The Team | PHANTOM PHILES: Rematch Weekend | ||||
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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – These are the Phantom Philes, a weekly comprehensive look at Youngstown’s very own stop on the road to the National Hockey League. For the second straight weekend, Youngstown’s opponents will consist of the Indiana Ice and Team USA. Since the Phantoms (11-10-2, 24 points / T-4th in East) lost a game to each of those teams last week, this scheduling quirk has set up two opportunities for rapid revenge.
“Especially with Indiana, we feel we owe them one,” Head Coach/GM Bob Mainhardt said regarding the Ice’s 3-0 win in Youngstown last Thursday and the rematch with the defending league champs coming Friday night in Indianapolis.
“Maybe the pressure will be off getting to play them at their place and turn that to a positive. We can hopefully use some of the animosity from our last meeting to our advantage.”
Friday will mark the Phantoms’ first ever trip to Indy’s Pepsi Coliseum and faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. Youngstown is 0-2 against Indiana (14-9-1, 29 points / 2nd in East) and Mainhardt believes special teams play has turned both contests in the Ice’s favor. The numbers back him up: the Phantoms have allowed three power play goals to their East Division nemesis and have gone a combined 0-for-8 with the man-advantage in the two losses.
Special teams were also significant last weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich., as Youngstown surrendered five power play goals over two games against the US National Team’s Under-17 team, winning 6-5 in overtime Friday before dropping Saturday’s series finale 4-3 in regulation.
“Even though we gave up some untimely power-play goals I thought we executed a lot better than we have been,” Mainhardt said. “That’s the tricky thing as a coach: sometimes the statistics do lie. When you’re doing things that are right and just aren’t getting the bounces or are coming up a little bit short you have to make sure you keep plugging away and stick with it.”
Although the Phantoms’ penalty-killing unit took a few more punches than it would’ve liked against Team USA (6-14-3, 15 points / 7th in East), it generated numerous offensive chances and produced a pair of shorthanded goals in Friday’s win courtesy of D Ben Paulides and F Cody Strang – the first USHL tallies for each.
Youngstown’s power play got revved up in Saturday’s third period, with F Taylor Holstrom and F Jefferson Dahl both finding the twine in a frantic final frame that saw the Phantoms tie the score twice, only to give up the subsequent go-ahead goal less than a minute later in both instances.
“We’ve been doing a lot of good things and getting some tremendous opportunities,” said Mainhardt of his team’s eighth-ranked power-play unit (17.8 percent conversion rate). “We’ve also been hitting some posts and seeing goalies come up with big saves, so we’ve got to continue to bear down and find ways to score in those situations.”
Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. start from Ann Arbor’s Ice Cube will be the Phantoms’ last game prior to the league’s Christmas break. With a season-high 10 days between contests approaching, Mainhardt and Associate Coach Curt Carr will use the pending holiday to motivate their players.
“At this time of year, all teams have a tendency to start their breaks early and get a little lackluster,” Mainhardt said, “so that’s one of the things we’ll be battling.”
“We’re going to encourage them to leave it all on the ice because they’re obviously going to get a pretty nice rest afterwards.”
FOLLOW THE PHANTOMS ALL SEASON LONG!
Listen to Voice of the Phantoms Matt Gajtka call exciting Phantoms hockey on Youngstown’s ESPN 1240. Broadcasts begin approximately 15 minutes prior to opening faceoff. Phantoms fans outside the listening area can log onto www.wbbw.com and use ESPN 1240's streaming audio player, so there’s no need to miss a second of the action.
Phantoms Phever, presented by House of Speed, is an hour-long weekly talk show that brings you an inside look at your Youngstown Phantoms. Matt sets up shop Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at Jeremiah Bullfrog’s Sports Bar & Grille on US Route 224 in Boardman, chatting with coaches, players and front office staff about northeast Ohio’s most exciting team and the great sport of hockey. Catch Phantoms Phever on Youngstown’s ESPN Radio 1240 AM and online at www.wbbw.com.
Also, make “Youngstown Phantoms” your friend on Facebook and follow “ytownphantoms” on Twitter to stay plugged into the Phantoms 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
UPCOMING GAMES AT THE COVELLI CENTRE…
Tuesday, December 29 at 7:15 p.m. vs. Waterloo – Christmas Gift Exchange / Bring your unwanted holiday gifts to the game in exchange for a half-priced ticket to the game – all collected gifts will be donated to the Salvation Army! Also, enjoy $2 pretzels, hot dogs and pops all night long!
