Phantoms’ special teams falter to Steel

Youngstown won once in its 3-game weekend road trip

Staff report

CHICAGO

The Chicago Steel downed the Youngstown Phantoms 3-1 on Sunday to earn a weekend split at the Fox Valley Ice Arena.

Saturday, the Phantoms won, 4-1, one night after Youngstown lost to Team USA, 3-0, in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sunday, special teams once again played a huge role in the contest, with Youngstown surrendering a power play and shorthanded goal.

“Special teams cost us again tonight,” Phantoms head coach John Wroblewski said. “It’s been an issue for us so far this season and something we will continue to address going forward.”

Chicago struck first when Jake Jaremko beat goaltender Colin DeAugustine with a rebound goal on the power play.

The Phantoms tied the game when Yushiro Hirano beat Steel goaltender John Lethemon, who had replaced Steel starting goaltender Daniel Vladar, who suffered a cut.

The Phantoms earned a power-play opportunity after Tyler Drevitch fought Steel defenseman Charlie Raith, who earned an additional penalty for slashing.

The man-advantage chance backfired when communication breakdown between DeAugustine and his defensemen led to Jaremko scoring again. Marcel Godbout scored in the third period.

A bright spot during the weekend was the play of newcomer Noah Lalonde, who joined the Phantoms from the Detroit Honeybaked AAA U-18 squad. Though Lalonde was held off the score sheet, his play got stronger as the weekend went on.

“I was expecting the game to be a lot faster than I am used to, but the guys I was playing with definitely made it easier to adjust,” Lalonde said. “By the end of the weekend, I felt pretty comfortable. It was a great experience.”

This weekend, the Phantoms return to the road for a two-game series in Lincoln, Neb., against the Stars.

In Saturday’s victory, Youngstown’s top line of Chase Pearson, Yushiro Hirano and Cam Morrison recorded five points.

Phantoms goaltender Ryan Bednard continued his streak of solid performances, turning away 24 of 25 Chicago shot attempts.