PHANTOMS RING IN HOLIDAYS WITH 4-1 WIN OVER OMAHA FOUR PHANTOMS PUT UP MULTI-POINT NIGHT

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – After going more than seven periods without a goal, the Youngstown Phantoms (19-7-1-1, 40pts) scored twice in the opening four minutes and never looked back as they downed the Omaha Lancers 4-1 Saturday night at the Covelli Centre.

“There’s a way you have to play the game, and we certainly didn’t do that last night,” said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. “It was a hard day today; we had some honest and hard conversations. I thought the energy the guys came out with was really positive.”

It only took the Phantoms 2:13 to dent the scoreboard, snapping their goalless drought at 161:15 when JT Veney’s shot from the right point found its way through traffic and behind Nils Maurins (23 saves). Omaha challenged for goaltender interference on the play, but the goal stood as called. Exactly a minute later, Ryan Rucinski put home a loose puck in front, doubling Youngstown’s lead with his team-leading 17th goal of the season. Youngstown dominated the shot counter in the first period for the second night in a row, putting 14 pucks on the Lancer net while Owen Lepak was only called on to make a single save in the first 20 minutes.

Omaha got on the board at 13:33 of the second when Ilya Gromov sneaked a shot past Lepak to the short side for his first USHL goal. The Gromov tally cut the Phantom lead to 2-1, but Youngstown responded in a big way during the third period. With Jack Willson in the locker room after taking a vicious high stick to the mouth, the Phantoms rallied for a pair of power play goals, putting the contest out of reach. Malachi McKinnon broke an 0-for-18 slide on the man advantage for Youngstown when he tipped home a pass from Cooper Simpson at 5:49. With 11 seconds left in the second half of the double minor, Cooper Simpson was left alone in the right circle as a puck battle ensued on the left wall. Rucinski and Jack Hextall combined to win that puck battle, and Rucinski fed a cross-ice pass right into Simpson’s wheelhouse. Simpson blasted a one-timer to the twine for his 13th goal of the season, capping off the scoring for the evening.

It was the Phantoms’ first win against Omaha in Youngstown since April 2, 2016, although the two teams had only met five times at the Covelli Centre before tonight. Lepak, who stopped 15 on the night, won his third straight start and hasn’t lost in regulation since mid-October. 19 wins and 40 points are both team records through the first 28 games of a season.

The Phantoms will enjoy the next 10+ days off before returning right after Christmas for a two-game road trip with stops in Chicago and Madison beginning December 27 before returning home on January 9 to kick off a four-game homestand with a pair of contests against the Des Moines Buccaneers.

Shots – 27

Saves – 16

Power Play – 2/6

Penalty Kill – 2/2

Goals – McKinnon, Rucinski, Simpson, Veney

Assists – Hextall (2), Huston, Rucinski, Sasaki, Simpson, Svitov, Veney

Box Score - https://ushl.com/ht/#/game-summary/12665

PHOTO CREDIT SCOTT GALVIN/SCOTT GALVIN PHOTOGRAPHY