Posts Tagged ‘Youngstown Phantoms’

Less than 24 hours after the Youngstown Phantoms handed defending champion Dubuque a 5-2 setback, the Fighting Saints returned the favor.  The Phantoms trailed 4-0 but fought back to make it 4-3 but never got closer.  Sam Anas had a pair of goals for the Phantoms in defeat.  Tyler Lundey also tallied twice for the visiting Dubuque team.

John Doherty got Dubuque on the board when he knocked the puck in for the third time this season.  Doherty was assisted by Mike Matheson on the opening goal that came 8:33 into the first period.  The Fighting Saints picked up another goal before the end of the period. Eliot Grauer got his first goal of the season with 1:30 left in the first to put Dubuque ahead, 2-0.

The second period saw the Fighting Saints put up a couple more goals to take a 4-0 lead.  Tyler Lundy connected twice for the visitors to notch his fifth and six goals of the season.  The first goal came at even-strength and the second was with a man advantage.

At that point, something kicked in for the Phantoms, namely Sam Anas.  Anas helped the Phantom get back into the game with his third and fourth goals of the year. Both of the goals scored by Anas were on powerplay chances, a department the Phantoms have really been struggling with.  Before the first Phantoms goal, the home team was 0-29 in their most recent powerplay drought. J T Stenglein and Richard Zehnal picked up assists on the first score.  Anas connected from a bad angle, something he has been pretty proficient with, unassisted to cut the score to 4-2 at the end of the second period.

Sean Romeo (above) got a start because Matt O’Connor was between the pipes in both, the Friday and Saturday games.  Romeo struggled at times but stopped some good shots by Dubuque to keep it close.  A three game stretch in three days is tough for a young team to perform at the USHL high-level brand of hockey.

In the third period, the Phantoms nudged closer when Stenglein picked off a pass and scored a shorthanded goal 7:34 into the final stanza.  Dubuque watched a 4-0 lead go to 4-3 with over ten minutes left in the game and the result still hanging in the balance. The Fighting Saints were whistled with 3:37 left in the game for slashing.  Unfortunately, the Phantoms only got one good shot, whereas the Fighting Saints took two.

The Phantoms were right there, one would get the feeling if there were three minutes extra to play, that they somehow would have found a way.  With the win, Dubuque raised its record to 9-3-1.  The Phantoms fell to 8-5-0 and showed a whole bunch of heart in the loss.  Many teams fold up the tent and switch everything.  Credit Anthony Noreen for sticking to his guns, as it almost paid off tonight.

“We did not play 60 minutes tonight, we only played about 40”, said Noreen.  “The first twenty minutes we did not play to our standards.  I told the team not to pay attention to the scoreboard and they were able to get back in the game.  In years past, this game may have ended up 9-0 instead of 4-3 because there would have been some pouting and they would not have stay focused.”

Without their best defenseman, Chris Bradley, and their leading scorer, Austin Cangelosi, away at a World Junior Tournament, give Noreen and the boys credit for being so competitive.  Both Bradley and Cangelosi scored goals for Team USA earlier in the day and Noreen surely could have used the points in Youngstown.

“The thing I liked about our powerplay tonight was that things just seemed more urgent”, commented the coach.  “I want our powerplay to go out there and outwork the penalty kill.  ‘Want’ to get to the net, ‘want’ to score goals.  There are a lot of teams in this league that we could hit that probably would not hit back.  That team [Dubuque] is the most skilled team in the league, but they are also one of the most physical.  I thought our physical play, for playing our third game in three days with a shortened lineup, was impressive.”

A night after seeing their four-game home winning streak come to an end, the Youngstown Phantoms took the first step toward starting a new one against the defending Clark Cup champions, Dubuque.  JT Stenglein and Richard Zehnal led the way with a goal and an assist apiece and goaltender Matthew O’Connor turned away 19 of 21 shots as the Phantoms (8-4-0) came away with the 5-2 win over the Dubuque Fighting Saints Saturday night at the Covelli Centre.

The loss was the second in a row for the Fighting Saints (8-3-1), who came into the night allowing an average of just 1.81 goals a game. Brent Norris, Sam Anas and Dylan Margonari (empty net) also scored as the Phantoms improved to 5-1 at home this season.

“The difference tonight was instead of worrying about who we were playing, we played to our expectations,” Head Coach Anthony Noreen. “And we did it for 60 minutes.”

