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USHL Youngstown Phantoms

School Day Seven: Phantoms Beat Team USA in Matinee Special

March 21, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Although the game started at 10:15 am, the Phantoms were certainly energized and ready to play on Friday morning, cruising past Team USA 7-3 in an eventful contest that saw a multitude of ejections, two Phantoms each scoring two goals, and two different Phantoms each scoring their first career goal.

The contest started so early because it was the rescheduling of the annual School Day Game. Over 3,500 local students were in attendance, and from the opening puck drop, they helped create an exciting atmosphere.

"It was loud, especially early this morning," said Sean Romeo, who started in net and earned the victory. "It was a great crowd, and it was fun to play in front of them. It helped us get off to a good start. It gave us a lot of energy, and we fed off of that."

Other Phantom skaters echoed Romeo's sentiments that the crowd helped the team get off to a great start, and it showed on the ice, as Youngstown scored three times in the opening frame, including two from Luke Stork, the first of which came just 1:38 into the game.

"I felt good. After the first shift, when you score a goal, you always feel good," said the future Ohio State Buckeye.

Following Stork's opening pair, Connor Moore scored his first USHL goal in his first career game to put Youngstown ahead by three. Moore, one of two affiliate players making his league debut today, said he could not imagine a better start to his Phantoms career.

"I read the play and saw the opportunity to join the rush," said Moore. "We made a chip off the boards and I had a chance with the breakaway. I saw the five hole open and went with it."

During the tail moments of the first period, a scrum broke out when a Team USA player put the puck into Romeo's net following a whistle, resulting in a multitude of ejections. Youngstown lost Stork, Tyler Spezia, and Kiefer Sherwood, while Team USA lost Nick Boka and Dennis Yan.

"Our guys were defending their goalie, and it kind of happened," said Phantoms head coach Anthony Noreen. "I don't think either staff wanted it to happen, but it just kind of happened. We moved on from there."

The ejection was especially untimely for Stork, who was one goal away from a hat trick and was playing his "best period of hockey" since coming to Youngstown, according to Noreen.

"I wanted the third one bad, but the fight happened, and dreams were ruined," laughed Stork.

The second period opened with an interesting dynamic following the incident, which occurred just 19 seconds before the end of the first.

"We're both playing with short benches, and you have to be smart," said Noreen on his approach to the middle frame. "You don't want to go any shorter than that. We were down three forwards. We wanted to keep playing hard and stick to what we did, but at the same time, we wanted to make sure we were smart."

The tension settled down in the second stanza, but the Phantoms' offense did not, as Youngstown scored three more times en route to a 6-1 lead after two. Kyle Connor got the fourth of the game for the Phantoms, Maxim Letunov tacked on the fifth, and Cameron Smith tallied after forcing a turnover while forechecking, getting his first USHL goal in the process.

The goal was a nice reward for Smith, who has spent the last month-and-a-half in Youngstown largely learning and observing as a younger player.

"It felt great," said Smith on his goal. "When you're in the position that I'm in, you're getting put into different spots constantly. It's important to pay extra attention to detail and be positive on the bench. I was the first guy in there on the forecheck, and just went hard after the defenseman. Good things happen when you're in the right place."

The goal occurred against Team USA netminder Michael Lackey, who Smith said he grew up with in the Washington, D.C. area.

"I was in shock at first because it happened so fast," the Dartmouth College commit continued. "The puck lands on your stick, you pick your spot, and you finish the play. I'm very excited about it."

Considering the wild nature of the first two periods, the third was relatively uneventful, but Letunov did score his second goal of the game to give the Phantoms seven on the day. Team USA added a few consolation tallies late, but Youngstown was able to close out the win by a final of 7-3.

After the game, the Phantoms were appreciative of the great crowd that packed the Covelli Centre, filtering out into the concourse to give the students high fives and personally thank them.

"There's no doubt, when you score one, and the crowd is into it, you feed off of it," said Noreen. "There's an excitement, there's a buzz. There was an unbelievable buzz on our bench from the second that we got out there until the second the game ended. It was exciting, it was fun-big thank you to the fans, kids, and schools that came out today, because it was an awesome atmosphere."

"It was a great atmosphere. I was disappointed that I didn't get to finish the game, because it was so cool," added Spezia.

"It was a great game, I'm glad we got the win, and we're excited for two more games this weekend."

Phantoms by the Numbers

Shots - 28

Saves - 39

Power Play - 2/2

Penalty Kill - 2/5

Goals - Stork 2 (14, 15), Moore (1), Connor (24), Letunov 2 (17, 18)

Assists - Letunov (23), Connor (40), Lemirande (10), Bradley 2 (12, 13), Piccinich (24), Mackey (13), Nenadal (6), Reed (7)

Next on the Slate

The Phantoms will travel to Indiana to face the Eastern Conference-leading Ice tomorrow night, and then to Ann Arbor to meet the Team USA U18s on Sunday afternoon.

Single game tickets are on sale now for all Phantoms' home games at the Covelli Centre. Phantoms 10-Game Flex Plans are also available starting at the low price of just $89. Call 330.747.PUCK (7825) for more information or to reserve seats today. For all the latest news, visit www.YoungstownPhantoms.com, follow the Phantoms on Twitter (@YtownPhantoms) and "˜like' them on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/YoungstownPhantoms).

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