Posts Tagged ‘Taylor Holstrom’

The Youngstown Phantoms have shown bursts of greatness and breakdowns of unthinkable proportion, sometimes in the same game.  Bob Mainhardt, the Phantoms GM and Coach, never holds back after a game when giving quotes to the media, win or lose.  Alex Zoldan, the Phantoms President has opinions too, but in a much quieter demeanor.  I recently caught up with both of them to assess the team after one third of the season has been played.

Mainhardt gives his team the letter grade of a ‘C’ to this point.  He feels that many of the individuals on the team are striving toward becoming better hockey players.  However, sometimes the team loses focus and leaves the coach scratching his head.  “These guys know that every day they must show up and earn their spot.”

We discussed the progress of some Phantoms players.  Fan-favorite Richard Young was first to be discussed.  Mainhardt said that Young is maturing and getting better at picking the opportunities where a fight may lift the team a notch.  “He is maturing and starting to understand his role, Rich is a very good hockey player.  He is not a guy that we are just looking to tade off for five minutes at a time.  He is doing a real good job so far.”

In the first third of the season, Mainhardt cited Taylor Holstrom as the biggest surprise.  “Holstrom has exceeded my expectations and has shown that he belongs night in and night out.  It’s no fluke, he is one of the few ‘A’s’ I would give out so far.”

Jordan Tibbett, coming off of a hand injury, and Matt Mahalak have both done good work between the pipes for the Phantoms.  “We set it up where these two guys would push one another.  We are definitely nearing a point where we are going to hand the reigns over to one of the two guys and let them steer us the rest of the way home.  They are still battling it out, and I couldn’t be happier than having these two guys playing well.”

The return of Luke Eibler was something Mainhardt was quick to praise.  “Luke is good for about four or five big hits a game.  If a guy gets one big hit a game, he is considered a big hitter.  Luke brings a physical presence and a competitive spirit, he hates to lose.  He is completely in a routine and wants to do whatever he has to so that we win.”

Ryan Jasinsky is not putting up the numbers yet, but Mainhardt commented on his recent play.  “Ryan has been productive enough, would we like him to be more productive? Yeah.  We are comitted to developing these guys into what they can be and he has really taken some big strides to get going.”

Brett Gensler was lighting it up but has been quiet on the scoring end lately.  Mainhardt feels Gensler will get it going again soon.  “He [Gensler] is a guy that needs to be in the right combination.  He has been getting opportunities but has been coming up a little unlucky.  He had good luck with a couple of his goals early on, but lately he has been snakebitten.”

Andrej Sustr (SHOE’ stir), the Czech Republic Defenseman who recently garnered USHL honors as Defenseman of The Week is doing what he should.  “He [Sustr] is right where he should be.  Big guys like that get worn down with this sort of training regimin, but he is holding up real well and will coninue to improve as he gets bigger and stronger.  He is an NHL Defenseman for sure if he makes the right decisions from here on out.”

On who may be in danger of losing a spot, Mainhardt had this to say, “Nobody is really in jeopardy of being sent away.  It is all baby steps and maximizing what you can get, and we knew that going in.  A guy can score 50 goals on a losing team, or a guy can score 20 goals on a winning team, and the one who succeeds around here will be the guy whose team wins and I am trying to get that across to them and they understand it.”

I asked Mainhardt if I were an NHL Scout and approached him before the game and asked ‘Which three guys should I keep an eye on tonight?’ who he would offer.  “I’ll give you five.  [Matt] Mahalak, [Scott] Mayfield, [Andrej] Sustr, [Luke] Eibler, and [Nick] Czinder.  If you asked me tomorrow that list could change.  It’s all about who is making the right decisions combined with the raw talent.”

On the business and promotional end of things, Mainhardt and Zoldan know that there are more steps to take to increase the interest locally.  Mainhardt commented on attendance and seeing repeat customers.  “The shock and awe of having a hockey team in this building have already been used up by previous teams.  What we have is the chore of educating the fans.  What we are seeing is that the people who come, are coming back.  We are promoting as much as we can by being a part of the community.  Mr. Zoldan is comitted to building something that is going to last, and that is why he brought this franchise here.”

