SteelHounds rally for kids

Youngstown beat Texas 4-1 as thousands of youngsters cheered the way.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Maybe they should rename SteelHounds Kids Day as “Loud and Proud.”

Propelled by the screams of thousands of middle school-aged children, the Youngstown SteelHounds rattled off their fourth straight win Tuesday afternoon, defeating the Texas Brahmas, 4-1, before a rocking crowd at the Chevrolet Centre.

“This was the loudest the building has been all year,” goaltender Andy Franck said after stopping 35 Brahmas’ shots for his 17th victory. “I was expecting it to be about half-full maybe, but I didn’t realize that there would be this many kids.

“And then when we came out and it was so loud, I was like, ‘Wow, this is a real deal,’ ” said Franck, last week’s CHL goaltender of the week.

“We never did anything like go to a hockey game,” said Franck, recalling his middle school days and field trips. “We went to COSI and the zoo ... the science center was kind of cool.”

The victory moved the SteelHounds (26-14-2, 54 points) ahead of Colorado and Mississippi for third place in the Northern Conference.

“Awesome, I loved it,” SteelHounds coach Kevin Kaminski said of the crowd of 4,750 as his team opened an eight-game homestand. “It’s great when kids are screaming, it brings positiveness to the Chevy Centre. I think the guys fed off that. They were like an extra man for us.”

Although Franck was peppered with shots, Kaminski praised his defense for keeping most of them outside the goal crease.

Forward Petr Pohl scored one goal and set up two others. Eric Przepiorka also had two assists.

About 90 seconds after the 10:35 a.m. start, SteelHounds forward Mark Odut pulled the puck away from the boards and skated toward the Brahmas’ net, beating goaltender David Cacciola from extremely close range.

The Brahmas dominated most of the period, outshooting the SteelHounds, 13-7.

Milan Maslonka’s fight with Brent MacSween early in the second period sparked an avalanche of shrieks, but gave the Brahmas a two-minute power play.

While killing the penalty, Pohl pounced on Brahmas defender Mike Vellinga’s clearing attempt from the corner. About 12 feet from the blue line, Pohl fired a slapper past Cacciola for a 2-0 lead.

Late in the second period, the Brahmas beat Franck with their 24th shot on goal.

Anders Strome’s 22nd goal to extended his point streak to nine games.

Pohl and linemates Przepiorka and Kirill Starkov generated two goal in the third period to seal the win.

“We had some quality chances and we finished them,” Kaminski said.

Three minutes into the period, Pohl fed defenseman Steve Birnstill, who skated into the left faceoff circle to beat Cacciola for a 3-1 lead.

Ten minutes later, Starkov netted his 10th goal on a feed from Pohl.

“It was nice to see a lot of kids in the stands,” said Pohl whose 49 points is second-most on the team. “Hopefully, they had fun.”

Pohl said the difference between the team’s current winning streak and when they began the season with a 12-1-1 record is that it’s harder now to score.

“The game has changed since the beginning of the season,” said Pohl, stressing that opponents then weren’t sure of competitors’ strengths.

“It’s tougher now to put up points.”

williams@vindy.com