Staff Photo / Brian Jauger Phantoms forward Brecken Smith skates to the corner during Saturday’s game against Sioux City.
The Youngstown Phantoms dominated the first period on Saturday, scoring three goals in the opening frame to defeat Sioux City 6-1.
“I really liked the start.” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said. “I think there were a lot of things we worked on all week. Our defense tightened up a lot today. Despite some adversity, like guys being late and getting suspended, we were like, ‘Next up, next guy up.’ I thought I did a good job with that spirit. Cade Stengrim was great. (Michael Munro) was good, so I think it was good. From what we saw on the internet, we thought it was good. ”
After the team’s home opener series against Lincoln, Ward spoke about the team’s lack of scoring early in the season. He was not worried, but noted that the situation needed to be tightened.
The Phantoms scored 11 points in this series.
For Ward, it’s all about the process.
“Just sticking to the process and fine-tuning things, understanding how difficult it is to score goals in this league and how hard you have to work. Just accepting it and understanding that. I wasn’t worried at all about this team scoring goals, but I think we needed to do some things better.” Ward said. “I think we were pretty focused on that in practice this week, and I think our players did a good job of applying our practice to the game.”
Mikey Burchill was the catalyst on Saturday, scoring his fourth goal of the season at the midway point of the opening game.
Ryan Rusinski and Kuzma Voronin scored within minutes of Burchill, and the Phantoms quickly took a 3-0 lead.
Stengrim scored his first USHL career goal on Saturday with a mid-range shot.
He has shown improvement over the past few weeks and Ward was pleased to see that reflected on the scoresheet.
“I think the thing about young players, especially Cade, is that he shows when he’s ready.” Ward said. “I think his attitude, his work ethic, his drive to get better and the way he comes to the rink every day with a big smile on his face is something very special. Over the past few weeks, he’s been very focused on the way he practices and the way he practices. I think through his understanding of what we’re trying to do, he’s shown us that he’s ready to take on a bigger role. So we’re going to move him through that curriculum. It was great to meet him, and he was obviously all smiles. He’s fun to be around. So we’re excited for this baby. ”
Also scoring his first USHL goal was defenseman Quentin Bourne.
He and Evan Jardine found the back of the net in the third period to round out the scoring in the Phantoms’ win.
This weekend saw the debut of forward Landan Rezendes, who was traded from Sioux Falls earlier this week.
“He was great.” Ward said. “He protects the puck and has a ton of juice that’s built for here. I think it was obviously tough to see Sammy (Ranalo) and Grant (Young) leave, but at the end of the day. , that’s what this hockey team needed. And I think Landan has done a great job and I think he’ll continue to fit in really well as he gets more comfortable.”
Youngstown (5-5-0-0, 10 points) heads off to play Madison next weekend. They return the following week to host Chicago.
