Game Notes vs Tri-City
December 13, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release
The Phantoms look to bounce back from last night's loss to Tri-City, when they battle the Storm in game two of a weekend series. The Phantoms got a pair from forward Kiefer Sherwood last night, while forward Max Letunov enjoyed a three point nigh (1g, 2a.
LAST NIGHT RECAP:
Tri-City opened up the scoring just 1:15 into the contest, when forward Nick Master beat Phantom netminder Chris Birdsall, giving the Storm a 1-0 lead.
That lead was short lived, as 51 seconds later, forward Kiefer Sherwood sent a cross-ice feed to for- ward Max Letunov who lifted a backhander over the shoulder of Storm goaltender Alec Dillon, tying the game, 1-1.
The Phantoms jumped ahead a few minutes later, when forward Josh Melnick brought the puck over the Tri-City blueline and dropped a pass to Sherwood who launched a wrist shot through traffic that beat Dillon, giving the Phantoms a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Much like the first, Tri-City found the back of the net early in period two, when forward Dan Labosky tallied a shorthanded marker, tying the game, 2-2, 1:49 into the second. The Storm took a 3-2 lead roughly three minutes later, when forward Chris Wilkie scored, 4:04 into the second.
The Phantoms battled back to tie the game 1:58 later, when Melnick sent a pass to Sherwood who undressed the Tri-City defense and went around Dillon to score his second of the game, and fourth in the last two games, tying the game, 3-3, 6:02 into the second.
That score held up throughout the remainder of the second, however in the third, Master potted two goals in 31 apart within the first 1:42 of the period to give the Storm a 5-3 lead. The Phantoms had a plethora of chances throughout the remainder of the frame, but Dillon proved to be unsolvable down the stretch, preserving the 5-3 win for the Storm.
PREVIEWING TRI-CITY: The Storm received a hat trick from Nick Master last night, on the way to their third straight win. The Storm are currently tied for second in the Western Conference. They are led by Chris Wilkie, who has 20 points (13g, 7a) on the season. Right behind him is Bobby Nardella (3g, 13a), and Jake Wahlin (2g, 13a). The Storm have the USHL's best power play, converting on 26/85 (30.5%) of their opportunities on the season.
SHER-HANDED: Forward Kiefer Sherwood had a pair of goals in last night's 5-3 loss, marking the second game in a row that he has scored two goals, which is a career first. He now has 10 goals on the season, and is tied for first in the USHL with seven power play markers on the season.
DEFENDING THE NEST: Goaltender Chris Birdsall has been amongst the League's best netminders as of late, leading the Phantoms to a 3-1-2 record over the last six games. He was named the USHL's CCM Goaltender of the Week last week, after posting a 1-0-1 record, with a 0.94 goals against average and .964 save percentage against the Muskegon Lumberjacks on November 28th and 29th. The 8-0 shutout on the 28th marked his first career USHL shutout. The Boston College commit currently boasts a 6-2-4 record, ranking ninth in the USHL with a 2.81 GAA, and eleventh with a .904 SV%.
POINT MEN: Forwards Kyle Connor and Max Letunov have been on a tear recently, accounting for 35 points (13g, 22a) over the last 16 games. With a goal and two assists last night, Letunov has points in 14 of his last 16 games, totaling seven goals and 16 assists in that span. Included in that 16 game span is a seven-game point streak from October 24th-November 14th. Connor has been just as hot, registering points in four of his last five games (4g, 5a), including a three point performance (2g, 1a) last Saturday. Letunov is second in League scoring with 28 points (12g, 16a) on the season. Con- nor is third in the USHL with 27 points (11g, 16a), and is currently representing Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge.
TREY-BIEN: Forward Trey Bradley has been enjoying some offensive success as of late, ac- counting for a four goals and three assists over his last six games, including a pair of goals and an assist last Friday night. He notched his first goal of the season in November 28th's 8-0 win over Mus- kegon, before nabbing the game-winner on Wednesday against Chicago. Through 23 games this sea- son, the Colorado College commit has four goals and 14 assists, and is only three points away from his entire point total from last season (7g, 14a in 32 GP).
Game 24: Youngstown vs. Tri-City Storm
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Viaero Events Center, Kearney, NE -4:05 pm
YNG: 12-7-4, 28 PTS-4th Place (East)
TC: 12-7-3, 27 PTS-T-2nd Place (West)
LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Team captain Ryan Lomberg had a goal and an assist in last Saturday's 6-2 win, giving him 19 points (12g, 7a) in his last 14 games played, including seven multi-point efforts, and three multi-goal games. Lomberg had just one goal in his first seven games played. He leads the team in goals with 13, and has added seven assists for 20 total points.
