Ryan Belonger — Phantoms menace

Photo by: Geoffrey Hauschild

Photo

Youngstown Phantom forward, Ryan Belonger, poses for a portrait at the Ice Zone in Boardman following a practice on Tuesday evening.

By Tom Williams

williams@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Ryan Belonger has rebounded nicely from the bad break that began his Youngstown Phantoms career.

Last Saturday in Indianapolis, Belonger scored two goals as the Phantoms wiped out a 2-0 deficit against the Indiana Ice to post a 6-3 victory and snap an eight-game losing streak.

With six goals, Belonger leads the Phantoms. He’s second in scoring with 11 points, trailing Jiri Sekac’s 12. At plus 5, he leads in that category and is one of only five Phantoms (5-8-1, 11 points) with positive marks.

Belonger has come a long way since he wasn’t sure he’d make the team after he fell to the ice and broke his left arm during a tryout camp scrimmage.

“I was pretty nervous when it happened because I didn’t get to play in all of the games,” said Belonger, a Green Bay, Wis., native who played for the North American Hockey League’s St. Louis Bandits last season.

Despite the break, Belonger, 18, was picked for the team. Coach Curtis Carr says Belonger’s willingness to bear down when he doesn’t have the puck is the key to his solid start in his first USHL season.

“The biggest thing we had to work on with Ryan when he got here was being a complete player and putting in the effort away from the puck,” Carr said.

“We were pretty firm with Ryan when he got here about being responsible in his position, not just when he had the puck in the offensive zone,” Carr said. “To his credit, it’s something that he’s worked really hard at.

“That just shows that he’s worked hard, watched video and really bought into what we’ve been stressing to him. He’s turned into a really good all-around complete player.”

Last year, Belonger scored 10 goals and had 18 assists. He finished plus 7 in the 50 games he played as a Bandit.

“Ryan has always put up good numbers wherever he’s played,” Carr said. “We kinda knew that he could be an offensive guy for us.”

Carr has Belonger on a line with center Stu Higgins and winger Adam Berkle.

“He’s a player who buries his chances whenever he gets them,” Higgins said. “He has a great shot.”

Against the Ice, Higgins picked up the puck in the Indiana zone and fed a pass to Belonger in the slot.

“He was pretty wide open,” Higgins said. “When I picked my head up, there was Berkle going to the far post and [Belonger] found an open area in the slot.

“We’ve had a few plays like that this year where he finds the gray areas on the ice where no one is really at,” Higgins said.

Belonger’s tally was the first of five consecutive goals (Higgins, Cody Strang, Sekac and Belonger had the others).

“We were running a trap forecheck and they ended up turning the puck over down in the corner,” Belonger said of the play that changed the game. “I just kind of walked down to the middle. Stu passed it out and I one-timed it [past goalie Jon Gillies] from about the hashmarks.

“It was a bit of a relief, [feeling like] we’re back in the game.”

Belonger says play in the USHL is faster than what he experienced as a Bandit.

“Decision-making is definitely a lot faster and the speed of the game picks up,” Belonger said. “You just adapt.”

He’s been seeing some special teams time.

“Lately, I’ve been playing power play more,” Belonger said. “I’m not much of a penalty killer, though.”

He said the bus rides are a little longer than what he experienced in St. Louis.

“I usually just sleep, but we bring our video games and laptops to try and kill time,” Belonger said.

It’s his second year away from home. His parents, Gregg and Lisa, also are parents to Christy, 24, and Nick, 21.

This season, he’s living with John and Heather Herchik of North Lima, along with goaltender Matt O’Connor and forward Josef Pontasch.