43
Phantoms have caught fire since being eliminated from USHL playoff chase
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
If only the Youngstown Phantoms’ five-game winning streak had kicked in a little sooner.
On Feb. 19, the Phantoms defeated the USHL’s top team, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 6-3 at the Covelli Centre and were poised for the stretch run. At that time, the Phantoms were one of five teams in the chase for the Eastern Conference’s four playoff berths.
Two days later, the Phantoms dropped a 4-3 decision to the RoughRiders at the Covelli Centre. That loss launched a 2-7 skid that all but eliminated the Phantoms from the postseason.
“We didn’t get the job done at the right time,” head coach John Wroblewski said. “When we are on our game, I think we are extremely difficult to compete against.”
On March 19, the Phantoms snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Lumberjack in Muskegon, Mich. They haven’t lost since, but were eliminated from the playoff chase on March 25.
The fourth-place Bloomington Thunder (36-18-3-1, 76 points) sizzled when the Phantoms chilled. Four of Youngstown’s losses in the skid were to the Thunder (2-1, 10-1, 4-2, 4-0).
“We ran into a buzzsaw in Bloomington,” Wroblewski said. “They were playing some of their best hockey during that stretch and we were just average.”
But Wroblewski refused to pin the end of the playoff chase on those games, citing plenty of missed opportunities earlier in the season.
“We shouldn’t have had to win those games to get in,” Wroblewski said.
Last weekend, the Phantoms (29-20-4-5, 67 points) swept a two-game series with the Omaha Lancers at the Covelli Centre (5-2, 4-1).
The difference between now and six weeks ago?
“The goaltending has been really solid,” the first-year Phantoms head coach replied after Colin DeAugustine (9-11-0-3) stopped 30 shots and came within 23 seconds of a shutout in Saturday’s game. “Outstanding goaltending in the last five games.”
“DeAug stood tall for us,” Wrobelwski said of his third-season goalie will play for Mercyhurst in the fall. “We’re getting the big save and we’re getting off to better starts, too.
“We’re playing with the lead.”
On March 26, Ryan Bednard, a Florida Panthers draft pick, earned the Phantoms’ only shutout of the season with a 3-0 victory over Team USA’s 18-U team. His record is 20-8-4-1.
This weekend, the Phantoms conclude the team’s seventh USHL season with a home-and-home series with Team USA’s 17-U team. Most likely, each goalie will get a start.
Wroblewski isn’t surprised his players have rebounded, saying his lineup is loaded with “character kids who continue to battle. I’m happy they are seeing [late] success.”