17 AND COUNTING

March 24, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

Weekend sweeps propel Phantoms into No. 1 slot

In the first five-and-a-half seasons of the Youngstown Phantoms, the eastern-most team in the USHL has made many three-game weekend road trips to the Midwest and never swept any of them.

But since Feb. 6, the Phantoms (36-13-5, 77 points) have morphed into ultimate road warriors, three times winning three games in the space of about 72 hours.

Their latest sweep (two wins over the Waterloo Black Hawks on Friday and Saturday and one over the Chicago Steel on Sunday) extended the Phantoms’ winning streak to 17, tying the USHL’s Tier I era (2002-today) record.

“It’s a great testament to our organization from ownership to the front office,” Phantoms head coach Anthony Noreen said. “I give [assistant general manager] Jason Koehler, [assistant coach] Brad Patterson, [assistant coach] John Ronan, [equipment manager] Adam Waddell, [trainer] Jim Schroeder, our whole support staff and most of all, our players, a ton of credit, because with the parity and talent level of the players and coaches in this league it’s not easy to do.

“[The streak is] something that will be a part of this group’s legacy moving forward wherever they go,” Noreen said.

The latest road trip featured two one-goal victories. In Waterloo, Iowa, on Friday, co-captain Josh Nenadal scored with 42 seconds remaining in regulation for a 2-1 victory over the Black Hawks.

Nenadal’s goal was scored not long after Phantoms goaltender Colin DeAugustine made a big stop to keep the game tied.

“Colin made a highlight-reel save at the other end, and as soon as I realized it wasn’t a goal I got going up the ice and sent a pass to Chase [Pearson],” Nenadal said. “He got it right back to me out front.”

Chris Birdsall, the Phantoms’ other goaltender, posted his third shutout of the season in a 4-0 win Saturday.

“I thought I was seeing the puck pretty well,” said Birdsall who made 24 saves. “It’s pretty easy to stop the puck when everyone is going like our guys were.”

Saturday’s win clinched the Phantoms’ third playoff berth in four seasons.

The Phantoms rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Steel on Sunday in Bensenville, Ill.

With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Kyle Connor, the USHL’s leading scorer, scored his 29th goal after a pass from Tyler Sheehy.

“The credit goes to Sheehy, who came down the wall and fed me a great pass,” said Connor who has 69 points, four more than Sioux City’s Adam Johnson. “I just made a couple of moves to get it on net and it went in.”

About the close call, Noreen said, “Toward the end, we were blocking shots and were tough in front of the net. We found a way to win, which has been the story with this group.”

With six games remaining in the regular season, the Phantoms have plenty to play for over the next three weeks. They have a five-point lead over the second-place Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and an 11-point edge over the third-place Dubuque Fighting Saints and Muskegon Lumberjacks in the Eastern Conference.

The magic number for opening the playoffs at the Covelli Centre is one (point earned for the Phantoms or lost by the Fighting Saints and Lumberjacks),

“It feels amazing to accomplish something like this,” Connor said. “It’s been an entire team effort throughout this run, and we just have to try and keep it going here.”