Phantoms are Showcase sharp

Mahoning Valley goalie
Garret Bartus registered a 4-0 shutout against Traverse City.

By GREG GULAS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

BOARDMAN — Heading into Monday’s Showcase finale against Traverse City, Mahoning Valley’s Kyle Bailey had accumulated three assists in 11 games.

Against the North Stars, he not only notched his first goal but added two assists to send the Phantoms to a 4-0 victory over their North Division counterparts in North American Hockey League action at the Ice Zone.

Goalie Garret Bartus rejected all 26 Traverse City shots to record his second shutout, the team’s second and the Phantoms’ first since a 1-0 victory over Team USA on Sept. 29.

Mahoning Valley (24-10-3, 51 points) was the only North Division team to win all four of its Showcase games, pulling to within 12 points of first-place St. Louis (31-7-1, 63 points) and two points ahead of Alpena (23-13-3, 49 points) for second-place.

Also Monday, St. Louis posted a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Alpena in a shootout for a 3-1 mark. The Ice Diggers finished 2-1-1 this weekend.

The North Stars (11-18-8, 30 points) fell for the fourth consecutive time, dropped to 2-12-4 on the road this season and are 0-7-3 in their last 10 frays.

“An eight point weekend is a nice feeling,” Bailey said. “Along with Kyle Verbeek and Brent Dexter, our line has clicked of late and we’ve been able to bury the puck. We now have a little bit of momentum as we eye St. Louis ahead of us, and cast an eye toward the play-offs as well.”

Verbeek’s goal at 2:15 of the opening period staked the Phantoms to a 1-0 lead.

When Bailey added a shorthanded goal at 10:48 of the second period and Dexter his 16th tally at 14:14, Mahoning Valley had a 3-0 advantage with 20 minutes remaining.

“We definitely played well defensively all weekend,” Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said. “We talk about our offense, yet we stress defense. That is why we were so successful at both ends of the ice in the Showcase.

“Kyle can be an explosive player offensively; he has that history and ability and we have come to expect that from him,” Mainhardt said. “We hit the road now and every point is critical. It should be a tight race to the finish.”

Robert Harrison’s empty netter with 1:06 remaining rounded out the scoring.

The Phantoms held a 37-26 shot advantage as Bartus improved to 16-4-2 in 23 outings this season.

“It’s a great feeling to finish off the weekend with a goose egg,” Bartus said. “Our defense was excellent tonight, cleaning out the front of the net all game which made my job that much easier.”

In the St. Louis victory, the Bandits were ahead 2-0 then lost the lead when Alpena scored three times. Kyle O’Kane’s slapshot tied the game with eight seconds remaining in regulation. Mike Leone netted the game winner.

Team USA (19-17-2, 40 points) went to 3-1 on the weekend with a 4-1 victory over the Marquette Rangers (20-17-2, 42 points), the latter losing for the sixth straight time.

David Wohlberg scored two goals for Team USA while Adam Murray rejected all but one of Marquette’s 22 shots for his sixth win.

The Rangers struggled offensively all weekend, scoring just five goals in four games.

Mahoning Valley will head to St. Louis this Friday and Saturday for a two-game series with the division-leading Bandits. Game time each night is 8:15.