COMEBACK KIDS: November 29th against the Muskegon Lumberjacks marked the fourth time in six games in which the Phantoms had to mount a third period comeback to force overtime. Max Letunov scored late in the third period to force over- time, before the Phantoms fell in the shootout. In November 14th's shootout win against Lincoln, Kiefer Sherwood scored late in the third to force overtime, with the Phantoms going on to win the game on a shootout goal from Letunov. On November 16th against the Stars, Josh Nenadal tied the game five minutes into the third, before Lincoln picked up the win in overtime. The Phantoms have gone to overtime or a shootout seven times this season, compiling a 3-4 record in those games, including a pair of shootout wins.
FIRST FOR THE KID: Forward Lukas Craggs scored his first career USHL goal in the 4-1 loss to the Bloomington Thunder on November 22. The Bowling Green State University commit is the 10th Phantom to record his first career goal this season, and has also dished out a three assists to give him four points in 10 games played.
WELL AREN'T YOU SPECIAL: The Phantoms special teams units have been amongst the best in the USHL all season long. The Phantoms currently boast the second-best power play in the League, converting on 25% of their chances (30/120).
The penalty kill has been just as solid, killing off 89-of-102 opposition power plays, while scoring six goals. Kiefer Sherwood scored a pair of power play goals in last Saturday's 6-2 win over Team USA, and he currently in tied for the League lead with seven on the year. On November 5th against Bloomington, the Youngstown power play units converted on four of five opportuni- ties, and in the Phantoms' sweep of the Thunder on October 24th & 25th, nine of the team's 11 goals on the weekend were of the special teams variety; six on the power play and three shorthanded. Overall, 17 different players have recorded at least one special teams point this season.
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Phantoms are amongst the top teams in the League in many offensive categories, including goals (94) assists (154), points (248), power play goals (30), and shorthanded goals (6). Currently, the Phantoms are second in the League, averaging 4.08 goals per game.
ALL-TIME LEADER: With his goal in November 16th's 4-3 overtime loss to the Lincoln Stars, Kyle Connor became the Phan- toms' all-time goal-scoring leader, with the 55th goal of his career, surpassing Sam Anas' 54. Connor scored his 50th career goal back on October 11th, making him the 18th player in USHL history to reach the mark, and just the third player in League history to score 50 before his 18th birthday, joining former Waterloo Black Hawk Taylor Cammarata, and former Omaha Lancer Seth Ambroz. In addition to Connor and Anas, former Phantom Austin Cangelosi is the only other Phantom to score 50 goals in a career.
INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY: Kyle Connor has been named to Team USA's Junior Select Team that will partici- pate in the upcoming World Junior A Challenge. This will be the second time in 2014 that the University of Michigan commit will be competing internationally for Team USA, as he helped lead them to a Gold Medal in the IIHF Under-18 Men's World Champi- onships back in April. The Shelby TWP, MI native was also invited to the U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp back in August, and was a participant in September's CCM/USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game, which brought together the top 42 American-born NHL Draft-eligible prospects.
HATS OFF TO THE CAPTAIN!: Phantoms captain Ryan Lomberg netted his first-career USHL hat trick in the 7-5 loss to the Chicago Steel back on November 10th. He also added an assist, which set a new career single game point mark for the Rich- mond Hill, ONT native.
GOAL RUSH: The Phantoms lit the lamp nine times in the 9-3 win over the Bloomington Thunder on November 5th, tying a team record, and marking the first time this season, the first time since October 5th, 2012 (9-6 win over Waterloo), and just the third time in team history that the Phantoms have scored nine goals in a game. The only other time was a 9-3 win over the Chi- cago Steel on March 31, 2010; the Phantoms' first season in the USHL. Youngstown got points from 14 different players, includ- ing forward James Winkler (2g), and defenseman Kris Myllari (1g), who each scored their first career USHL goals.
THE NHL COMES CALLING: Three players with Youngstown ties were chosen in June's NHL Draft - Max Letunov, JJ Piccinich and Nathan Walker. Letunov was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round with the 52nd overall se- lection, making him the second-highest NHL Draft selection in Youngstown Phantoms history (Scott Mayfield, 2nd RD, #34 Overall to NYI in 2011). Next up was Walker, who was selected in the third round (89th overall) by the Washington Capitals. He suited up for the Phantoms during the 2012-2013 season, and last September signed a professional contract with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), making him the first Phantoms player to make the jump from the USHL to the AHL. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Walker is the first Australian-born player to be selected in the NHL Draft. The Final Phan- tom taken off the board was Piccinich who was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round with the 103rd overall pick. Currently a freshman at Boston University, Piccinich just wrapped up a two-year USHL career in which he totaled 30 goals and 43 assists in 123 games played.
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