USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Game Notes: vs Sioux City

March 13, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


The Phantoms welcome in the League-leading Sioux City Musketeers for a pair of games this weekend, beginning on Friday night. Youngstown is coming off of a two-game sweep of the Sioux Falls Stampede last weekend, in which the Phantoms outscored Sioux Falls, 13-5 in the two games. The Phantoms are on a USHL season-high 12 game winning streak, and trail the Musketeers by just two points for top spot in the USHL.

LAST SATURDAY RECAP: The Youngstown Phantoms (31-13-5) picked up a 6-2 win over the Sioux Falls Stampede on Saturday night. Forward James Winkler scored a pair of goals, while forward Max Letunov notched his 100th career USHL point with a power play goal in the first period. For- wards Kyle Connor, Ryan Lomberg, and Josh Nenadal also scored for the Phantoms, who ex- tend their winning streak to 12 games.

As was the case on Friday, the Phantoms' power play got off to a fast start, as Letunov took a feed from forward Kiefer Sherwood and stuffed it into the net, giving the Phantoms a 1-0 lead 13:48 into the opening period. The goal marked the 100th career USHL point for Letunov, and extended his point streak to 10 games.

The Stampede managed to tie the game in the last second of the period, when forward Parker Tuomie found the back of the net, evening up the game, 1-1, after 20 minutes.

The Phantoms regained the lead 8:20 into the second, when Connor picked off a Sioux Falls pass and skated in on Stampede goaltender Stefanos Lekkas and scored, extending the Phantoms' lead to 2-1. That lead became 3-1 a few minutes later, when Lomberg won a race to the puck over the Stampede blueline and dragged the puck around Lekkas, who came out to charge the puck, and flipped it into the open net, 11:47 into the frame.

That lead held up throughout the remainder of the second, and 3:31 into the third, Winkler launched a laser over the shoulder of Lekkas, pushing the Phantoms' lead to 4-1 After Sioux Falls cut the Youngstown lead to 4-2 on a goal from Clint Lewis, Winkler netted his second of the period, when he sniped one past new Stampede goaltender Art Brey, extending the lead to 5-2, 13:49 into the third.

The Phantoms wrapped up their 12th win in a row roughly four minutes later, when forward Lukas Craggs fed Nenadal on a 2-on-0 rush, and Nenadal slipped it past Brey, capping off the 6-2 win over Sioux Falls

PREVIEWING SIOUX CITY: The Musketeers currently sit atop the League standings with 69 points, but come to town having dropped three of their last four games. Sioux City is second in the League, averaging 3.72 goals per game, and are led by three of the USHL's top eight point scorers in Adam Johnson (27g, 32a), Robert Carpenter (29g, 25a) and Joe Snively (19g, 31a). In goal, Col- lin Olson has shouldered most of the load, posting a 24-7-4 record, along with a 2.73 goals- against average and a .914 save percentage. Special teams has also been a strong point for the Mus- keteers this season, as they are in the top four in both power play conversion (24.15%) and penalty kill percentage (84.75%). They have also scored 12 shorthanded goals on the year, which is second to Youngstown's 14.

CENTURY CLUB: With a power play goal in last Saturday's 6-2 win over Sioux Falls, forward Max Letunov now has 100 points in his USHL career. He joins current teammate Kyle Connor, and alums Austin Cangelosi, and JT Stenglein, as the only Phantoms to score 100 or more points in their USHL careers. The Arizona Coyotes prospect has 42 goals and 58 assists through 109 career USHL games, and is currently third in the League with 57 points (23g, 34a) this season. He is on a 10-game point streak, accounting for eight goals and five assists in that span.

LEAGUE HONORS: Forward Kyle Connor was named CCM Forward of the Week on Monday, after recording three goals and four assists points in a two-game sweep of the Sioux Falls Stampede last weekend. This is the third League honor of the season for Connor, who was also named CCM Forward of the Week for the weeks of October 20th -26th, and February 2nd - 8th . Connor is the USHL scoring leader, accounting for 61 points (25g, 36a) through 45 games played. He has points in three straight (5g, 4a), and has 11 goals and 11 assists over his last 12 games played. Game 50: Youngstown Phantoms vs Sioux City Musketeers

Friday, March 13, 2015

Covelli Centre, Youngstown, OH-7:05 pm

YNG: 31-13-5, 67 PTS-2nd Place (East)

SC : 32-14-5, 69 PTS-1st Place (West)

STANDING ON THE TOP: The Phantoms currently boast three of the top five point scorers in the USHL, including League-leader Kyle Connor (25G-36A-61P), Max Letunov, who ranks third with 57 points (23g, 34a), and Josh Melnick who is in fifth with 12 goals and 41 assists for 53 points. As a team, Youngstown leads the USHL in scoring, averaging 3.89 goals per game.

THE STREAK CONTINUES: Forward Josh Melnick extended his point streak to a career-high 10 games after an assist in Saturday's 6-2 win over Sioux Falls. Melnick has accounted for four goals, including his first USHL hat trick, and 16 assists on his current point streak, and leads the USHL with 41 assists on the season. MAN DOWN? NO PROBLEM: The Phantoms continued their shorthanded prowess last Friday night as Josh Melnick scored a shorthanded goal late in the third, giving the Phantoms' 14 on the year, which leads the USHL. Youngstown has scored a shorthanded marker in four of their last eight games. Forward Ryan Lomberg leads the USHL with six shorthanded goals on the year.

BIRD IS THE WORD: Goaltender Chris Birdsall earned his fifth win in a row on Saturday, turning out a 33-save perfor- mance in the 6-2 win over the Stampede. The Boston College commit is 7-2-0 in his last nine starts, posting a 2.54 goals- against average and a .912 save percentage in that span, and has allowed more than two goals just once on his current win- ning streak.

JUST WIN, BABY!: Goaltender Colin DeAugustine extended his winning streak to seven games, with a 21 save perfor- mance in last Friday's 7-3 win over Sioux Falls. He has won eight of his last nine starts, and is 11-1-0 overall in his last 14 games played. He has posted a 1.81 goals-against average, and a .928 save percentage on his current seven game winning streak.

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 fourth-ranked power play in the League, converting on 21.70% of their chances (51/235), including 4-for-12 last weekend against Sioux Falls. Their 51 power play goals leads the USHL, and forward Kiefer Sherwood is currently tied for second in the League with 11 power play markers on the year, including one in last Fri- day's 7-3 win over Sioux Falls. The penalty kill has been just as solid, ranking second in the USHL, killing off 165/190 opposition power plays (86.84%), while scoring a League-leading 14 shorthanded goals; six of which belong to forward Ryan Lomberg, who leads the USHL in that category. In Overall, 20 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 (191) assists (307), points (498), power play goals (51), and shorthanded goals (14). Currently, the Phantoms lead the League in scoring, averaging 3.89 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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