Sports stats



USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Game Notes: vs Sioux Falls

March 7, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN PHANTOMS GAME NOTES

The Phantoms wrap up their weekend series with the Sioux Falls Stampede on Saturday night. Youngs- town took game one of the weekend on Friday, and still remains one point back of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders for first place in the USHL's Eastern Conference.

LAST NIGHT RECAP: The Youngstown Phantoms (30-13-5) picked up a 7-3 win over the Sioux Falls Stampede on Friday night. Forwards Kyle Connor and Kiefer Sherwood each potted a pair of goals, while forwards Chase Pearson, Ryan Lomberg and Josh Melnick each tallied lone goals for the Phantoms, who pick up their first-ever win over the Stampede.

The Phantoms found themselves down early, as just 1:19 in Sioux Falls forward Dakota Joshua scored on a power play to give the Stampede a 1-0 lead.

The Phantoms drew even a few minutes later on the power play, when Melnick sent a feed to Sher- wood who blasted a one-timer past Stampede netminder Stefanos Lekkas to tie the game, 1-1, 16:33 into the first.

The power play struck again roughly three minutes later, when Sherwood sent a backdoor pass to Connor who tapped it in to give the Phantoms a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

After the Stampede tied the game 50 seconds into the second on a goal from Cooper Marody, the Phantoms regained the lead 2:01 into the middle frame when forward Max Letunov sent a pass to Sherwood who tucked it under the crossbar to put the Phantoms up, 3-2, on Sherwood's second of the game.

A few minutes later the Phantoms pushed the lead to 4-2, when Connor received a feed from new Phantom Tyler Sheehy, and he wristed a shot past Lekkas 6:24 into the frame, for his second of the night.

That lead held up throughout the remainder of the period, but 6:02 into the third, the Stampede brought the game to within a goal at 4-3, when forward Collin Peters lit the lamp.

The Phantoms' power play found the back of the net again when Letunov found a wide open Pearson on the backdoor who stuffed it in to push the Phantoms' lead back to two goals, 5-3, 10:55 into the third.

Youngstown elevated their lead to 6-3 about seven minutes later, when Lomberg received a pass from Sheehy and split the defense and threw a backhander into the net while diving through midair. A Melnick shorthanded empty-netter with 2:26 remaining in the period sealed the game for the Phan- toms, who earn 30 wins in a season for the third time in team history.

PREVIEWING SIOUX FALLS: The Stampede had their seven-game winning streak snapped last night, allowing six or more goals for just the third time this season. They are sitting in fourth place in the USHL's Western Conference, and are led by Cooper Marody, who has accounted for 14 goals and 23 assists since coming to Sioux Falls 26 games ago. He has 46 points (16g, 30a) on the year overall. Behind him is team goals leader Kiefer Bellows (26g, 12a), recently-acquired Mikey Eyssimont (17g, 19a), and Dakota Joshua (15g, 18a).

KEY ACQUISITIONS: The Phantoms were active participants at this year's trade deadline. They acquired Chicago Steel defenseman and team captain Connor McDonald along with a third round pick in Phase II of the 2015 USHL Draft, in exchange for defenseman Carson Vance and a first round pick in Phase II of the 2015 USHL Draft . The Phantoms also picked up Waterloo Black Hawks forward Tyler Sheehy, in exchange for forward Bryan Lemos, the Phantoms' second round pick in Phase I of the 2015 USHL Draft, and the Phantoms' second round pick in Phase II of the 2016 USHL Draft. They closed out their busy deadline day by dealing for veteran defenseman, and team captain Alec Vanko of the Madison Capitols, in exchange for the rights to defenseman Carter Ekberg and the Phantoms' third round selection in Phase II of the 2015 USHL Draft.

MAN DOWN? NO PROBLEM: The Phantoms continued their shorthanded prowess on 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.

Game 49: Youngstown Phantoms vs Sioux Falls Stampede

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Covelli Centre, Youngstown, OH-7:05 pm

YNG: 30-13-5, 65 PTS-2nd Place (East)

SF : 25-16-5, 55 PTS-4th Place (West)

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Forwards Kyle Connor and Max Letunov have been leading the offense on the Phantoms' cur- rent winning streak. Connor recorded five points (2g, 3a) in Friday's 7-3 win over Sioux Falls, giving him 20 points (10g, 10a) in his last 11 games. He is now tied for the League lead with 59 points (24g, 35a) through 44 games played, tying him with Sioux City's Adam Johnson (27g, 32a) . Letunov had three assists in last night's win, and now has points in nine straight games (7g, 4a). He has 56 points (22g, 34a) on the season, ranking him third in the USHL.

LEAGUE HONORS: Forward Josh Melnick was named CCM Forward of the Week on Monday, after recording six points, including his first-career USHL hat trick, along with a plus-six on-ice rating in two games last weekend. After dishing out an as- sist in the 3-2 shootout win over the Fargo Force on Friday, he registered a career-high five-points, posting a natural hat trick and handing out two more helpers, in a 7-1 win over Fargo. He also finished with a game-high plus-five on-ice rating. Melnick is riding a nine-game point streak, accounting for four goals and 15 assists over that span. He currently leads the USHL with 40 assists, and has added 12 goals for 52 total points on the season, placing him fifth in League scoring.

JUST WIN, BABY!: Goaltender Colin DeAugustine extended his winning streak to seven games, with a 21 save perfor- mance in 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.

BIRD IS THE WORD: Goaltender Chris Birdsall earned his fourth win in a row on Saturday, turning out a 25-save perfor- mance in an 7-1 win over Fargo. The Boston College commit is 6-2-0 in his last eight starts, and has allowed more than three goals on just three occasions during that span.

THE WAIT IS FINALLY OVER: Defenseman Connor Yau scored the game-tying goal in last Friday's 3-2 shootout win over Fargo, marking his first goal as a member of the Youngstown Phantoms. Yau has skated in 46 games with the Phantoms, pro- ducing a goal an eight assists. He also has a team-best plus-15 on-ice rating.

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 21.83% of their chances (50/229), including three-for-six on Friday night against Sioux Falls. Their 50 power play goals leads the USHL. Kiefer Sherwood is currently tied for second in the League with 11 power play markers on the year, including one in Friday's 7-3 win over Sioux Falls. The penalty kill has been just as solid, ranking second in the USHL, killing off 163/188 opposition power plays (86.70%), 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 (185) assists (298), points (483), power play goals (50), and shorthanded goals (14). Currently, the Phantoms are second in the League in scoring, averaging 3.85 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.

Check out the Youngstown Phantoms Statistics



United States Hockey League Stories from March 7, 2015


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.

Other Recent Youngstown Phantoms Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central