BOX SCORE

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – After giving up the opening goal just 1:50 into regulation, the Youngstown Phantoms (5-2-1-0, 11pts) scored the next four to help lift themselves to a 5-3 victory over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Saturday night at the Covelli Centre.

"Our energy, our passion, our will to win was much better tonight," said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. "That's important, especially (at home). Good teams try not to lose two games in a row, and that was a big step for us."

Cedar Rapids opened the scoring in the same way that they scored two of their goals on Friday: a shot from distance was stopped by Tobias Trejbal, the rebound lay in the crease, and the RoughRiders poked it home for a goal. Doing the honors in this game was Connor Davis, staking the visitors to the early lead. Cedar Rapids carried play for most of the first period, outshooting Youngstown 12-4, but Youngstown forced things to a 1-1 tie at 15:25 when Cooper Simpson started a play with a dogged forecheck and ended up tucking a shot around Ryan Cameron's outstretched leg for his third goal of the season.

Youngstown kept the momentum going, striking twice in the opening half of the second. Logan Anderson put the Phantoms ahead for good, putting home a rebound 3:00 into the second. Jack Hextall doubled the Phantoms lead at 7:23, redirecting home Ryan Rucinski's shot. Rucinski capped off the Phantoms' scoring run by tapping in a power play goal at 1:43 of the third, cashing in a nice backdoor feed from Evan Jardine.

The RoughRiders answered with a power play goal of their own later in the period, Nick Romeo muscling a shot through traffic at 7:50, but couldn't generate much through the middle portion of the period while they still trailed 4-2. With Jardine in the box for a cross check in the final 80 seconds, Rucinski capped off Youngstown's night with a shorthanded-empty netter at 18:55. Braiden Scuderi notched the first goal of his USHL career just moments later at 19:17, but the Phantoms held firm for the final 42.9 of regulation to secure the victory.

Cameron, the USHL leader in minutes played for goaltenders, stopped 15 while suffering his first regulation loss of the season. Trejbal stopped 26 while snapping his personal two-game losing streak.

The Phantoms continue their five-game homestand next weekend, welcoming the U17's on Friday before Green Bay comes in for a pair of games to close out the weekend.
 
By The Numbers
Shots – 20
Saves – 26
Power Play – 1/5
Penalty Kill – 5/7
Goals – Anderson, Hextall, Rucinski (2), Simpson
Assists – Heš (2), Kucharcík, Miller, O'Leary, Rucinski, Simpson, Willson