BOX SCORE

Dubuque, Iowa – The Youngstown Phantoms swiped game one against the Dubuque Fighting Saints 2-0 Saturday night in Dubuque. Aiden Wright notched his first USHL postseason shutout to help the visiting Phantoms snag a 1-0 series lead in this best-of-5 Eastern Conference Semifinal series.
The first period in Dubuque was dominated by the goalies, Wright and Kevin Reidler, who stopped 11 shots each in the opening frame. Each team also let a power play chance go by the wayside.

Youngstown dented the scoreboard first, striking early in the second. Andrew Strathmann scored a beautiful breakaway goal, receiving a long pass from Jack Willson after Strathmann darted from the penalty box and sneaked a shot past Reidler at 2:47. Dubuque received three power plays in the period, but remained scoreless.

The Phantoms added some insurance just before the midway point of the third. Charlie Cerrato redirected a Ryan Botterill shot to give the Phantoms a 2-0 lead at 8:07. Dubuque had a great chance to cut into the deficit 20 seconds later when James Reeder was awarded a penalty shot, however, Reeder cut across the slot and came away with nothing after he fanned on the shot. Youngstown had to kill a penalty in the final 1:58 with Reidler on the bench for the extra attacker, but kept Dubuque off the board to earn the 2-0 win.

In Wright's shutout effort, the Vermont commit stopped 28 of 28 shots. Reidler stopped 22 of the 24 Phantoms shots in a losing effort. It was the third postseason shutout in Phantoms' team history (Jacob Fowler-2022, Ivan Prosvetov-2018).

The Phantoms will be in action again tomorrow night in Dubuque for Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Puck drop is slated for 6:05 pm Eastern.

By the Numbers
Shots – 24
Saves – 28
Power Play – 0/1
Penalty Kill – 5/5
Goals – Cerrato, Strathmann
Assists – Botterill, Lewis, Willson