The Youngstown Phantoms closed out their best-of-three series against Cedar Rapids as they posted a 6-2 triumph.  Alex Gacek had a pair of second period goals and an empty-netter that vaulted the third-year franchise into the next round of the Clark Cup Playoffs.  Quite an accomplishment for a third-year franchise with a first-year coach.

Who the Phantoms play next, Indiana or Green Bay, will be decided by the outcome of the Team USA – Dubuque series.  Either way, the next round is a best-of-five series and the Phantoms will be the lower seed.  That means they will probably play games one and two of the new series on the road.  In all probability, the second round matchup will start on Friday at Green bay.

Todd Koritzinsky gave the Phantoms a lead when he scored the first goal of the game 12:11 into the first period.  Pat Conte and Ryan Lowney earned assists on Koritzinsky’s  goal.  Koritzinsky got the puck past Cedar Rapids goaltender Jake Hildebrand.

The lead was short-lived for the Phantoms.  Exactly 3:32 later, the Rough Riders were able to tie the contest.  Davey Middleton snuck the puck past Matt O’Connor on an even-strength rush.  Stu Wilson and Riley Bourbonnais were credited with assists on the play.

In the second period, Gacek got control of the puck just outside of the left face-off circle and burst toward the net.  As Gacek roared forward, Cedar Rapids goaltender Hildebrand unsuccessfully tried to play a puck that whistled past and through.  Gacek hit the puck so hard, that it stuck in the back of the net.  The goal came at the 4:55 mark and put the Phantoms ahead 2-1.  Gacek also earned a two-minute charging penalty as he collided with Hildebrand after the puck squirted through.

Gacek, sporting the Tom Selleck playoff moustache, would factor into the outcome to a larger degree.  With 9:21 left in the second, the Miami of Ohio-bound forward notched his second goal of the period, game, and series.  Gacek scooped up a puck that hit the side of the net to Hildebrand’s left, and rifled it past to make it a 3-1 game.

Meanwhile, O’Connor (above) and the defense kept the Rough Riders looking for clues.  When Cedar Rapids managed to get a good look, #1 was there to pour water on the fire and preserve the lead.  Through two periods, the Phantoms had 28 shots, the Rough Riders managed 19.

With 9:42 left in the game, Cedar Rapids cut the deficit to 3-2 capitalizing on a powerplay chance.  Gerald Mayhew took a nice feed from behind the net that O’Connor never really had a chance to make a play on.  It was one of the few times all night that Cedar Rapids made more than one pass before attempting a shot.

The Phantoms answered 1:28 later when Soren Jonzzon hung around the crease long enough to gather in a nice pass from Ryan Belonger and redirect the puck to the right side of the post.  Austin Cangelosi and Gacek added empty-netters to punctuate the win.

O’Connor stopped 32 shots in the win.

The 2011-12 Youngstown State women’s basketball program recently had their season-ending annual awards banquet at the Chestnut Room of YSU’s Kilcawley Center.

• Women’s Basketball Head Coach Bob Boldon presented junior Brandi Brown with the Ed DiGregorio Award recognizing the team’s most valuable player. Brown, the 17th player in school history to score 1,000 career points, was voted Second-Team All-Horizon League for the second consecutive season. Brown averaged 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds during the season, and she upped her scoring to 17 points per game during Horizon League play. Brown finished sixth in the postseason voting, one spot out of making it onto the first team.

• Boldon was recognized for his early days in college basketball as both a student-athlete and a coach at Walsh University.  On Feb. 25, Boldon’s accomplishments as a star point guard at Walsh were celebrated as he was selected as one of the program’s top 50 players in its 50-year history. Boldon was a four-year starter for the Cavaliers and led the squad to the NAIA Final Four in 1996.

• On May 19, Boldon will be recognized as part of Walsh’s 1998 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship team as it is inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. Boldon was an assistant coach on that squad, which became the first unseeded team to win an NAIA National Championship.

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team has a long-standing tradition of being active in the surrounding community, and the Penguins have maintained that practice throughout the 2011-12 academic year.

