Bandits dispose of Phantoms in North

Patrick McCadden’s overtime goal lifted the St. Louis Bandits to a 5-4 triumph over the Mahoning Valley Phantoms in Game 4 of the best-of-five North Division finals of the Robertson Cup Playoffs on Friday, giving the Bandits a 3-games-to-1 series win.

NAHL Rookie of the Year Mike Merrifield scored two goals for St. Louis in the victory, with Ben Warda assisting on both.  Between the pipes, Mike Johnson turned aside 39 shots.

Both the Bandits and the Phantoms will compete in the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament, which will be held April 30-May 4 at the Hardee’s Iceplex in Chesterfield, Mo., home of the Bandits.

In the South Division, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs evened its series with the Topeka RoadRunners at two games apiece with a 3-1 win in Game 4 on Friday.

Andrew McCabe struck for the game-winning goal and an assist for Fairbanks, while goaltender Cody Reichard turned aside 30 shots.

The decisive Game 5 of the South Division finals is scheduled for Sunday in Topeka (5:05 p.m. CST).   The winner of that game will advance to the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament.

The Alexandria Blizzard took a 2-games-to-1 series lead over the Springfield Jr. Blues in the Central Division finals on Friday with a 4-3 overtime win.

Noah Nemgar scored for the Blizzard in the extra session, with Joe Hartman adding two assists.  Netminder Ryan Leets turned back 23 shots in the win.

Game 4 of the Central Division finals is slated for Saturday in Springfield (7 p.m. CST).  The winner of the Alexandria-Springfield series will also advance to the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament.

For more information on the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament, visit RobertsonCup.com.