Zapolski, Quigley propel Phantoms

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The Phantoms blanked the Traverse City North Stars, 3-0, for their fifth win.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Ryan Zapolski stopped all 29 shots he faced and Matt Quigley scored twice to give the Mahoning Valley Phantoms a 3-0 win over the Traverse City North Stars Sunday.

After a scoreless first period, the Phantoms (5-6-1) broke the tie on a power play. Adam Snead took a pass from Chris Fairbanks in the high slot. He looked ahead and found Quigley alone in front. Snead's forward pass was lightly redirected by Quigley and past the left skate of Traverse City goal Stefan Shively at the 2:41 mark.

"When Adam saw that the slot was open, he was quick to send it down. It gave me time to get my stick down into position," said Quigley.

Derek Graham extended the lead on another man advantage after Traverse City's Jonathan Juliano was called for slashing. Brent Dexter's shot from between the circles was kicked out by Shively's right skate over to Graham who skated in from the left wing. He promptly tapped the loose puck behind Shively for his first goal as a Phantom with 43.6 seconds to go in the period.

"We put some good pressure on the play and I was in the right place at the right time," Graham said.

First shutout preserved

The North Stars had three power play opportunities in the final seven minutes of the game, but the Phantoms and Zapolski kept their first shutout of the season intact.

"The defense did a great job of clearing traffic out in front of me. I got some good looks at the puck and was able to make some easy saves," Zapolski said.

Quigley added an empty-net goal with 29.9 seconds remaining while the Phantoms were shorthanded. He out-skated a North Star for the puck in the Traverse City zone, was hauled down as he gained possession and still one-armed the puck into the open net as he slid on his stomach. Quigley has 10 goals this season, tied for second-best mark in the North American Hockey League.

The Phantoms travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a weekend series against the U.S. National Team. Game time is 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Both games will be broadcast on the team's official web site www.mvpphantoms.com.

Saturday

Sebastian Kimmel scored in the 10 round of an overtime shootout to give Traverse City a 3-2 win over the Phantoms. The North Stars won the shootout, 2-1.

Chris Fairbanks and Nick Kulas scored goals in regulation for the Phantoms.

Monday, October 16, 2006