Alex Zoldan discussed the business end of things.  “Eric Ryan and The Covelli Centre have worked with us a great deal to promote the team.  I have already seen an increase in attendance, and I understand that alot of the early crowds were in direct conflict with high school football. You hope to have 5,000 or 3,500 at every game, but realistically I envisioned what we are drawing and expect increases, it is a process.  By getting the people involved and getting their hearts behind us, the city can claim ownership of the team.  Being a sports fan, when you follow a team and that team leaves, it is real hard to jump back in.  The people that have given it a chance notice that it is better hockey.  The fans that are coming are into the game.  People are waving towels and t-shirts and screaming their support.”

The ride has been a fun one so far.  I think Zoldan and Mainhardt have a winner.  It is nice to have Eric Ryan in your corner, but believe me, this hockey will sell itself sooner than later.  To this point, the games have been fun to watch, easy to write about, and very well played.  I agree 100% with Zoldan that this process will steadily improve over time.  If you have not been to a Phantoms game yet, they play on Friday and Saturday this week against one of the better USHL teams, Chicago. 

Give this product a shot.  It is cheaper than going to the movies and the fact that you are watching players who will definitely be in the NHL in a few years adds to the exciting atmosphere.  I even enjoy listening to the road games.  Matt Gajtka is phenomenal on the air and could probably do play-by-play in the NHL if he had to.  Look for this team to break out this month.  Wins are going to happen more often than not.

The Chicago Steel rolled into town for a one game battle with the Youngstown Phantoms.  With only one first period goal scored, it looked to be a defensive struggle with a mistake proving to be a difference either way.  All hell broke loose in the second period as the two teams combined to score eight goals.  The game even was extended, tied at the end of regulation, in a true battle of wills.  Tom Serratore (pictured) broke the tie with an OT game-winner vaulting the home team to victory in a 7-6 battle for the ages. 

The Steel hit the scoreboard first at the 14:51 mark of the first period. Alex Carpenter knocked home his fourth goal of the season and was assisted by Andrew Schmit. Phantoms Goaltender Matt Mahalak had turned away two previous attempts before giving up the goal that he probably never saw.

The first period was filled with hard-hitting action and no penalties. Chicago shot more than twice as much as the Phantoms, holding a 15-7 edge in attempts for the period. The first period lead for Chicago was a welcome omen as the Steel were undefeated when ahead after one period (5-0-1), but that very omen was broken in Youngstown.

The Phantoms had the first power play of the evening but surrendered the second Chicago goal shorthanded. Greg Wolfe knocked one in off of the pipe to Matt Mahalak’s left to increase the Steel lead to 2-0.

Seconds later, on the same power play, the Phantoms retaliated with a goal of their own. Tom Serratore connected on the power play chance, assisted by David Donnellan. For Serratore, it marked the third time he found the net this season and the Phantoms cut the lead to 2-1.

Before the music was even done playing, Chicago cashed in on another shorthanded chance. This time Mark Anthoine took a pass from Andrei Kuchin to increase the Steel lead to 3-1.

The offensive fireworks continued as Ryan Jasinsky got in on the action. Jasinsky’s third goal of the year came at the 6:30 mark of the second period on a beautiful pass from Brian Dowd.

A minute later the Phantoms tied the game at three goals apiece when Donnellan connected from just inside the blue line. For Donnellan, it marked his first goal of the season and he was assisted by Jefferson Dahl. It was another shorthanded goal, this one for the Phantoms.

The crazy pace continued as the two goaltenders were getting beat like swiss cheese. The Phantoms went ahead at the 9:44 mark of the second on a Nick Czinder power play goal. Czinder was assisted by Dowd and Donnellan on a couple of pretty passes.

Chicago responded quickly as Mark Adams connected on a power play to tie the game back up. Adams second goal of the season was assisted by Alex Carpenter and Wolfe at the 10:33 mark.

Another power play chance paid dividends for Chicago as Adams connected for the second time on the evening putting the Steel back on top, 5-4. On the goal, Greg Wolfe picked up his third point of the night with an assist.

At the 5:40 mark of the final period, Carpenter picked up his second goal of the game for Chicago. Jay Camper racked up an assist on the Steel goal which extended their lead to 6-4.

At the 9:04 mark in the third, Andrew Lamont picked up his third of the year to bring the Phantoms within one at 6-5. The assists on the goal went to Scott Mayfield and Taylor Holstrom.

