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Youngstown Phantoms

Pearson and Winkler Each Net Two as Phantoms Rout Bloomington

November 5, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, OH- The Youngstown Phantoms (7-3-1) earned a 9-3 win over the Bloomington Thunder on Wednesday morning, in the first of two School Day Games at the Covelli Centre this season. Forwards Chase Pearson and James Winkler each potted a pair of goals, while four others recorded multi-point nights.

The Thunder opened up the scoring 3:18 into the first period, when defenseman Vince Pedrie lit the lamp on the power play to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

The Phantoms responded 2:25 later, when forward Josh Melnick took a pass from Matt Alvaro and fired a wrist shot through traffic that beat Thunder goaltender David Jacobson, tying the game up, 1-1.

The Youngstown offense struck again 51 seconds later, when forward Trey Bradley weaved his way through the Thunder defense and found forward Kevin Conley who roofed it over the shoulder of Jacobson, giving the Phantoms a 2-1 lead, 6:44 into the opening frame.

The Phantoms extended their lead to 3-1, when defenseman Kris Myllari took a slapshot from the blueline that deflected off of a skater out front and in past Jacobson, for his first-Career USHL goal, 7:30 into the period.

The Phantoms lit the lamp again with 5:11 remaining in the opening frame when Lomberg sent a pass to a wide open Pearson in the slot, who tapped it in past Jacobson, giving the Phantoms a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.

The second period was a mirror image of the first for the Phantoms as they wasted little time finding the back of the net, scoring three goals in a span of 1:36.

With Youngstown on the power play, forward Maxim Letunov won an offensive zone faceoff back to forward Kiefer Sherwood who launched a wristshot the beat new Thunder goaltender Logan Halladay, pushing the Phantoms lead to 5-1, 2:50 into the middle frame.

The Phantoms' offense continued its forward motion, as 1:02 later, Pearson netted his second goal of the night, this time on the power play, when Sherwood found him out in front of the net, lifting the Phantoms to a 6-1 lead, 3:52 into the second.

"Anytime you can capitalize on a few chances makes you feel better," remarked Pearson. "Anytime I get to help the team and contribute feels really good. There was a lot of energy in the building and whenever we get that energy, the guys feed off of it and we play better."

It didn't take long for the red light to come on again for the Phantoms, as just 22 seconds later, forward Bryan Lemos took a shot on goal that bounced off of Halladay right to Winkler who was crashing the net and jammed the rebound past the Bloomington goalie, opening up a 7-1 lead over the Thunder. For the Phantoms, it was the first time on this young season that they have netted at least seven goals in one game.

Youngstown upped that total to eight near the end of the second with the Phantoms on the power play, when Pearson went around a couple of Bloomington skaters and found defenseman Tommy Parran crashing the net who tapped it in past Halladay, giving the Phantoms an 8-1 lead after two periods, with the Phantoms' fourth power play goal of the game.

"You look at Saturday night's game where we don't get a power play goal and lose, to today where we get four and it turns out to be a deciding factor in the game," said Head Coach Anthony Noreen. "We feel that with the units we are putting out there, it's just a matter of time before they start clicking together, and we're starting to see that."

The Phantoms were not done, as 10:40 into the third, Winkler received a pass from forward Josh Nenadal, and went hard towards the net, slipping the puck past the returning Thunder netminder Jacobson, ballooning the Phantoms' lead to 9-1.

"It was good to finally get out there and break through and get the first two," said Winkler. "It was definitely different having to wake up so early, but everyone played great and we were able to feed off of the energy. I am happy we were able to get the win."

"We feel that our biggest strength is our depth offensively, and you definitely saw that tonight," said Noreen. "You have two first year guys in the league (Pearson and Winkler) who probably do not get a lot of credit, but they are two guys that have the ability and are going to fil the net in this league. It was great to see them rewarded for all the hard work they have been putting in."

The Thunder found a scoring touch late in the game as forwards Alec Mehr and Jacob Slacker each lit the lamp, but Phantoms' goaltender Chris Birdsall stood firm, stopping 21 of the 24 shots he faced to preserve the 9-3 win for the Phantoms.

"This was probably the best top-to-bottom offensive performance we've had all season long," stated Noreen. "I thought all four lines contributed and were effective, and we did a good job capitalizing on our chances, which was a big emphasis in practice this week."

The Phantoms' power play was on display again today, converting on four of five opportunities. The Phantoms also won the shots battle, outshooting Bloomington, 37-24.

The Phantoms next hit the ice on Sunday afternoon when they welcome in the Chicago Steel for a 5:05 faceoff.

Single game and season tickets are on sale now for all Phantoms home games at the Covelli Centre starting at the low price of $10.75 for single game, and $267.00 for season tickets. Call 330.747.PUCK (7825) for more information or to reserve seats today. For all the latest news, visit www.YoungstownPhantoms.com, follow the Phantoms on Twitter (@YtownPhantoms) and "˜Like' them on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/YoungstownPhantoms).

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