Get to know:
Markus McCrea
WHERE FROM: Temecula, Calif.
POSITION: Left wing
BIRTHDAY: Feb. 15, 1992
PREVIOUS TEAM: Lincoln Stars (USHL)
WHAT'S ON YOUR IPOD: Pandora
FAVORITE FOOD: Sushi
FAVORITE PART OF ROAD TRIPS: Bus trips with the boys.
PREGAME RITUAL: Tape sticks and stretch.
FAVORITE MOVIE: Bad Boys II
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Entourage
Who on the Phantoms is...
BIGGEST CLOWN: Jimmy Mazza
SHYEST: Jake Moore
MOST OUTGOING: Eric Sweetman
COACH NOREEN'S FAVORITE: Austin Cangelosi or Alexander Dahl
BIGGEST LADIES MAN: Sean Romeo
BIGGEST DIVA: Mac MacSorely or JJ Piccinich
MOST LIKELY TO OVERSLEEP AND MISS PRACTICE: Todd Koritzinsky
YOUNGSTOWN - After a week off to rest and recharge, the Youngstown Phantoms return to action with a three-day, three-game road trip, pitting them against some of the United States Hockey League's best. The Phantoms (9-11-0, 18 points) face the league-leading Dubuque Fighting Saints on Friday and Saturday night in Iowa, and close out against the Chicago Steel in Bensenville, Ill.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Phantoms have five players - forwards Sam Anas, Austin Cangelosi, Kyle Connor and John Padulo and defenseman Ryan Lowney - who carry point streaks of at least four games into this weekend's road trip. ... Padulo has recorded eight assists in his last five games and has 14 on the season - just five short of his season total of 19 from last season. ... Veteran forward Markus McCrea had his three-game goal-scoring streak snapped against Nov. 24 against Team USA. But after scoring just eight goals in 51 games last season for the Lincoln Stars, McCrea has seven goals in 20 games with the Phantoms this season.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Phantoms face the USHL's top team Friday and Saturday at Dubuque's Mystique Community Ice Center. Earlier this season, the Fighting Saints (17-3-1, 35 points) handed the Phantoms a pair of losses at the Covelli Centre that started the team on a seven-game slide down the Eastern Conference standings. Dubuque was shutout for the first time last Friday in Waterloo before salvaging a weekend spit with a 5-1 win over Cedar Rapids the following night. Youngstown, prior to the break, had been red-hot, riding a four-game winning streak and outscoring its opponents 20-6 over the span. The Phantoms also bring a two-game road winning streak at Mystique into the weekend series.
On Sunday, the Phantoms wrap up their weekend against the Steel (11-6-2, 24 points). It is the first of nine meetings slated this season between the conference rivals. In his second-year behind the bench, Scott McConnell has orchestrated quite a turnaround for Chicago, which finished three points out of the playoffs last season, but has a six-point edge on Youngstown coming into the weekend. The Steel have had to face obstacles of their own, however, with top forward Mackenzie MacEachern, a third-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, sidelined since late October with concussion symptoms. Despite his absence, Chicago picked up a marquee 3-1 win over Waterloo last weekend and Jaccob Slavin, another NHL draft pick (Carolina), leads one of the most experienced defense corps in the USHL.
Leaders
Points: Austin Cangelosi (8-12-20)
Goals: Sam Anas, Cangelosi (8)
Assists: John Padulo (14, T-fifth in USHL)
Power-Play Goals: Five players tied (2)
Short-Handed Goals: Cangelosi, Ryan Lowney (1)
Plus/Minus: Dan Renouf (plus-12)
Penalty Minutes: Jimmy Mazza (52)
Points by a Defenseman: Ryan Lowney (3-10-13)
Wins: Sean Romeo (7)
Goals Against Average: Romeo (.895)
Save Percentage: Romeo (3.19)
Shutouts: Romeo (2, T-second in USHL)
