USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Phantom Philes: What Gold Means To American Hockey

January 6, 2010 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


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

John Carlson's overtime goal last night in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan boosted the United States to a 6-5 upset victory over Canada in the gold medal game of the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Championship.

Carlson, an All-USHL Second Team defenseman for the Indiana Ice in 2007-08 and current member of the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears, joined three other former USHLers on the United States squad that stunned the hockey world by claiming our country's second-ever title in the yearly competition that involves the world's best players under the age of 20.

In addition to Carlson, who netted two goals in the gold medal game and made his NHL debut this season with the Washington Capitals, forward Danny Kristo (Omaha Lancers), defenseman Matt Donovan (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) and goaltender Mike Lee (Fargo Force) all skated in the Tier I USHL during the 2008-09 campaign.

"Anytime you win a medal in an international event, it's fantastic," said Phantoms Assistant GM/Director of Player Personnel Jason Koehler. "For those of us who love the game, to have that success, especially over Canada, is a big deal and you hope it leads to positive attention for the sport in this country."

The World Junior Championship, which had been won by Canada five straight years following the United States' only previous victory in 2004, usually falls short of the stature given to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Olympic hockey in America, despite its significance in the minds of puck junkies abroad.

"I think it's just the unfamiliarity of some of the names you see that helps it fly under the radar," Koehler said. "Amazingly it goes underreported for how important it really is, let alone how many top prospects who compete in it."

Next year's event will be hosted by Buffalo and the western New York region, a site that could combine with this year's result to create an unprecedented buzz stateside in anticipation of the 2011 championship.

"I think your diehard fans who appreciate the level of play and the event are already excited and looking for tickets," Koehler said. "You hope the win this year generates a bit of a shock wave, wakes people up and generates more interest in the event."

PHANTOMS GAMES THIS WEEK...

Friday, January 8 at 7:15 p.m. vs. Fargo - New Year New You & Bargain Beer Night / Win great prizes all night long to help you remake yourself in 2010, including fitness club memberships, training sessions and nutrition consultations. Also, enjoy $1 beers as the Phantoms host the Force for the first time!

Saturday, January 9 at 7:15 p.m. vs. Fargo - Local Super Heroes Night / Honor our local police officers and firefighters! Come early for a "Guns & Hoses" hockey game pitting Youngstown's Finest vs. Youngstown's Bravest at 5 p.m. and stay for the Phantoms' showdown with the defending West Division champions.

FOLLOW THE PHANTOMS ALL SEASON LONG!

Listen to Voice of the Phantoms Matt Gajtka call 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, presented by House of Speed, is an hour-long weekly talk show that brings you an inside look at your Youngstown Phantoms. Matt 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 the past week's worth of games and get Gajtka's take on Youngstown's inaugural season in the USHL at the onlineVoice of the Phantoms blog.

THE WEEK THAT WAS:

Tuesday, December 29: YOUNGSTOWN 4, WATERLOO 3

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Jefferson Dahl started his hockey career in his native Eau Claire and has already committed to the University of Wisconsin, but the Youngstown Phantoms are more than happy to be in the middle of his Badger sandwich.

Dahl turned in his second two-goal effort of the season, extending his team-high goal-scoring streak to five games, as the Phantoms salted away a 4-3 triumph over the Waterloo Black Hawks Tuesday night at the Covelli Centre in the teams' first-ever meeting.

Youngstown finished 2009 with a 7-6-1 record at home as is now tied for third in the East Division with Cedar Rapids, whom they will face Thursday to start a three-game road trip.

Dahl's second red light, his team-leading 11th of the season, pushed the Phantoms ahead 3-0 with 3:30 left in the second and gave him his second three-point night of the month. After Waterloo captain Brock Montpetit registered a power-play tally 2:09 later, Youngstown defenseman Scott Mayfield whipped a long wrister past Hawks goalie C.J. Motte to restore the three-goal advantage at 9:01 of the third.

Soren Jonzzon (10:15) and Nick Ebert (power play - 15:48) beat Phantoms netminder Jordan Tibbett later in the final frame, but Youngstown's defense stiffened in the final minutes, pushing its record to 7-3-2 in one-goal games. Particularly strong in the first two stanzas, Tibbett made 41 saves for his seventh win of the campaign.