Zehnal (above) opened the scoring 8:18 into the first period with a slap shot from the point that made it past Dubuque goaltender Gabe Antoni, thanks in part to a screen from Pat Conte. Dubuque, however, came back to tie it a little more than six and a half minutes later when Max Gardiner punched the puck past O’Connor in a scrum in front of the Phantoms net.

It appeared both teams were destined to enter the first intermission tied, but with 1:35 remaining in the period, Dubuque turned it over just inside the blue line. Stenglein nabbed the puck, cut to the middle and let loose a snap shot to give the Phantoms the lead 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

Norris, who was moved from center on the top line to wing on the fourth, put the Phantoms up two at the 15:14 mark in the second. The Ottawa, Ontario native refused to give up on a play, winning a battle in front of the net and muscling the puck into the goal.

“It wasn’t a demotion – more of a balancing of the lines,” Noreen said. “We knew against a very good, very deep Dubuque team we going to need four lines. He brought some offense that we needed. That was not a fourth line tonight.”

But Ray Siro was able to cut into the lead later in the second, scoring with 2:03 left to make it a one-goal game heading into the final period.

With a little more than five minutes remaining in regulation Anas got the puck at center ice and moved it to Zehnal on the left wing. The Czech Republic native toe-dragged around Dubuque defenseman Matthew Caito and let loose a quick shot. Antoni made the save but did not control the rebound, which kicked out into the slot, and a trailing Anas scooped it up and wristed it high to put the Phantoms up 4-2.

“It was just a little toe drag – a little lucky,” Zehanl said. “I just tried to get the shot off and Sam was there.”

With less than 10 seconds remaining and Dubuque’s net empty, Eric Sweetman knocked the puck off Mike Matheson’s stick at the point and it floated to center ice. It came down to a foot race for the puck that Margonari was not going to lose.

The Youngstown Phantoms and Muskegon Lumberjacks do not like each other much.  In a very physical hockey game, the Phantoms battled hard, but came out on the wrong end of a 2-1 score.  Guy Fieri dropped the puck, but the Phantoms were unable to get much cooking offensively for most of the game.

Nobody scored in the first period and the Lumberjacks had the majority of the chances putting 15 shots on net compared to the Phantoms ten.  The Phantoms could not capitalize on a two-man advantage.  During the two-man advantage, the Phantoms hit the post, but the puck caromed the wrong way.

The Lumberjacks put a goal up with 16:43 to go in the second period.  Ryan Lomberg got his fourth goal of the season for the Lumberjacks.  Max Shuart was given an assist as Lomberg beat Matt O’Connor from close range.  The Phantoms had their fourth unsuccessful powerplay chance late in the second period, but came up empty.  With a man advantage, the Phantoms extended a drought of twenty-one straight penalty chances without a score.

“Our penalty killing units did well, but our powerplay was not very good tonight.  The powerplay should be a momentum swing and goals are a bonus.  We could not hold the momentum tonight”, said Coach Anthony Noreen.

In the final 20 minutes, the Phantoms scored with 7:57 left in the game to tie the game at 1-1.  Ryan Belonger found the twine on a very hard angled shot.  For Belonger, the goal was his fifth.  Jordan Young and Mike Ambrosia were credited with assists.  Exactly one minute later, Muskegon reclaimed the lead when Joseph Cox picked the puck out near the blue line and skated the length of the ice letting a shot fly from the top of the right faceoff circle that went over O’Connor’s right shoulder and into the net.

The Phantoms biggest scoring weapon, Austin Cangelosi, was not in uniform and participating with the US National Junior Select Team for the entire three-game home stand.  Defenseman Chris Bradley is also in British Columbia with Cangelosi playing in the World Junior Challenge.

“We missed Bradley and Cangelosi tonight”, said Noreen after the game.  “They are on our first powerplay and Bradley runs it.  This is a team sport though and we should be able to do more from a team standpoint, and we just weren’t able to convert tonight.”

The difference in this one was the Phantoms inability to capitalize on powerplays and untimely penalties.  Even Guy Fieri’s presence and a loud crowd, by far the biggest this season at the Covelli Centre, were not enough to propel the home team to a victory.

The Phantoms were outshot 35-26 and looked out of sync on offense for a good part of this game.

