Championship Mentality

A great weekend against Traverse City would be an understatement. It was more than the wins, it was more than clinching the second spot in the division, it was more than the fights… it was a ‘championship mentality’ that the team showed that was the most impressive aspect of the weekend.

Friday’s game couldn’t have been more important. It is a little hard to remember with all the excitement that followed, but coming into that game, the North Stars were 9-0-1 in their last 10 games; the Phantoms were coming off a tough loss at Marquette in their last game, and were just hanging onto the second spot by three points. On top of all that, they then found themselves down 3-0 after the first period of the series.

At the beginning of the year, the comeback wouldn’t have happened. But, as you would hope and expect, the team showed exactly how much it has matured. They didn’t lose their composure, they kept their confidence, they stopped the bleeding, got back to the game plan, outworked, outhustled, outshot, and out-everythinged the Stars to tie it up in the third and then win it in the shootout.

Following the first 20 minutes of the weekend, the Phantoms played their best 165+ minutes of the season, finally burying a healthy amount of chances to outscore the Stars 17-3 and complete the sweep.

Not only did we play well offensively, we played well defensively, too, severely limiting Traverse City’s quality scoring chances, and holding them to less than 27 shots per game. Although they didn’t need to be spectacular, the goaltenders played solidly and came up with the key saves when called upon.

The team also wasn’t afraid to mix it up. With all the fighting majors, the roughing minors, the trash talking, and chippiness that you could see and hear, not to mention the line brawl on Saturday night – any fan that was at the Ice Zone could tell you that this was a very physical matchup – and the Phantoms can play that type of game just as effectively.

The Phantoms showed that anyway you want to play them; they can come out and play right along with you and beat you. This is a team that no one wants to face come playoff time, and this is a team that is showing that they know how to win in the clutch and get to the Robertson Cup Championships.

With that said, now it is the Alpena Ice Diggers that have to come to Boardman in what will, more than likely, be a preview of a first round playoff series. These will be the Ice Diggers’ final games of the regular season, and they just need one win, or a loss by either Marquette or the U.S. to clinch third place.

Mahoning Valley has won six of seven, and that streak began with a sweep three weeks ago against Alpena. In the season series, the Phantoms are 7-3-0 against Alpena and have won five of the last six games against the Ice Diggers.

It has been Derek Graham and Alden Hirschfeld that have led the way against Alpena. Graham has notched 16 points, while Hirschfeld has tallied 13. Brent Dexter, who is still doubtful for this weekend, is third with nine points, and Blakey and Boeckman are fourth with eight points.

A week after facing the NAHL’s second best powerplay unit, the Phantoms will now go head-to-head against the league’s third best unit in Alpena. This unit is led by Erik Peterson, the NAHL’s fourth leading scorer and second leading powerplay scorer.

For any readers that participated in the jersey auctions this season, I would like to extend a special thank you. Also, for our 21-year-old and older fans, there will be dollar beers at the Ice Zone again this weekend – on Friday night this time – please enjoy responsibly.