One week after the Michigan Soo Indians suffered through their first two-game losing streak of the North American Hockey League season, the Indians bounced back with two solid efforts to sweep the Youngstown Phantoms by scores of 5-3 and 4-1 on Friday and Saturday nights.
Last week, the Indians battled through a weekend that saw them knock off the Cleveland Barons 2-1 in a shootout on Friday night before losing to the Barons on Saturday night by a 4-2 score.
On Sunday, the Indians dropped a hard fought 3-0 decision to the US National Team. The loss was the first of the season for goaltender Derek MacIntyre who, up to that game, had a record of 26-0-2.
This weekend, the Indians turned the tables and put up two solid performances in the sweep of the Phantoms.
On Friday night, Tom Kolar, R.G. Flath, and Stavros Paskaris each had a short handed goal while Jim Pentecost and Rob Nowinski each chipped in a goal as the Indians knocked off the Phantoms 5-3 at the Chi Mukwa Big Bear Community Recreation Center.
MacIntyre wasn't busy in the game stopping 13 of the 16 shots he faced. Chris Smith, Charley Fetzer and Billy Brennan scored in the setback while John Murray stopped 32 Indians shots in the loss.
The story was the same on Saturday night as the Indians took the play to the Phantoms in the final two periods to earn the win.
The Phantoms opened the scoring as Anthony Canzoneri capitalized on a power play as he stuffed a shot past MacIntyre to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead at 12:47 of the opening frame.
The Indians exploded in the second period peppering Youngstown netminder Tyler Sims with 16 shots and three goals to take the lead.
Paskaris, who had a short handed goal in Friday night's game, tied the game on the power play when he converted a feed from Jason Blain at 3:42. Rob Nowinski then gave the Indians the lead when he roofed a shot past Sims at 9:32.
Justin Gutwald capped off the scoring in the period when he capitalized on an R.G. Flath feed to make the score 3-1 after two periods.
In the third period, Drew Satterly, known more for his aggressive style of play, was sent out on the power play and made the most of his chance converting a scoring chance at 17:33.
The goal came shortly after the Phantoms lost the services of defenceman Bobby Cahill who was assessed a double minor and game misconduct for checking from behind. The Satterly goal was the only goal scored on the double minor and it capped the scoring as the Indians skated away with a 4-1 victory.
MacIntyre, for the second straight night, was not too busy and not really forced to make many tough saves as he stopped 13 shots in the win while Sims, who was named the game's second star, stopped 38 Soo shots in the loss.
The wins improve the Indians record to 37-4-6, which is good for 80 points and top spot in the NAHL's North Division and second overall behind the Texas Tornados. With the wins, the Indians remain undefeated at home with a record of 18-0-4.
Indians coach Joe Shawhan was pleased with the way his team responded after last weekend's losses to Cleveland and the US National team. Despite a slow start on Saturday, Shawhan was happy with the effort and he hopes that his team is beginning to gear up for the playoffs which are just over a month away.
"The first period we weren't very happy with," Shawhan said. "You have to play for the love of the game. We got a little more physical in the second and third periods. What I wanted was good efforts.
"We were very lacklustre against Cleveland last weekend, but we played well against the Nationals. We've got four weeks now to fine tune for the playoffs. You're playing to be your best at the end of the year."
Shawhan was also pleased with the play of centre Matt Buha, who had a strong game.
"I thought Matt Buha played well," Shawhan said of the centre. "He wants to play. He must be developing a comfort with the level of play. Some players take longer to develop than others."
Goaltending wasn't a concern for the Indians coach despite the lack of shots that MacIntyre had to face on the weekend from Youngstown shooters.
"You've got to be ready to play no matter what," said Shawhan, a former goaltender with the old Soo Indians, who also spent time with Lake Superior State University. "He didn't have to make many big saves."
Now the Indians prepare for two games next weekend in Ann Arbor, Michigan against the US Nationals before returning home for six games to cap off the regular season.
The next home action for the Indians will be on March 12 and 13 at 7 p.m. against the Toledo IceDiggers.