USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Phantoms Win Opener over Omaha 5-3

Published on September 29, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - With his team trailing 2-1 to start the third period, Youngstown Phantoms center Austin Cangelosi wasted little time. With the puck in the right-wing corner, the pint-sized pivot snuck to the front of the net where he fired home a centering feed from Todd Koritzinsky to knot the game at two just 17 seconds in.

The Phantoms would go on to score three more goals in the third - with Cangelosi figuring in on each of them - to come away with a 5-3 come-from-behind win over the Omaha Lancers in their season opener at the Covelli Centre.

Three defensemen - Dan Renouf, Eric Sweetman and Ryan Lowney - along with center Alfred Larsson scored for the Phantoms. In net, Sean Romeo was more than solid, turning away 26 shots in the win.

"That was just a good USHL hockey game," head coach Anthony Noreen said. "That's an excellent team we played against. I'm happy for our fans that they got to see us win here on home ice."

The first period of the season looked like just that. The Phantoms were sloppy at times with their passing and clearing attempts and 6:02 in Drew Menlanson made them pay for it, putting the Lancers up 1-0 with a shot from the slot off a turnover down low.

"I think it was just nerves," Noreen said of the team's first-period struggles. "We needed to take a breath and get back to playing our game."

Alex Rauter had the chance to put Omaha up two around the 9-minute mark in the second, but missed the net on a breakaway. The puck caromed up the boards and quickly turned into a 2-on-1 for the Phantoms. Luke Stork came speeding down the right wall and dished it off to Larsson at the last minute, who was able to get the shot off on the open net before Alex Lyon could square up. The points were the first of both players' USHL careers.

But Tyler Hynes put the Lancers up once again nearly five minutes later when a Phantoms defenseman lost his edge and slid into Romeo, giving the Union College commit an open look at the top half of the net. Omaha carried the lead into the second intermission, but Cangelosi's goal seconds after the start of the third sparked the momentum.

"Everybody on the bench was rallying," Cangelosi said. "The energy on the bench was a lot higher. We just knew we were going to win."

Cangelosi helped give the Phantoms their first lead of the game when he hit Sweetman at the point. The Woodbine, Md., native skated it in to the top of the circle, made a quick move and than fired a shot low, beating Lyon on the far side at the 12:15 mark. A minute and a half later, though, the Lancers tied it when Rauter miss-hit a one-timer attempt and the puck floated straight up, end-over-end, and fell behind Romeo.

The Phantoms did not let up and minutes after Kyle Mackey put a puck off the crossbar, Cangelosi poked it to Renouf the right point. The left-handed defensemen drew Lyon and then fired it low, again aiming for the far side, and rang it off the post and into the net to put Youngstown up 4-3.

"I had a lot of room on the far side," Renouf said. "I thought I was going to lift it a bit more, but it found it's way in."

Lowney would ice things in the final minutes, with the Phantoms down two skaters - Markus McCrea in the box and Lyon on the Omaha bench - when he intercepted a pass in his own end, dished it to Cangelosi and went full-speed ahead. Cangelosi crossed the blue line and gave the puck back to second-year defenseman, who put it in the open net for the first goal of his USHL career.

"The biggest change that we made from last season's approach to the game to this season's is getting the defensemen involved more offensively," Noreen said. "We have the troops to do it on the back end, and credit goes to them for listening and putting it in action."

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United States Hockey League Stories from September 29, 2012


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