Youngstown tied the game at the 11:14 mark on a breakaway headed by Holstrom who fed Czinder. The goal tied the game at 6 and the Covelli Centre was jumping and loud with the resiliency of this young Phantoms team.

Regulation came to an end with the score tied at 6-6. Give the Phantoms credit for biting and clawing their way back to tie the first-place Steel. Three weeks ago, being down two goals that late in the game would have resulted in doom. Coach Mainhardt and Coach Carr deserve credit as these young men are really buying into a system that has been paying off.

In the overtime, the Phantoms connected at the 1:16 mark as Serratore connected from the left face-off circle. What a win for the Phantoms! Serratore was assisted by Holstrom on the game-winner.

Coach Mainhardt said the win did not come the way he would have expected. “It was a great game for the fans, but you had two coaches pulling what little hair we have left out. It’s baby steps, but the group is really starting to pull together and treat each other like family.”

Tom Serratore, who got his first-ever OT game-winner was elated. “It was great. I got my first USHL overtime goal and I was just happy that we could pull out this win.”

New Feature. Introducing The Richard Young tilt-o-meter

Tilt-o-Meter for 11/14 game vs Chicago: 7

On a scale of 1-10, Richard Young can be gauged of being on tilt every night. To what degree? Check the Paneech.com Richard Young tilt-o-meter for a nightly ranking. Young leads the USHL in penalty minutes with 70. He added to his total with 5 more for fighting in the second period. He also picked up a two-minute minor for hooking in the third.

New total: 77 minutes.

When things seem to be going your way, they really are.  The Youngstown Phantoms couldn’t buy a break in their first three home games.  On this night, seemingly everything went the Phantoms way in a 3-2 victory over a very respectable Green Bay Gamblers team.  Matt Mahalak (pictured) stopped 33 shots in net and the Phantoms were limited to just nine shots of their own in the victory.

The Phantoms were first to score in this one as Taylor Holstrom connected at the 12:12 mark of the first period. The goal was Holstrom’s fifth and was the second game in a row he was able to tally. Nick Czinder was credited with an assist, his third consecutive game with a point. The first period would end with Youngstown holding a 1-0 lead on the Holstrom goal.

The Phantoms took advantage of a Gamblers penalty at the 6:17 mark of the second period when Scott Mayfield scored his fifth goal of the season.  Mayfield was assisted by Dan Senkbeil on the power play score that saw the Phantom lead increase to 2-0.

Brian Dowd’s fourth goal of the season increased the Phantoms lead to 3-0. Dowd was the recipient of a beautiful feed from Andrej Sustr who took a lead pass from goaltender Matt Mahalak, both credited with assists. The goal came at the 12:43 mark of the second. With only seven shots on goal, the Phantoms were playing the most effective hockey they possibly could to this point. The assist credited to Mahalak was the first point recorded by a Phantoms netminder on the young season.

At the end of the second period, Green Bay had 20 shots on goal and nothing to show for it. The Phantoms, on the other hand, only took eight shots on goal but were successful on three of the eight shots to hold a 3-0 lead.

The Gamblers hit the scoreboard at the 6:35 mark of the third period when Anders Lee connected on his eighth goal of the season. Anders was assisted by Nick Jensen and Matt Stewart.

Brett Gensler was awarded a penalty shot when he was pulled down from behind on a breakaway chance at the 9:59 mark. Steve Summerhays turned Gensler away on the chance to keep the score 3-1 in favor of the Phantoms.

Just eleven seconds later, Ryan Furne connected on a quick strike to put the Gamblers one goal away at 3-2. Furne was assisted by Lee on the goal, and suddenly the Phantoms went from a potential 4-1 lead on the Gensler penalty shot to just a 3-2 advantage.  Fortunately for Youngstown, the Gamblers were unsuccessful in trying to knot the game and time would also be on Youngstown’s side as the home team was able to hold off a furious Gamblers rally in the final session.

Matt Mahalak was sensational  for the Phantoms between the pipes as the Gamblers took almost four times the shots as the Phantoms did. Mahalak improved to 4-1-1 on the season in stopping 33 shots. The Phantoms managed three goals on just nine shots.

Coach Bob Mainhardt was thrilled by the effort put forth by Mahalak.  “We definitely got a little lucky tonight.  Thanks to Matt Mahalak, we were able to pull that one out.  We had some really good opportunities, but we were killing penalties almost the entire second period.  Give my guys credit, they stayed pretty focused.”

