When things seem to be going your way, they really are.  The Youngstown Phantoms couldn’t buy a break in their first three home games.  On this night, seemingly everything went the Phantoms way in a 3-2 victory over a very respectable Green Bay Gamblers team.  Matt Mahalak (pictured) stopped 33 shots in net and the Phantoms were limited to just nine shots of their own in the victory.

The Phantoms were first to score in this one as Taylor Holstrom connected at the 12:12 mark of the first period. The goal was Holstrom’s fifth and was the second game in a row he was able to tally. Nick Czinder was credited with an assist, his third consecutive game with a point. The first period would end with Youngstown holding a 1-0 lead on the Holstrom goal.

The Phantoms took advantage of a Gamblers penalty at the 6:17 mark of the second period when Scott Mayfield scored his fifth goal of the season.  Mayfield was assisted by Dan Senkbeil on the power play score that saw the Phantom lead increase to 2-0.

Brian Dowd’s fourth goal of the season increased the Phantoms lead to 3-0. Dowd was the recipient of a beautiful feed from Andrej Sustr who took a lead pass from goaltender Matt Mahalak, both credited with assists. The goal came at the 12:43 mark of the second. With only seven shots on goal, the Phantoms were playing the most effective hockey they possibly could to this point. The assist credited to Mahalak was the first point recorded by a Phantoms netminder on the young season.

At the end of the second period, Green Bay had 20 shots on goal and nothing to show for it. The Phantoms, on the other hand, only took eight shots on goal but were successful on three of the eight shots to hold a 3-0 lead.

The Gamblers hit the scoreboard at the 6:35 mark of the third period when Anders Lee connected on his eighth goal of the season. Anders was assisted by Nick Jensen and Matt Stewart.

Brett Gensler was awarded a penalty shot when he was pulled down from behind on a breakaway chance at the 9:59 mark. Steve Summerhays turned Gensler away on the chance to keep the score 3-1 in favor of the Phantoms.

Just eleven seconds later, Ryan Furne connected on a quick strike to put the Gamblers one goal away at 3-2. Furne was assisted by Lee on the goal, and suddenly the Phantoms went from a potential 4-1 lead on the Gensler penalty shot to just a 3-2 advantage.  Fortunately for Youngstown, the Gamblers were unsuccessful in trying to knot the game and time would also be on Youngstown’s side as the home team was able to hold off a furious Gamblers rally in the final session.

Matt Mahalak was sensational  for the Phantoms between the pipes as the Gamblers took almost four times the shots as the Phantoms did. Mahalak improved to 4-1-1 on the season in stopping 33 shots. The Phantoms managed three goals on just nine shots.

Coach Bob Mainhardt was thrilled by the effort put forth by Mahalak.  “We definitely got a little lucky tonight.  Thanks to Matt Mahalak, we were able to pull that one out.  We had some really good opportunities, but we were killing penalties almost the entire second period.  Give my guys credit, they stayed pretty focused.”

Sixteen-year-old Matt Mahalak was also happy to get a win at home.  He was not even with the team last week as he was representing the US team in Slovakia.  “I played with the USA under 17 team and we went 3-0 in Slovakia.  It was a tremendous experience and I got to play against the host team.  I got to work with alot of people and pick up some pointers.  It was great to come back, get my first start at home and help the team get a win.”

Several Phantoms regulars were not dressed for action.  Goaltender Jordan Tibbett will be sidelined at least a couple of weeks with a broken hand.  Richard Young had stitches in his leg but is expected to return to action this week.  Luke Eibler, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, is also expected to dress for both games this weekend.

The Phantoms improved to 7-4-1 with the win and Green Bay dropped to 7-4-2.  These two teams will hook up again this week on Friday night.  Joey Fatone, of N’Sync and Dancing With The Stars notoriety, and celebrity chef Guy Fieri will be on hand for Friday’s game.

Saturday will be a special night.  Anyone who reads this page regularly knows how much I support the fundraising efforts of Luke Holko.  Saturday, $3 of every ticket sold will be donated to the Luke Holko Foundation.  Please come to this game if you have not had the opportunity to check out the Phantoms yet.  If I were on a gameshow playing for a charity, this would be the one I would select.  For the hockey community that may be unaware of who Luke Holko is or how he was injured by a foul ball at a Scrappers game this Summer, feel free to click here for a story published on Paneech.com the night the incident happened.  Please stop by the Vindicator press box and say hello.  For those who do not know who I am, I will be wearing my blue “Pray For Luke” bracelet.