Mahoning Tourney Preview

PHANTOMS HOPE TO HOIST CUP AT HOME

By Ron Rinaldi, Mahoning Valley Phantoms

Fresh off their best regular season in their three NAHL seasons at 34-20-4, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms will look to do what the Texas Tornado did in 2004; host and win the Robertson Cup.

Up front, the Phantoms forward depth was clearly the best in its brief history. One of the keys to that success was solidifying their forward lines early in the season. In addition, the top line of Marc Menzione, Anthony Ciraulo, and Drew Satterley was regarded by some as the best in the NAHL. As a trio, they combined for 81 goals (26 of them on the power play and five shorthanded) and 125 assists on the season. Menzione finished tied for third in NAHL scoring while Ciraulo was tied for sixth.

Just behind them, Mike Maltese, pictured at left, and Owen Meyer contributed 20 and 19 goals respectively; all but one was scored at even strength or shorthanded. As line mates for the past two seasons, they were joined last fall by rookie Matt Quigley. Despite missing 13 games with a shoulder injury, Quigley tied for the team lead with three shorthanded goals.

After missing nearly the entire season, also with a shoulder injury, Jake Coyle came on board and shared time with the top two lines. All he did was produce four goals in five games for the Phantoms, including his first goal on his first shot in a St. Patrick’s Day win over Alpena.

The line of Jake Roadhouse, Chris Fairbanks, and Milan Drevenak, coined the ‘Mayberry Line’ (the initials of their last names spell ‘RFD’), blended immediately following Roadhouse’s arrival in November and were a permanent fixture in the Phantoms lineup. They also avoided the sin bin with some regularity; totaling only 96 penalty minutes among them.

Conversely, Brent Dexter, Jason Simota, and Matt Atsoff also provided hard work, but with an edgy physical presence in all three zones this season. Ryan Markell showed improvement as well; developing his skills as a left winger when inserted into this line.

Defensively, the Phantoms have used a rotation of eight blue liners that combined experience and raw talent, along with size and speed. Craig Dulman has been a model of consistency; paired for the latter part of the season with Doug Leaverton, who continues to turn heads as an ’89 top prospect.

John Kivisto has been a solid pickup since being acquired from Cleveland; surprising many left wingers who enter the Phantoms zone. His pairing with Dennis Urban makes them, possibly, the top offensive threat from the points in the NAHL. Urban has drawn increasingly rave reviews over the course of the season.

Urban finished tied for tenth in scoring among defensemen with 30 points, including 13 goals which was good for third. Of his 13 goals, seven were game-winners which led all d-men and were fourth overall in the league. In the Phantoms’ North Division Semi-Final loss to Cleveland, he led the team with five goals and eight points. He is still third in NAHL playoff scoring at his position.

Michigan natives Mark Bores and Bret Larson were a stay-at-home pairing in October. But Larson gained confidence offensively through the holidays and acquired a scoring touch in February. Bores continued to backup Larson and keep opponents out of the slot and crease in the regular season. But Mark found success in the playoffs as he created more offense in the playoffs.

In 2006, the Phantoms acquired two other veteran defensemen. Both Brandon Getchen and Tommy Upton brought a wealth of experience that was evident on the ice. Both Getchen and Satterley are in their second straight Robertson Cup, after playing last year for the Soo Kewadin Indians. Upton recorded 20 points in 51 games with the Phantoms and Helena this season.

In goal, the tandem of Ryan Zapolski and Bryce Merriam featured contrasting styles between the pipes that produced similar results. Zapolski prevailed as the number one netminder, finishing 21-12-4 with a 2.85 GAA, a .917 save percentage, and three shutouts to his credit. But Merriam was equal to the task over the last half of the season; recovering to post numbers of 13-8-0, 3.27, and .906 with a pair of shutouts.

The Phantoms, along with Bozeman and Cleveland, were the only teams to sport two goaltenders with multiple shutouts this season.