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Tibbett returns; Phantoms fall to Storm
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
In his first hockey game in three-and-a-half months, Phantoms goaltender Jordan Tibbett went toe-to-toe with Tri-City’s Scott Diebold for 50 minutes.
But two goals by the visiting Storm in three-and-a-half minutes dealt the Phantoms a 2-0 loss on Friday at the Covelli Centre.
“Unfortunately, we came out really strong and had a great first period,” Phantoms coach Curtis Carr said. “Sometimes when that happens, you get a little bit complacent and get away from the game plan because it was almost easy.”
The Phantoms (13-20-4, 30 points) dominated the scoreless first period, outshooting the Storm 17-8.
“We were getting a lot of opportunities,” Carr said. “[Then] we kind of took our intensity out of our game. We kind of panicked and you turn pucks over and make mistakes.”
The second period favored the visitors from Nebraska who posted a 15-8 shots advantage.
Midway through the third period, the Storm (16-13-7, 39 points) took advantage of a fortunate bounce for a 1-0 lead. Near the goal line, Alex Carpenter found the puck and flipped a backhand shot that bounced off Tibbett’s back and trickled into the net.
Three minutes later, Storm forward Brian Ward skated into the slot and beat Tibbett with a backhander for a 2-0 lead. Danil Zharkov set up the play with a pass that sprung Ward.
The Storm came close to adding another goal moments later as Carpenter looked at an open net but shot the puck wide.
After starting the third period with a 7-1 shots deficit, the Phantoms surged late, with Diebold making a big stop on Cody Strang with about a minute to play. But even with Tibbett lifted for an extra skater, the Phantoms were unable to dent the net behind Diebold.
“We throw 32 pucks on net with some of the chances that we had and we’ve got to find a way to bury one,” Carr said.
On Thursday, the Phantoms added Tibbett, their number-one goalie in the 2009-10 season, to their roster. During September’s training camp, Tibbett, who also was a Mahoning Valley Phantoms netminder for two seasons in the North American Hockey League, accepted a scholarship to Mercyhurst College in Erie.
In October, Tibbett played four games for the Lakers, going 0-3-1. His last game was Oct. 19. “He played well, he did his job, kept us in the game,” Carr said of his return to action.
Tibbett did not enroll for the winter semester at Mercyhurst. Carr said Tibbett has enrolled in online classes with Indiana University to keep his NCAA eligibility intact and could attend Mercyhurst next fall. This is his last season of USHL eligibility.
“He’s been practicing with us for about a month,” Carr said. “We felt we had to add him for his experience and his ability.”
Carr said the Phantoms worked out a deal with the Wenatchee Wild (Washington) of the NAHL for goaltender Greg Lewis, who was 4-2-2 for the Phantoms. “He can play 25-26 games for them and hopefully return to us next year,” Carr said.