Sixteen-year-old Matt Mahalak was also happy to get a win at home.  He was not even with the team last week as he was representing the US team in Slovakia.  “I played with the USA under 17 team and we went 3-0 in Slovakia.  It was a tremendous experience and I got to play against the host team.  I got to work with alot of people and pick up some pointers.  It was great to come back, get my first start at home and help the team get a win.”

Several Phantoms regulars were not dressed for action.  Goaltender Jordan Tibbett will be sidelined at least a couple of weeks with a broken hand.  Richard Young had stitches in his leg but is expected to return to action this week.  Luke Eibler, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, is also expected to dress for both games this weekend.

The Phantoms improved to 7-4-1 with the win and Green Bay dropped to 7-4-2.  These two teams will hook up again this week on Friday night.  Joey Fatone, of N’Sync and Dancing With The Stars notoriety, and celebrity chef Guy Fieri will be on hand for Friday’s game.

Saturday will be a special night.  Anyone who reads this page regularly knows how much I support the fundraising efforts of Luke Holko.  Saturday, $3 of every ticket sold will be donated to the Luke Holko Foundation.  Please come to this game if you have not had the opportunity to check out the Phantoms yet.  If I were on a gameshow playing for a charity, this would be the one I would select.  For the hockey community that may be unaware of who Luke Holko is or how he was injured by a foul ball at a Scrappers game this Summer, feel free to click here for a story published on Paneech.com the night the incident happened.  Please stop by the Vindicator press box and say hello.  For those who do not know who I am, I will be wearing my blue “Pray For Luke” bracelet.

The Youngstown Phantoms built up a four-goal lead over the first period and a half of hockey.  Des Moines fought and clawed their way back, but it was too little, too late.  When the zeroes hit the board and the final buzzard sounded, the crowd at The Covelli Centre breathed a sigh of relief as the hometown Phantoms were victorious, 5-4, to run a franchise-high winning streak to four.

Youngstown wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Brian Dowd netted his third goal of the year at the 1:29 mark.  The goal was scored on a power-play and Dowd was assisted by Brett Gensler putting the Phantoms in front early.  The Phantoms would end the night 2 for 6 on power-play chances.

Less than a minute later, at the 2:18 mark, Des Moines got an unassisted goal from Ryan Walters, his fifth on the season, to tie the contest at 1-1. 

The Phantoms pulled back in front on a Nick Czinder goal, his fourth, to reclaim the lead 7:14 into the game.  Andres Sustr racked up his sixth assist of the year on Czinder’s goal.

Almost eight minutes later, Taylor Holstrom connected on an unassisted power-play goal to increase the Youngstown margin to 3-1.  The two power-play goals scored against the Buccaneers were a rarity.  Going into this game, Des Moines had only surrendered seven power-play goals on the entire season.

The first period would come to an end with the Phantoms ahead 3-1, but the fireworks went off at the 18:04 mark as Richard Young and the Buccaneers Brandon Carlson dropped the gloves.  Young  took a couple of punches with little-to-no effect before flooring Carlson.  The two players received 5 minute fighting penalties and Young received an extra 10 minutes for misconduct.  Young would also serve a penalty in the third for too many men on the ice for a grand total of 17 penalty minutes on the night.  

The Phantoms started the second period in a rush when Adam Berkle connected for his fourth of the year.  Berkle was assisted by Stuart Higgins on his fourth of the year just :39 into the new stanza putting Youngstown in front by the score of 4-1.

At the 8:37 point of the second, Gensler scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season on an unassisted chance from close range.  The goal by Gensler, the #1 Star of The Game, put the Phantoms up 5-1 in what was shaping up to be a blowout.

Goals by Taylor Wolfe and Dan O’Donoghue later in the second period cut the Phantoms lead to 5-3 heading into intermission.  The insurmountable 4-goal lead was cut in half.  Statistically, Youngstown had somewhat of a mental edge at this point as Des Moines carried an 0-5 record if they were behind going into the final period.

With just over ten minutes left in the game, Des Moines Defenseman H.T. Lenz snuck one by Jordan Tibbett to cut the lead to 5-4 in favor of Youngstown. 

After a few rushes and a couple of great stops by Tibbett, the Phantoms played the last two-and-a-half minutes with at least a one-man advantage and successfully worked the clock down to secure the victory.  With the 5-4 triumph, the Phantoms climbed to 6-4-1 and won back-to-back home games in sweeping the Buccaneers.

