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Phantoms start fast, finish strong in victory
By Ryan Buck
YOUNGTOWN
The Youngstown Phantoms saw an early three-goal lead disappear, before a patient, yet dynamic offensive outfit roared back to life, en route to a 5-4 victory over the Waterloo (Iowa) Black Hawks Friday night at the Covelli Centre.
With the game tied at 3 in the third period, Phantoms forward Matt Alvaro flashed in front of Black Hawks goalie Drew Hotte and netted a well-timed pass from Phantoms defenseman Vas Kolias, who was cutting behind the net.
The one-two punch gave Youngstown a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.
“I came through right up the middle on the back check and picked off a pass and fed Vas,” said Alvaro, a Toronto, Ont., native bound for Providence College when his USHL tenure ends. “And he’s got some wheels. He beat the [defender] wide and set me up. I was able to bury it on the back end.”
The Phantoms flew out to an early 3-0 lead, thanks to forward Kevin Conley’s theatrics.
The 6-foot, 190-pound winger scored twice — both unassisted — in the game’s opening minutes, his fourth and fifth goals of the season.
Conley, from Wausau, Wisc., is headed to national hockey power Denver once he departs Youngstown.
The first goal came 1:05 into the game to give Youngstown a 1-0 advantage and the second came with just 4:45 passed.
Second-line center Lukas Craggs, a future Bowling Green Falcon, gave the Phantoms a 3-0 lead 6:28 into the first period on an assist from Noah Lalonde.
The score was Craggs’ seventh goal of the season.
“I thought there were a couple fortuitous bounces,” said first-year Phantoms coach John Wroblewski. “It was some bouncing pucks that went our way.”
The Black Hawks weathered the storm, however.
“Certainly going down 3-0 fueled their game,” Wroblewski said. “And we got complacent.”
Winger Niko Hildebrand got Waterloo on the scoreboard with 14:15 gone in the first. Hunter Luhmann and Cam Orchard were credited with assists.
Black Hawks center David Cotton cut the Waterloo deficit to one in the second off another Orchard assist.
They tied it in 2:11 into the third period when Brandon Schultz snuck a shot past Phantoms goalie Colin DeAugustine to tie the game at 3.
Wroblewski instilled in his team — coming off a season which saw the Phantoms earn the USHL’s best regular-season record — a sense of calm amid the deteriorated lead.
“They had just tied the game,” said Alvaro, “so we needed a big shift.”
Alvaro’s winner came with 3:39 gone in the period, a very rapid swing in emotion and momentum.
DeAugustine, a Burgettstown, Pa., native, and his defense stood tall before leading goal-scorer Cameron Morrison sent in an empty-net goal with 1:24 to go.
Hildebrand netted his second goal of the game with 30 seconds left for the Black Hawks’ fourth goal, but the Phantoms avoided a late breakdown as the seconds ticked away.
The Phantoms are now 11-8-5 on the season, and 7-4-1 on home ice. The teams will meet again tonight at 7:05.