Note to the Youngstown Phantoms scheduling and promo teams…  Always schedule a team with a cosmic name like “Stars” on Star Wars Night.  The force was with the Phantoms as Youngstown got the best of Lincoln in a hard-fought, shootout, 4-3  victory.  Ryan Belonger, the last shooter for the Phantoms made a dazzling move to give the Phantoms the extra point in a great hockey game.

Lincoln scored the lone goal of the first period to take a 1-0 lead into the intermission. John McCarron scored his 13th goal of the season, this one with a man advantage.  McCarron’s goal (below) came with just under three minutes remaining in the initial period, and Ryan Dzingel was credited with an assist his team-leading 22nd.  The Stars outshot the Phantoms 19-8 in the opening period.

Youngstown was able to tie the game at a goal apiece at the 2:58 mark of the second period when Ryan Belonger scored on  a Phantoms man-advantage.  For Belonger, it was goal 12 on the season and Mike Ambrosia picked up an assist.

Lincoln did not take long to regain the lead when Garrett Peterson tallied at the 6:27 mark.  Peterson took a pass from McCarron to beat Matt O’Connor from a tough angle.  Peterson’s 15th goal of the season was an even-strength score.

The Phantoms would score the next two goals of the game to forge ahead, 3-2.  Jiri Sekac got into the plus column with his 12th of the season.  Ben Paulides gained an assist on Sekac’s game-tying even strength goal which came at the 11:07 mark of the second.  The next Phantoms goal would be recorded by Cody Strang, his 13th of the year.  Strang gave the Phantoms their first lead of the game at the 14:17 mark of the second.

The fifth goal of the second period was scored by Lincoln’s Brent Tate and tied the game, 3-3 at the 16:36 mark.  Tate found the twine unassisted for his ninth goal of the season at even strength.  The hamster race that was the second period found Lincoln ahead 31-24 in the shots on goal department.

In the third period, Ambrosia stole a puck right by the Lincoln blue line and was hauled down and awarded a penalty shot.  Stars net minder, Lukas Hafner , stoned Ambrosia to keep the game tied at three goals each.  The rest of the third period was uneventful for the Phantoms offense, only able to generate four shots on goal.  The offensive lapse did not hurt as the Stars were also unableto find the net forcing a five minute overtime period.

In the overtime, no one was able to score, setting up a shootout to determine which team would get one point and which would receive two.  Lincoln outshot the Phantoms 47-29 in regulation and overtime.  Matt O’Connor had a good game.

This is how the shootout went.  Lincoln sent Zachary Aston-Reese out first and he scored.  Cody Strang tied it up on the Phantoms first attempt.  Peterson was next for the Stars, but before he could unload, O’Connor poke-checked the puck away.  The Phantoms then sent Adam Berkle who was stopped.  The Stars third shooter was Dominik Shine who went top shelf and scored, 2-1 Stars.  Youngstown then sent Jiri Sekac who was stopped.  With a 2-1 shootout lead, Lincoln sent Matt Prapavessis, who tried the five-hole and was stopped.  Youngstown’s fourth shooter was Ty Loney.  Loney tied the shootout at 2 each when he sent a wrister past Hafner.  O’Connor would stuff Lincoln’s final shooter, John McCarron.  Ryan Belonger then became a hero when he put the game-winner past Hafner giving the Phantoms the big two-point win.

With the win, Youngstown jumped to 15-22-4 and Lincoln fell to 19-16-4.  The Phantoms welcome Chicago and muskegon to the Covelli Centre next weekend.