BOX SCORE

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – Three goals in 39 seconds in the opening four minutes of the second period quickly put a 1-0 game out of reach for the visitors as the Youngstown Phantoms (28-8-2-1, 59pts) cruised to a 12-1 over Team USA (U17) Friday night at the Covelli Centre.

"Obviously that's a good game for us," said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. "Our guys played really well. (There was) lots of space. Our guys executed really well when we had to."

Youngstown scored the only goal of the first period, opening the scoring at 13:06. Sean Miller took a stretch pass from Jakub Heš, carried to the cage cutting from right to left, and roofed a backhander past Eli Winters to score his second of the season and put the Phantoms in front. It was Miller's first goal since the second game of the season when he scored the game-tying goal late in the game against Cedar Rapids at the Fall Classic.

The dam burst open for Youngstown, as they put up six in the second period. Evan Jardine scored on a wide-open net at 3:18 for his 13^th of the season. Malachi McKinnon recorded his first of the night and second point of the evening 9 seconds later when his one-timer from the right circle beat Winters. Thirty seconds later it was Jack Willson from almost the same spot as McKinnon, potting his eight of the campaign. The goal for Willson tied him with Luke Osburn at 18 for career goals by a Phantoms defenseman. McKinnon struck again at 8:07, tapping home a feed from Jardine to put the Phantoms ahead 5-0.

History was made at 14:02 as the Phantoms converted on the front end of a double minor to Team USA for high sticking. Taking a cross-crease feed from Jardine off his skates and then hammering the puck home as it sat in the blue paint, Ryan Rucinski recorded his 100^th point in the USHL, becoming the fifth Phantom to reach the 100-point plateau where all points were scored with Youngstown. "It's been a great ride, took a lot of hard work," said Rucinski. "Super fortunate to be part of this organization and play here for three years. Met so many great people and I've really enjoyed my time here."

The Phantoms weren't done in the second period as the USHL's leading scorer Cooper Simpson cashed in on the back half of the double minor, firing a wrister from the left circle past Winters at 15:21 to give Youngstown a 7-0 lead at the end of the second.

Youngstown kept their foot on the pedal to open the third, scoring three times in the opening five minutes. Simpson converted his second of the night early in the frame, blasting a one-timer from the slot home at 2:08. Miller put home a rebound at 3:36 for his second of the evening. Carter Murphy got in on the fun at 4:46, snapping a wrister from the slot to the twine for his fifth of the year.

USA finally snapped the Youngstown scoring run at 8:06 with Finnegan Sears converting a rebound for a power play goal, but the Phantoms weren't done. McKinnon capped off his hat trick at 14:36, whipping a shot from the right circle past Winters off a pretty feed from Matej Teply. Jardine capped off the scoring at 15:05, his one-timer from the slot beating Winters up high to the blocker side.

McKinnon recorded the first six-point game in Phantoms history. It was the most points scored in a single game by a Phantoms since Matthew Berry put up 5 (1G-4A) on Dubuque January 27, 2018. Evan Jardine ended up with a five-point night as well. Winters ended up stopping 35-of-47 as the Phantoms tied their season-high in shots. Tobias Trejbal recorded his league-leading 20^th win of the season, stopping 20-of-21. Youngstown tied their team record with the 12-goal output, matching the 2023 Home Opener, which was also against Team USA.

The Phantoms and U17s wrap up their weekend series Saturday night at 6:05pm.

By The Numbers
Shots – 47
Saves – 20
Power Play – 2/6
Penalty Kill – 2/3
Goals – Jardine (2), McKinnon (3), Miller (2), Murphy, Simpson (2), Rucinski, Willson
Assists – Anderson, Berard (2), Heš (2), Hextall (3), Jardine (3), McKinnon (3), Murphy (2), Orlowsky, Rucinski, Sasaki, Svitov, Teply, Thompson, Willson (2)