BOX SCORE

BRIGHTON, NY – Trailing by margins of 3-1 and 4-3 late, the Youngstown Phantoms (8-7-3-1, 20 points) tied the game once in the second period and again with 1:17 remaining in regulation before prevailing in the shootout by the final score of 5-4 over the Green Bay Gamblers Friday night at Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex. The game was the second and final contest of the USHL American Cup, powered by Wegman's.

"We've had a few games where we've come back from a two-goal deficit," said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. "For being such a young team, it really shows the character of our leaders. To see them come back with the resolve and the grit that they had tonight, I'm super proud of that group."

Youngstown won the shootout 2-1 thanks to the work of Kuzma Voronin, William Whitelaw, and Jacob Fowler. Voronin and Whitelaw both converted on their shootout attempts for the Phantoms while Fowler stopped 2-of-3 by the Gamblers to earn Youngstown the bonus point. Fowler also stopped 24 of 28 on the night, earning his sixth win of the season.

The Phantoms opened the scoring just past the halfway point of the first period when Jack Willson ripped a wrister from the right side past Kristoffer Eberly (27 saves) at 12:39. It was Willson's second goal of the season, giving Youngstown a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.

Green Bay came storming out of the locker room for the second, scoring three in the first 12 minutes to grab the lead. Barrett Hall netted the Gamblers' first goal of the weekend at 5:49, snapping one home from the low slot. Matt DiMarsico crashed the crease to give Green Bay their first lead of the night at 8:34, and Nicholas VanTassell added an insurance marker with a power play goal at 11:54.

The Phantoms struck twice before the end of the middle frame to knot the game back at 3-3. Braiden Clark redirected a Chase Pietila shot at 13:05 to bring Youngstown back to within a goal. It was Clark's first goal of the season and second of his USHL career. Kuzma Voronin put home a rebound at 15:39 to tie the game. It was Voronin's third goal in just his fourth USHL game.

The game remained tied until just past the 13-minute mark of the third period. Youngstown lost a puck battle near the Green Bay blue line and the Gamblers came racing up ice. Defenseman Bodie Nobes got loose behind the Phantoms' defense and snapped a wrister from the inside edge of the left circle past Fowler, giving Green Bay back the lead with just 6:21 remaining in regulation.
Youngstown pulled Fowler to the bench for the extra attacker with 1:45 remaining in regulation. The Phantoms kept the pressure in the attacking zone, and eventually Nick Williams's shot from center point was knocked down by Jake Rozzi, who fired it home with 1:17 left in regulation, tying the game at 4-4 with his sixth goal of the season.

Overtime was not without its drama as Kenta Isogai was whistled for tripping Eli Sebastian on the opening shift of the extra frame, putting Youngstown on the penalty kill 57 seconds into overtime. The Phantoms PK unit responded however, preventing the Gamblers from capitalizing on the man-advantage, even though the Gamblers put up five shots in the overtime period. Neither team threatened in overtime outside of the Green Bay power play, forcing the game to the shootout which led to Youngstown's victory.

The Phantoms remain on the road as they'll travel to Madison next weekend to take on the Capitols. Friday's game will see the puck drop at 8:05 eastern time, while Saturday will be a matinee starting at 4:05 eastern.

By the Numbers
Shots – 31
Saves – 24
Power Play – 0/1
Penalty Kill – 4/5
Goals – Clark, Rozzi, Voronin, Whitelaw (SOW), Willson
Assists – Bischoff, Centrella, Isogai, Pietila, Williams, Lachance