Phantoms edge Alpena, pad second-place lead

ALPENA, Mich. — In a back and forth battle of momentum, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms finally emerged late in the game, defeating the Alpena Ice Diggers 4-3 Friday night at Northern Lights Arena.

Led by two-point efforts from Stefan Salituro, Chad Boeckman, Brent Dexter, and Alden Hirschfeld, the Phantoms pushed their record to 11-5-2 and moved five points ahead of the Ice Diggers (9-7-1) for second place in the NAHL North Division.

Alpena forward Jon Puskar got the scoring started early on the power play, slotting a one-time shot over the glove of Phantoms goaltender Garrett Bartus at 2:50 of the first period to make it 1-0 Ice Diggers.

Hirschfeld then scored his fourth goal of the season, converting a 2-on-1 with Derek Graham to tie the game at 1-1 late in the opening frame.

Brent Dexter and Stefan Salituro each added goals in the first 5:03 of the second period, giving the Phantoms a 3-1 lead. Chad Boeckman assisted on both goals, moving his team leading assist total to 19, third in the NAHL.

Isaac Viau notched another Ice Diggers power play goal, cutting the Phantoms lead to one heading into the second intermission. Viau then tied the game on a wrap-around goal at the 9:00 mark of the third period.

Just two minutes later, however, Phantoms forward Grant Blakey notched the eventual game-winner, capitalizing on the rebound of a Hirschfeld shot to the Phantoms ahead for good.

Bartus (7-2-1), starting his sixth consecutive game, turned in another solid performance, stopping 27 of the 30 shots he faced.

The same two teams play tonight at 7 p.m. The game will be web-cast on www.mvpphantoms.com.