USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Phantoms Capture 2nd Place in East with 6-3 Win Over Ice

Published on March 7, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - There are wins, and then there are statement wins. And with second place in the United States Hockey League's Eastern Conference on the line, and the sting of three straight losses to the Indiana Ice still fresh in minds, the Youngstown Phantoms made a statement Wednesday night in the Covelli Centre.

The Phantoms trounced the Ice 6-3 - winning their fourth game in a row and scoring six goals for the third straight - to capture second place in the East and set the stage for a highly anticipated rematch Friday night in Indianapolis.

"This is a huge win for us," Head Coach Anthony Noreen said. "As a program, in three years, that's probably as big as it gets.

JT Stenglein scored a pair of goals, added an assist and dropped the gloves. Soren Jonzzon, Jonathan Liau, Austin Cangelosi and Dylan Margonari also found the back of the net for the Phantoms (29-14-5, second East). In net, Matthew O'Connor outdueled Indiana's Jon Gillies, turning away 33 of 36 shots to claim sole possession of the top spot in the USHL's wins column with his 26th of the season.

Jonzzon put the Phantoms up 1-0 at the 9:20 mark in the first period. Ryan Belonger sent a wrister shot that shot right back off of Gillies' pads and onto the stick on Jonzzon, who put it right back in the net. The tally extended Jonzzon's goal-scoring streak to three straight games and Belonger's assist streak to six straight.

The Phantoms struck again less than two minutes later. Alex Gacek chipped a puck to the neutral zone where Margonari corralled it and, flanked by Stenglein on the right, went in on a 2-on-1. Stenglein called for the puck and rapid-fired a wrist shot, beating Gillies just below his glove to put the Phantoms up 2-0 heading into the second period.

"The play that goes overlooked is Gacek taking a hit along the wall to get that puck up and create the odd-man rush," Noreen said. "The, obviously, Dylan found JT."

The Phantoms stretched the lead to 4-0 before the 5-minute mark in the second off a pair of rebound goals. Stenglein knocked in a Mike Ambrosia shot on the power play 3:44 into the period and Jonathan Liau scored his first since being acquired from the Omaha Lancers, when he crashed the net and banged in Alexander Dahl's ricochet 1:12 later.

"There are some shots that - from certain speeds and certain angles - rebounds are just going to come out of," Noreen said. "I thought our guys did a very good job of getting to the net and getting those rebounds."

Then things started getting chippy.

At the 5:29 mark Belonger and John Doherty dropped the gloves in a heavy weight fight near center ice, which was won handily by Belonger with a slew of right hooks. But the Ice (28-13-6, third East) recaptured some momentum from the tilt and potted two quick goals to cut the lead in half. Joe Fiala's shot was redirected up and past O'Connor at 6:05 mark and 32 seconds later, Sean Kuraly put a shot through a screen to make it a 4-2 game.

Cangelosi answered with a power-play goal a little more than a minute later when he stuffed in a rebound off of Stenglein's shot. Stenglein completed his second period Gordie Howe hat trick at the 11:11 mark, when he came to the defense of teammate Zach Evancho and traded blows with 6-foot-2 Ice defenseman Jose Delgadillo.

"It was great. We had guys who stepped up for teammates, which is something we want to do every game," Noreen said. "And we had some guys who haven't dropped the mitts many times, but they answered the bell when the team needed to.

"It was good, hard-nosed hockey."

Margonari capped the Phantoms' scoring at the 15:58 mark in the second. Jordan Young took the puck across the ice and end-to-end before stopping inside the blue line and finding Margonari trailing on the near side. The Greensburg, Pa., native beat Gillies with a clean wrist shot.

Matthew Krug made it a 6-3 game when he beat O'Connor, who was again screened, through the five-hole just 43 seconds later. The second period would end with a combined eight fighting majors and 90 minutes in penalties, three game ejections, and a three-goal lead for the Phantoms.

The third was decidedly tamer in the penalty department as the Ice shortened the bench in hopes of sparking a comeback. O'Connor snuffed it out with a unconscionable glove save on Daniil Tarasov just inside the 10-minute mark and the Phantoms held on for the win.

Phantoms by the Numbers

34 - Shots

33 - Saves

100 percent - Penalty Kill (3-for-3)

50 percent - Power Play (2-for-5)

2G-1A-3PTS - Stenglein

1G-1A-2PTS - Margonari

0G-2A-2PTS - Ambrosia

Staying Hot

With a goal and an assist tonight, Dylan Margonari stretched his point-scoring streak to 11 straight games. The Minnesota State-Mankato commit has five goals, 13 assists and 18 points during the span.

Next on the Slate

The Phantoms travel to Indiana for a rematch with the Ice this Friday. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. EST at the Pepsi Coliseum in Indianapolis.

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 .

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 7, 2012


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