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Newest Phantom scores winning goal
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
Pierce Crawford capped his most unusual week by scoring the winning goal in Saturday’s shootout at the Covelli Centre.
In the fourth round, the newest Youngstown Phantom went top shelf to beat Team USA goaltender Ryan Ullan for the only goal of the shootout, giving the Phantoms a 3-2 victory.
“I was just trying to shoot high,” Crawford said, downplaying the winning shot. “It’s a good team win.”
On Monday, Crawford was an assistant captain and leading scorer for the Omaha Lancers in the USHL’s Western Conference. By Wednesday after a long solo drive to Ohio, he was practicing at The Ice Zone in Boardman after being traded for forward Noah Lalonde plus three draft picks.
Phantoms head coach Brad Patterson said Crawford reminds him of Ryan Lomberg who played for the Phantoms two seasons ago.
“He competes, he’s hard on pucks, he skates well,” Patterson said. “His skill set shines through.
“Not many guys get put into those situations at this age, especially getting traded from Nebraska to Youngstown,” Patterson said. “It’s a significant move.”
The extra point in the shootout was especially important to the Phantoms after they lost 2-1 Friday night in Muskegon, Mich., to the Lumberjacks on a late goal. Saturday, the Lumberjacks (26-14-4, 56 points) lost to the Chicago Steel, 3-2 in overtime.
The shootout win puts the Phantoms (26-14-5, 57 points) alone in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, one point ahead of the Lumberjacks and seven ahead of the Green Bay Gamblers (23-17-4, 50 points). The top four teams in the conference qualify for the postseason.
“It’s huge,” forward Austin Pooley said of the point earned in the shootout. “Talk about how tight it is [among] the top five teams. Every point is huge.”
Crawford set up the Phantoms’ first goal when he backhanded the puck into the slot where Coale Norris buried it for a 1-0 lead late in the first period.
The lead evaporated quickly in the second period when Tyler Weiss scored an unassisted goal 38 seconds into the frame.
The Phantoms’ penalty killers were strongly tested in that period, Just as they skated off Alex Esposito’s checking-from-behind infraction, defenseman Michael Karow was whistled for tripping.
With nine seconds remaining in the Nationals’ man-advantage, Pooley stripped one of the Nationals near center ice and skated in and beat Ullan on the breakaway.
Later with Crawford in the box, Team USA peppered Phantoms goaltender Ivan Kulbakov, who stopped shots by Weiss and Patrick Giles, but not the next one by Jonathan Gruden for a 2-2 tie.
Crawford almost didn’t get a chance for his heroics. After Kulbakov stopped Team USA’s first three attempts in the shootout, Pooley hit the crossbar to Ullan’s right.
“I thought I had him,” Pooley said. “I’ll get back to work on that this week. It was great for Pierce to [score]. He’s been a huge asset for us.
“He works extremely hard,” Pooley said. “He’s been awesome.”
Crawford assisted on the Phantoms only goal on Friday. His presence helped make up for the loss of leading scorer Nicholas Werbik who has banged up in Friday’s game and sat out as a precautionary measure.
In his 10th straight game, Kulbakov made 22 saves in regulation.
Approximately 3,500 fans were in attendance for Military Appreciation Night.
“It was a hard-fought battle, a playoff atmosphere,” Crawford said.
Ullan stopped 33 shots to keep the Nationals in the game.