Dubuque, the defending champions, will face the Phantoms Saturday and Sunday at the Covelli Centre.

The United States Hockey League announced its weekly awards on Monday and a pair of Youngstown Phantoms took two of the three accolades. Center Dylan Margonari (above) was named CCM Offensive Player of the Week and defenseman Jordan Young was named CCM Defensive Player of the Week for their efforts in a pair of decisive wins over the Tri-CityStorm and the Omaha Lancers.

This is the first time either Margonari or Young has captured the league’s weekly honors and the second time this season a Phantoms player has earned one. Earlier this season, Matthew O’Connor was named the Reebok Goaltender of the Week after shutting out the Chicago Steel.

Margonari, a Minnesota State – Mankato commit, racked up four goals over the weekend as the Phantoms recorded the first wins over Tri-City and Omaha in franchise history. The Greensburg, Pa., native scored the game-winning goal in the 5-1 win over Tri-City Friday and netted a hat trick to propel the Phantoms to a 5-2 victory over the Lancers on Saturday.

Young (above) recorded the first goal of his USHL career Friday night against the Storm. The following night in Omaha he saw increased ice time with Kevin Liss out of the lineup and set up Margonari’s third goal of the game. The Cave Creek, Ariz., native was + 2 on the evening and is currently tied for fourth among all USHL defensemen with a + 7 rating this season.

“He’s very good offensively, but where Jordan has really picked his game up is in the defensive end,” Noreen said. “He has blocked a bunch of shots and been a very good penalty killer for us to go along with running a power play and being an offensive threat every time he’s on the ice.”

The Phantoms travel to Muskegon, Mich., to take on the Lumberjacks on Friday before returning to the Covelli Center, where they are undefeated this season, to host the Indiana Ice on Saturday.

If Dylan Margonari had it his way, the Youngstown Phantoms might never leave Nebraska. After recording his first goal of the season Friday night against Tri-City, the third-year center from Greensburg, Pa., netted three goals to lead the Phantoms (6-2-0) to a 5-2 victory over the Omaha Lancers (4-3-1).

“It must be something in the air out here,” Margonari said.

After falling behind 2-0, the Phantoms – buoyed by a four-goal second period – scored five unanswered goals to record their first win over Omaha in the franchise’s three seasons. Sean Romeo got the start in net for the second straight night and turned away 17 of 19 shots to secure the sweep on their Nebraska road trip.

“We came out here saying nothing less than four points would be accepted,” Head Coach Anthony Noreen said. “We saw some adversity last night and we saw even more tonight, but the guys just kept battling.”

Margonari got the Phantoms on the board 1:53 into the second period with a quick snap shot from the slot to beat Lancers goaltender Thatcher Demko, who was making his first career United States Hockey League Start.

“Coach told us that it was a new goalie in net and to just throw pucks on him,” Margonari said. “That’s what I did and the snow ball just started rolling from there.”

Todd Koritzinsky tied it up for the Phantoms a little more than four minutes later. The first-year winger out of Middleton, Wis., got the puck from Richard Zehnal on the right wall, weaved through traffic and sent a back-hand five-hole for his second of the season.

“Todd is going to have a bright future with the Phantoms both this year and down the road,” Noreen said. “Tonight when we called his number, there was no doubt he was going to come through and he did.”

JT Stenglein gave the Phantoms their first lead of the night at the 10:59 mark in the second when he beat Demko with a snap shot from top of the left circle. With 6:47 left in the period, Margonari struck again, digging the puck from under Demko and muscling it past the goal line to give the Phantoms a 4-2 lead heading into the third period.

Just 28 seconds into the third, Margonari completed his hat trick, beating Demko with a glove-side wrist shot.

“[Margonari] could go an entire season without scoring a goal, an assist or any points at all and he could still be our MVP,” Noreen said. “He does everything the right way… and the guys feed off his energy.

The Youngstown Phantoms saw their four-game winning streak come to an end Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., when they fell 5-4 to Team USA. The Phantoms got a pair of goals from Austin Cangelosi and Ryan Belonger with the net empty, but ran out of time and USA skated off with its first win in five games.

“I think if there were a few minutes left in the game, we would’ve had a chance to tie it,” Head Coach Anthony Noreen said. “That’s not an excuse though. That’s why you need to take care of business within the 60-minute frame.”

