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USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Phantom Philes: A Worthy Adversary

March 22, 2010 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - These are the Phantom Philes, a weekly comprehensive look at Youngstown's stop on the road to the National Hockey League.

With two expansion teams - the Muskegon (Mich.) Lumberjacks and the Dubuque (Iowa) Fighting Saints - joining the USHL next season to raise the circuit's membership to 16, there's no guarantee the Youngstown Phantoms and the Sioux City Musketeers will ever meet four times in a season again.

That's a shame, because all four clashes this season were events to remember.

The two clubs, one (Youngstown) an East Division team in its first year of existence and the other (Sioux City) a member of the West and an original participant in the 31-year-old USHL, have some large differences beyond just their birth years and geographic locations. For one, while the Phantoms have been among the most bellicose teams in the league, to the tune of 26.4 penalty minutes per game, the Musketeers have committed less than half of Youngstown's on-ice sins.

In addition, the Purple and Orange have entrusted twin goaltenders Jordan Tibbett and Matt Mahalak to a nearly equal amount of starts between the pipes; conversely, the Muskies have leaned heavily upon first-year netminder Matt Skoff, who has tended goal in a league-high 45 tilts. But despite their myriad differences, the Phantoms and the Musketeers matched up extraordinarily well this year.

It was with Skoff in net that Youngstown and Sioux City finished their season series with another splendid game, this one ending in a shootout after the two teams exchanged third-period goals 18 seconds apart to send the game into extra time tied 2-2.

Eight days prior, the Phantoms had prevailed in a seven-round shootout at Covelli Centre, with Jiri Sekac, Brett Gensler and Taylor Holstrom sending Youngstown to its first-ever victory against Sioux City. This time, though, the Musketeers had their vengeance, outgunning the Phantoms 3-2 in the skills competition to clinch the season series 3-1, with the last three games decided by a single goal.

The only Youngstown-Sioux City clash that wasn't decided by the smallest of margins still went down to the final minute, with the Musketeers scoring an empty-net goal in the waning seconds Nov. 21 in their 4-2 home win at Tyson Events Center.

Tom Serratore, who spent his first two USHL seasons in Sioux City before the Phantoms snapped him up in the Expansion Draft last May, sparkled against his old club this season. The future Minnesota Golden Gopher registered five points (two goals, three assists) versus his former franchise, including a regulation goal and a shootout tally Saturday in his old barn.

Serratore was greeted with boos from the partisan crowd of 2,258 when he approached the puck in the third round of the tiebreaker, but he ignored the rude greeting by snapping a shot past Skoff after slamming his stick on the ice to freeze the goalie.

"I couldn't really hear [the boos]," said Serratore on his first shootout attempt of the season. "I was pretty nervous."

The shootout nerves have likely worn off for the Phantoms as a team, as they have gone to the tiebreaker three times in their last five games, splitting a pair with Sioux City in the process. Youngstown had skated in just two shootouts in its first 50 USHL contests prior to this month.

PHANTOMS GAMES THIS WEEK:

Friday, March 26 at 7:05 p.m. @ TEAM USA UNDER-17

Saturday, March 27 at 7:15 p.m. vs. TEAM USA UNDER-17 / Team Poster Giveaway - The first 2,500 fans through the Covelli Centre gates will receive a special edition team poster, presented by Comcast, Oswald Companies and Cerni Motors! Also, sign up for the Phantoms Kids Club that night and get a free ticket to the game, plus a Kids Club gift pack which includes a free T-shirt.

FOLLOW THE PHANTOMS ALL SEASON LONG!

Listen to Voice of the Phantoms Matt Gajtka describe exciting Phantoms hockey on Youngstown's ESPN 1240. Broadcasts begin approximately 15 minutes prior to opening faceoff. Phantoms fans outside the listening area can log onto www.wbbw.com and use ESPN 1240's streaming audio player, so there's no need to miss a second of the action.

"Phantoms Phever" is an hour-long weekly talk show that brings you an inside look at your Youngstown Phantoms. Gajtka sets up shop Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at Jeremiah Bullfrog's Sports Bar & Grille on US Route 224 in Boardman, chatting with coaches, players and front office staff about northeast Ohio's most exciting team and the great sport of hockey. Catch "Phantoms Phever" on Youngstown's ESPN Radio 1240 AM and online at www.wbbw.com

Also, make "Youngstown Phantoms" your friend on Facebook and follow "ytownphantoms" on Twitter to stay plugged into the Phantoms 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

RADIO REPLAYS, PRESS BOX OPINIONS AND MUCH MORE...

