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Phantoms remain atop division after 5-1 victory
Mahoning Valley used a Nick Kenney hat trick to help defeat Traverse City
BOARDMAN — It was a rubber match but Mahoning Valley played like steel.
Coupled with Nick Kenney’s first hat trick, Mahoning Valley got a solid defensive performance from Carl Nielsen, Cullen Lundholm and Robert Harrison and goalie Jordan Tibbett as the Phantoms beat Traverse City North Stars, 5-1, at the Ice Zone on Sunday.
The win solidified first place in the NAHL North Division for Mahoning Valley (28-10-4, 60 points) while Traverse City stayed in second (25-11-5, 55 points).
“It feels good to get up on them since they’re right behind us,” said Kenney, a 6-foot, 187-pound forward from Wixom, Mich. “We’ll end up seeing them in the playoffs anyway, so it was good to beat them two out of three.”
On the front line, Kenney was joined by Jordy Trottier and Nick Shkreli.
“They had a big game,” Phantoms coach Bob Mainhardt said of the line that includes the nephew of former NHL standout Bryan Trottier. “Nick [Kenney] has been the hottest player in the month of February. I like to think I have four first lines, but they [Nick and Nick and Jordy] were definitely the top line Sunday.”
Mainhardt said that his players outworked the North Stars for 60 minutes.
“You had two of the top teams in the league coming together. After a tough loss [Saturday in overtime], it was good to see us react the way we did. Everything our guys got today they earned.”
Brad Smith and David Chaney had the other Phantoms’ goals.
Chaney’s was his first since being traded to Mahoning Valley in November.
“He’s a defender, yet he’s had some opportunities but wasn’t quite able to bury any,” Mainhardt said. “But he got a huge one today on a power play.”
Tibbett missed a shutout when Kyle Jean scored just 0:56 into the final period to snap a 4-0 lead.
“He made big saves when needed,” Mainhardt said of Tibbett, who saved 41 shots. “Again, he was stellar for us between the pipes.”
Harrison was playing his first game since breaking his leg in November.
“After being off 31‚Ñ2 months, we were very pleased,” said Mainhardt. “He had an excellent game and really made a difference. Whatever the lineup, we’ve really taken pride in our defense.”
The win gave Mahoning Valley some breathing room and Mainhardt hopes the cushion will be sustained through March.
“There’s a good chance we’ll run into to them again,” he said. “Our division is tight and we’ll have to win a series before them, but we hope there will be a showdown.
“They’ve had our number this year and have given us the most trouble. Sunday’s game was a little uncharacteristic, so it was nice to be able to put it on cruise control late in the game.”
Traverse City coach Anthony Palumbo said Saturday’s win may have made the North Stars complacent.
“We weren’t ready. We may have showed up a little satisfied after winning a tough one on the road the night before,” he said. “But Mahoning Valley is always tough, especially after losing on its home rink. When you go on the road, our goal would have been to take half the points available, but we came up short. It’s disappointing because we didn’t give them our best.”
bassetti@vindy.com