Springfield Jr. Blues shut down Phantoms

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Goalie Adam Roy stopped 26 shots in the 4-0 win.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Adam Roy stopped all 26 shots he faced and Mike Crowder scored two goals to lead the Springfield Jr. Blues to a 4-0 win over the Mahoning Valley Phantoms Saturday in a North American Hockey League game at the Nelson Center.

Springfield played a more spirited first period than the previous night and it reflected on the scoreboard.

With some effective forechecking deep in the Phantoms zone, the Jr. Blues scored early. Mike Hewkin kept a Phantoms clearing attempt on the right point and quickly fed Crowder, who was skating out from behind the net.

Crowder took Hewkin's pass with his back to the goal and blindly redirected the puck high over the stick side of Phantoms goaltender Bryce Merriam for his first goal of the season at the 4:52 mark.

Power-play goal

The Jr. Blues added to their lead on the power play. Matt Globke stole the puck on the right goal line in the Phantoms zone. With all four penalty killers shifted to the right half of the ice, Globke found defenseman Chris Waterstradt alone on the left point.

Waterstradt skated slowly towards the net as both teams shifted back towards the opposite side, creating traffic in front of the net.

Waterstradt used the screen to beat Merriam high on the glove side for a 2-0 lead at 13:04. The goal snapped a consecutive streak of 22 successful Phantom penalty kills.

The Phantoms could not mount a second period comeback, thanks largely to five penalties over the first 10 minutes and 28 seconds, leading to two more Springfield power play goals.

Crowder recorded his second of the night when he took a cross ice pass from Ryan Kretzer in front of the left goal line and roofed the puck high, seven minutes into the period for a 3-0 advantage.

Steve Mohler scored the final goal when he fired a slap shot from the right point.

Mahoning Valley (4-5) saw their three-game winning streak snapped as they out shot Springfield 26-22. The Jr. Blues, 6-2-0, finished 3 for 10 on the power play while the Phantoms ended up 0 for 9.

Monday, October 9, 2006