Phantoms Drop Home Opener, 6-4
Published on October 2, 2026 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release
Youngstown Phantoms' head coach Nathan Paetsch and Wilhelm Hasselhuhn and Stephen Cover on game night
(Youngstown Phantoms)
YOUNGSTOWN, OH - The Youngstown Phantoms (0-3-0-0, 0pts) put up a season high in goals, but their early season defensive woes continued as they fell 6-4 to the Fargo Force Friday night at the Covelli Centre.
"It's frustrating," said Phantoms Head Coach Nathan Paetsch. "It's frustrating to lose another hockey game. I think we're trending in the right direction. I think we played a lot better hockey than we did in Chicago, so that's encouraging."
Fargo scored the only two goals of the opening period, grabbing the early lead. Caleb Kim snapped a wrister from the right circle past Owen Lepak at 11:43 to break the ice. Zac Zimmerman cashed in when his cross-crease pass was blocked and came back to him. With Lepak reacting to the initial pass, Zimmerman regathered the puck and fired past Lepak at 14:53, doubling the visitor's lead.
Youngstown's newest addition got Youngstown on the board early in the second period. Stephen Cover converted a beautiful pass from Alexander Svitov just 30 seconds into the middle frame to get Youngstown on the board. Fargo answered back with a power play one-timer from AJ Francisco at 7:29 and a fluky goal from Linus Rudslatt Debou at 15:03 to grab a 4-1 advantage. Nikita Koltsov, however, answered back on the next shift with a fluky goal of his own at 15:59, trimming the Fargo lead back to two at 4-2 to end the second. Koltsov's shot hit a Fargo defender in the shoulder and ricocheted back to the left and into an undefended side of the net, as the initial path of the shot appeared heading towards the right side.
The Force stretched the lead back out to three once more early in the third as Lauri Kouhia 's wrister from the low slot beat Lepak upstairs as the Phantom netminder was down in the butterfly. Youngstown answered back at 8:16 on Cover's second of the game, a wraparound finish that beat Samuel Hrenak to the far post.
"(Steven) is a good hockey player, he made a lot of good plays," said Paetsch. "He's got a great shot; he knows how to find the net. He just knows how to score goals."
Just as Youngstown seemed to be seizing the momentum for a potential comeback, Max Cullen won body position at the edge of the blue paint and tapped home a centering feed at 9:06 to give Fargo back their three-goal lead on the next shift. Jack Hair converted a major power play attempt for Youngstown with his wrister from the point at 15:30 for his first USHL goal, concluding the scoring.
"(Jack) has been a pleasant surprise," said Paetsch. "The fact that a 2010 (birth year) is playing the role he's playing. We force him into pretty big situations. He has swagger and he's going to be a great hockey player. It's a tough league for someone that age as a defenseman and he's doing a great job."
Lepak stopped 16-of-22, taking his third loss of the season. Hrenak stopped 28-of-32 to earn the win for the Force, continuing his strong start to the season.
Youngstown and Fargo wrap up their weekend series Saturday night with a 6:00pm puck drop at the Covelli Centre.
BY THE NUMBERS
Shots - 32
Saves - 16
Power Play - 1/4
Penalty Kill - 3/4
Goals - Cover (2), Hair, Koltsov
Assists - Kaiser, Koltsov, McKinnon, Miller, Svitov, Thompson
Box Score - https://ushl.com/ht/#/game-summary/13503
Matt Lipcsak | Broadcaster
Images from this story
 Youngstown Phantoms' head coach Nathan Paetsch and Wilhelm Hasselhuhn and Stephen Cover on game night |
United States Hockey League Stories from October 2, 2026
- Phantoms Drop Home Opener, 6-4 - Youngstown Phantoms
- Fighting Five: Saints Take on Cedar Rapids in Home Opener - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Another Offensive Explosion Helps Lumberjacks Defeat Capitols, 6-3 - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Home Opener, Home Win - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Stars Fall in Home Opener, 4-0 - Lincoln Stars
- Dubuque Comeback Falls Short in Waterloo - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Bucs Extend Win Streak with 4-1 Win in Home Opener - Des Moines Buccaneers
- Steel Shut out, 5-0, by Cedar Rapids - Chicago Steel
- Lancers Fall at Des Moines Friday Night - Omaha Lancers
- Beumer's First Career Shutout Powers Storm to 4-0 Friday Win at Lincoln - Tri-City Storm
- Alumni Fill College Hockey Rosters on Opening Weekend - USHL
- Tri-City Faces Lincoln on Friday Night at Ice Box - Tri-City Storm
- Fighting Five: Saints Visit Black Hawks in Cowbell Cup Play - Dubuque Fighting Saints
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.
