Phantoms Down Team USA 3-2
Published on April 6, 2022 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release
YOUNGSTOWN, OH - Two goals in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and provided enough offense for the Youngstown Phantoms (27-20-5-4, 63 points) to hold off Team USA by a 3-2 final Tuesday night at the Covelli Centre.
Quinn Kennedy opened the scoring in the middle frame, ripping a wrister from between the circles past Carsen Musser (21 saves) 4:39 into the period to give Youngstown a 2-1 lead. It was Kennedy's first goal in the USHL. "Quinn energizes his teammates, and tonight he gets rewarded for it," said Phantoms Head Coach Brad Patterson. "Very happy for him, as his teammates were."
A dominant shift just over three minutes later led to another Youngstown goal, which ended up being the game winner. Entering the zone at 7:01, the Phantoms kept the U17's pinned in their own end for 1:23. The shift ended with Andrew Centrella's beautiful cross-ice pass to Justin Varner, who fired the puck into a yawning cage at 8:24 for his 11th goal of the season and a 3-1 Youngstown lead.
USA managed a goal from Will Vote in the final five minutes of regulation, cashing in on a net-front scramble just after a Youngstown penalty expired, but Jacob Fowler (26 saves) and the Youngstown defense slammed the door shut on the U17's to preserve the victory.
Youngstown opened the scoring to the game as well, grabbing the lead 5:11 into regulation. Tiernan Shoudy, playing in his 100th USHL game, was credited with the tally, redirecting Chase Pietila's point shot past Musser. Trey Taylor also received an assist on the play, his 40th point of the season, tying him with the Phantoms' team mark for points by a defenseman that was set by Ryan Lowney in the 2012-13 season. USA tied the game at 13:44 when Oliver Moore picked up a loose puck and ripped it past Fowler from the left circle.
With the win, Youngstown's magic number to clinch a playoff spot outright shrank to 5. As the Phantoms take to the road, a win against Cedar Rapids on Friday would shrink the magic number to 1. The magic number to clinch home ice in the first round of the Clark Cup Playoffs is 6. The Phantoms now own an 8-2-0-0 record against Team USA this year, 5-1 against the U17's. Eight wins in a season is the most in Phantoms' history against Team USA. The Phantoms still have two games remaining on the year against the NTDP. Youngstown heads to Iowa this weekend to take on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Friday and the Dubuque Fighting Saints on Saturday. The Phantoms will be looking to clinch the season series against the RoughRiders on Friday, while Saturday puts them in search of their first win of the season against Dubuque (0-2-1-1). Puck drop both nights is scheduled for 8:05pm eastern.
By the Numbers
Shots - 24
Saves - 26
Power Play - 0/1
Penalty Kill - 3/3
Goals - Kennedy, Shoudy, Varner
Assists - Centrella (2), Pietila, Sardarian, Taylor, Williams
Box Score - https://www.ushl.com/view/#/game-summary/10147
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