YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown Phantoms overcame a slow start on Saturday to take down Chicago, 5-3, and earn another crucial two points.
Things weren’t going the Phantoms’ way early. They looked a little sluggish and it paid off for Chicago with Jackson Crowder beating out Owen Lepak to put the Steel up.
As the game picked up, however, so did the Phantoms.
“I thought we got away from moving our feet a little bit on the forecheck coming back into our zone. But I thought the guy’s stuck with it,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said. “Good teams find a way to win when you don’t have your best stuff. I thought we did a good job with that. Overall, it’s a massive two points for us and I’m happy. Proud of the guys for sticking with it and finding a way to grind this one out.”
The Phantom blueliners made things happen in the offensive zone during the second period, with both Kazimier Sobieski and Conner de Haro each connecting with the back of the net.
In between the two Phantom goals came a goal from Henry Major that put the teams in a 2-2 deadlock after the middle frame.
But the deadlock didn’t last long as Sobieski and Matti Butkovskiy connected in the first two minutes of the third period.
Michael Mesic’s shot from behind the far blue line into the empty net seemingly iced the game for the Phantoms, but Chicago cut into the lead a minute later, with Blake Vanek beating out Lepak in the final minute.
But for extra measure, Butkovskiy found Ryan Rucinski, who found the back of the net with 25 seconds left, re-extending the lead to two.
Rucinski, who found himself in the penalty box three times on Saturday, was a major difference-maker when it counted.
“(Rucinski) is a stud,” Ward said. “He works his butt off. He’s heavy down low, not afraid. He’s a pro, and I think he’s really taken a step this year and his leadership’s been awesome. I can’t say enough about (Rucinski), he’s been an anchor of this team.”
Justin Kerr, who finished the night with two assists, connected with Butkovskiy on that final goal.
“I didn’t know whether or not to be aggressive or not, but I saw a puck and decided to go at it, and then we ended up getting a good break and icing the game,” Kerr said.
Youngstown (40-18-0-1, 81 points) hosts the Steel again today with the chance to earn another two points in the still-tight Eastern Conference race. The win puts Youngstown in a tie for first place with Dubuque, but Madison and Muskegon are each just a point behind. The top two teams earn an opening-round bye.
Puck drop is set for 4:05 p.m.
“We just need to play our game,” Ward said. “We’ve got to get back to playing our game. In your face, gritty, and we gotta finish checks, we gotta be physical, use our bodies, blocking shots and stuff. Doing the right things that make us the Youngstown Phantoms, and I think we’ll see a much better effort tomorrow.”
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