CRANBERRY TWP, PA – The defense of their Clark Cup title did not start the way the Youngstown Phantoms (0-1-0-0, 0pts) would have hoped, as they were suffocated for the first two periods, ending up on the short side of a 2-1 decision against the Tri-City Storm Wednesday evening at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

"It was a fight for every inch in the first period," said Phantoms head coach Ryan Ward. "As the game went on, we got better. We've got a lot of young guys in the lineup; we'll start to get our footing."

The first period was indeed a fight for every inch, as Youngstown was outshot 12-2 in the frame and found themselves in a 1-0 hole at the end of the opening stanza. Nolan Roed redirected a net-front pass behind Owen Bartoszkiewicz (29 saves) at 15:59 to give the Storm the advantage. Dallas Vieau doubled the Tri-City lead at 8:41 of the second when he put home the rebound of Ryan Smith's shot.

Youngstown found its footing in the third period, outshooting the Storm 15-11 in the final frame as they pushed to tie. Charlie Cerrato was awarded a penalty shot at 12:17 after being hauled down on a shorthanded breakaway, but his attempt missed the cage. With less than a minute remaining, Sascha Boumedienne's one-time blast from the right point found its way behind Cameron Korpi (23 saves) to cut into the Tri-City lead, but with less than a minute remaining, the Phantoms could not find a way to get another behind Korpi.

Youngstown wraps up its time at the 2023 USHL Fall Classic Thursday evening with a 5:30 puck drop against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.

By the Numbers
Shots – 24
Saves – 29
Power Play – 0/5
Penalty Kill – 7/7
Goals – Boumedienne
Assists – Cerrato, Strathmann