Archive for February, 2010

The Youngstown Phantoms got embarrassed on their home ice Friday in dropping an 8-1 decision to Sioux Falls.  The Stampede beat the Phantoms in every phase of that game.  As Classic Rock legends Foreigner once sang, That Was Yesterday, and Sunday offered fresh zeroes on the scoreboard.

Unfortunately for the home team, the zeroes turned into bad numbers again.  The goals scored section read Sioux Falls 8, Youngstown 3.  The shots on goal column for Sioux Falls had a 38 underneath it, too many quality attempts for the Phantoms to give to a high-powered juggernaut like the Stampede.

The Phantoms got a goal from Taylor Holstrom (above) at the 9:35 mark of the first period.  Both teams had a man in the penalty box, so it was an even-strength chance.  Brett Gensler picked up an assist as the Phantoms took the 1-0 lead, quite a contrast from Friday when they were down 3-0 at this point.

Sioux Falls tied it up as Michael Voran connected when Matt Lindblad’s shot deflected off of Phantoms Goalkeeper Matt Mahalak.  Voran was in the right place at the right time as he picked up the easy goal.

Matt Zarbo gave Sioux Falls the lead when he connected on an assist from Voran just about a half-minute later handing Sioux Falls a 2-1 lead.

Matt Farris connected just 18 seconds later, and just like that, the Phantoms had dug themselves a hole at the end of the first period and trailed 3-1 at the intermission.  Sioux Falls took the big lead scoring three quick goals in the last 1:19 of the frame.

At the 9:09 mark of the second period, the Phantoms broke into the Sioux Falls zone with a three-on-two advantage.  Jefferson Dahl unloaded the puck to Ryan Jasinsky who nailed the shot from in between the faceoff circles, beating Stampede netminder Clay Witt (top photo).  The goal shrunk the Sioux Falls lead to 3-2.

Conor Allen pushed the Stampede margin back to two goals when he scored from in between the circles. The goal came with 5:38 left in the second period and anytime the Phantoms seemed to gain a little momentum it was yanked away.

Linblad got his second point of the game when he took a rebound and stuffed it past Mahalak.  For Linblad, it was his twelfth goal of the season.  The powerplay goal was scored with 1:19 left in the second. Voran and Anthony Day picked up assists.  After two periods, Youngstown trailed Sioux Falls, 5-2.

Clark Cristofoli drilled a slapshot past Mahalk from the farthest part of the right faceoff circle.  The goal came at the 2:34 mark of the final period.  Jacob Johnstone was credited with an assist on Cristofoli’s second goal of the season.  Sioux Falls seemed to be having all of the fun again as they opened the lead to four goals at 6-2, their largest margin on the afternoon.

With 15:18 left in the game, the Stampede struck again as Josh Holmstrom let loose at an empty net. Mahalak dove right to stop a shot seconds earlier and Holmstrom was able to buzz it by before the Phantoms goaltender could reload to make it 7-2.  With 11:31 left, Holmstrom again hit the twine to push the lead to 8-2, and the route was on.

Scott Mayfield picked up his seventh goal of the season at the 11:14 mark of the third to ease the sting and make the score 8-3.  Stuart Higgins tallied an assist, his sixth of the year.  Unfortunately, it was the last murmur of the game and when the horn sounded signifying the end, the Phantoms were on the short end of the stick.

Goaltender Clay Witt may want to call Howard Hanna Real Estate to see if there are any homes for sale because he plays well when he hears the word Youngstown.  Witt has only give up four goals in three starts against the Phantoms (14-21-2) this season.

The Phantoms return to the ice Wednesday morning to play defending champion Indiana with a special early start time of 10 AM.