Gamblers Avoid Sweep with 4-3 Win
Published on March 1, 2025 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release
Green Bay Gamblers' Pavel Bocharov and Cole Longacre battle the Youngstown Phantoms
(Youngstown Phantoms, Credit: Scott Galvin/Scott Galvin Photography)
YOUNGSTOWN, OH - Lifted by a trio of power play goals, the Green Bay Gamblers downed the Youngstown Phantoms (31-16-0-1, 63pts) 4-3 Saturday night at the Covelli Centre. The loss snapped Youngstown's six-game winning streak and dropped them back to fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
"I think we started slow in the first, just a couple of mental mistakes. I thought we really took over the game after that as far as five-on-five goes," said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. "For a three-in-three I thought our effort was good enough to win. Couple of unlucky bounces here and there, but I thought the guys played well all weekend."
Youngstown found themselves in a 1-0 hole just 5:30 into the game when Egor Shilov danced around a pair of Phantom defenders and snapped a wrister past Melvin Strahl (28 saves) from the mid-slot. The Phantoms grabbed the next two, a redirect by Jamison Sluys at 15:17 and a beautiful backhander by Jakub Heš at 16:25 to put Youngstown in front. Sluys had three points on the night, bringing him to 90 for his USHL career.
The Gamblers sandwiched a pair of power play goals around a Youngstown marker in the second period. The USHL's leading goal-scorer Will Zellers lasered a wrister from the right dot at 2:32 to tie the game at 2-2. Phantoms captain Coleson Hanrahan snapped a wrister from the slot past Roberto Henriquez (32 saves) at 3:55 for his fifth of the season, temporarily putting Youngstown back in front 3-2, but Vasily Zelenov stuffed a power play goal home at 6:47 to knot the game at 3-3.
A Youngstown penalty nine seconds into the third period gave Green Bay the opening they needed to net the game winner. Just 1:33 into the final period, Zellers blasted home a one-timer from the right circle for his second of the game, giving the Gamblers a lead they would not relinquish.
Youngstown took the season series from Green Bay 4-2, but tonight's loss combined with wins by Madison and Muskegon dropped the Phantoms back into fourth in the Eastern Conference. Youngstown opens a massive three-in-three series with the Capitols starting Wednesday.
By The Numbers
Shots - 35
Saves - 28
Power Play - 0/4
Penalty Kill - 2/5
Goals -Hanrahan, Heš, Sluys
Assists -Benák, Murphy (2), Sluys (2
Images from this story
 Green Bay Gamblers' Pavel Bocharov and Cole Longacre battle the Youngstown Phantoms (Scott Galvin/Scott Galvin Photography) |
United States Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2025
- Saints Keep Offense Rolling in 7-2 Win - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Gamblers Avoid Sweep with 4-3 Win - Youngstown Phantoms
- Caps Win with Misleading Final - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Stampede Punch Ticket to the Clark Cup Playoffs - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Steel Fall 8-3 to Dubuque - Chicago Steel
- Fighting Five: Saints Host Steel to Finish Weekend - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Phantoms Down Gamblers 3-1 - Youngstown Phantoms
- Double Hat Trick Ends Dominant February - Lincoln Stars
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.
