YSU hockey lose twice

YSU

Hockey team loses 2

YOUNGSTOWN — The YSU hockey team suffered two losses over the weekend — 7-2 to Mercyhurst and 4-0 to Niagara.

YSU (4-27-2) has lost six straight games.

The Penguins play host to No. 19 Robert Morris Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at the Ice Zone.

The College Hockey Mid-America playoffs will be held at the Ice Zone Feb. 22-24.

LOCAL

Thunder signs DB

BOARDMAN — Defensive back James Skodak has been assigned to the Mahoning Valley Thunder by af2.

Skodak (6-foot, 214 pounds) is a native of Lennon, Mich., and attended Ferris State where he is seventh in school history with 10 career interceptions.

He also returned kickoffs and was a three-time All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection.

Phantoms bantams
clinch title

BOARDMAN — The Phantom Fireworks Bantam A team clinched the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League regular season championship with a 4-2 win over the Cambria Warriors Sunday.

Chase Leonelli and Zack Jones had two goals apiece and Ryan Demyen had two assists for the Phantoms. Goaltender Brennan Allen had 11 saves.

The Phantoms (16-3) play Morgantown (13-4-2) Feb. 23 at the Ice Zone.

Dinner set

NORTH LIMA — The area sports community is coming together to help Donna Detwiler of North Lima, the sister of Lisbon High baseball coach Matt Giambattista, who is having a stem cell transplant in March with the hope of curing multiple myloma.

A spaghetti-dinner fundraiser for Detwiler will be held March 2 from noon to 4 p.m. at St. Paul The Apostle Catholic Church in New Middletown.

Giambattista, a former Ursuline High baseball coach, also is a guidance counselor at Lisbon.

Detwiler is a registered nurse at North Side Hospital.

Tickets for the fundraiser may be purchased by calling (330) 793-5605 or (330) 759-1444).

Contributions also may be made to the Donna Detwiler Fund at Charter Bank, Cornersburg Office, 3525 Canfield Rd., Youngstown, Ohio 44511.

Lifting meet planned

NEWTON FALLS — The Northeast Ohio Regional Power Lifting Meet will be held Saturday at the Newton Falls HIgh Gymnasium starting at 10 a.m.

Weigh-ins will be held from 8-9:30 a.m.

Athletes from grades 7-12 are invited to compete either individually and/or as a team. Boys and girls will compete in separate divisions.

The entry fee is $18. The first 300 contestants pre-registering each will receive a free T-shirt and photo.

Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for students.

For more information, contact meet directors Marc Bjelac (330) 872-5893 or (330) 442-2883 (cell) and Jim Wolke (330) 898-7480; Mike Gillespie, Newton Falls athletic director (330) 442-7103; or Newton Falls High School office (330) 872-5121.

No racing Monday

CHESTER, W. Va. — Live thoroughbred racing at Mountaineer Racetrack was canceled Monday due to weather conditions.

NATION

Steelers staying
with grass at Heinz

PITTSBURGH — The Heinz Field maintenance crew won’t be throwing away those “Keep Off The Grass” signs after all.

The Pittsburgh Steelers gave into their players’ wishes and will keep their grass field, though it may not necessarily be the field that is currently in place.

While the Heinz Field surface is regularly rated by NFL players as one of the league’s worst, a large number of Steelers players lobbied the team to keep the grass because they are convinced it reduces injuries.

“The majority of our players have told us that they prefer natural grass to any artificial surface,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement issued Monday. “Grass is also the preference of our coaches and athletic staff. We discussed this with the University of Pittsburgh to make sure everyone is comfortable moving forward.”

Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson also said the school favored grass. Pitt also plays its home games at Heinz Field, which opened in 2001.

The Steelers received considerable criticism after a newly installed layer of sod became swamped by unseasonably heavy rain during their Nov. 26 game against Miami.

Both offenses stalled nearly the entire game, and the Steelers scored the only points on Jeff Reed’s 24-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining — the first time in 64 years an NFL game went that long without any points.

After that game, the Steelers said they would study installing an artificial surface for the 2008 season. The stadium is used for an average of 22 games per game, including all home games by the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh and at least five high school games.

Vindicator staff/wire reports