The Mahoning Valley Phantoms and Traverse City North Stars are headed to a decisive fifth game in their North Division Semifinal series after the North Stars topped the Phantoms 4-2 Game Four Friday.
Game Five will be Sunday at the Ice Zone in Boardman at 7:00 PM. The Phantoms will continue their PACK THE HOUSE promotion Sunday night, with all tickets at the Ice Zone on sale for just $5.00.
The North Stars opened the scoring in Game Four just 4:56 into the first period when an Eric McClintock shot rolled off Mahoning Valley netminder Garrett Bartus and into the Phantoms’ net for an early 1-0 Traverse City lead.
Nick Kenney responded two minutes later for the Phantoms when he rifled a transition snap shot over the glove of Traverse City’s C.J. Motte to tie the game at one. It was Kenney’s second goal of the playoffs and it stood as the last goal in the opening frame for either side.
Two minutes into the second period, though, North Star forward Jarrod LaBelle stole the puck off a Bartus power play clearout and slid it into the vacated net to put the North Stars back up 2-1.
The see-saw affair continued two minutes later when Stefan Salituro banged home a back-door feed from Cole Schneider on the power play to tie the game again, 2-2, with 15:39 left in the middle frame.
The North Stars would continue the back-and-forth trend with 3:17 left in the second when Kyle Jean split the Phantoms defense and dropped a backhand through Bartus’ legs to put Traverse City up 3-2 heading into the second intermission.
The trend would be broken, however, just seven seconds into the final frame when North Star captain Kyle Bonis rocketed a transition slap shot past Bartus to put his team up 4-2 with 19:53 left in regulation.
The ensuing 19-plus minutes were marred numerous penalties, with the two sides racking up 28 combined penalty minutes in the third period including six power plays for the North Stars.
In between penalty kills, the Phantoms tried to mount a late rush with scoring chances for Kenney and Brad Smith but Motte came up big with pad saves on each occasion to help post the North Stars to the 4-2 win.
Motte finished the night with 14 saves to improve to 2-2.
Bartus turned aside 22 North Star efforts but dropped to 1-1 in the 2009 NAHL Playoffs and 7-5-1 lifetime in the postseason.
Game Five will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, with a 6:45 PM pregame show.
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.
Courtesy: Mahoning Valley Phantoms
