Squirts take fourth at league tournament

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Neighbors | Submitted.The Phantoms celebrated their victory over Allegheny to advance to the semifinal round in the PAHL tournament March 5 and 6 at the Ice Zone in Boardman..The Phantoms fell behind midway through the first period but Canfield's Joey D’Apolito evened the score 1-1 at 5:42 in the second period. Two minutes later Poland's Maguire Franko gave the Phantoms the go ahead goal and they never looked back.

The Youngstown Squirt Phantoms hosted the 2011 PAHL Tournament at the Ice Zone in Boardman March 5-6 and advanced to the semifinals before falling to eventual champion Arctic Foxes.

The Squirts tied Westmoreland 3-3 in the tourney opener. Tyler Berry (Canfield) scored twice for Youngstown, including a goal with 2:45 left in the game to toe the game. Devin Whitaker (Boardman) tallied a goal and Nick Beck was the goalie.

In the second game, the Phantoms rallied for a 3-2 win over the Allegheny Badgers to advance to the semifinals.

Joey D’Apolito (Canfield) evened the score 1-1 at 5:42 in the second period. Two minutes later, Maguire Franko (Poland) scored the go-ahead goal for a 2-1 lead.

Two minutes after that at the 1:38 mark of the second period, Whitaker padded the advantage to 3-1. Allegheny scored a goal late in the third period to close within 3-2, but the Phantoms held on for the victory.

In the semifinals, Youngstown faced the Arctic Foxes, who had given up just 14 goals the entire season. After the top seed took a 1-0 lead, Whitaker evened the game at 1-1 with 5:33 left in the first period.

The Foxes secure the win with two goals in the second period and one more in the third period, for a 4-1 win. The Arctic Foxes went on to win the championship.