USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Stork Scores Twice, But Phantoms Fall Short against Gamblers

Published on November 11, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Youngstown Phantoms string of bad luck continued Sunday at the Covelli Centre as they fell 3-2 to the Green Bay Gamblers. Luke Stork brought the Phantoms (5-11-0, 10 points) even with the Gamblers (6-8-2, 14 points) twice, but Green Bay got a late power-play goal from Ben Gallacher to come away with the win.

Goaltender Sean Romeo was stellar in net for Youngstown turning away 33 of 36 shots in the losing effort. Meanwhile, his counterpart Michael Rotolo allowed just two goals on 31 shots for his third straight win over the Phantoms.

"It was a great hockey game," head coach Anthony Noreen said. "I don't feel bad for myself or our staff. I feel bad for our guys because they deserved better for the effort they put in today."

John Padulo came within inches of putting the Phantoms in front on the first shift of the game, when he teed up a slap shot from the top of the right circle and rang it off the crossbar. Later in the period Markus McCrea had another great chance to put Youngstown on top but he bounced a wraparound shot off the far post.

Green Bay would go on to draw first blood with 3:47 left in the period when Brandon Kirk hit Grigory Dikushin on the backdoor off odd-man rush to make it 1-0.

"That's just the way things are going right now," Noreen said. "It was kind of a microcosm of the game-the first shot hits the post. I think Markus hit three posts."

The Phantoms came out with a purpose in the second and after peppering Rotolo, who struggled with rebound control throughout the game, they finally broke through at the 13:17 mark. Padulo strolled in from the right side and launched a shot that caromed off Rotolo's pads right out for Stork, who wasted no time firing it into the open net.

"I think we threw about 18 pucks on net to get one goal," Noreen said. "Those are the type of goals you need. Obviously we wish we could've gotten more of them because the pretty ones don't seem to be going in."

Sebastian Weberg put the Gamblers back in front 5:50 into the third period when Trevor Olson hit him with a cross-crease feed. But the Phantoms did not let up and less than two minutes later, Stork knotted the game back up. First year defenseman Kyle Mackey pinched to keep a puck in on the right point and then fired it Stork in the slot, where he redirected it on net and past Rotolo.

The tally tied Stork, a first-year center from Pittsburgh, Pa., with Austin Cangelosi and JT Stenglein for the team lead with six goals, while the assist was Mackey's first career USHL point.

"I just saw the puck going around and Mackey pinching in so I cut to the net," Stork said. "He found me in front and I buried it."

But with 4:28 remaining in regulation, Josh Nenadal was whistled for tripping up Kevin Irwin, who had been penalized for diving earlier in the game and Gallacher put the Gamblers for good on the ensuing power play. Romeo came out the challenge the Gallacher as he glided in from the right point, but the blue liner dragged the puck around him and tucked right inside the post with 3:31 remaining.

"That was just an unbelievably skilled play by [Gallacher]," Noreen said. "Obviously it was an untimely penalty in the last couple minutes but I thought our penalty kill was doing a job keeping them to the outside. The majority of the time, the "D"-man is just going to fire that puck."

Phantoms by the Numbers

Shots - 31

Saves - 33

Power Play - 0-for-4

Penalty Kill - 2-for-4

Goals - Stork (2)

Assists - Zach Evancho, Mackey, Padulo

Next on the Slate

The Phantoms are on the road next weekend, taking on the rival Muskegon Lumberjacks Saturday in L.C. Walker Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:15 p.m. EST.

Season tickets for the 2012-13 season are on sale now starting at the low price of just $7 a game. Benefits include invitations to exclusive season ticket holder events, discounts at the Phantoms Team Shop, playoff priority and much more. 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 ).

Check out the Youngstown Phantoms Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United States Hockey League Stories from November 11, 2012


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.

OurSports Central