It was a back-and-fourth first period that saw the Phantoms take the lead twice only to have Team USA knot it back up. Defenseman Kevin Liss opened up the scoring 6:58 into the period when he knocked in a rebound off a Mike Ambrosia shot. USA tied it up on the power play less than two minutes later when Anthony Louis snuck one low past goaltender Matthew O’Connor, who was screened.

Ambrosia regained the lead for the Phantoms on a fluke play minutes later. The Chatham, N.J. native got the puck in from center ice wound up and knocked it deep toward net for a line change but USA goaltender Hunter Miska was caught off guard. He mishandled it and the puck bounced past him and into the net to put Youngstown up once again.

“You’re going to get them both ways – lucky bounces and unlucky bounces – but that was fortunate for us,” Ambrosia said. “We’ve got to manufacture goals, so it’s whatever it takes.”

But with 5:19 remaining in the period, Connor Chatham found Evan Allen open on the back door and he had no trouble popping it in to make it 2-2 heading into the first intermission.

The second period belonged to Team USA, which took full advantage of a four-minute double minor to Mike Gunn. Defenseman Keaton Thompson scored a pair of power-play goals – the first by knocking in the puck after a bad bounce off the glass behind the net, and the second via a screened shot from the point – to give Team USA a two-goal cushion after 40 minutes.

Connor Clifton put Team USA up 5-2 near the midpoint of the third off a shot from inside the blue line that O’Connor couldn’t handle. Then, with 3:41 remaining, Team USA center Tyler Kelleher was boxed for tripping and Noreen elected to pull the goalie to make it a 6-on-4 power play. Team USA was able to kill off the penalty but the Phantoms retained possession and Cangelosi was able to knock in a rebound from a Chris Bradley point-shot to cut the lead to two with 1:32 remaining.

With the net empty again, Belonger shoved a puck five hole on Miska to make it a one-goal game with 25 seconds left, but the Phantoms ran out of time and Team USA skated off with the win.

“I think we showed that we’re not going to stop until the final buzzer,” Ambrosia said. “But we didn’t bring it for the full 60 minutes tonight. It’s disappointing but we’re still 4-2”

Austin Cangelosi is chasing Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record in his first stint out of high school, but Alex Gacek wore the cape for the home team in the end.  The Youngstown Phantoms got two goals from the gifted and youthful Cangelosi and Gacek buried the winning goal in overtime to lift the Phantoms to their fourth consecutive win as they got by the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders, 4-3.

Gacek talked about the game-winning goal.  “I went in two-on-one on the right wing and saw the whole blocker side open.  I shot there and by good luck, it went in.  We had a couple of turnovers when we lost the lead, but we knew we had the momentum and were able to capitalize.”

The scoreless first period saw good back-and-forth action with the opposing goaltenders and defensemen taking center stage as no one found the net in the first twenty minutes.  Matt O’Connor turned away nine Cedar Rapids shots and Jake Hildebrand recorded seven saves in a rare penalty-free period of hockey.

In the second period, offense was plentiful as the Phantoms put together a three-goal period.  Cangelosi (above) got the party started with his sixth goal of the season as he took a beautiful feed from Mike Ambrosia right in front of the goal crease and buried the puck to put the Phantoms ahead 1-0. Ryan Belonger nabbed an assist on the opening goal as he hit Ambrosia on the left board.  With good vision, Ambrosia spotted Cangelosi breaking from center ice toward the goal and made a perfect pass for the Phantoms.

Cedar Rapids tied things up at the 15:04 mark of the second period when Jared Linnell snuck one past O’Connor to tie the game.  For Linnell, it was goal number two of the season. Tanner Pond and Greg Amlong picked up assists for the Rough Riders.

The Phantoms showed what kind of shape they are in physically by closing out the second period with force and style.  At the 17:40 mark, newcomer Brent Norris (below), who signed earlier in the day, made himself a whole lot more popular with his new mates as he connected for his first goal. Stephen Collins was credited with an assist on the goal that made it 2-1 in favor of the Phantoms.

Cangelosi had more to say as he recorded a shorthanded goal with 53 seconds left in the second period.  Ambrosia got a turnover and hit Cangelosi just above the right face-off circle.  Cangelosi then danced toward the net and put the puck past Hildebrand while falling down for the goal.

