Phantoms host U.S. Nationals

Last weekend, the Phantoms swept two games from the St. Louis Bandits.

YOUNGSTOWN — Tonight at 7:15 at the Chevrolet Centre, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms resume their season series against the U.S. National Team.

The Phantoms and Nationals split a two-game series at the Ice Zone in Boardman, with Team USA winning the first game 4-2 and Mahoning Valley getting even with a 3-2 win in the series finale.

Phantoms head coach Bob Mainhardt expects another tough matchup with the Nationals this weekend.

“They’re very highly skilled,” Mainhardt said, “so, again, we can’t give them too many opportunities. They’ll also be more set in their systems and more aware of what Coach [John] Hynes is expecting of them.

“Both teams will be better this time, so I’m expecting a good couple of games.”

This weekend’s home-and-home series concludes Saturday at 3 p.m. at the the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Last weekend, the Phantoms swept two games from the St. Louis Bandits.

Mainhardt said that the sweep showed his team what kind of effort it’s going to take to knock off top competition in the league.

“Last Saturday, we got a taste of what it takes to produce for a full 60 minutes,” the sixth-year bench boss said. “Now it is up to us to figure out how to duplicate that effort night in and night out.”

Mainhardt adds that the Phantoms cannot afford to rest on their laurels after knocking off the defending champion Bandits.

“We can’t be content,” he said. “We have to continue to push ourselves and continue to strive for that ‘perfect game.’ We know if we aren’t getting better, we are getting worse.”

The Phantoms are led by 11-point scorers Brandon Saad (7-4-11) and Stefan Salituro (6-5-11). Team USA is led by Austin Czarnik, Matthew Nieto and Emerson Etem, each with nine points.

Mahoning Valley’s goaltending duo of Jordan Tibbett and Garrett Bartus have combined for a goals against average of 2.53 and a save percentage of 90.5 percent.

Team USA’s tandem of Will Yanakeff and Jack Campbell have teamed up for a 2.23 GAA and a 89.8 save percentage.