USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Game Notes: vs Fargo

Published on February 27, 2015 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


The Phantoms return home for a pair of games this weekend against the Fargo Force, riding an eight-game winning streak. Youngstown has climbed to second place in the USHL's Eastern Conference, just three points behind the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. This weekend marks the beginning of a 10-of-11 game stretch against Western Conference opponents.

LAST SUNDAY RECAP: The Youngstown Phantoms (27-13-5) picked up an 8-5 win over the Green Bay Gamblers on Sunday afternoon. Forward Taylor Best netted a pair of goals, while forwards Chase Pearson, James Winkler, Kiefer Sherwood, Max Letunov and Bryan Lemos each added lone tallies for the Phantoms, who push both their road and overall winning streaks to eight games.

The Phantoms opened up the scoring just 3:43 into the opening period, when Best launched a shot from the right wing circle that trickled in through the legs of Green Bay goaltender Adam Huska, put- ting the Phantoms up, 1-0. That lead became 2-0 a few minutes later while on the power play, when forward Josh Melnick took a shot that was deflected in by Pearson who was stationed out front, 7:04 into the first.

After a Green Bay goal from Marc Michaelis cut Youngstown's lead in half, 2-1, with two minutes left in the frame, the Phantoms struck again with 40 seconds left in the first. Defenseman Vas Kolias came over the Green Bay blueline and slid the puck to Winkler who was up on the 2-on-1 rush, and Winkler tapped it past Huska, putting the Phantoms ahead, 3-1. Michaelis added his second of the period with 12 seconds left while on the power play, cutting the Phantoms' lead to 3-2 after 20 minutes.

The Phantoms' offense continued to fire on all cylinders in the second, as 4:11 in, Sherwood skated into the offensive zone on a breakaway and flipped the puck past Huska, putting the Phantoms back up by two goals, 4-2. That lead became 5-2 midway through the frame while on the power play, when Letunov crashed the net and slammed home a rebound, 9:59 into the second, chasing Huska from the game.

It didn't take long for the Phantoms to find the back of the net again, as just 1:31 later, Winkler took a shot that ricocheted off of new Green Bay goaltender Jason Pawloski right to Best who jammed it in for his second of the game, giving the Phantoms a 6-2 lead. The Phantoms capped off their big period with just under four minutes remaining, when forward Kyle Connor threw a shot on net that came right to Lemos who buried it, lifting the Phantoms to a 7-2 lead after the second period.

The Phantoms kicked off the third period with a bang while shorthanded, as Melnick sent a feed to Lomberg who blasted it past Pawloski, improving Youngstown's lead to 8-2, with his League-leading sixth shorthanded goal of the season.

Green Bay tried to mount a comeback later in the third, as forward Sam Saliba scored a shorthanded marker, and forward Joey Marooney added a pair to cut Youngstown's lead to 8-5. That was all the offense Green Bay was able to muster, as Phantoms netminder Chris Birdsall stopped 23 of the 28 shots he faced to collect his 12th win of the season.

PREVIEWING FARGO: Fargo comes to town having lost two straight, and four of their last six games, however despite the recent struggles, they are currently sixth in the USHL's Western Confer- ence and are in the thick of the playoff race, sitting just eight points back of the fourth and final spot. They are led by Mikey Eyssimiont who has accounted for 35 points (17g, 18a) this season. He is fol- lowed by recently-acquired Jack Jenkins, who has a goal and four assists since coming over from Bloomington six games ago. Overall, he has totaled 11 goals and 18 assists this year. Two other play- ers have double-digit goal totals this season, including Brody Stevens (13), and Zach Yon (10). In goal, Mathias Israelsson has shouldered most of the load this season, compiling a 14-14-4 record, along with a 3.04 goal-against average and a .911 save percentage.

CRAZY EIGHTS: The Phantoms are currently on an eight game winning streak, which is their longest in team history. They have outscored the opposition 33-15 during the streak, and are now sec- ond in the USHL with 15 total road victories, after winning three road games in four days this past weekend.

HELPING HAND: Forward Josh Melnick had three assists in Sunday's 8-5 win over Green Bay, and has dished out 11 helpers on his current six-game point streak. He is now the League-leader with 36 assists on the season.

