Phantoms rookie earns second win

Staff report

INDIANAPOLIS

In his second USHL start, Youngstown Phantoms affiliate goaltender Colin DeAugustine improved to 2-0-0 with Saturday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Indiana Ice.

The shootout was decided in the eighth round when Phantoms forward Luke Stork scored.

DeAugustine made 32 saves during regulation and the five-minute overtime.

“My only other [shootout] this year — and actually in my career — went three rounds and I let up all three and lost pretty quick,” DeAugustine said. “This was a little bit better than last time.”

DeAugustine also was the winning goaltender in Friday’s 3-0 victory over the Chicago Steel at the Covelli Centre.

“Colin played well the entire game and he made a couple huge saves when it was 3-3 late,” Phantoms head coach Anthony Noreen said. “Then in the shootout, to only let one in against a very good team — that was pretty impressive.”

The Ice went first in the shootout, but it wasn’t until the fourth round that Washington Capitals draft pick Brian Pinho beat DeAugustine to gain the edge.

With the game on the line, Blake Christensen roofed a wrist shot on Ice goaltender Jason Pawloski to extend the shootout.

After three more fruitless rounds, Stork ripped a clean wrist shot over Pawloski as the Phantoms earned the second point and fourth of the weekend.

“Coach came over to me and Tyler [Spezia] and said, ‘One of you guys is going next. Figure it out,’” Stork said. “We kind of talked it out and I was the lucky one to go.

“I saw a lot of guys going and fumbling the puck because the ice was bad so I thought, why not shoot? I saw the glove side open so I just let it go.”

Stork also added a goal in regulation and Kiefer Sherwood notched a pair of assists for the Phantoms (3-4-1, 7 points). Defenseman Fredric Larsson and forward Spezia also found the back of the net for Youngstown, which was won 10 of its last 11 games against Indiana.

The Phantoms jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the six-minute mark of the second period, but the Ice (1-4-2, 4 points) were able bring it within one heading into the intermission.

Tim Shoup evened it up 40 seconds into the third period but, DeAugustine and Pawloski, who came on to replace Indiana starter Samu Perhonen in the second period, turned away all other shots.

In the second period, the Phantoms came out flying to chase Perhonen.

Larsson led it off when Sherwood fed him at the left point and he let fly with a wicked wrist shot. Perhonen got a piece of it with the glove but it deflected straight up, rang off the crossbar and fell behind the goal line.

Stork stretched the lead to 2-0, scoring on a rebound just seconds after an Indiana penalty had expired.

On the following shift, Spezia ended Perhonen’s night when Ryan Schwalbe found him at the left circle. Spezia sent slapped the puck over the goaltender’s shoulder.