Phantoms fall twice in USHL showcase

Staff report

INDIANAPOLIS

The Youngstown Phantoms couldn’t hold a third-period lead Saturday against Team USA’s under-18 team, ending the preseason with a 3-1 loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

First-year forward Kiefer Sherwood’s fourth goal of the preseason was not enough as Team USA scored twice late in the period and added an empty-netter with eight seconds remaining.

The Phantoms fell to 2-3-0 in the preseason, dropping both of their games at the USHL Fall Classic East showcase. Friday, the Phantoms lost to the defending champion Dubuque Fighting Saints, 6-3.

Despite the losses, Phantoms head coach Anthony Noreen said he was encouraged by his team’s growth over the weekend.

“It was our best game of the preseason,” Noreen said after Saturday’s game. “There were a lot of positive from today’s game.

“That’s a very talented hockey club that’s been together for a year, but I thought we played a very solid, all-around game.”

Jake Moore turned away 19-of-21 shots in his fifth outing of the preseason while his counterpart Blake Weyrick turned away all but one of 20 shots.

Sherwood scored less than three minutes into second period. Rookie defenseman Tommy Parran hit him with an outlet pass and Sherwood carried the puck into the zone before dishing it to Luke Stork in the corner then drifting to an opening in the low slot. Stork threaded it back to Sherwood who fired it five-hole on Weyrick.

“Stork did great getting it in the corner and made a nice pass,” Sherwood. “I was lucky to get it in the slot and just hammered it away.”

In Friday’s loss, Stork scored a pair of goals and JJ Piccinich tallied his first of the preseason.

The Fighting Saints won the special teams battle with a pair of power-play goals and one short-handed marker.

“It’s just something we need to get more comfortable with,” Noreen said of special teams. “We put units together for the first time this week and walked through it one time.

“The power play, that’s going to come with repetition, and the penalty kill is going to come when we figure out the right habits,” Noreen said.

This week, the Phantoms will practice at The Ice Zone in Boardman in preparation for their USHL regular-season opener on Friday against Team USA in Ann Arbor, Mich.