Jordan Tibbett picked up both the Thursday and Friday victories between the pipes for the Phantoms.  Tibbett was praiseworthy of his defense after the game.  “We have done a great job of communicating and I’m seeing most of the shots while they are picking up the rebounds.  I can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Coach Bob Mainhardt seemed relieved at the two home wins.  “It’s been a long time coming.  We have worked hard so it is nice to get a reward.  We know we have more work to do to get better.  We let teams stick in games that we shouldn’t so we have some room for improvement, but right now, we are pretty happy.”

The Phantoms return to action on Wednesday against Green Bay at home.  The puck hits the ice at 7:15 and Youngstown hockey fans are encouraged to give this team a chance and take in a game. 

The Youngstown Phantoms played better than they did Friday, but not good enough to win in dropping their fourth consecutive game, 3-1, to Tri-City.  The loss marks the third consecutive home defeat for the Phantoms.

Steven Bolton made his first start of the year in goal for Tri-City and turned in a great performance stopping 31 of 32 shots to log his first victory for the Storm.

Tri-City struck first on a power-play goal from Maxwell Tardy, as he bat Phantoms goalee Jordan Tibbett at the 5:47 mark in the first period.  Tardy also scored a power-play goal on Friday.  The goal by Tardy, his fourth of the season, gave Tri-City the 1-0 advantage.  Picking up assists on the goal were Brett Moehler and Jaden Schwartz.

Youngstown was able to respond with 3:44 left in the first period  when Adam Berkle connected on an even-strength opportunity.  Berkle was assisted on his goal by Nick Czinder and Taylor Holstrom.  The teams would head into the locker rooms tied 1-1.

Just 20 seconds into the second period, Radoslav Illo scored to put Tri-City ahead 2-1.  Illo was assisted by Josh Berge and Anthony DeCenzo.  It was also Illo’s second goal in two nights in an unwanted recurring theme for the Phantoms.

At the 7:50 mark of the second period, Moehler tallied to put the Storm up 3-1.  For Moehler, it was his third goal of the two-game series.  Moehler was assisted by Schwartz and Nate Jensen on the even-strength chance.

There was no scoring in the third period.  Youngstown got almost twice as many shots off in the game and seemingly improved on the penalty-killing holding Tri-City to just 1-of-5 conversions on the power-play.  The Phantoms were 0-2 with a man advantage.

Next weekend, the Phantoms are back on the bus, this time headed to Fargo, North Dakota for a two-game series with the Force.  The Friday and Saturday contests start at 7:05 and can be heard on AM-1240 with Matt Gajtka calling the action.  You have to hear Gajtka, he sounds like a seasoned NHL announcer with obvious passion for the game.

 

The Youngstown Phantoms took to the road for a pair of games this past weekend.  Unfortunately the result was the same in both games, and the defense and goaltending seem to be struggling.  The positive to take from the two losses was the spirit of the team to fight back and make both games respectably close after trailing by larger deficits.

On Friday, the Phantoms were in Lincoln, Nebraska.  In a rare high-scoring affair, the Phantoms ended up on the short side of the stick in a 7-6 OT loss to the Lancers.  Ben Lynch spearheaded the victory for Lincoln when he connected on his second power-play goal in overtime for the win.  A Taylor Holstrom goal, his second of the game, put the Phantoms in front 6-4 in the third period.  Lincoln would rally on goals from Garrett Peterson and Andrew Ammon to tie the contest and force the extra period.

Saturday found the Phantoms a little closer to home in Des Moines to face the Buccaneers.  Yasin Casse scored for Des Moines just 18 seconds into the second period to give Des Moines a 3-0 lead.  Adam Berkle answered for the Phantoms just six seconds later to cut the lead to 3-1.  Brett Gensler and Nick Czinder scored a goal apiece for Youngstown over the next four minutes to tie the game at 3.  Connor Brickley converted on a power-play chance for Des Moines at the 2:52 mark of the third period with the eventual game-winning goal.  The Buccaneers Ryan Walters knocked in an empty-net goal to close the scoring at 5-3 in favor of the home team.

Youngstown (2-3-0) returns home for two games on Friday and Saturday against Tri-City.  Each game will start at 7:15 and Friday is $1 beer night.