Relive heart-pounding Phantoms action on demand! Listen to all the best goal calls from recent games and get Gajtka's take on Youngstown's inaugural season in the USHL at the online Voice of the Phantoms blog at www.youngstownphantoms.com.

THE WEEK THAT WAS:

Friday, March 19: OMAHA 6, YOUNGSTOWN 1

OMAHA, Neb. - Dakota Eveland scored the game's first two goals and assisted on two others as the Omaha Lancers converted a 3-0 second-period lead into a 6-1 win over the Youngstown Phantoms Friday Night at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

Omaha (37-12-6, 80 points) blew a three-goal advantage Wednesday night against Fargo in a shootout loss, and when Nick Czinder netted his 10th of the season to draw Youngstown (17-34-3, 37 points) within 3-1 after two periods, the Lancers had to be experiencing a few flashbacks.

But Greg Wolfe pushed the Omaha advantage back to three just 59 seconds into the third, soon to be followed by Stefan Demopolous (8:27) and Troy Power (13:58) in the goal-scoring department. The Phantoms flung 17 shots at Lancers netminder John Keeney in the final frame, but couldn't get another puck into the cage as Omaha swept the four-game season series.

Matt Mahalak made a lunging stop on Eveland midway through the third to prevent the hat trick, one of several larcenous saves turned in by the first-year Phantoms goalie. Mahalak stopped 27 shots in his first start in 13 days.

Each side earned multiple power-play opportunities in the first, including a two-man advantage for Omaha, but it was a shorthanded tally that kicked off the night's scoring. Eveland took a lead pass down the right wing and threw a hard wrister past Mahalak's right pad for his 19th at 17:08, the Lancers' 14th shorthanded goal of the season.

Eveland struck again 8:27 into the second, sweeping the rebound of Aaron Ave's point shot into the open net at even strength for his fourth goal vs. Youngstown this season. Erik Haula followed 97 seconds later with Omaha on its fourth power play, quickly flipping a loose puck under the crossbar from the right post.

Czinder netted his first goal since Dec. 12, ending a 23-game drought with a power move to the net down the left wing, tossing a backhand off Keeney and into the cage with 3:13 to go before the second intermission. Dave Donnellan picked up the lone assist.

The three Omaha goals in the third were scored from perhaps a combined 20 feet. Wolfe lifted Eveland's centering pass over Mahalak from the right edge of the crease, then Demopolous and Power popped home rebounds from near the left post.

Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid1049135 for full box score.

Saturday, March 20: SIOUX CITY 3, YOUNGSTOWN 2 (SO)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The Youngstown Phantoms rallied twice to tie in regulation then did the same in the deciding shootout, but Alex Krushelnyski netted the winner to send the Sioux City Musketeers to a 3-2 shootout win at Tyson Events Center.

After Nick Sorkin and Tommy Olczyk scored in the opening two rounds of the tiebreaker, but former Musketeer Tom Serratore and Adam Berkle burned goalie Matt Skoff to make it 2-2 heading for the fifth and deciding round.

Taylor Holstrom, who beat Sioux City (23-23-9, 55 points) in a shootout at Covelli Centre eight days ago, was denied by Skoff's left pad to lead off the fifth. Krushelnyski then lifted the puck past Phantoms netminder Jordan Tibbett, who stopped 29 shots and played admirably to help Youngtown (17-34-4, 38 points) reach the shootout.

Serratore enjoyed a productive game in his old barn, netting a regulation goal in addition to his first shootout tally of the season. Jiri Sekac registered his second two-point game against Sioux City in two weeks, racking up a pair of assists.

The teams entered the third period tied 1-1 with 20 shots on goal apiece, and Sioux City struck at 7:22 to grab its second lead of the game. During their third power play of the game, Stephan Vigier slammed a one timer from below the right dot off a pass from Sorkin, but the Phantoms quickly answered back.

Nick Czinder buried Andrej Sustr's rebound from the left side of the net to tie the game 18 seconds after Vigier's tally, his 11th of the season and second in two games. Czinder has now scored in three straight games and four of six.

Serratore deposited his own rebound 5:30 into the second period to knot the contest for the first time, giving him 15 goals on the season. His previous high had been four in his rookie year of 2007-08.

The first period of play was largely give-and-take, with both Youngstown and Sioux City launched 10 shots apiece, but the opening minute belonged to the home side as the Musketeers got a jump start from Ryan Carpenter. After Jefferson Dahl dropped to the ice to block a shot, the puck careened to defenseman Ryan Kesti for a point shot that Tibbett stopped, but Carpenter fired in the rebound just 20 seconds into the game.

Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid1049140 for full box score.

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2010


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