PHANTOMS DOWN GAMBLERS 3-1 TWO POINT NIGHT FOR RUCINSKI; STRAHL WINS LEAGUE-LEADING 25TH

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Ryan Rucinski broke a scoreless tie early in the third period and tacked on an assist less than a minute later to help lead the Youngstown Phantoms (31-15-0-1, 63pts) to a 3-1 win over the Green Bay Gamblers Friday night at the Covelli Centre.

“(Rucinski) has been good, that’s what we expect for a second-year guy,” said Phantoms Head Coach Ryan Ward. “He’s a really important player for us. He does a really great job for us in all facets of the game.”

Rucinski’s marker came 2:46 into the third period of a scoreless game. Coming into the zone 2-on-4 with Evan Jardine carrying the puck down the right-wing wall, Rucinski opened up for a one-timer and fired home a perfect pass from Jardine. The goal was Rucinski’s ninth of the season, his third in the last five games. Green Bay took a penalty on the ensuing faceoff and the Phantoms made them pay just under a minute later. Rucinski took a cross-ice pass from Jamison Sluys and used his skate to redirect the puck to Jack Hextall. Hextall made a deke in the slot and this ripped a shot past Roberto Henriquez (36 saves) for his eighth goal of the campaign and a 2-0 Phantoms lead.

Green Bay made things interesting with a power play goal in the final 90 seconds. Matti Butkovskiy was sent to the box for a tripping call at 17:22, opening the door for Henriquez to head to the bench at 17:55 to give the Gamblers a two-man advantage. Green Bay posted two men at the edge of the blue paint and Vasily Zelenov tapped home a shot-pass from Egor Shilov to cut the Youngstown lead in half. The Gamblers regained possession and got Henriquez back to the bench with 36 seconds left in regulation. With time ticking down, Justin Kerr partially blocked a shot from the left circle that ricocheted off Melvin Strahl and settled into the slot for Butkovskiy. Butkovskiy backhanded the puck 160 feet down the ice and into the empty net, scoring with 1.8 seconds left in regulation to wrap up the game. Strahl stopped 21/22 while earning his league-leading 25th win of the season.

The victory secured a win in the season series over Green Bay for Youngstown, with the Phantoms taking four of the first five contests. The victory also gave Youngstown six straight wins, their second-longest winning streak of the season. Youngstown has also won six straight at home, dating back to January 24, also their second-longest streak of the year. The Phantoms’ win combined with a loss by the Madison Capitols moved Youngstown into second place in the Eastern Conference, although Madison has two games in hand on the Phantoms.

Green Bay and Youngstown conclude their regular season series tomorrow at the Covelli Centre at 6:05pm.

Shots – 39

Saves – 21

Power Play – 1/5

Penalty Kill – 2/3

Goals – Butkovskiy, Hextall, Rucinski

Assists – Jardine, Kerr, Rucinski, Sluys, Sobieski, Strahl

Box Score - https://ushl.com/ht/#/game-summary/12237

PHOTO CREDIT: SCOTT GALVIN/SCOTT GALVIN PHOTOGRAPHY