Highlighting the list of many projects was YSU’s reading program at area elementary schools. Members of the women’s basketball team read to a total of about 3,500 second through fifth graders at 11 different elementary schools throughout the Youngstown area.

Among other projects the team participated in, they served at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Spaghetti dinner twice during the year. The Penguins also walked in a non-violence parade and participated in the Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting ceremony in downtown Youngstown.

Additionally, seniors Macey Nortey and Kenya Middlebrooks spearheaded two community service projects. Nortey organized a large donation campaign to a homeless shelter where members of the team donated soap and shampoo. Middlebrooks organized a canned-food drive where struggling families in the Mahoning Valley received baskets.

Congratulations Lady Penguins on a great year!

• Youngstown State junior Damian Eargle has been named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Defensive Team, the website recently announced.  Eargle set the Horizon League single-season blocks records for all games and league-games only. Eargle finished with 116 blocks, including 65 in Horizon League play. He also owns the Horizon League career record for blocks in conference play at 122.

•  The 6-foot-7 forward led the Horizon League and ranked third in the country with 3.7 blocks per game.  Eargle recorded a block in 30 of 31 games last season, had 26 multi-block games and posted at least five blocks on 12 different occasions, including an eight-block performance against UC-Riverside on Nov. 18, 2011.  A 2012 Horizon League All-Defensive Team, selection, Eargle averaged 11.1 points per game and grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game.

• Youngstown State men’s basketball Head Coach Jerry Slocum has announced that Kamren Belin (Atlanta, Ga./Walton), 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward, has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to continue his basketball and academic career at Youngstown State University.  “When I visited Youngstown State it just felt right and I really clicked with the players on the court,” Belin said. “It’s a good league and I think we have a chance to do something big.”

• Besides being an outstanding basketball player, coach Jerry Slocum was impressed by Belin as a person.  “We are very excited to have Kamren join our program,” Slocum said. “He is a quality person and a very gifted all-around basketball player.”

Several players were handed some well-deserved postseason accolades.  Among the recipients were:

• Sophomore Kendrick Perry, a All-Horizon League First-Team selection, won the Dom Rosselli Coaches Awardfor the team’s most valuable player and also earned the Assists Award. Perry led the team with 121 assists.  Perry, who was just the fifth player in league history to lead the league in scoring and steals, led the Guins with 16.8 points per game.

• Senior Ashen Ward, now a wideout for Eric Wolford, who averaged 10.0 points per game, was awarded the Tony Vivo Hustle Award and the Bill Dailey Leadership Award.

• Junior guard Blake Allen, who averaged 12.8 points per game and led the Horizon League with 91 3-pointers made, won the Free-Throw Award with a free-throw percentage of .732.

• Eargle was awarded the Leo Mogus Rebouding Award for leading the team in rebounding with 7.5 rebounds per game. Eargle also led the Horizon League with 121 blocks and was named to the league’s All Defensive Team.

• Sophomore Mike Podolsky, who owns a cumulative grade-point average of 4.0, was the recipient of the Four-Square Club Scholar-Athlete Award.

Congratulations to Coach Slocum and staff and players on a fantastic season!

The Youngstown Phantoms and Cedar Rapids Rough Riders started their USHL Playoff series with a bang.  The Phantoms outshot the Rough Riders, 36-17 through regulation, but when the buzzer sounded, the game was tied at three goals apiece.  Austin Cangelosi continued to be a clutch player as he scored the game-winning goal, 6:18 into the extra session to put the Phantoms up 1-0 in the best-of-three series.

Cangelosi commented on his game-winner: “It’s not something I tried a lot in practice, maybe on NHL 2012, but not in live competition.  It was a shot in the dark and I did it on instinct.  I saw the puck rolling down his [Hildebrand’s] back and into the net, and I was ecstatic”

Playing in the postseason for the first time in their three-year franchise history, the Phantoms looked like seasoned veterans for the most part.  Youngstown hit the scoreboard with 9:24 in the books when Mike Ambrosia beat Jake Hildebrand (above).  The first-ever Phantoms postseason goal came at even strength and Ambrosia was assisted by Sam Anas and Cangelosi.

