the Phantoms scored three goals in a 2:48 span to force overtime.
Chad Boeckman, Alden Hirschfeld and Chris Fairbanks scored the third-period goals for Mahoning Valley (45-14-1, 91 points). Cloutier assisted on the final two goals of the third period.
Phantoms goalie Ryan Zapolski became the first in league history to record 40 victories.
The Phantoms held a 65-32 shots-on-goal advantage. In overtime, they outshot the Ice Diggers, 4-2.
The victory salvages the final contest of their three-game homestand. The Phantoms own the league's best record despite losing to Springfield on Thursday (5-2) and to Alpena on Friday (4-1).
Alpena (36-21-4, 76 points) saw its five-game winning streak snapped and is second in the NAHL North Division.
The Phantoms close out the regular season on Friday and Saturday against the U.S. National Team at the Ice Zone. Faceoff for both games will be at 7 p.m.