Phantoms finish in 2nd place

By Tom Williams

Mahoning Valley will face Traverse City in the playoffs.

YOUNGSTOWN — One of the closest finishes of a three-team race for the North American Hockey League has the Mahoning Valley Phantoms seeded second for this week’s playoffs.

A 4-0 week capped by Sunday’s 5-3 victory over the Alpena IceDiggers propelled the U.S. National Team (38-16-5, 79 points) to first place in the North Division.

The Phantoms, who have been in first place for most of the season, dropped to second place after going 2-5 during the final three weeks of the season.

Second place gives the Phantoms (36-17-5, 77) home-ice advantage for their best-of-five postseason series against third-place Traverse City (34-17-7, 75).

Game 1 will be played Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Game 2 will begin Sunday at 3 p.m. Both games will be played at the Chevrolet Centre.

Games 3 and 4 will be played at Traverse City on April 9 and April 10, respectively.

If necessary, Game 5 will be played at the Chevrolet Centre on Easter Sunday, April 12.

The winner of the Phantoms-North Stars series will advance to play the winner of the Team USA-Alpena series for the North Division crown and a berth in the Robertson Cup Finals that will be played in May at Mason City, Iowa.

This season, the Phantoms went 6-4-3 against the North Stars. In Traverse City, the Phantoms posted a 2-2-2 record. At home, the Phantoms were 4-2-1 against the North Stars.

The two losses came March 14-15 at the Chevrolet Centre during a three-game series. After the Phantoms won the opener, 9-2, the North Stars rebounded for wins by the scores of 4-1 and 3-2.

Alpena goaltender Nick Graves was shelled by the Phantoms on Thursday at the Chevrolet Centre then rebounded to lead the IceDiggers’ 5-2 win on Friday at the Ice Zone.

Graves said playing at the much bigger Chevrolet Centre is a challenge.

“It‘s not that much of a difference, it’s just how the rink is built,” Graves said. “The Chevy Centre is a little hotter.

“And a lot of the [NAHL] teams are used to playing in the smaller rinks,” Graves said. “I think we felt a little more comfortable [at the Ice Zone].”

The Phantoms went 15-4-1 in their games at the Chevrolet Centre and 3-3-1 at the Ice Zone.

Traverse City captain Kyle Bonis said playing at the Chevrolet Centre is a challenge because of the larger ice surface.

“You’ve got to make smart decisions with the puck, you’ve got to make smart decisions with your body, where you are on the ice,” Bonis said. “If you get caught flatfooted and you get beat, it’s another 25-30 feet to get back and catch up on the play.

“On the offensive end, you get an advantage, a little more time, a little more space to create something,” Bonis said. “You have to make it count because they are hard to come by in this rink.”

williams@vindy.com