USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Carr's first win comes in Waterloo thriller

Published on February 27, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


WATERLOO, Iowa - Weeks of frustration were washed away Saturday night at Young Arena, as the Youngstown Phantoms earned new Head Coach Curt Carr his first USHL win in a rousing 6-4 road triumph over the Waterloo Black Hawks.

The firsts weren't limited to Carr's milestone, though. Phantoms goaltender Jordan Tibbett stopped 40 shots, including several during the frantic final minutes, to earn his first win since a 4-3 decision over Waterloo in Youngstown Dec. 29. The Purple and Orange also snapped a five-game losing streak in prevailing for the first time in four road contests.

The offensive breakthrough was also due, as the Phantoms (16-30-2, 34 points) deposited a half dozen for the first time since a 7-3 win over Team USA Jan. 18 at Covelli Centre. Youngstown had scored exactly one goal in regulation in ten straight games, but that was put in the past almost immediately from the start.

A four-goal Youngstown first was the down payment, and Brett Gensler and Adam Berkle helped the Phantoms cash in with third-period tallies, the latter into an empty net to seal the deal. Waterloo scored three straight goals, with two from Derek Arnold, to rally to within one goal early in the final frame.

After Gensler's insurance marker made it 5-3, the Black Hawks' Tyler Barnes flipped in a rebound with 6:35 to go to set up the tight finish.

Defenseman Ben Paulides quickly erased the memory of Friday night's loss in Cedar Rapids with a four-on-four goal at 9:38 of the first. Taylor Holstrom entered the zone only to have the puck skip away, but Paulides stepped up and rifled a shot under Waterloo starting goalie C.J. Motte from the left circle for a 1-0 Phantoms advantage.

The two teams appeared to be settling in, but the Phantoms rudely interrupted the give-and-take with a sudden three-goal burst to push the lead to 4-0 and silence the Young Arena congregation. Tom Serratore started the deluge, receiving a centering feed from Cody Strang and pumping a high wrister over Motte's blocker at 14:15.

With the Hawks' Alex Jensen sent off for interference 17 seconds later, Strang tipped in Serratore's point shot to raise the lead to three. Dylan Margonari punched in Jiri Sekac's pass from the right post at 16:10 to make it 4-0; the three scores in 1:55 was the fastest trio for Youngstown this season.

After Arnold (on the power play at 9:25) and Patrick Divjak (19:54) broke the ice for Waterloo in the second, Arnold struck for his 17th from the doorstep at 5:54 to draw the home side within 4-3. But Gensler ripped a right-wing wrister past replacement goalie Willie Yanakeff less than three minutes later to quiet the sellout crowd again.

Check out the Youngstown Phantoms Statistics

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



United States Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2010


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