SPORTS DIGEST || Phantoms’ Bednard posts shutout

Phantoms’ Bednard posts shutout

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA.

The Youngstown Phantoms defeated the Team USA’s 18-under team 2-0 Saturday in the final game of the USHL Pittsburgh Showcase.

The contest was a physical affair, as the two teams combined for 28 penalties, including two game misconducts for USA. In the second period, Lukas Craggs scored on assists by Garrett Hall and Yushiro Hirano.

The Phantoms’ biggest test came in the beginning of the third period when Team USA went on a 5-on-3 power play. Excellent penalty killing by Craggs, Cam Morrison and goaltender Ryan Bednard frustrated Team USA.

James Winkler deflected a shot by Ty Farmer to give the Phantoms a 2-0 lead. Bednard was named player of the game after a 34-save shutout.

The Phantoms will open their seventh USHL season on Saturday at the Covelli Centre against Team USA.

Porter to speak to Curbstone

AUSTINTOWN

Mark Porter of Scouting Ohio.Com will be the guest speaker at Monday’s Curbstone Coaches at Lucianno’s Banquet Center in the Wedgewood Plaza.

The event begins at noon and is open to the public.

How to report high school results

Coaches and statisticians are encouraged to report results by email (sports@vindy.com) or fax (330-747-6712).

Phone calls (330-747-1478) are also acceptable but emails and faxes are strongly preferred.

Deadline is 10:30 p.m. Late results will be published in the following day’s newspaper.

Iowa edges Pitt

IOWA CITY, Iowa

Iowa’s Marshall Koehn kicked a 57-yard field goal as time expired to push Iowa past Pittsburgh 27-24 Saturday, giving the Hawkeyes their first 3-0 start in six years.

C.J. Beathard had 258 yards passing for Iowa, which drove 31 yards in under a minute to set up Koehn’s winning kick.

Tyler Boyd’s 8-yard TD catch with 52 seconds tied the game at 24-all for Pitt (2-1).

Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi called timeout to ice Koehn just after he kicked his first attempt, which was well short.

But Koehn’s second try sailed straight through the uprights to give Iowa one of its most thrilling wins in years.

Nate Peterman had 219 yards passing and two touchdowns in his first start for Pitt (2-1).

Crew defeats United

WASHINGTON

Ethan Finlay and Kei Kamara scored and the Columbus Crew beat D.C. United 2-1 on Saturday night to clinch a playoff berth.

Tyson Wahl outdueled Sean Franklin for a ball deep in United territory and poked it to Finlay, who shielded a defender inside the 6-yard box before blasting a left-footer past Bill Hamid to give Columbus (13-9-8) a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute.

Kamara, who leads the MLS with 21 goals, raced behind the defense and put away a pass from Tony Tchani to make it 2-0 about 2 minutes into the second half.

Gonchar focused on return to Pens

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.

Entering his 21st NHL season, defenseman Sergei Gonchar is focused on earning a second stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Gonchar was a defensive leader for the Penguins for five seasons from 2005-2010, including during Pittsburgh’s two Stanley Cup Final appearances in 2008 and 2009.

Gonchar said when he contemplated continuing his career, he first thought of Pittsburgh.

“I just decided I want to give it another shot. I decided I wanted to play,” Gonchar said. “You want to go somewhere where you have a chance to win and where you can compete every night. So, Pittsburgh was the obvious choice.”

Staff/wire report