BOX SCORE

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – The Youngstown Phantoms (38-19-4-1, 81 points) understood the assignment. Lose in regulation, and you're in third place and playing again on Monday. Get the game to overtime or win the game in regulation, and they would secure second place in the Eastern Conference and a first-round bye in the Clark Cup Playoffs, and you don't have to play again until next Friday. Youngstown chose the latter, building a lead in the second period and then stifling the visitor's offense in the third period as they downed Team USA 5-1 Saturday night at the Covelli Centre.

"Everyone knew what was at stake," said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. "I thought the guys did a great job executing to get through game 62 in a fashion in which we needed to. Proud of the guys, proud of the regular season."

Youngstown built a lead by the time the game was four minutes old and never looked back. Miles Gunty worked a puck out of a crowd below the USA goal line, stepped in front, and snapped a shot past Jack Parsons (33 saves) at 3:15 for his first goal in the USHL. "For Miles to get that goal right off the bat, to get us a lead in what is probably the biggest game of the year, is a credit to him in how determined he was to come back," said Ward.

The Phantoms doubled their lead early in the second period on Brandon Svoboda's 16^th goal of the year, a backhander into an open cage with traffic in front blocking Parsons' view of the puck. Team USA got on the board with a power play goal at 8:10 when Christian Humphreys' wrister through traffic got behind Jacob Fowler (24 saves), trimming the Youngstown lead to 2-1. Youngstown responded before the end of the period, three seconds after a power play ended. Jake Rozzi's spinning shot from the left circle hit Shane Lachance's skate and ricocheted into the cage at 18:25 for Lachance's 33^rd goal of the season, giving Youngstown back their two-goal cushion at 3-1.

Needing to try and win the game in regulation in order to get back into second place, USA pulled Parsons to the bench for the extra attacker with just under five minutes remaining in regulation. However, as soon as Parsons hit the bench, Youngstown hit the empty net as Justin Varner fired the puck into the vacant cage from the hashmarks of the left-wing wall in his own zone. In the final minute of regulation the Phantoms tacked on one more empty-netter, courtesy of Martin Misiak, firing the puck home at 19:04 for his sixth goal of the season, in what was actually a power play goal for Youngstown, ending their streak of 26-straight man advantages without a goal.

The Phantoms will open their 2023 postseason Friday April 28 when they face the winner of the USA-Cedar Rapids series for a best-of-three second round with the winner going on to the Eastern Conference final.

By the Numbers
Shots – 38
Saves – 24
Power Play – 1/4
Penalty Kill – 3/4
Goals – Gunty, Lachance, Misiak, Svoboda, Varner
Assists – Centrella, Gunty, Pietila (2), Rozzi (2), Strathmann, Varner