High-scoring Phantoms clobber North Stars, 7-2

By Greg Gulas

Mahoning Valley is gearing up for the NAHL postseason.

BOARDMAN — When you talk about the high-scoring teams in the North American Hockey League, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms are right at the top of the list.

With 208 goals scored, they rank fourth in the league offensively. They are second in the North Division to the league’s best overall team, the St. Louis Bandits whose 233 tallies are tops in the league.

Stefan Salituro scored two goals for the second straight night on Saturday and the Phantoms used a five-goal second period to handily defeat the Traverse City North Stars, 7-2, for the second consecutive night.

Mahoning Valley (32-17-4, 68 points), who secured second-place in the division with the win, will go for the series sweep today at 3:15 p.m. at the Ice Zone.

“We’ve been coming on offensively and that has been a direct result of our overall team effort,” Salituro said. “It’s definitely a playoff atmosphere right now as we eye the postseason.

“We’re playing well, but realize that we still have some things that need to be ironed out if we expect to contend for the league title,” Salituro said. “Tonight’s win was a big step for us.”

Alden Hirschfeld’s 14th goal of the season at 9:42 of the opening period staked the Phantoms to the early advantage.

But when Traverse City’s Nate Urbaniak rippled the net with his wrister with just 28 seconds remaining in the opening frame, the North Stars forged a tie heading to the first intermission.

Mahoning Valley’s Kyle Bailey gave the Phantoms the lead for good just 1:35 into the second period when he scored his sixth goal of the year on the power play.

Salituro’s first goal of the game at 10:44, an unassisted tally, helped the Phantoms forge a 3-1 margin.

Bailey’s goal was the first of three for Mahoning Valley when skating with the man advantage.

Urbaniak’s team-leading 25th goal at 16:09, his second goal of the game, pulled Traverse City (21-20-12, 54 points) to within 3-2 but that was as close as the North Stars would get.

Salituro’s second goal came at 17:48 and Miles Winter’s slapshot 49 seconds later (both coming on the power play) staked Mahoning Valley to a 5-2 lead.

When Scott Moser scored with 22 seconds remaining in the period, the Phantoms had forged a 6-2 margin heading to the second intermission.

Jon Madden, with an assist from Derek Graham and Hirschfeld, registered the final goal of the game.

Graham, whose two assists gives him a team-leading 67 points, noted that a team meeting two weeks ago after the Phantoms were swept in St. Louis, has helped turn around the team’s fortunes.

“We talked things out and everyone agreed that if we took care of things defensively, then our offense would take of itself,” Graham said. “It has done just that.

“We’re getting ready for the play-offs and still need to work on some things, but a six-point weekend would go a long way in getting us ready for our remaining two regular season series,” Graham said.

The Phantoms’ seven goals marked only the third time this season that they have scored that many. They defeated the U.S. Nationals, 10-2 back on Oct. 30 and the Marquette Rangers, 8-2 on Dec. 8.

Of the 53 games Mahoning Valley has played this year, they’ve scored four goals or more on 30 occasions and five-plus goals 19 times. 

Their record in the former is 26-4 while their 18-1 mark in the latter is pleasing to head coach Bob Mainhardt.

“We’re starting to come around offensively,” Mainhardt said. “A few of our guys went into a slump at the same time and are now coming out at the same time as well.

“We knew Sali [Stefan Salituro] was dynamic offensively, but it was great to see him get two more goals tonight,” Mainhardt said. “He just keeps coming at you.”

The Phantoms held a 38-30 shot advantage.