USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Ambrosia's Two Goal Third Powers Phantoms Past Black Hawks 4-3

Published on January 26, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - There is a reason the Youngstown Phantoms voted to have left wing Mike Ambrosia wear the 'C' on his right shoulder, and Thursday night at the Covelli Centre he showed why. The captain netted a pair of goals in the third period to lead the Phantoms (20-12-3, T-third East) to a 4-3 win over the Waterloo Black Hawks.

The Phantoms also got goals from Alexander Dahl and Austin Cangelosi while goaltender Matthew O'Connor played stellar in net, turning away 29 of 32 shots for his 17th win of the season.

The Black Hawks jumped out to a two-goal cushion on a pair of man-advantages in the first period. Tony Cameranesi ripped a one-timer from the left circle that beat O'Connor at the 8:52 mark. Then with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the period, and an extra skater because of a delayed penalty, Taylor Cammarata snuck to the backdoor and batted in a rebound to make it a 2-0 game.

Dahl cut the lead in half less than four minutes later. Pat Conte took a shot from the right circle and the rebound bounced out to Dahl at the left. Instead of instinctively throwing it toward net, the Eau Claire, Wis., native patiently waited as a sprawling Black Hawks netminder Jay Williams went down, and then roofed the puck into the open net.

"Alex has been a great defensive player for us this year, but we know there's more to him offensively," Noreen said. "We feel like he could contribute a little bit more and to his credit, he capitalized on an opportunity given to him."

The Phantoms entered the first intermission trailing by one but it did not take long into the second for Cangelosi to tie it up. Ryan Lowney got the puck off a Black Hawk point shot and floated it up to Ambrosia with space. Ambrosia skated up the ice with speed, drawing both defenders, and then threaded a pass in-between their sticks for Cangelosi. The 17-year-old blew by them, made a quick pivot to his back outside the crease and lifted a back-hander past Williams just 34 seconds in.

"You just saw Austin's explosion there - what he's able to do with a little bit of space to go and hunt down a puck," Noreen said.

The rest of the second was scoreless, but Ambrosia needed even less time to give the Phantoms their first lead of the game in the third. Again it was Lowney who was the catalyst, intercepting a puck in his own end and leading a 3-on-2 rush the other way. He moved the puck to Sam Anas on the right-wing wall, who gave it right back to him as a he drove to the net. But the pass was a bit behind, forcing Lowney to kick the puck up to his stick blade then sweep it into an opening near the left circle, where Ambrosia slapped it in at the 23-second mark.

"Sam made a great pass to Lowney and he made another great pass," Ambrosia said. "I don't even know if he looked but he fed it to the middle and I just tapped it right in."

But Aaron Pierce tied it up for the Black Hawks with a short-handed tally just before the 4-minute mark. He intercepted an errant pass on the blue line and went in alone on O'Connor, beating him on the blocker side.

"It was a tough goal, but those things happen," Ambrosia said. "People are going to make mistakes and that obviously gave them some momentum.

"But our team did well to rebound. We kept coming with energy."

A little more than eight minutes later, Lowney again got the puck and moved it over to Cangelosi on the right-wing wall. Cangelosi was able to chip it past the Black Hawks defender and move it to Ambrosia at center ice, who put on a show moving it to the forehand before settling on the backhand and sending it high, just under the crossbar.

"[Williams] is a great goaltender," Ambrosia said. "Moving laterally is one of his strengths so we definitely wanted to move high when he goes low and I think we had some success with that tonight."

Staying Hot

With a pair of goals to go along with an assist Thursday night, Mike Ambrosia has now recorded at least a point in five straight games. The Chatham, N.J. native has two goals and seven assists for 9 points in that span.

Next on the Slate

The Phantoms take on the Dubuque Fighting Saints Friday at the Covelli Centre. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. EST.

Friday is the Phantoms' Youngstown State University Night and Thunder Stick Giveaway. Members from YSU Greek Life will be honored, and YSU President Dr. Cynthia Anderson will drop the ceremonial first puck Friday night at the Covelli Centre.

The first 3,000 fans through the door will receive Thunder Sticks courtesy of the Ohio Lottery and college students with a valid student I.D. can get a 50 percent discount at the box office. And make sure to come down early to see a live penguin from the Pittsburgh Aviary, which will be on the concourse from 6:15 p.m. until puck drop.

Single game tickets for the 2011-12 season are on sale now. Season ticket and flex plans start at the low price of just $90. Call the Phantoms office today at 330.747.7825 for more information or to make a reservation today! For a complete Phantoms schedule, visit www.youngstownphantoms.com .

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the USHL celebrates its 10th season as the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league in 2011-12. With over 280 players from last season that were committed to NCAA Division I schools and 18 NHL Entry Draft picks that were on League rosters, the USHL is the nation's foremost producer of junior hockey talent. For more information, visit us on the web at www.USHL.com.

It's not just hockey . It's the USHL .

Check out the Youngstown Phantoms Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United States Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central