About five minutes into the second period, the Phantoms drew a couple of quick penalties to give Cedar Rapids a two-man advantage.  Down two men, the Phantoms managed more shots than the team with the advantage, and the special teams looked fine tuned.

Cedar Rapids tied the game 9:42 into the second period.  Dylan Gareau took a nice feed from Landon Smith to beat Matt O’Connor.  Smith was among a group of players jostling for the puck behind the net.  Smith gained control, skated along the boards, halfway to the corner, and found Gareau waiting unattended, ten feet, front and center, from the net.

Ryan McGrath gave the Rough Riders a 2-1 lead with 6:21 to play in the second.  McGrath’s even-strength goal was unassisted.  The Cedar Rapids forward gathered a loose puck to the left of O’Connor and skated around the front crease line before he flicked the puck past the outstretched body of O’Connor.

Through two periods, the Phantoms held a 24-15 advantage in shots on goal, yet trailed the game 2-1.

With 9:55 left in the game, however, the Phantoms tied things up.  Alex Gacek fought for the puck around the Rough Rider blue line and poked it past a defender.  Gacek then found  J. T. Stenglein cutting toward the goal and hit him in stride with a centering pass.  Stenglein went high on Hildebrand’s stick side to find the twine.

What should have been good fortune, then turned into tragedy.  With 6:36 left in the game and the Phantoms on a powerplay, Nick Saracino picked off a loose puck at center ice and flew toward O’Connor.  As Saracino got between the circles he fired one through the legs of O’Connor that found its way in.

The Phantoms retaliated quickly.  With 4:05 left in the game, Jonathan Liau got a pass from Ambrosia that he whistled in to tie the game back up.

With 1:11 left in the game, Jordan Young was whistled for high-sticking to allow Cedar Rapids a chance to finish regulation with a man advantage.  The Rough Riders could not seal the deal and regulation expired.  The remainder of the penalty, 49 seconds, would factor into the overtime.

It should be noted that overtime in the playoffs is different than the regular season format.  Instead of a two-minute intermission that leads into a five-minute overtime period, there is a 20-minute session following a 15-minute break.

In the overtime, the Phantoms got a powerplay chance of their own and took six quality shots, none of which got past Hildebrand.

Cangelosi than played hero as he carried the puck over center ice with a teammate and a defender on each side.  Cangelosi then flipped the puck over a defenseman’s head, raced around him, and fired it in from close range for the winner.

“Austin showed again tonight just how special he is”, said Anthony Noreen.  “What he just did to win that game provided the biggest goal in the history of this franchise, and he really deserved it.”

“It’s a great win for us”, said a jubilant Noreen.  “We want to play every game as though it is a must-win.  It will be nice to end the series tomorrow night, not only because we can pick up the extra day of rest, but also because we just want to win this now.”

The Youngstown State women’s tennis team picked up their first win of the season defeating Valparaiso 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at the Northwest Athletic Club.

YSU earned the doubles point and picked up victories at No. 1, No. 2 and No.4 singles. The deciding match was Gimena Puppo‘s come-from-behind win at No. 4 singles.

The Penguins won the doubles point to get off on a good start. Marta Burak and Carolyn Jesko won 8-4 and No. 1 while Puppo and Laurent Hankle picked up an 8-6 victory at No. 2.

In singles play, Burak cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Megan Barthels at No. 1 and Hankle took care of Stephanie York 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2.

Jesko dropped a 6-1, 6-4 decision at No. 3 to Kaitlyn Hamel while Jennifer Moore lost 6-0, 6-0 to Brittany O’Reilly.

The match came down to Puppo’s comeback. She lost the first set to Kristin Zakiewicz 5-7, but rallied to take the next two 6-4, 6-2 to give the Guins their first win of the season.

For the year, YSU improves to 1-14 overall and 1-4 in the Horizon League while Valpo is 4-13 and 0-6.

The Penguins play at UIC on Sunday. First serve is set for noon.

