Phantoms begin defense of first USHL championship Sept. 20

By Jim den Hollander 

Editor/Publisher 

Midwesthockey.info 

This is the first of seven articles updating the seven junior hockey leagues that fall under the Midwesthockey.info coverage umbrella. The articles will be basic, highlighting achievements from the previous season and going over any changes for the upcoming season. 

Andon Cerbone (‘04/Stamford, CT) stepped up as the hero with the only goal in a 1-0 win for the Youngstown Phantoms who claimed its first Clark Cup Championship on home ice at the Covelli Center on May 19. 

The win was the second one-goal victory of the series for the Phantoms, wrapping up a three-game sweep for the crown. 

The win for the Phantoms in the Clark Cup denied the Force a sweep as the squad wrapped up the Anderson Cup Trophy as Regular Season champs with a 40-14-4-4 record and 88 points. 

In the opening round of th post season, the Dubuque Fighting Saints swept the Green Bay Gamblers in their best of three series while the Cedar Rapids also advanced in the East with a 2-1 series edge against Team USA. 

In the West it was a pair of sweeps, Lincoln Stars moving past the Des Moines Buccaneers and the Tri-City Storm moving by the Sioux City Musketeers. 

Second round games saw the Phantoms and Chicago Steel both advancing with sweeps against the Cedar Rapids Roughriders and the Dubuque Fighting Saints respectively. In the West, Fargp used a air of 3-2 wins to move past the Tri-City Storm and Lincoln went the distance before getting past the Waterloo Black Hawks. 

In the semi-finals, Youngstown, who finished two points behind the Steel in regular season play, wrapped up a berth in the Clark Cup with a 2-1 win in the fourth and final game. Fargo also needed four games to get by the Stars. 

Among the Award winners:

 

Macklin Celebrini (‘06/Vancouver, BC) was presented with the Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Forward of the Year Awards after potting 46 goals and 86 points in 50 games with the Chicago Steel. Having done all he can at the junior level, Celebrini is taking his act to the next level, beginning his college career at Boston University this fall. 

Eric Pohlkamp (‘04/Brainerd, MN) received the Defenseman of the Year wrapping up a two-season, 120 games stint with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders that saw him collect 23 goals and 69 points. Pohlkamp has committed to Bemidji State University for the upcoming school year and hockey season. 

Jacob Fowler (‘04/Melbourne, FL) was named as the Goaltender of the Year. After posting a 27-9-3 record in 40 regular season starts for the Phantoms, Fowler led the way to the Clark Cup with eight wins in nine playoff starts.

  

After posting a dazzling .921 Save Percentage and 2.28 Goals Against Average in the regular season, Fowler put the cherry on top with a stingy 1.36 GAA and .958 SP in his nine playoff encounters. Despite two more seasons of junior eligibility remaining, Fowler will begin his college education and hockey career, beginning at Boston University in September. 

Lucas St. Louis continues a Dubuque Fighting Saints tradition named as the League’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The son of former NHL player Martin St. Louis, the young defenseman put up three goals and 24 points in 61 regular season games with the Fighting Saints. As for the Scholar part, the 18-year-old defender will suit up at and attend Harvard University this fall…enough said. 

Bryn Chyzyk was presented with the honor for General Manager of the Year, following up his third season with the Waterloo Blackhawks. Brought on as the team’s Director of Scouting in 2020-21 and promoted to the GM spot for the 2021-22 campaign, Chyzyk helped the Hawks to a 40-21-1-0 record in 2022-23, good enough for second place in the Western Conference. That was a 12-win and 21-point improvement on his first year behind the bench and his two-season record as a GM is 68-51-4-1. 

The Fargo Force enjoyed the first Anderson Cup regular season championship ever and Head Coach Nick Oliver was recognized as the Coach of the Year. 

Since the 2015-16 season, Oliver has held down Scouting and Coaching responsibilities with the Sioux Falls Stampede at St. Cloud State University before stepping into the role of Head Coach for the first time in Fargo this past season. 

He clearly took to it well, posting a 40-14-4-4 record with the Force. He has stepped back since the end of the season and will be an assistant with the Team USA 18U Selects headed to Czechia and Slovakia for the Hlinka/Gretzky tournament at the end of the month. He will also step behind the bench of the University of Wisconsin Badgers as an Assistant Coach this fall. 

Cole Knuble (‘04/Grand Rapids, MI) was named as recipient of the Curt Hammer Award for the 2022-23 season. On the ice, Knuble, son of former NHL player Mike Knuble, collected 30 goals and 66 points and wore an ‘A’ on his jersey for the Fargo Force.  

While his on ice accomplishments speak to his abilities, the Hammer Award presented since the 1988-89 season, recognizes the USHL player who distinguishes himself both on and off the ice by demonstrating outstanding performance, skills, pride and determination. The Award is presented in honor of Curt Hammer who served as president of the Des Moines Buccaneers for three seasons (1984-87) and also held the role of secretary for the USHL.  

All 16 teams will return for the 2023-24 USPHL season, beginning once again with the USHL Fall Classic in Pittsburgh. Each team will play twice in Steeltown, one home game and one away contest played between Sept. 20-24. 

Sept. 29 will be the start of the remaining regular season games, stretching to April 13, 2024.