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5/1/2009 7:05:38 PM
MASON CITY, IA (Friday, May 1st, 2009) – The Mahoning Valley Phantoms are in second place after Day Four at the Robertson Cup, finishing the preliminary round robin with a 2-1-1 record following a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Bandits Friday.
With five points in the tournament standings, the Phantoms slipped behind the Bandits (3-0-0, 6 pts)—who clinched their way into their third straight national final with the win—for first place in the standings.
Mahoning Valley’s bid to force a rematch of the last two years’ title games with St. Louis, however, is in danger because if the Wenatchee Wild (2-1-0, 4 pts) win their final round robin game over the Bismarck Bobcats on Saturday, the Wild would leapfrog the Phantoms for the other Robertson Cup Finals berth.
“Having our fate out of our own hands is very disappointing,” said Phantoms defenseman and assistant captain Carl Nielsen, “we still believe we’re the best team here, but we let one slip away [Thursday, a 5-4 overtime loss to Wenatchee] and gave away the first half of the game today.
“Now our season is in someone else’s hands, which is never a good thing.”
The Bandits charged out to an early lead when Kyle Greco wired a power play wrist shot past Phatnoms goalie Jordan Tibbett on a feed from Anthany Schooley to put St. Louis up 1-0 with 3:17 left in the first.
Ryan Rashid doubled the St. Louis advantage just 29 seconds later, swatting a Tyler Klein centering pass over Tibbett’s glove for a 2-0 Bandits lead heading into the first intermission.
St. Louis would run their lead to 3-0 with 8:18 left in the second when a Tyler Elbrecht clear-in bounced off the end-boards, hit Tibbett’s leg and rolled into the net.
Rashid would put the Bandits up 4-0 just 40 seconds later, firing a one-time shot behind Tibbett with 7:38 remaining in the middle frame.
Mahoning Valley Head Coach Bob Mainhardt lifted Tibbett after Rashid’s second goal in favor of Garrett Bartus.
The Phantoms started to rally four minutes later when Michael Gunn wired a wrist shot through traffic on a 5-on-3 power play, beating NAHL MVP Keith Kinkaid blocker side to cut the St. Louis edge to 4-1.
1:41 later, Mahoning Valley captain Johnny Meo was hauled down on a shorthanded breakaway by Kris Reinthaler and awarded a penalty shot on Kinkaid.
Meo faked the shot to the right, freezing Kinkaid, and pulled the puck to the far post and slid a backhander past the St. Louis netminder to cut the lead to 4-2 with 1:59 left in the second.
“I had a move planned on the original breakaway,” said Meo, “and I knew that with the dirty ice so late in the period that I couldn’t get a great shot. I hoped he’d bite on the fake but I didn’t expect him to go all the way down for it. After that I pulled it back and had the whole net to shoot at.”
The Phantoms would create good chances on Kinkaid over the first ten-plus minutes of the third period, but Kinkaid turned away all 10 Mahoning Valley shots in the final frame.
Schooley added some insurance for the Bandits with 6:40 left in regulation, beating Bartus in transition for the final 5-2 margin.
Bartus finished with 13 saves in 27 minutes but did not factor in the decision.
Kinkaid picked up his ninth playoff win against two losses, stopping 20 shots in the victory.
If the Phantoms make the final game, they will gain a rematch with the Bandits on Sunday at 3:00 PM at the North Iowa Ice Arena.
The Robertson Cup Finals represent USA Hockey’s Tier II Junior A National Championship.
The game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks.
All Phantoms merchandise is on sale for 40% off at the Phantoms Team Shop at both the Chevrolet Centre and the Ice Zone while the Phantoms are in the playoffs. Call (330) 965-7500 for more information.
The Mahoning Valley Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company - Phantom Fireworks, located in Youngstown, Ohio.
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