OFFENSIVE OUTBURST LIFTS PHANTOMS TO WEEKEND SWEEP PHANTOMS TOP MUSKETEERS 6-1; BOURNE & STENGRIM POT FIRST USHL GOALS

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – The Youngstown Phantoms grabbed a three-goal lead in the first period and played suffocating defense throughout Saturday night’s contest against the Sioux City Musketeers, grabbing a 6-1 victory at the Covelli Centre and earning their first series sweep of the season.

“I loved our start, I thought we did a lot of things that we worked on all week,” said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. “We were much tighter defensively. Thought the guys did a good job.”

The Phantoms got three goals in three minutes in the middle of the first period, all without allowing a shot for Sioux City. Mikey Burchill opened the scoring at 10:41, sweeping a bouncing puck through Samuel Urban’s (24 saves) five hole for a power play goal. Burchill now sits at 95 points in his USHL career. Ryan Rucinski, credited with the game-winning goal for the second night in a row, scored on a redirect at 12:28. Luke Santilli took the shot that Rucinski deflected, earning Santilli his first USHL point. Kuzma Voronin took advantage of a Brecken Smith stick check, grabbing a loose puck at the blueline and breaking in alone, firing through Urban’s five hole at 13:41 to cap off Youngstown’s first period onslaught. Sioux City finally registered their first shot on net with less than three minutes remaining in the period and were outshot 13-2 in the opening frame. It was the second time this season that the Musketeers had been held to 2 shots in the opening frame (Oct 5 v Fargo), which is the low water mark in the USHL this year.

Kade Stengrim kept the scoring run going for Youngstown, cashing in a nice Burchill pass at 11:59 of the second period with a low wrister from in tight for his first USHL goal. “The thing with young players, and specifically Kade, is they kind of show you when they’re ready,” said Ward. “A credit to him, his attitude and work ethic, willingness to get better, and the way he comes to the rink every day with a huge smile on his face, it’s pretty special. I think the last couple of weeks, Kade has shown us in the way he practices, his understanding of what we’re trying to do, that he’s ready to take on a bigger role. He’s a pleasure to have around, we’re excited for Kade.”

Sioux City broke the Youngstown scoring run with Olivers Murnieks’ power play goal at 15:42 of the second, but Youngstown answered back in the third period with a power play goal from Evan Jardine at 16:29 and at 17:35 with the first USHL goal from Quentin Bourne to remove any doubt from the outcome. The Phantom defense remained stifling throughout, outshooting the Musketeers 12-4 in the second period and 30-11 for the game. 11 shots is the lowest for a game by one team in the USHL so far this season. Melvin Strahl stopped 10/11 in the Youngstown net, raising his record to 5-2-0 on the season.

Youngstown will spend next weekend on the road, traveling to Madison to battle the Capitols in a two-game set before returning back to the Covelli Centre for a five-game homestand that begins with a pair against the Chicago Steel on November 8-9.

Shots – 30

Saves – 10

Power Play – 2/4

Penalty Kill – 3/4

Goals – Bourne, Burchill, Jardine, Rucinski, Stengrim, Voronin

Assists – Bourne, Burchill (2), de Haro, Hanrahan, Jardine, Munroe, Rucinski, Santilli, Stengrim

Box Score - https://ushl.com/ht/#/game-summary/11945

PHOTO CREDIT: SCOTT GALVIN/SCOTT GALVIN PHOTOGRAPHY