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Phantoms host Stars tonight with playoff life on the line
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
In pursuit of their fourth playoff appearance in eight USHL seasons, the Youngstown Phantoms’ margin of error has all but evaporated.
On March 10, the Phantoms defeated the Green Bay Gamblers 3-1 at the Covelli Centre for a seven-point lead in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Gamblers (32-21-2-2, 68 points) haven’t lost since that brawl-filled contest, starting with a 2-1 victory over the Phantoms on March 11.
Today, the Gamblers and Phantoms (31-19-5-1, 68 points) are tied for fourth place after the Phantoms went 2-2-1 the past two weekends on the road.
Only the top four teams in each conference qualify for the Clark Cup Playoffs. The one advantage the Phantoms have is that they have four games remaining (two against the Lincoln Stars and two against Team USA), all at the Covelli Centre.
The Gamblers have three games left. Their home date is Sunday against the Madison Capitols. Tonight, Green Bay plays at Madison. The Gamblers will close the regular season on Thursday against the Bloomington Thunder.
The Phantoms control their own destiny — their magic number is seven (points earned by the Phantoms or not earned by the Gamblers).
“We’ve put ourselves in the position where these games really do matter,” Phantoms forward Austin Pooley said. “That’s extremely exciting.”
Phantoms head coach Brad Patterson said regulation wins is the first tiebreaker, which currently favors Green Bay. The second tiebreaker is head-to-head series, where the Phantoms have the edge, 2-1.
The Western Conference’s Stars (30-20-4-1, 55 points) are coming to Ohio also desperate for wins. They trail the fourth-place Des Moines Buccaneers by three points but have an extra game to play.
“It makes for a playoff-like environment,” Patterson said of this weekend’s games. “Sometimes when teams are out [of contention late in the season], you don’t always know what you are getting, if the compete factor is going to be there.
“It’ll be there [this weekend], for sure.”
There will be a similar vibe in the stands tonight as the Phantoms host a Battle of the bands, with Campbell, Liberty, Western Reserve and Boardman participating.
The Phantoms’ goalie tandem is back to full strength. In last weekend’s three-game trip, Britt League made his first start in nearly three months after recovering from a leg injury. The Phantoms lost that game in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The score was 4-3 in overtime against the RoughRiders.
“Britt League was outstanding, played very well,” Patterson said. “Since he became healthy, we’ve wanted to get him [a start] in net. He’s been great in practice.”
Ivan Kulbakov, the team’s Most Valuable Player, is likely to start both games against Lincoln. Hist 27-15-4-1 record and 1.96 goals-against average are second-best in the league.
Because Youngstown and Lincoln, Neb., are so distant, the Stars and Phantoms only play one series a season. The last time they met was in November 2015 in Nebraska.
“They have to win [as well] — same situation,” said Pooley, who is more familiar the Stars after playing for the Fargo Force last season. “It’s desperate hockey for both sides — it should be a great series.”