Flying Phantoms defeat Chicago Steel

Staff report

BOARDMAN

The Youngstown Phantoms cruised to a 5-1 win over the Chicago Steel in Saturday’s preseason opener at the Ice Zone.

Scoring for the Phantoms were four returning players.

“That is what we expect from our returning players,” Phantoms coach Curtis Carr said. “We brought them back for a reason, so it’s good to see them step up and score some goals.

“Everyone says that hard work always beats talent,” Carr said. “But when talent works hard, you’re very hard to beat.”

The Phantoms displayed a physical tone. For Cody Strang, finishing the hits is very important.

“Our team is fast and physical,” Strang said. “It looks a lot more physical than it is, but with our team’s skill, it is very important for everyone to work hard.”

The bright spot was the Phantoms’ penalty kill. The Phantoms killed off nine odd-man opportunities, one of which was a five-on-three.

For Carr, the best penalty killer has to be the goalie.

“[Matt] O’Connor stepped up when we needed him to,” Carr said. “When we broke down, he was there to pick us up.

“Hopefully this was a sign of what is to come when it comes to our penalty kill,” Carr said. “The intensity was there and now with game footage, we can better teach our systems.”

Less then three minutes into the first period, Strang scored. Stu Higgins, Quinn Smith, Scott Mayfield and Jiri Sekac scored the other Phantoms goals.

“It is great to get that first goal so quickly,” Strang said. “It usually takes a while to get that first one and to get that goal three minutes into the season—you can’t ask for anything better.”

The Phantoms’ preseason resumes on Friday and Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich. with games against Team USA.