Saturday, January 19, 2019
Staff report
Youngstown
Christian Stoever’s time in Cedar Rapids was short. But Stoever’s play led the Youngstown Phantoms to a 2-1 win over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Friday night at the Covelli Centre.
Stoever stopped 25 of 26 shots and didn’t allow a goal in the final 53 minutes of the game.
The Phantoms (16-13-1-3) acquired Stoever on Oct. 31 in a trade with Cedar Rapids. He only made one appearance for the RoughRiders, a 5-2 loss to Dubuque on Oct. 17.
Since the trade, Stoever has gone 8-3-0-2 in 17 games with the Phantoms.
With the win, the Phantoms passed the RoughRiders for fourth pace in the USHL’s Eastern Conference.
Craig Needham opened the scoring with his 10th goal of the season just over a minute into the first period. Trevor Kuntar and Steven Holtz were credited with assists.
Nathan Smith scored his 10th goal of the season five minutes later to tie the game at 1 for the RoughRidgers (15-13-2-2).
Gianfranco Cassaro gave the Phantoms a 2-1 lead with a shorthanded unassisted goal 49 seconds into the second period. It was his sixth of the year.
Troy Kobryn stopped 18 shots for Cedar Rapids.
The Phantoms will host the RoughRiders today. Puck drops at 5:05 p.m.