Friday, January 8 at 7:15 p.m. vs. Fargo – New Year New You & Bargain Beer Night / Make a new year’s resolution to watch Watch the Phantoms host the Force for the first time and enjoy $1 drafts all night long! Further details to come on this promotional night…
Saturday, January 9 at 7:15 p.m. vs. Fargo – Super Heroes Night / Honor our local police officers and firefighters! Enjoy a “Guns & Hoses” game pitting Youngstown’s Finest vs. Youngstown’s Bravest on the ice. More details to come…
RADIO REPLAYS, PRESS BOX OPINIONS AND MUCH MORE…
Relive heart-pounding Phantoms action on demand! Listen to all the best goal calls from the past week’s worth of games and get Gajtka’s take on Youngstown’s inaugural season in the USHL at the online Voice of the Phantoms blog.
THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Thursday, December 10: INDIANA 3, YOUNGSTOWN 0
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Twenty-one games into their first USHL season, the Youngstown Phantoms may have found their first true nemesis.
Indiana goaltender Cab Morris made 22 saves to register his league-leading third shutout and Bryon Paulazzo notched two points as the visiting Ice stymied the Phantoms 3-0 Thursday night at the Covelli Centre. Youngstown will get an attempt at revenge next Friday night in Indianapolis as the Ice host the Phantoms for the first time.
Youngstown, which outshot Indiana 22-20 on the evening, dropped to 0-2-0 against the defending Clark Cup champions and was blanked at home for the first time this season and second time overall. Sioux Falls shut out the Phantoms by the same score Nov. 21.
Jordan Tibbett (5-4-0) made 17 saves and was stuck with the tough-luck loss in net for the Phantoms, who saw a two-game winning streak come to an end. Youngstown finished its just completed five-game homestand 2-2-1, but won’t return to the Covelli Centre until Dec. 29 against Waterloo.
Following a scoreless first frame, Paulazzo put the Ice on top with his sixth of the campaign just after an Indiana penalty expired. A two-on-one rush developed with Nic Dowd breaking down the left wing, who quickly centered for the charging Paulazzo, who converted the saucer pass at 7:43 of the second.
Paulazzo was also part of a sharp give-and-go play that resulted in a 2-0 Ice advantage at 6:45 of the third period. With Indiana on the power play, the California native somehow set up Max Cook at the left doorstep, passing with his stick between his legs and the puck behind him. Cook tried to return the favor at the right post, but it deflected into the Youngstown goal off the Phantoms’ David Donnellan, giving Cook his eighth red light.
John Parker closed out the scoring when he stopped hard at the bottom of the left circle and threw a wrister into the top left corner of the goal to make it a three-goal margin with 2:38 left in the game. Indiana outshot the Phantoms 13-6 in the final stanza.
In a penalty-filled contest – Youngstown took 14 minors, Indiana committed 10 – the teams went a combined 1-for-14 on the power play with the visitors turning in a 1-for-9 effort and the Phantoms coming up empty on five tries.
Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=1048925 for full box score.
Friday, December 11: YOUNGSTOWN 6, TEAM USA (U-17) 5 (OT)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Playing their closest geographic rival in the USHL, the Youngstown Phantoms fittingly came out on top in another tight affair.
Brian Dowd’s chip-in goal with 50 seconds to go in overtime was the different as the Phantoms emerged victorious 6-5 over the US National Team’s Under-17 squad Friday night at the Ice Cube. Youngstown (11-9-2, 24 points) is now 6-2-2 in games decided by one goal.
Scott Mayfield’s left wing wrister was deflected by Taylor Holstrom, throwing Team USA replacement goalie Matt McNeely off the scent and giving Dowd an open net to shoot at. Andrew Lamont’s late second-period marker had given the Phantoms a 5-4 edge heading for the third, but the Red, White and Blue’s Rocco Grimaldi fired a power-play slap shot past Matt Mahalak (6-5-2) to tie the game with under five minutes to go in regulation.
The first period featured quality chances for both sides, but Team USA escaped with a 2-1 lead on the strength of a pair of goals from East Palestine, Ohio’s own J.T. Miller. Benefiting from a Dan Carlson lead pass, Miller glided in on left wing and popped a wrister off the right post and in for a 1-0 lead 2:56 into the contest.
