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USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Letunov's Hat Trick Powers Phantoms Past 'Jacks

November 15, 2013 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - In a game marked by the return of gold medal-winner Kyle Connor to the Youngstown Phantoms' lineup, first-year forward Maxim Letunov stole the show Friday night at the Covelli Centre. The Russian rookie netted his first career hat trick to lead the Phantoms to a 5-3 win over the rival Muskegon Lumberjacks

Zach Evancho also scored and Connor added an empty-net goal while Youngstown (6-10-1, 13 points) picked grabbed the win in Game 1 of a two-game home-and-home set. The teams will face off again Saturday night in Muskegon.

"We've shown a lot of belief in the guys sitting in our room and we challenged them to prove that we're right - that we do have the right character and people to win," said head coach Anthony Noreen, who returned behind the bench after missing the Phantoms' last four games while serving on the staff for Team USA's at the World Junior A Challenge in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

"We competed as well as we have all year tonight. It was a great effort," he said.

The Phantoms took a 2-1 lead into the second period but the Lumberjacks (8-7-3, 19 points) were gifted a 5-on-3 advantage two minutes in when Tommy Parran was whistled for a questionable roughing call and Noreen was assessed an additional penalty for arguing the call. Youngstown killed off the first minute but Muskegon was able to knot it up when Blake Christensen beat goaltender Colin DeAugustine with a shot through a screen. The goal came a day after the Phantoms dealt the first-year forward to the 'Jacks in exchange of several draft picks and future considerations.

Letunov put Youngstown back in front on the power play at 9:05 mark when he picked up a rebound off a shot from JJ Piccinich. The puck bounced out to the Boston University recruit on the back door and he tucked it right beneath the crossbar for his second of the night and sixth of the season.

Letunov completed his hat trick scoring what would turn out to be the eventual game-winner on another power play a little more than three minutes later. The with five forwards on the ice - Kiefer Sherwood and Josh Melnick manning the blue line with the trio of Connor, Letunov and Piccinich down low - the Phantoms expertly dissected the Lumberjacks' penalty kill. After a give-and-go with Piccincich at the top of the circles Connor threaded a pass to Letunov on the backdoor and he fired it past Muskegon netminder Jordan Uhelski.

"It was a really good job on the power play from Kyle," Letunov said. "It feels really good [to score the hat trick]. I had a lot of fun playing today."

Noreen said Friday night's performance is another glimpse of what Letunov, who's included on NHL Central Scouting's "Players to Watch" list for the 2014 NHL Draft, is capable of.

"It's just a confidence thing. Obviously you see what he's able to do with time and space," Noreen said. "Once he fills out and gets bigger and stronger, that's really the only thing missing from Max. He's as dynamic and special a player as there is in this league."

The Lumberjacks struck first just 1:22 into the game when Robbie DeMontis stole a puck behind the net and threaded a pass to Matt Iacopelli in the slot. The first-year forward fired a wrist shot low and beat DeAugustine for his 11th goal of the season.

But the Phantoms put a pair of pucks in the back of the net in an 18-second span to grab the lead with six and a half minutes remaining in the first. Evancho knotted it up when he redirected Melnick's wrist shot for his second goal of the season and Letunov picked up his first of the night on the following shift when he gathered up a rebound off a Kyle Mackey point shot and slotted it past Uhelski.

Connor scored an empty-net goal with just two seconds left in regulation to clinch the win.

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