YSU 4, Valparaiso 3

Singles
No. 1 – Burak (YSU) def. Megan Barthels (VU) – 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 – Hankle (YSU) def. Stephanie York (VU) – 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 – Kaitlyn Hamel (VU) def. Jesko (YSU) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 4 – Puppo (YSU) def. Kristin Zakiewicz (VU) – 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 – Brittany O’Reilly (VU) def. Moore (YSU) – 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 – Angelina Goheen (VU) won by default

Doubles
No. 1 – Burak/Jesko (YSU) def. Zakiewicz/Barthels (VU) – 8-4
No. 2 – Hankle/Puppo (YSU) def. Hamel/York (VU) – 8-6
No. 3 – Goheen/O’Reilly (VU) won by default

*Story Courtesy YSU Sports Information

The Youngstown State softball team dropped a pair of Horizon League games to Valparaiso, 4-3, and 13-12, on Saturday afternoon at the VU Softball Field.

In the first game, the Penguins seventh inning rally came up just short. Meanwhile in the nightcap, the Guins jumped out to a commanding 12-0 advantage after two innings only to see the Crusaders chip away at the lead and eventually overcome the deficit with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

YSU (21-11-1, 5-6 Horizon League) sent 15 batters to the plate and collected eight of their 13 hits to take an 11-0 lead after one-half inning.

They tacked on an unearned run in the top of the second when senior Kristen Philen scored on a Crusader error.

Valparaiso (27-10, 11-0 HL), who was aided by 11 walks, chipped away at the YSU advantage scoring four in the third, three in the fourth, four more in the fifth and one in both the sixth and seventh innings to complete the improbable comeback victory.

Senior Haley Thomas went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead the Penguins offensive attack while senior Jordan Ingalls and sophomore Samantha Snodgrass each had two hits.

In the opener, the Crusaders scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and take a 4-1.

The Guins mounted a comeback attempt and plated two runs on Amanda Palmore‘s run-scoring fielder’s choice and Jordan Ingalls’ RBI-double. The Penguins, though, left the tying run stranded on second base.

Jordan Ingalls and sophomore Sarah Ingalls each had two hits for the Guins.

YSU and Valparaiso will conclude the series with a single game, Sunday, at Noon.

*Story courtesy of YSU Sports Information.

The Youngstown Phantoms closed out their regular season with a bang on Saturday night.  The Green Bay Gamblers, defending Clark Cup champions from last season, were playing their final game before getting almost a full week off to prepare for their playoff start.  The Phantoms were trying to gain momentum heading into their Monday playoff series with Cedar Rapids.

It took a shootout to determine a winner and when the smoke cleared, Sam Anas and Soren Jonzzon lifted the home team to a thrilling 2-1 shootout victory that gave the Phantoms a 4-3 win against the best in the game.

“My goal was inspired by the New Jersey Devils Patrick Kane”, said Anas.  “I saw him do that and I worked on it and gave it a try tonight and it worked.”

“I saw Sam’s goal and noticed that Rotolo was beatable through the five-hole”, said Jonzzen.  “I faked, pulled the puck back and beat him there [five-hole] for the goal.

In the first period, the Phantoms put the puck in the cage to take an early 1-0 lead.  Alexander Dahl nabbed his third goal of the season just 4:39 into the game.  Ryan Belonger and Jonzzon were credited with assists on Dahl’s goal.

Mike Ambrosia increased the Phantoms lead to 2-0 at the 12:06 mark of the first.  Ambrosia beat Michael Rotolo for his 18th score of the year.  Chris Bradley and Anas earned assists on the powerplay strike.

Before the first period ended, Green Bay got on the scoreboard.  Grant Arnold trickled a shot off of the glove of Sean Romeo that fluttered into the net.

In the second period, Green Bay tied the contest at two goals apiece when Arnold collected his second goal of the night and seventh of the season.  Arnold’s goal came 3:52 into the second period.

Green Bay entered the contest with a 47-9-3 record and would have about six days rest securing a first round USHL playoff bye.  By no means were they playing a softer brand of hockey.  Conversely, the Phantoms had a few notable scratches as Kevin Liss, Richard Zehnal, and Dylan Morganari watched the game in the stands.

The intensity kicked up a notch with just over a minute left in the second period.  Phantoms forward  Todd Korizinsky caught a high stick to the face and staggered toward the Phantom bench.  However, Zach Evancho, a Phantom, was whistled for a too many men on the ice infraction which sent Anthony Noreen into a frenzy.

