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USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Muir, Pawloski Put Phantoms on Ice

December 27, 2013 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Coach Anthony Noreen and the Youngstown Phantoms entered Friday night's showdown with the Indiana Ice quite aware of their opponent's depth, quality goaltending, and the ability to generate offense with any one of four lines.

In the end, the visitors lived up to that billing.

Fueled by an incredible shorthanded goal by Aiden Muir, as well as a shutout by goaltender Jason Pawloski, Indiana (15-5-4, 34 points) defeated Youngstown (7-14-5, 19 points) by a 4-0 final at the Covelli Centre.

The Ice played a complete team game throughout, but the contest was highlighted by one individual moment: Muir's shorthanded goal, which was Indiana's third tally of the evening (as well as their second shorthanded marker). In a footrace to the puck, Muir fought off Tommy Parran and chipped a puck over Sean Romeo while sliding on his knees with his back to the goal.

"We were both in a dead-to-dead race at center ice all the way down to the goal line," said Parran, on the play. "He was on his back, and I was on top of him. He just swung his stick behind his head, and somehow got it, and it fluttered over Romeo's shoulder. It was like [Alexander] Ovechkin, it was unbelievable."

Muir himself was surprised he was able to complete such a play, but admitted he was trying to get the puck on frame, despite the unlikely circumstances.

"I've done that before, actually, so I kind of wanted to put it to that area, but I did get lucky," said the Ice forward, an Edmonton Oilers draftee who was the first overall pick in the Stage II draft this past summer. "I looked back, and [Romeo] shrugged, so I thought, 'oh, I guess I scored.' (laughs)"

The goal was a shining individual event in a game that the Ice, as a team, played in methodical fashion. Limiting chances, including allowing just two shots in the second period, the Phantoms found it difficult to generate time and space on the evening.

"We were just very inconsistent," said Noreen. "I loved us in the first ten minutes of the game: I thought we hit, I thought we were physical. Josh Nenadal hits a crossbar, one of our defensemen hits a post, Kyle [Connor] gets a two-on-one. We had some chances. Then we take a penalty, and we take another penalty. It gets us out of our flow, and I thought they took over the rest of the first.

"Second period, credit them; I thought they had a very good second period, outplaying us. At times, we just didn't look like we were competing the way we had to compete to win a game. Third period, the guys got challenged, and we came out, again: we had chances, and we had every chance in the world to put a puck in the net. We didn't. Their goaltender played well. They got their chances, and they put pucks in the net."

To the Phantoms' credit, they did improve in the third period, notching 12 shots on net in the final stanza, matching their total from the first two. In the end, Pawloski answered every question Youngstown asked of him, and he was able to earn his first shutout of the season.

Youngstown got a boost in the form of two huge returnees to the lineup: Parran and forward Tyler Spezia each played for the first time in weeks, and neither looked out of place in their return.

"Not worse for wear, thank God," said Parran after the game. "It took a little bit to get my decision-making back, and to get back to the swing of things."

"I felt pretty good out there," said Spezia. "It's hard coming off of a break, but at the same time, Indiana had to battle through the same stuff. I wish we would have come out there harder in the second and the third to come away with the two points, but at the same time, we live tomorrow. It's another game, another day."

Each player factored greatly in the game. Spezia led the team in shots on net, with five, and Parran received time on the team's top power play unit in the absence of Lukas Klok, who missed the game due to a death in his family. Noreen called Parran's power play time a "great opportunity," and that fact was not lost on the Phantoms' defenseman.

"Opportunities like that don't just get handed to you every day. Like this weekend, you've got to take the chance you've got, do your best with it, and see what happens. That's all you can do," he said.

Noreen also "loved" the play of Spezia, who immediately reclaimed his spot on the top line alongside Kyle Connor and JJ Piccinich.

"Tyler didn't look out of place at all," said Noreen. "He was the Tyler that we know and love and remember. That's why he's so important to us, and why we missed him so much over the last couple of years. Tyler has to put a puck in the net. He got himself some chances; we need him to a bury a puck."

Bolstered by these returns, the Phantoms will attempt to right the ship tomorrow night against the Ice at the Covelli Centre. Tonight, however, the balanced Indiana squad was too strong, continually pressuring the Phantoms, holding the puck in the Youngstown end, and generating consistent offense.

"I thought that was the result of four balanced lines," said Noreen on the Indiana possession advantage. "They have four lines that can go and hurt you in different ways, [as well as] play the game the right way. They were pinching with their [defensemen]. We need to make harder plays.

"Bottom line is, when we played the game the right way, we were good. When we veered, when we did things soft, when we reached, when we hoped, when we didn't anticipate and go, we were outplayed."

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