Staff Photo/Brian Jauger During Saturday’s game, Phantoms forward Mikey Burchill attempts to steal the puck in the offensive zone away from Dubuque defenseman Matthew Desiderio.
YOUNGSTOWN — Sometimes the puck just doesn’t bounce your way.
A great offensive effort by the Youngstown Phantoms, which nearly doubled the number of shots on goal their opponents had, didn’t pay off, as they lost 4-0 to Dubuque on Saturday.
Phantoms coach Ryan Ward was frustrated with the loss but pleased with the offensive effort.
“I thought it was a really great match.” the third-year coach said. “I thought we were in the offensive zone most of the night. I thought we played (good), hit the track and did a lot of good things that we can build off of. Just sometimes things like that. But I think the team worked very hard and I think we played a pretty good game, all things considered.”
The difference in shots started early, with Youngstown outscoring the Fighting Saints 10-4 in the first inning.
However, neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first frame.
Dubuque netminder Liam Bierman pitched his first shutout in the USHL, stopping 28 shots and limiting the Phantoms’ offensive rush.
“On the third attack, we were in the offensive zone for three minutes (straight).” Ward said. “Credit to their goaltender. I thought he played really well. For us, I thought the whole third period was good, except for a little stagnation in the second period, but really I think I played well.”
Ritter Coombs broke the deadlock and gave Dubuque an advantage, scoring his seventh goal of the season early in the middle.
Empty netters from Cooper Dennis, Heikki Ruohonen and Gavin Cornforth rounded out the scoring for Dubuque on Saturday.
The Phantoms (20-14-0, 1 loss, 41 points) will fight back at home Friday in the first of a two-game series in the U.S. National Team Development Program.
After tough games against Muskegon and Dubuque after Christmas, the Phantoms are taking stock of their current situation.
After perhaps the toughest period of the season, the team is playing with a relatively full deck.
Ward is optimistic and hopes his team can use this as motivation moving forward.
“We just want to play our best hockey at the end of the year. It’s good for us to be able to come through these difficult times and know where we stand and know our worth.” Ward said. “For us, I’m very excited. We’re starting to get healthy and hopefully we can get some consistency in the lineup. As for the future here, I think it’s going to be good. We just have to keep doing it.”