“I was concerned about Korizinsky’s safety because he was holding his face and wanted to make sure he could get to the bench”, said Noreen.  “I wasn’t upset with the call that the refs made.”

The Phantoms took a 3-2 lead when Daniel Renouf fired the puck on net and Jonzzon redirected it past Rotolo.  The goal was scored at the 1:31 mark of the third period.

Noreen opted to let Matt O’Connor play the third period.  Romeo’s full two periods were pretty good, as he faced 22 shots and stopped 20 of them.

With 4:49 left in the game and the Phantoms just killing off a penalty, Arnold beat O’Connor for his third goal of the game.  The Gambler forward nearly doubled his entire output for the 2011-12 season as he entered the game with just five goals.

Commenting on the hat trick by Arnold, Noreen showed a lot of class.  “He [Arnold] is a captain and always plays hard.  He deserved to have that type of game.”

With nobody scoring in the overtime session, the teams went to a shootout.  Green Bay got a goal from Alex Kile.  The Phantoms got shootout goals from Anas and Jonzzon to gain the win.

“I challenged our guys to use this game to build momentum going into the playoffs”, remarked Noreen.  “It is a nice win against a very talented team.”

Valparaiso scored five runs in the third inning and got eight strong innings from starting pitcher Kevin Wild in a 10-0 victory over the Youngstown State baseball team on Saturday at Eastwood Field.

The Crusaders scored six runs on seven hits in the first three innings off Nic Manuppelli in his first start of the season. Reliever Ryan Krokos allowed just one hit and did not surrender an earned run in 4.2 innings of relief to give the Penguins a chance, but they missed on several opportunities against Wild.

Wild allowed five hits and two walks while striking out two in eight innings to earn his third win. Three of YSU’s hits came in the ninth against reliever Zack Walsh.

The top four hitters in Valpo’s lineup accounted for seven of its 11 hits, six runs and seven RBIs.

Small things went wrong for YSU in the first two innings, and they resulted in Valpo taking a 6-0 lead. With a runner on first and one out in the second, first baseman David Leon briefly bobbled a double play ball and had to settle for getting one out at first. Spencer Mahoney followed with an RBI single up the middle to put the Crusaders up 1-0.

The Crusaders started the third inning with five straight hits en route to batting around, but the chance for a big inning increased when Andrew Bain singled after fouling off two sacrifice bunt attempts. Tanner Vavra and Will Hagel followed with RBI singles, and Martin delivered a two-run double that made the score 5-0. Martin scored two batters later on Chris Manning’s sacrifice fly.

Down 6-0, YSU put two runners on with nobody out in both the fourth and fifth innings and couldn’t score. Kevin Hix led off the fourth with a double, and Jason Shirley singled sharply to center to put runners at the corners. Shirley was then picked off, Craig Goubeaux fouled out and Jeremy Banks struck out to end the inning. Marcus Heath led off the fifth with a double and Phil Lipari followed with a walk, but Wild struck out Leon and got back-to-back ground outs from Padraic Williams and Drew Dosch.

Valpo got an unearned run in the sixth to take a 7-0 lead, and the Crusaders tacked on three runs in the top of the ninth for the final tally. YSU loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, but David Saluga was hit by Lipari’s hard grounder between first and second for a dead ball and an out. Leon then fouled out, and Walsh struck out Jack Graham to end the game.

Youngstown State and Valparaiso will conclude their three-game series on Sunday at noon.

* Story Courtesy of YSUSports.com

Kurt Hess threw two first-half touchdowns, and fellow quarterback Patrick Angle had 158 passing yards and a touchdown as the Red Team beat the White 28-14 in the 40th Annual Red-White Spring Game on Friday evening at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Red offense and White defense were comprised of first-string players, and the Red defense and White offense were the second-stringers. The first half featured standard timing rules, and the second half had a running clock.

Hess finished 11-for-19 for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, and the junior-to-be spent the second half on the sideline. Angle was 7-for-14 for 94 yards in the first half for the White team, and he was 4-for-8 for 61 yards and a touchdown in the second half for the Red.

