Phantoms seek wins over Ice

Staff report

INDIANAPOLIS

The Youngstown Phantoms wrap up their longest road swing of the season this weekend when they take on the Indiana Ice twice in a battle for second place in USHL’s Eastern Conference.

The Ice (15-7-4, 34 points) host the Phantoms (16-6-2, 34 points) today at 7:05 p.m. at the Pepsi Coliseum. On Saturday, the two teams will face off at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, at 6:05 p.m. for a New Year’s Eve showcase.

Wednesday, the Phantoms lost a 2-1 shootout to the RoughRiders in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Phantoms Head Coach Anthony Noreen said that he is not concerned with the standings — he’s more focused on ensuring his team replicates its success on the road from prior to the holiday break.

“We’re going to be beat up playing three games in four days, but just like we did in Green Bay and Des Moines, we want to look at it like a playoff series,” Noreen said. “[Winning on the road] is something we’re going to have to overcome.

“We need to become confident that it’s something we can do moving forward.”

When the teams met in the Covelli Centre on Nov. 5, the game was played with the intensity of a playoff game. The Ice got a late third period goal from Robbie Baillargeon to force overtime, but Mike Ambrosia netted the game-winner in a shootout to propel the Phantoms to a 4-3 win.

Ambrosia, who enters the weekend series with 10 points in his last five games, and the rest of the Phantoms shut down Indiana’s leading scorer Daniil Tarasov that night, but they will have their hands full with the high-powered Ice forwards this weekend.

Indiana has three players — Tarasov, Sean Kuraly and Jacob Fallon — in the top 10 in the league scoring, and the Ice have scored the second-most goals in the league (93).