USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Waterloo Stifles Phantoms Again

Published on February 6, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Dark Side prevailed on Star Wars night at the Covelli Centre, as the Waterloo Black Hawks - powered by goalie C.J. Motte's 28 saves - struck down the Jedi-trained Youngstown Phantoms 4-1 Saturday night.

Motte earned his third win of the season against the Phantoms in four tries, allowing only Tom Serratore's 35-foot slap shot to get behind him in carrying Waterloo (19-18-2, 40 points) over the .500 mark for the first time all season. The Hawks are 10-3-1 since losing in Youngstown Dec. 29 and have vaulted into fourth place in the East Division.

The Phantoms (14-24-2, 30 points) have dropped a season-high seven in a row and 13 of 14 since climbing to 13-11-2 on Dec. 29. The first-year franchise received 30 saves from netminder Matt Mahalak, but couldn't avoid a fifth-straight home loss. They'll hope to stage a Return of the Jedi-style revival on an upcoming four-game road trip.

Not long after Darth Vader dropped the puck, Patrick Divjak capitalized on an early Waterloo power play, banking his 15th of the season off Mahalak's pads and into the cage at 4:52 of the first. Youngstown stayed in penalty trouble, going down two men less than four minutes later, but Taylor Holstrom paid no mind to that, earning a penalty shot against Motte after Dan Sova hooked him on a breakaway.

But Holstrom's attempt to tie the game was denied by Motte's quick poke check, and Derek Arnold tallied soon after from the left post to post the visitors to a 2-0 advantage. Arnold had three goals in the two-game series and has four points in four matchups with the Phantoms this season.

J.T. Brown, who assisted on Divjak's first-period icebreaker, added an even-strength breakaway goal at 16:25 of the second, flipping the puck over Mahalak's glove from in tight to stretch it to 3-0 heading for the third.

Waterloo had been 15-0-1 when carrying a lead through 40 minutes coming into Saturday, and Jamie Hill's one-timer almost guaranteed that record would improve, boosting the Hawks' bulge to four less than five minutes into the final frame.

The only suspense left was whether Motte would earn his third shutout, but Serratore destroyed that thought with 8:01 remaining, blasting the puck under the Waterloo goaltender for his 12th, tying him with Jefferson Dahl and Brett Gensler for the team lead.

The Phantoms now take to the road for four consecutive games, starting with an 8:05 p.m. Eastern time faceoff Friday night against the Stampede in Sioux Falls, S.D. Follow the Phantoms all season long via Youngstown's ESPN 1240 (www.wbbw.com) and the B2 Networks at www.b2tv.com.

The Youngstown Phantoms are a Member Club of the United States Hockey League (USHL), America's only Tier I hockey league and premier developer of National Hockey League talent with more than 100 alumni on current NHL rosters.

Visit www.youngstownphantoms.com or call the Front Office at 330.747.PUCK(7825) for more information on the Phantoms organization. The Youngstown Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company (Phantom Fireworks), located in Youngstown, Ohio.

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 6, 2010


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