Waterloo entered the game having given up a league-high seven shorthanded goals against, and thanks to the Phantoms' Dahl, it didn't take long for that total to reach eight. Dahl hopped on a neutral-zone turnover just after the Black Hawks' second power play began and sprinted off on a breakaway, eventually getting hauled down from behind.

A penalty shot was pending, but Dahl found a way to shovel the puck past Motte while skidding into the goal himself, putting Youngstown on top 8:40 into the contest with a superlative effort.

Dahl wrote his name on the scoresheet again with the Phantoms on the power play midway through the second, as his precise centering pass found the stick of Tom Serratore in the low slot. The third-year USHL forward got all of the ensuing one-timer, depositing his eighth.

A few minutes later, Dahl pounced on a loose puck during a delayed penalty situation and ripped it into the goal over Motte's right shoulder to negate the ensuing power play but extend the lead. Wisconsin's Mr. Hockey 2008 now has nine points in his last five tilts and his 18 total points ties Brian Dowd for second on the team in that category.

Youngstown was shorthanded 12 times for the second consecutive game and gave up a pair of power-play goals, but still won the special teams battle with Dahl's shorthanded marker and two of their own with the man advantage. The Phantoms' power play has produced two goals in a contest nine times on the campaign.

Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid1048960 for full box score.

Thursday, December 31: CEDAR RAPIDS 5, YOUNGSTOWN 1

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Five unanswered goals by five different Cedar Rapids RoughRiders gave the home side a 5-1 victory over the Youngstown Phantoms Thursday night at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

After a scoreless opening period, the Phantoms (13-12-2, 28 points) got on the scoreboard first courtesy of Tom Serratore, but they fell for just the second time all season when netting the game's opening tally. With the come-from-behind win, the RoughRiders (14-12-2, 30 points) moved two points ahead of Youngstown for third place alone in the East Division.

Jefferson Dahl came into the game with the longer goal-scoring streak - five games - but Serratore extended his early in the second period when he deflected Adam Berkle's power-play wrister past Troy Grosenick's glove hand. Serratore's ninth of the campaign gave him goals in four consecutive contests.

Cedar Rapids' Nick Leppin caught a break about four minutes later at the 8:13 mark when he converted the rebound of defenseman Jared Beers' missed shot from the right of the Phantoms' goal. Beers hit the outside of the net frame, but it bounced right into the slot, where Leppin tied the game 1-1.

Youngstown turned in a superlative effort to kill off a five-on-three RoughRiders power play later in the second, but Eric Robinson snapped a shot by Jordan Tibbett from the outer edge of the left circle just moments after the teams returned to even strength to make it 2-1 with 4:17 left before the intermission.

Jeff Costello then registered his team-leading 12th goal of the season when he finished a quick two-on-one rush with a deflection. Goaltender Grosenick earned the secondary assist, as he pumped the puck ahead to Jeff Lehrke with the 'Riders on a power play. Lehrke then found Costello in the low slot to make it 3-1 1:07 after Robinson's tally.

Stephen Collins slammed home a rebound during a two-man advantage at 4:11 of the third to push the Cedar Rapids edge to 4-1, and then Justin Kovacs set up Michael Parks from in tight at 8:46 to provide the final margin.

Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid1048966 for full box score.

Saturday, January 2: GREEN BAY 7, YOUNGSTOWN 2

GREEN BAY, Wisc. - Two-goal nights by Anders Lee and Chris Crane, plus a three-goal effort from their power play, lifted the Green Bay Gamblers to a 7-2 victory in an East Division clash with the Youngstown Phantoms Saturday night at the Resch Center.

The first-place Gamblers (20-6-3, 43 points) maintained their 10-point lead over the second-place Indiana Ice, while the Phantoms (13-13-2, 28 points) remained tied with Chicago for fourth, pending the conclusion of the Steel's game with Lincoln. These two clubs will meet again in less than 24 hours for a 1:05 Eastern time faceoff from the same site.