In the third period, Cedar Rapids scored with 6:53 left in the game to pull within a goal.  They would tie the game with 4:37 remaining when Ambrosia was sent to the box for a broken-stick illegal equipment penalty.  The Rough Riders already had a pair in the penalty box and losing Ambrosia gave the Phantoms a one-man advantage instead of two.  With the Phantoms working the puck in the Rough Riders zone, a near goal deflected toward center ice and was scooped up by Greg Amlong who traveled half the ice on a breakaway chance and beat O’Connor to tie the game and force overtime.

In the overtime, Alex Gacek broke in off of the right wing and buried the game-winning goal, his second of the season, just 1:34 into the extra session.  The win gives the Phantoms their fourth win in a row and puts them at 4-1-0 on the season.  Cedar Rapids fell to 2-2-1 with the loss.

O’Connor stopped 25 shots and got his fourth win in a row as well.

Coach Noreen commented on the three goal second period.  “Our first period was just okay.  It was good, but not good enough to play with the elite teams like Cedar Rapids. The second period was probably the best period we played all year. We popped a few goals and three more shots hit the post.  It was good for our team, mental toughness wise, to have a team come back on us to see what we are made of.  I think in the past, you would have seen teams fold up shop after that, but these guys never got rattled and remained unfazed.”

The Youngstown Phantoms have named their captains for the 2011-2012 season, Head Coach Anthony Noreen announced Friday.

Left wing Mike Ambrosia will serve as the team’s captain while right wing Ryan Belonger, center Dylan Margonari and defensemen Chris Bradley and Mike Gunn will serve as assistant captains.

Ambrosia, a native of Chatham, N.J., is in his second season with the Phantoms. The Princeton University commit appeared in all 60 games for the Phantoms last season, putting up 10G-18A-28PTS. He was voted captain by his teammates and the coaching staff.

“It’s a great honor to be chosen by your teammates,” Ambrosia said. “I’m joined by four great guys but this team is full of leaders and we’re all going to help each other. Coach Noreen always stresses team leadership and we need 20 guys to win every night.”

Noreen said Ambrosia has grown into a leader on the ice and in the locker room and was an excellent choice to wear the ‘C’.

“Mike embodies everything we want this program to be,” he said. “He’s not a guy who says a whole lot, but when he does the other players listen.  An individual act doesn’t make you a leader – it’s about how you conduct yourself all the time. I think Mike really represents that.”

O’Connor Named Goalee of The Week

Matt O’Connor was honored by the USHL last week.  The second year Youngstown Phantom was named the top goaltender for the week as he posted a shutout, on the road, to garner the award.

O’Connor backed up the choice on Friday night against Des Moines as he stopped 30-32 shots and recovered from a sluggish first period to keep the Buccaneers scoreless in the final two frames.  The 6’5″ net minder is very competitive, works hard, and seems poised to be the guy between the pipes for the 3-1 Phantoms this season.

The Youngstown Phantoms had their home opener against the Des Moines Buccaneers on Friday night at the Covelli Centre.  The fans who attended were treated to an outstanding hockey game that saw 17-year old prospect Austin Cangelosi score a third period powerplay goal and later add an empty-net score to boost the home team to a 4-2 victory.  The victory marks the first time in their three-year history that the Phantoms won a home opener.

The Bucs got on the board 4:31 after the opening puck dropped.  Trent Samuels-Thomas found the back of the net beating Phantoms goaltender Matt O’Conner from short range. Drake Caggiula and Duggie Lagrone picked up assists for the Bucs on the goal.

The Phantoms (2-1-0) tied the game at 1-1 later in the first period.  Mike Ambrosia scored his second goal of the young season, beating Des Moines goalee Jason Karsdorf. The goal came at the 8:17 mark and Kevin Liss picked up an assist, his first of the season.

Before intermission, Des Moines (1-2-1) reclaimed the lead, 2-1, when Caggiula tallied his second point of the night on a powerplay goal. Samuels-Thomas picked up the assist for the Buccaneers who outshot the Phantoms 12-10 in the opening period.

A funny thing happened before the game started.  I was on the glass grabbing pictures of some of the new Phantoms and an older woman was smacking the glass and screaming.  I informed her in a polite way that the game had not started yet.  She said she was cheering for her grandson to have a good game.  The woman turned out to be the grandmother of Sam Anas (above).  She informed me that she was 80 years old and came all the way from Washington D.C. with Sam’s parents to see the game.  I promised her a picture and got a hug.

