PHANTOMS WEATHER THE STORM FOR 2-1 OVERTIME WIN SASASKI NETS FIRST USHL GOAL; WILLSON POTS ANOTHER OT GAME-WINNER; WARD PASSES NOREEN

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Through 47 minutes, the Youngstown Phantoms (14-6-1-1, 30pts) threw everything they had at the Tri-City net, but had yet to dent the scoreboard. Finally, the newest player on the roster broke through, allowing the most-seasoned player on the roster to send the crowd home happy, lifting Youngstown to a 2-1 win over the Tri-City Storm Friday night at the Covelli Centre.

“I think the fellas had too much turkey yesterday,” said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. “We were a little sloppy. Good teams find a way to win. Jack Willson’s hot right now, so we’re just going to jump on his back for a little bit. It was good to be back home and get a win.”

Some of the sloppiness Ward mentioned led to Tri-City’s lone goal. A shot blocked in the Tri-City zone sprung a 2-on-1 down the ice for Jackson Lackas and Ashton Dahms. A Phantom defenseman attacked Lackas on entering the zone, allowing him to slip a pass in front of the net to Dahms. Dahms made a couple of slick moves in tight before finishing to the glove side of Tobias Trejbal (10 saves) at 2:10 of the first period to put the visitors in front. Replay would show that Dahms was a foot offside on the zone entry, but as offside is not reviewable in the USHL, the goal stood.

The Tri-City marker seemed to wake up the Phantoms as they outshot the Storm 9-3 the remainder of the period and 13-2 in the second, but could not find a way to solve Owen Nelson (30 saves). Nelson was also the best penalty-killer on the night for the Storm, holding the Phantoms empty on their five power play opportunities, including a double-minor in the first period.

Youngstown finally broke through at 7:43 of the third as Cooper Simpson’s play into the blue paint was bumped backwards by Ryan Rucinski to a wide-open Kazumo Sasaki. Playing in his first USHL game, Sasaki coolly lifted a backhander to the twine to tie the game at 1-1.

The Phantoms carried play throughout overtime as well, but it was a diving effort on defense from Simpson that forced a puck out to the neutral zone for Willson to carry ahead in a 2-on-1. Entering the zone, Willson loosed a wrister from the top of the left circle that beat Nelson high to the blocker side, giving Youngstown the win.

The victory was Ward’s 127th behind the bench for Youngstown, which allowed him to pass Anthony Noreen for second place on the Phantoms all-time win list. Next up would be Brad Patterson at 164. “All that stuff is because of the players,” said Ward. “We’ve had unbelievable players come through here. I get to come to work every day with people I love. I work with a staff that’s unbelievable. Management staff and ownership that gives us every resource to have success. I’m just a figure behind the bench. These players do an unbelievable job preparing. For the past four years we’ve had some amazing human beings and players come through here.”

Youngstown and Tri-City wrap up their weekend set Saturday night at the Covelli Centre with a 6:05pm Eastern puck drop before the two teams head to Rochester, NY for the USHL American Cup (powered by Wegmans) next Thursday and Friday night at the Tim Horton’s IcePlex.

Shots – 32

Saves – 10

Power Play – 0/5

Penalty Kill – 3/3

Goals – Sasaki, Willson

Assists – Simpson, Rucinski

Box Score - https://ushl.com/ht/#/game-summary/12619

PHOTO CREDIT SCOTT GALVIN/SCOTT GALVIN PHOTOGRAPHY