Angle and White quarterback Dante Nania connected with wide receiver Andrew Williams nine times for 135 yards, which was a game high. Jelani Berassa led Red with 82 yards and was one of four players to catch a touchdown pass. Carson Sharbaugh and Kevin Watts added scores through the air for the Red team, and Nate Adams had a touchdown reception for the White.

Jordan Thompson rushed for a game-high 67 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and Jamaine Cook had 64 yards on 12 carries for the Red. Torrian Pace headlined the White rushing attack with 51 yards and a score on 12 carries.

Pace impressed offensive coordinator, Shane Montgomery.

“Torrian has had a really good Spring for us”, remarked Montgomery.  “He is faster than he was last year.  We know we can’t keep Jamaine [Cook] on the field as much as we have the last two seasons.  With Adaris Bellamy recovering, Jordan [Thompson] and Torrian got some good reps, I feel real good about our depth at that position and at tight end.”

Travis Williams had 10 tackles, including seven in the first quarter, for the White defense.  Josh Garner and Jeremy Edwards played pretty well for the White defense.  That trio of defenders will play a big role in the defensive turnaround efforts targeted for this season.

With the running clock, Angle put the game out of reach on the Red team’s first drive of the fourth quarter. He connected with tight end Will Shaw for a 25-yard gain on third-and-19 to get the ball down to the White 22, and he found Watts for a six-yard score on the 13th play of the drive.

Shaw and the other two tight ends combined for 114 yards and two touchdowns on six catches.

Jimmy May, Jr. intercepted Angle in the second quarter for the game’s lone turnover. The Red team fumbled twice but recovered each. Brandon Neal and Julius Childs both had pass breakups for the White defense.

Kicker David Brown missed a field goal.  We already know that Coach Wolford likes the math sounds of seven being greater than three and if the Penguins will have a weakness in the red zone, it will be the kicking game.

The Penguins will have a light workout on Monday to finish up the spring practice season.

 The Youngstown Phantoms wrap up the regular season this weekend with back-to-back games against the Anderson Cup winners. The Phantoms (31-20-7, fourth East) face off with the United States Hockey League’s top team, the Green Bay Gamblers, this Friday and Saturday at the Covelli Centre in their final tune-up before the start of the Clark Cup Playoffs next Monday.

These games should prove interesting in the sense that Phantoms Coach Anthony Noreen has to make the decision of getting his healing troops back in sync, or resting guys to make a push in the playoffs which start Monday.  He may try to do a little of both by reassembling the lines and limiting the time of the top skaters.

One luxury Noreen does not have to worry about for the Green Bay series is whether or not to play Matt O’Connor.  The goaltending situation is a great problem to have when, on your roster,  you have not one, but two, goaltenders who have been awarded the highest individual honor at their position at some point this season.  Sean Romeo is the current honoree.

The Phantoms are locked into the No. 4 seed in the USHL Eastern Conference and cannot do anything to affect their playoff standings, but Coach Noreen said that won’t change his approach to the weekend. On the contrary, he said, the final games will be an opportunity to improve his team’s postseason preparation.

“The type of team we’re seeing this weekend (Green Bay) is the type of team we’re going to see in the playoffs – every round,” Noreen said. “We can use [this series] as a teaching tool – as experience.”

The first-year head coach said that the weekend series will also provide a chance for a number of players to get reintegrated into the lineup. Forwards Sam Anas (illness) and Jonathan Liau (illness) as well as defenseman Kevin Liss (lower-body injury) could all return to the ice against the Gamblers (46-9-3, first East) – a welcome boost for the Phantoms with the playoffs around the corner.

“Our big focus this weekend is going to be making sure we do things the right way and executing the way we want with the X’s and O’s,” he said. “We want to make sure that everybody stays sharp and we want to make sure when we’re on the ice, we’re not just going through the motions. That way, it’s not a switch we have to turn on when it comes playoff time.”

It’s Fan Appreciation Weekend at the Covelli Centre and the Phantoms will be holding a game-worn jersey auction while the Eagle Wear Team Shop will be offering a 25 percent discount on all merchandise as well as buy one, get one free deals Phantoms T-shirts.