Phantoms score 20th win at home
By Greg Gulas
The 3-2 win over the Ice Diggers gave the Phantoms a split of their weekend series.
BOARDMAN — Nick Kenney’s goal at 4:19 of the third period, followed by an empty net tally by Carl Nielson with a little over a minute remaining, helped lift the Mahoning Phantoms to a 3-2 win over the Alpena Ice Diggers in North American Hockey League action Saturday at the Ice Zone.
The win allowed the Phantoms to salvage a split of their weekend series with the Ice Diggers as they posted their 20th win at home; the second time in as many seasons that they have registered 20 or more home wins in a campaign.
“We’ll take this win. There was much more intensity by both teams and was an excellent preview tonight of our opening round play-off series with Alpena,” Phantom head coach Bob Mainhardt said.
“Alpena didn’t quit and it sure took everything that we had in order for us to hang on. Both goalies had an excellent night but the difference in the game was goalie Garrett Bartus.
“There was plenty of tight-checking and tough defense on both sides, but it came down to which goalie would make the last save and that was Bartus,” he added.
Tentatively, pending league approval, the Phantoms’ will open first-round play against the Ice Diggers on April 4-5 at the Ice Zone.
The Phantoms got on the board first at 18:29 of the opening period when Johnny Meo’s all-out effort in the Alpena zone produced Mahoning Valley’s first goal of the game.
Meo’s goal, his 15th of the season, was the only tally by either team in the opening frame and helped Mahoning Valley charge out of the gate by virtue of a 13-9 shot margin.
A scoreless second stanza helped Mahoning Valley maintain their goal margin, despite the fact that the Ice Diggers outshot the Phantoms, 17-14.
Kenney’s goal, his eight of the year and his second game-winner of the season, staked the Phantoms to a 2-1 lead and when the Ice Diggers pulled goalie Nick Graves with a little over a minute to play, Nielson took advantage of the empty net to record his second goal of the year.
Alpena’s Isaac Viau, who registered the game-winning goal Friday night for the Ice Diggers, cut the Phantom lead to 3-2 with his tally at 19:19 but it was too little, too late as the Phantoms held on for the victory.
“I thought we played hard tonight, but Mahoning Valley capitalized on a few of our mistakes and that was the difference in the game,” Alpena head coach Kenny Miller said.
“[Isaac] Viau is one of our leaders; someone who brings all that he has every night so it was nice to see him get rewarded for his play this weekend. This series was an excellent preview of our upcoming play-off series with Mahoning Valley,” he added.
The Phantoms (34-18-4, 72 points) took the season series from Alpena (30-23-5, 65 points), winning eight of the 12 games played between the two teams.
Bartus improved to 22-9-3 in goal for Mahoning Valley, rejecting all but two of the Ice Diggers’ 43 shots on goal.
The Phantoms will now play host to the USA Nationals next Friday and Saturday at 7:15 p.m. in the final regular season series for both teams.