The only goal scored in the second period was, you guessed it, a game-tying goal from Sam Anas.  The goal marked the first USHL points in the young career of Anas.  Anas made a beautiful move on the Des Moines red line and burst past a defender before beating Kasdorf with a nice backhand just outside the front of the goal crease.  The goal came at the 11:10 mark of the second and evened the score to the delight of the Phantoms faithful in attendance.

“It meant so much for me to score my first USHL goal with my family here to see it.  It was great and I could not stop smiling”, said Anas, who has made a true jump in class as he was playing high school level hockey not long ago.  “There is not just a few strong guys or a few fast guys at this level, everyone is stronger and everyone is fast. Anything you get, you have earned in this league.”

With 7:54 left in the game, Austin Cangelosi, who was all over the place on every shift the entire game, connected on a powerplay chance that gave the Phantoms a 3-2 lead.  Ryan Belonger picked up the assist on Cangelosi’s fourth goal of the season.

“We definitely had more speed and energy at the end of the periods tonight”, remarked Cangelosi.  “Our chemistry here clicks.  We hang out off of the ice and work hard together when we are on it.  I don’t know if I can keep up this torrid pace with the scoring.  If I score great, if I don’t so be it, as long as we win.”

O’Connor really buckled down between the pipes after the first period to earn the victory in net for the Phantoms, making 30 saves on the 32 shots he faced.

With seven seconds left, Cangelosi tallied an empty-netter with the goalee pulled on a breakaway to ice the game.  Ambrosia snagged another point with an assist.

Coach Anthony Noreen talked about keeping his team composed facing a 2-1 deficit after the first period.  “The first period is over is what I told them.  Let’s look forward to the second period and stick to our game plan.  Let’s outhit them, out forecheck, out back check, and beat them to the puck.  Our plan is threefold.  Number one, we strive to be the most conditioned team in the league.  Number two, we talk about keeping the game uptempo and constantly moving the puck forward.  Finally, we refuse to lose. Refuse to lose the puck, refuse to lose battles, and our guys did a much better job tonight with that stuff later in the game.”

These same two teams will hook up again tomorrow night at the Covelli Centre.

The Chicago Steel guaranteed their fans a win Friday night at the Edge Ice Arena and those fans got one, just not from the hometown team. The Youngstown Phantoms got a pair of goals from center Austin Cangelosi and goaltender Matthew O’Connor turned away everything he faced en route to a 3-0 win.

The game also marked the first career regular season win for Head Coach Anthony Noreen.

“The guys who earned it were the guys in the locker room,” Noreen said. “The players bought in to what the coaches were selling and it’s really their victory.”

After digging themselves a hole early last week, the Phantoms struck first against Chicago. While short-handed, Cangelosi stole the puck off Steel defender Ryan Trentz’s stick and went streaking on goal for a breakaway. The Estero, Fla. native brought the puck from forehand to backhand before roofing it on goaltender Mathias Dahlstrom to give the Phantoms the lead with 2:07 remaining in the period.  It was Cangelosi’s second goal of the season, and second on the penalty kill.

“I’m unbelievably impressed with Austin as a player but I’m even more impressed with him as a person,” Noreen said. “The character he’s shown has earned him the success he’s had.”

The Phantoms would carry a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, but not after a line brawl with 15.7 seconds remaining that saw both Ryan Belonger and Ryan Lowney sent off for fighting. Belonger was tacked with an instigator call for his part in the fight and was ejected for the game.

Despite starting the period short-handed and spending most of it with a short bench, the Phantoms continued to pressure the Steel in the second. They peppered the defense on the forecheck and with1:24 remaining, Cangelosi lit the lamp for the second time after a great feed from Mike Ambrosia and new line mate Stephen Collins, who replaced Belonger on the right wing.

O’Connor continued his sterling play in the third period as the Phantoms and Steel traded chances scoring chances. Chicago pulled it’s netminder with a minute remaining but O’Connor stood tall and Alexander Dahl unselfishly set up Richad Zehnal for an empty-netter to ice it.

“Matt was phenomenal tonight but it was really team defense that won the game,” Noreen said. “Our forwards blocked shots and the ones that got through, Matty was there to stop them.”