Dave Donnellan and Andrew Lamont both scored for Youngstown, the latter of which drew the Phantoms within 3-2 late in the second, but four consecutive goals by the Gamblers put the finishing touches on the contest. Green Bay launched 51 shots at Youngstown goalie Matt Mahalak, a season-high for a Phantoms opponent on the season.

Green Bay is now 14-0-0 when scoring first, and the Gamblers put themselves in that familiar position when they lit the lamp twice in the opening 3:31. Ryan Furne got the Gamblers rolling at 2:48 when his power-play wrister from the left dot found twine over Mahalak's glove hand.

Less than a minute later, the Gamblers generated their second goal from behind the Youngstown net. Ryan Arnold centered for Travis Lynch, who hit the outside of the net with his quick one-timer. The puck stopped at the side of the left post, where Crane had an open net to shoot at.

Dave Donnellan cut the Gamblers' advantage in half with a long-range power-play marker, the third of the season for the Wisconsin-born defenseman, at 9:15 of the opening stanza.

Patrick McCadden would answer back for the home side at 8:42 of the second, blasting a slapper from the left circle, but when Youngstown's Lamont whistled his fifth of the year past Green Bay goalie Steve Summerhays' glove hand with 4:33 left before the second intermission, a healthy dose of intrigue was injected into the proceedings.

Green Bay proved to have the antidote, though. Lee swept in his team-leading 14th past Mahalak from five feet away during a power play just 48 seconds after Lamont's goal. Crane added his second when he found himself alone in front less than two minutes later, giving the Gamblers three man-advantage markers in their first three chances. They would finish 3-for-6 on the evening.

Lee (8:30) and William Kessel (13:13) tacked on even-strength goals in the third to hand Youngstown its third-straight road defeat by four or more goals. The Phantoms are now 6-7-1 away from the Covelli Centre.

Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid1048977 for full box score.

Sunday, January 3: GREEN BAY 2, YOUNGSTOWN 1

GREEN BAY, Wisc. - Defenseman David Makowski's tiebreaking goal early in the third period was the difference Sunday afternoon, as the Green Bay Gamblers squeaked by the Youngstown Phantoms 2-1 at the Resch Center.

Makowski's wrister from the right point found just enough space between Youngstown goaltender Jordan Tibbett's left arm and the right post at 3:11 of the final frame; Makowski leads all USHL blueliners with 11 goals. Tibbett, getting his fifth start in the Phantoms' last six games and enjoying a stretch of strong play, stopped 36 Green Bay shots.

Tibbett's netminding counterpart Ryan McKay held firm in the final minute, stopping Luke Eibler and Tom Serratore in quick succession with less than 15 seconds to play to preserve the victory. McKay made 23 saves to earn his fifth win and second against the Phantoms this season.

The first-place Gamblers (21-6-3, 45 points) swept the two-game weekend series with Youngstown (13-14-2, 28 points) and now lead the season series 3-1 with one matchup left, Feb. 28 in Green Bay. The Phantoms have dropped three straight, all on the road, and are below the.500 mark for the first time since Oct. 30. They will attempt to regain their equilibrium against the West Division's Fargo Force Friday and Saturday at the Covelli Centre.

After surrendering the final four goals of the game in Saturday night's 7-2 loss, the Phantoms came back to construct a competitive first period Sunday afternoon, but they still faced a deficit through 20 minutes. Patrick McCadden's centering pass from the bottom of the right circle found Robert Francis at the top of the crease, who converted for a 1-0 Green Bay advantage at 9:03.

Youngstown got into severe penalty trouble to start the second, as they took four straight minors in the opening 11:40, but the Phantoms were able to kill all four ensuing Green Bay power plays to keep it 1-0. One day after scoring three goals with the man advantage, the Gamblers went 0-for-8 on the afternoon.

The Phantoms' success on the penalty kill loomed large when they tied the game on a power play of their own late in the middle stanza. Good puck movement gave defenseman Eibler a great look at the net from 25 feet away, but he elected to pass to a wide open Taylor Holstrom at the left post. Holstrom tapped in the smooth setup for his eighth of the season at 15:31, and the teams skated into what would be a decisive third period.

Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid1048982 for full box score.

Check out the Youngstown Phantoms Statistics



United States Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2010


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.

OurSports Central