Game 46: Youngstown Phantoms vs Fargo Force

Friday, February 27, 2015

Covelli Centre, Youngstown, OH-7:05 pm

YNG: 27-13-5, 59 PTS-2nd Place (East)

FGO : 19-20-5, 43 PTS- 6th Place (West)

STREAKING TOWARDS THE TOP: Forwards Kyle Connor and Max Letunov are both riding impressive point streaks, and are making a run at top spot in the USHL's scoring race. With two assists in Sunday's 8-5 win over Green Bay, Connor is riding an eight-game point streak, tallying six goals and seven assists in that span. He currently ranks second in the League with 52 points (20g, 32a) through 41 games played. Not to be outdone, Letunov had a goal and an assist in Sunday's win, and now has points in six straight games (6g, 2a). He has 50 points (21g, 29a) on the season, ranking him fourth in the USHL. Sioux City's Adam Johnson is the current League scoring leader with 54 points (26g, 28a).

MAKE IT A DOUBLE: Forwards Matt Alvaro and Taylor Best each had two-goal outings last weekend for the Phantoms. Alvaro scored the last two goals for the Phantoms, including a shorthanded breakaway, in Saturday's 5-1 win over Green Bay, marking his first USHL multi-goal game. The Toronto, ONT, native has accounted for six goals and 17 assists this season. Best notched his second two-goal game of the season in Sunday's 8-5 win over Green Bay. He also added a pair of assist over the weekend, giving him four total points in three games. The Mercyhurst University commit has points in four of his last five games, accounting for two goals and four assists in that span.

BIRD IS THE WORD: Goaltender Chris Birdsall earned his third win in a row on Sunday, turning out a 23-save perfor- mance in an 8-5 win over Green Bay on Sunday. He pitched his second shutout of the season, and his USHL career, last Thurs- day, stopping all 27 shots he faced in a 1-0 win over the Bloomington Thunder. The Boston College commit is 5-2-0 in his last seven starts, and has allowed more than three goals on just three occasions during that span.

JUST WIN, BABY!: Goaltender Colin DeAugustine extended his winning streak to five games, with a 16 save perfor- mance in Saturday's 5-1 win over Green Bay. He won all three games for the Phantoms two weekends ago, allowing just three goals on 85 shots. DeAugustine has won six of his last seven starts, and is 9-1-0 overall in his last 12 games played.

MAN DOWN? NO PROBLEM: Forward Ryan Lomberg scored his League-leading sixth shorthanded marker of the season in Sunday's 8-5 victory over Green Bay. He also scored a shorthanded marker in February 13th's 6-4 win over Dubuque. He has been an offensive force all season long, accounting for 19 goals and 12 assists on the season.

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 fifth-ranked power play in the League, converting on 21.96% of their chances (47/214).

Kiefer Sherwood is currently third in the League with 10 power play markers on the year. The penalty kill has been just as solid, ranking second in the USHL, killing off 149/172 opposition power plays (86.63%), while scoring 10 shorthanded goals; six of which belong to forward Ryan Lomberg, who leads the USHL in that category. In the Phantoms' sweep of the Bloomington Thunder on October 24th & 25th, nine of the team's 11 goals on the weekend were of the special teams variety; six on the pow- er play and three shorthanded. Overall, 18 different players have recorded at least one special teams point this season.

LEAGUE LEADERS: The Phantoms amongst the leaders in the USHL in many offensive categories, including goals (168) assists (269), points (437), power play goals (47), and shorthanded goals (10). Currently, the Phantoms are third in the League in scoring, averaging 3.73 goals per game.

PHANTOMS STEAL THE SHOW: The Phantoms were the main topic of conversation at the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Dubuque, IA, as the first three goals of the game were scored by Youngstown Phantoms. Forward Kevin Conley had a pair of first period goals and an assist, while forward Chase Pearson tallied a first period goal of his own and also dished out an assist, helping Team East to a 7-4 win. For his efforts, Conley was named Team East Most Valuable Player. It did not stop there, as midway through the second period, goaltender Chris Birdsall came into the game for Team West and proceeded to stop all nine shots he faced. Despite being held off the scoresheet, the Phantoms' other two representatives, forward Kyle Con- nor and defenseman Kris MyllarI, each finished with a plus-one on-ice rating.

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.

THE NHL COMES CALLING: Three players with Youngstown ties were chosen in last 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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United States Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2015


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