Shootout goal helps Phantoms stop skid

By Greg gulas

sports@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Taylor Holstrom’s goal on the seventh shot of the shootout session helped lift the Youngstown Phantoms to a 4-3 victory over the Sioux City Musketeers in USHL action Friday at the Covelli Centre.

The win was the first at home for the Phantoms (17-32-3, 37 points) since a 7-3 victory over Team USA on Jan. 18.

With nine regular season games remaining — five on their home ice — coach Curt Carr and his Phantoms are looking to finish strong with the hopes of erasing the woes of what has now become a season of unfulfilled expectations.

Holstrom helped kick off that final stretch with his first game-winning goal of the season.

It took the Phantoms just 2:05 and two shots into the game to register the first goal, that coming on Tom Serratore’s 14th goal of the year, an unassisted wrister for the early goal advantage.

Jefferson Dahl’s 14th tally of the year at 9:17 then gave Youngstown a two-goal margin but Sioux City’s leading scorer, Stephan Vigier, rattled a shot past the outstretched arm of Phantoms goaltender Jordan Tibbett at 12:20 to cut Youngstown’s lead in half after the first 20 minutes of play.

Vigier’s goal, his first of two power-play netters on the night, gives him a team-best 21 and 36 points on the campaign.

Like Youngstown in the opening period, it didn’t take the Musketeers long to penetrate the Youngstown crease in the second stanza as Nick Sorkin notched his sixth goal of the season at 1:20 to knot the game at 2-all.

That would be the only offense in the period as Sioux City outshot the Phantoms, 19-9.

Jiri Sekac gave the Phantoms a 3-2 lead at 13:33 of the final period but Vigier forced the overtime session with his goal at 16:36 of the peiod.

A scoreless overtime then paved the way for Holstrom.

In the shootout, Alex Krushelnyski’s backhand gave the Musketeers the advantage but Sekac quickly answered with a goal of his own to knot the score at a goal apiece.

Tommy Olczyk made it 2-1 in favor of the Musketeers on the fifth shot of the session, but facing elimination it was Youngstown’s Brent Gensler nailing a shot past the glove of Musketeer goalie Matt Skoff to extend the game.

The next two shots by Sioux City (20-23-8, 48 points) failed to register, paving the way for Holstrom’s game-winner.

The Musketeers outshot the Phantoms, 51-28 while Youngstown’s Jordan Tibbett picked up the win in goal, his ninth of the season.

Youngstown, 2-2 in shootouts, will host to the Musketeers tonight at 7:15 p.m.