Phantoms may be bloodied, but they put Bandits in their place, 3-1

By Jon Moffett

YOUNGSTOWN — A bloodied Trevor Shively walked out to the main concourse of the Chevy Centre to sign autographs for eager fans.

Not even a fist fight could keep the Mahoning Valley Phantoms defenseman from those awaiting his appearance.

“I’m feeling great,” Shively said. “The crowd was just electric here and we got going. We really used their support and it was great to get the sweep at home.”

The Phantoms defeated the St. Louis Bandits 3-1 Saturday in a very physical game before an announced crowd of 1,675.

Shively said the physicality added to the Phantoms’ motivation.

“A big hit, a fight or whatever it is gives you an adrenaline rush that gets the team going” he said.

With 6:13 left to go in the second period, Shively and Bandits forward Grant Gorczyca got into a brief verbal argument which escalated into a brawl. Sticks, gloves and helmets hit the ice, and Shively and Gorczyca hit each other.

“I keep telling myself I lost [the fight], but everybody is saying just because he cut me open doesn’t mean I lost,” Shively said. “They said I threw some good ones and connected on a couple; they said it was a good fight.”

Shively and the Phantoms (11-4-2) took the fight to the Bandits (16-3-2) and started the scoring early.

Phantoms forward Brandon Saad scored with 1:31 remaining in the first period. Nick Kenney had the assist. Roughly a minute later, forward Cole Schneider put the puck in the net on an pass from defenseman Dustin Hopfner with 29.8 seconds left.

The Phantoms added their third and final goal with 16:49 left in the second period. Forward Christian Long scored the goal, and forwards Kyle Verbeek and Nick Shkreli were credited with assists.

On the defensive side, the Phantoms played aggressively and physically. Goalie Jordan Tibbett played a near flawless game and credited the defense.

“Our defense is playing fantastic,” Tibbett said. “Everybody has been real focused this season and I think we’re building on that. Every game we’re getting more and more focused.”

Focus has been coach Bob Mainhardt’s mantra for this season, instructing his squad to play hard through all three periods.

“We played 60 hard minutes,” Mainhardt said. “Those were the best 60 we’ve played to date, so we’re definitely moving in the right direction. It’s exciting.”

The lone black mark against Tibbett and the Phantoms came with 11:09 left in the game. Bandits forward Clinton Bourbonais received the puck from Andrew Hamburg and beat the goalie for the score.

“For the second night in a row, it’s pretty tough to come back against a good hockey team like Mahoning Valley when you’re sleeping for the first two periods,” said Bandits assistant coach Tim Madsen. “Both nights we didn’t decide to start playing until the third period, and that just doesn’t work against good hockey teams.”

The Phantoms moved closer to Traverse City North Stars (13-3-2) in the North Ddivision of the NAHL. The Phantoms are in second place and have a record of 1-2 against the North Stars this season. The Phantoms will play host to the North Stars later this month and then travel to Traverse City for a three-game series in January.

The Phantoms are off until Nov. 21, when they open a two-game series against Team USA at the Chevy Centre.

jmoffett@vindy.com