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USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Phantoms Fast Start Paces 6-3 Win over Muskegon

April 2, 2022 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, OH - The Muskegon Lumberjacks may have thought it was an April Fools joke when they were called for two penalties in the first three minutes of the game, but they certainly weren't laughing when the Youngstown Phantoms (25-19-5-4, 59 points) converted on both power play opportunities and scored four goals in the first period on their way to a 6-3 victory Friday night at the Covelli Centre.

Muskegon forward Ben Strinden was called for tripping just 1:05 into the game, setting up the Phantoms for the opening goal. Garrett Wright cashed in on the first man-advantage for the Phantoms, backhanding home a rebound from the edge of the blue paint for his second goal as a Phantom, 14th of the season, and a 1-0 Youngstown lead just 2:51 into regulation. Twenty seconds after the Wright goal, Muskegon captain Jack Williams was assessed a checking from behind penalty, putting Youngstown back on the power play. Adam Ingram was the beneficiary this time, firing a wrister past Aleksandr Kuleshov (9 saves) at 4:23 to double the Youngstown lead to 2-0.

"You get two early on the power play, it really swings the momentum," said Phantoms Head Coach Brad Patterson. "That was a big thing we talked about this week with that group. We told them 'Hey everyone wants to score, but your job is to go get the momentum,' and they definitely did that and the guys fed off of it."

Youngstown wasn't done in the first period though, cashing in twice more before the frame concluded. Kenta Isogai tapped home a bouncing puck at 12:27 on a play that gave Quinn Kennedy his first point in the USHL. Trey Taylor ended the night for Kuleshov, blasting a slapper on the rush past the Muskegon netminder at 16:59. Owen Carlile recorded his first USHL point with an assist on the play.

Muskegon scored back-to-back goals to end the Youngstown scoring run when Strinden scored on a pretty redirect at 17:42 of the first and Cody Croal recorded his first USHL goal at 3:02 of the second, but the Phantoms answered the Croal goal quickly when Stiven Sardarian snapped a wrister past Chase Clark (14 saves) at 3:23 to give Youngstown back their three-goal advantage at 5-2. Croal added another tally off a net front scrum at 2:27 of the third, but Tiernan Shoudy put the game away with an empty net goal at 19:26 to seal the victory for Youngstown.

The win brought the Phantoms within three points of Muskegon in the standings as the teams battle for playoff position within the Eastern Conference. Youngstown also gained some distance on the Madison Capitols, who lost tonight. Muskegon and Youngstown currently sit 3-4 in the Eastern Conference standings, while Madison is five points behind Youngstown in fifth place. The three- and four-seeds in the conference receive home-ice advantage in the opening round of the Clark Cup Playoffs, which start later this month. The Phantoms jumped ahead of Muskegon in the season series 4-2-1-1 (10 points) to 4-3-1-0 (9 points), with two games remaining between the teams. The first of those two games will be Saturday night at the Covelli Centre, starting at 7:05pm.

By the Numbers

Shots - 29

Saves - 21

Power Play - 2/3

Penalty Kill - 3/3

Goals - Ingram, Isogai, Sardarian, Shoudy, Taylor, Wright

Assists - Carlile, Centrella, Isogai, Kennedy, LaChance (2), Lurie, Pietila, Sardarian, Taylor (3)

Box Score - https://www.ushl.com/view/#/game-summary/10151

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