His second goal was a one-timed slapper from the right boards that found its way past Phantoms goalie Matt Mahalak with the Red, White and Blue on their second power play of the period. It came at 10:10 and gave the home side a 2-0 edge with the primary assist given to Robbie Russo.
Youngstown was shorthanded five times in the opening frame, but defenseman Ben Paulides made the most of it when he rifled a one-timer under goaltender John Gibson to complete a three-on-two rush. Jefferson Dahl found Paulides trailing, who made no mistake in potting his first USHL goal at 13:55.
The Team USA power play continued to generate excitement in the second period, as Blake Pietila netted a man-advantage marker at 1:10, but the Phantoms soon followed with their second shorthanded goal of the game courtesy of Cody Strang.
Strang, in his third game back after missing nearly a month due to injury, netted his first tally in the USHL with a powerful burst around the defense and a quick deke to the forehand. That made it 3-2 just 36 seconds after Pietila’s goal, with assists to Scott Mayfield and Dahl.
Dahl would strike with his sixth goal when Andrej Sustr set him up in the slot at 3:54 to tie the score, then defenseman Luke Eibler pushed the Phantoms on top for the first time at 7:17 with a mirror image of Strang’s earlier goal.
Team USA’s Reid Boucher tied it up again with exactly five minutes to play in the second off Rocco Grimaldi’s assist to complete a quick two-on-one break, but once again Youngstown would respond. Andrew Lamont, appearing to try to find Dahl in the slot, banked the go-ahead goal off Gibson’s backside and into the twine to give the visitors a 5-4 lead heading into the third.
Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=1048929 for full box score.
Saturday, December 12: TEAM USA (U-17) 4, YOUNGSTOWN 3
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Despite rallying from behind on three separate occasions, including twice in the third period, the Youngstown Phantoms were edged out by the US National Team’s Under-17 squad 4-3 Saturday afternoon at the Ice Cube. The teams split the weekend’s two-game series, with both contests decided by a single goal.
Rocco Grimaldi, who had two goals and four assists against Youngstown this weekend, swept in a backhander with 4:06 to go to provide the winning margin. The Phantoms’ Jefferson Dahl had just tipped teammate Dave Donnellan’s point shot into the net 35 seconds earlier to tie the game 3-3.
The teams entered the third period tied at one goal apiece, but the scoring pace quickly picked up in the final frame. Robbie Russo’s power-play wrister found twine at the 7:34 mark to push Team USA back on top 2-1, only to be answered by Youngstown’s Taylor Holstrom at 12:31. Holstrom popped in the rebound of Brett Gensler’s turning shot with the Phantoms on a five-on-three power play.
The seesaw battle soon continued with a shorthanded goal off the stick of Team USA’s Blake Pietila. J.T. Miller’s pass set him up on the inner edge of the right circle for an open snap shot that beat Phantoms goalie Matt Mahalak, who made 14 saves in his second consecutive start.
Dahl’s tip-in knotted the proceedings one more time just before Team USA’s Tyler Biggs’ major penalty for grabbing Scott Mayfield’s facemask expired. The Phantoms swarmed the Red, White and Blue’s net in the final minutes while enjoying a couple of late power plays but couldn’t squeeze another equalizer past goalie Matt McNeely.
After being forced to kill 11 penalties Friday night in their OT victory, the Phantoms took four minors in the first period Saturday but still managed to outshoot Team USA 10-5 in a scoreless frame.
Tyler Biggs earned Team USA’s fourth power-play goal of the weekend 1:46 into the second when he collected a fortunate bounce of a Phantoms leg and buried his second of the year past a helpless Matt Mahalak. Rocco Grimaldi’s shot from the right circle was blocked, but it deflected directly to Biggs in the left circle.
A Phantoms power play directly contributed to Nick Czinder’s equalizer with 3:53 to go in the middle frame, even though it wasn’t technically scored on the man-advantage. Youngstown created numerous chances after Blake Pietila was sent off for cross checking at 13:49, and the puck possession paid off after the teams returned to even strength as Czinder hacked in the rebound of Brett Gensler’s close-range shot.
Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=1048934 for full box score.
The Youngstown Phantoms are a Member Club of the United States Hockey League (USHL), America’s only Tier I hockey league and premier developer of National Hockey League talent with more than 100 alumni on current NHL rosters.
Visit www.youngstownphantoms.com or call the Front Office at 330.747.PUCK(7825) for more information on the Phantoms organization. The Youngstown Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company (Phantom Fireworks), located in Youngstown, Ohio.
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