BOX SCORE

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – The first USHL hat trick for William Whitelaw led to a Youngstown Phantoms (19-12-3-1, 42 points) 6-2 win over the first-place Chicago Steel Saturday night at the Covelli Centre. Youngstown swept Chicago in a two-game weekend set for the first time since February 2018.

"(Assistant Coach Brandon Dennis) got (Whitelaw) wound up before the game, kind of got him going," said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. "Will has completely bought in, he's an unbelievable teammate. I think he's showing a lot of people that he's going to play in the NHL for a long time."

Whitelaw's high school teammate Mack Celebrini opened the scoring in the game 4:44 into the first period when he was the beneficiary of a nice back-to-front play by Nick Moldenhauer, allowing Celebrini the easy one-touch shot for his 21^st goal of the season. Whitelaw and Celebrini both played for Shattuck Saint Mary's last year, where the duo combined for 227 points last season. It was Whitelaw that answered the Celebrini goal, snapping a wrist shot through the five hole of Miles Roberts (35 saves) at 5:45, knotting the game at 1-1.

Youngstown scored on two more breakaways in the second period, ending the middle frame with a 3-1 lead. Matthew Perkins took a stretch pass from Andon Cerbone and converted his breakaway with a wrist shot to the blocker side on Roberts at 9:41 for his ninth goal of the campaign. Just under five minutes later it was Kenta Isogai, taking the stretch pass from Andrew Strathmann and making good on his 1-on-1 with Roberts at 14:03, tallying his seventh goal of the season and snapping a 13-game goal drought.

Whitelaw kept the Phantoms' scoring run going with a power play goal at 1:32 of the third. Perkins' shot from the right side found its way through Roberts' five hole, but died on the goal line. Whitelaw was there to push it the remaining distance into the cage for his second of the night and a 4-1 Youngstown lead. Chicago answered back at 2:23 when Moldenhauer's wrister from the hashmarks beat Jacob Fowler (24 saves) high to the glove side, but the Chicago comeback attempt stopped there.  Minutes later, a steal by Shane Lachance on a Chicago clearing attempt drew the defense to the Youngstown captain, leaving Whitelaw all by himself at the right post. Lachance slid Whitelaw the puck, and he buried it to complete the hat trick at 4:36, ending the night with his 20^th goal of the season. Jake Rozzi scored on the empty net with 8.8 seconds remaining in regulation to cap off the night for Youngstown.

The Phantoms remain in third place in the Eastern Conference, still two points behind the Green Bay Gamblers. Youngstown, however, picked up four points on the Steel this weekend and now trail the first-place Chicago squad by just four in the standings. The Phantoms will be on the road the next two weekends with stops in Muskegon and Green Bay. Following that four-game trip, they'll return home to start a five-game homestand that starts with a pair against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Cedar Rapids comes to town next for a three-game set that starts with the USHL Cleveland Classic at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on February 23.

By the Numbers
Shots – 41
Saves – 24
Power Play – 1/3
Penalty Kill – 0/2
Goals – Isogai, Perkins, Rozzi, Whitelaw (3)
Assists – Cerbone (2), Lachance (2), Perkins, Strathmann (2), Svoboda, Varner, Williams