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SEASON ON THE BRINK
Phantoms’ backs against wall for Game 4 trip
YOUNGSTOWN
Vas Kolias said he could’ve played three more overtime periods Saturday night.
Instead, the Youngstown Phantoms are guaranteed only three more regulation periods in their season.
Following a 2-1 double-overtime loss to the Muskegon Lumberjacks in Game 3 of their USHL Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Phantoms face elimination for the first time all year. The league’s regular-season champion, which reached the 40-win plateau including 17-in-a-row down the stretch, has 60 minutes tonight in Muskegon, Mich., to keep its season alive.
“We know what our guys are made of,” Phantoms coach Anthony Noreen said. “We’re built for this. This is why we workout at 6 in the morning, this is why we run the way we do, this is why we practice as hard as we do — for moments like this.”
The biggest obstacle standing in their way has played larger than life. Lumberjacks goaltender Eric Schierhorn, who’s a native of Anchorage, Alaska, recently signed his letter of intent to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota. The way he played Saturday night at the Covelli Centre, Schierhorn should’ve signed with the Minnesota Wild.
Sprawling across his goal crease with the agility of an Olympic gymnast and swallowing shots with his body like a human sink hole, Schierhorn made 44 saves and got help from the post on one more.
“I’ve told my coach multiple times I’d rather have 50 shots than 20 shots,” Schierhorn said after Saturday’s marathon game, the longest in Phantoms’ history. “It’s easier to get in the game, it’s easier to stay in the game.”
He’s stopped 103 of 111 shots in more than 219 minutes of ice time this series. As a result, his team leads the series 2-1 with a chance to close out the Anderson Cup champions on home ice.
“[Tonight] is huge for us,” Schierhorn said of Game 4. “We want to close it out at home in front of our fans. We don’t want to have to make another long road trip over here, so we’re gonna enjoy this for a little bit and we’re gonna gear up for Monday.”
While the Phantoms search for ways to solve the Lumberjacks’ netminder, Noreen is faced with a decision regarding his own goalie situation. Does he stick with Colin DeAugustine, who was sharp all night Saturday, or go with Chris Birdsall, who started Game 1 on the road and allowed five goals on 41 shots?
“[DeAugustine] was tremendous,” Noreen said of Saturday’s 45-save performance. “We should’ve put it away earlier. I mean their goalie stole the game. They were good. I thought they played well.
“But I thought if you compared the Grade A scoring chances to each other, I don’t even think it would be close.”
One thing the Phantoms would like to see more of is shots on goal from their scoring leader, Kyle Connor. He was shut out on the score sheet Saturday night for the first time in the series, but perhaps more alarming was the one shot on goal he registered in nearly a five-period game. Connor, the USHL’s scoring leader, was second in the league in that category during the regular season with 256.
The Phantoms still had their scoring chances. They just hope tonight isn’t their last chance to play together.
“The leadership and the character in that room is the best I’ve ever seen, as a player or a coach,” Noreen said. “We’re not fazed, I’m not fazed. I’m confident, I’m calm.
“I mean it’s two hockey games. Win one game on the road, get us started there, and let’s get back here on Wednesday. Let’s just scratch and claw and find a way.”