Fighting Five: Saints Open Weekend Set with Phantoms
January 3, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release
DUBUQUE, IA - The Dubuque Fighting Saints (20-9-0-0, 40 pts) host the Youngstown Phantoms (17-11-0-0, 34 pts) for the first of a weekend-series on Friday night.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
1. Conference Clash
The Saints enter a three-game weekend against Eastern Conference opponents with the best record in the East so far this season.
Dubuque leads the conference with 40 points, three ahead of the Phantoms to start the weekend.
2. 20 in '24
With Dubuque's win at Waterloo on New Year's Eve, the Saints became the only team in the USHL to win 20 games in the 2024-25 season.
Dubuque is tied with a few other teams at 40 points, but no team won more games than the Fighting Saints this season before the calendar turned to 2025.
3. Busy Bunch
The Fighting Saints finish a stretch of six games in 10 days this weekend in their first of four three-in-three sets of the season.
The Saints have won two of the first three contests, including a 5-4 win on Tuesday in Waterloo.
4. Magic Number
The Fighting Saints are 16-1-0-0 when scoring more than three goals this season and are 4-8-0-0 when scoring three-or-less.
The Fighting Saints average 3.72 goals per game this season, the fourth-best mark in the USHL.
5. Phantom Menace
The Fighting Saints meet the Youngstown Phantoms for the first time since Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season. Dubuque plays Youngstown in four of its next six games. The Saints will meet the Riders for the fourth time this season.
The Phantoms are missing their leading goaltender Melvin Strahl, who is playing for Team Sweden at the World Junior Championships. Adam Benák leads the way offensively with nine goals and 26 points for Youngstown.
Friday's game begins at 7:05 p.m. CST and tickets can be purchased here. The game will be available on Eagle 102.3 and FloHockey.
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