The Youngstown Phantoms are a junior ice hockey team that plays in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the 5,200-seat Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. The team was co-owned by Bruce J. Zoldan (founder and CEO of fireworks brand Phantom Fireworks, hence the team's name) and Troy Loney (who played 12 years in the NHL, primarily for the Pittsburgh Penguins) along with his wife Aafke Loney. In the summer of 2018, the Loneys sold their interests to the Black Bear Sports Group led by CEO Murry Gunty.
History From their inaugural season in 2003 until 2009, the Phantoms played in the North American Hockey League's North Division, with home games at the 1,000-seat Boardman Ice Zone in the suburb of Boardman, Ohio. From 2005 until 2009, the team was known as the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, because the Central Hockey League's Youngstown SteelHounds moved into the county. However, soon after the SteelHounds shut down, the Phantoms started playing most of their games in the city of Youngstown, and with the move to the USHL, re-adopted the old Youngstown Phantoms name.
Seventeen players with Youngstown Phantoms ties have been drafted into the NHL. Defenseman Scott Mayfield (2009–11) was drafted in the second round, 34th overall, by the New York Islanders in the 2011 NHL entry draft. Goalie Matthew Mahalak (2009–10) was drafted in the sixth round, 163rd overall, by the Carolina Hurricanes, also in 2011. Forward Nathan Walker (2012–13) was drafted in the third round, 89th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2014 NHL entry draft. Forward Maxim Letunov (2013–15) was drafted in the second round, 52nd overall, by the St. Louis Blues, also in 2014. Also, a total of seven alumni have signed NHL contracts, including Nathan Walker, Scott Mayfield, Brandon Saad, Jiri Sekac, Andrej Sustr and Lucas Craggs. In addition, Mayfield, Saad, Sustr and Sekac have seen action with their respective NHL clubs, and Saad won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. On August 10, 2011, the Youngstown Phantoms announced 29-year-old Chicago native Anthony Noreen as head coach, making him the third head coach in the team's history. Before joining the Youngstown Phantoms, Noreen was an assistant coach for three seasons at his alma mater, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. In April 2012, Noreen's contract was extended through the 2013–14 season. Noreen was hired by the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears after the 2014–15 season. John Wroblewski was then hired for the 2015–16 season as the fourth head coach in team history. After one season in Youngstown, Wroblewski was hired by the USA Hockey National Team Development Program as the head coach and was replaced by former assistant coach, Brad Patterson. Patterson's contract was not renewed at the end of the 2021–22 season and he was replaced by Ryan Ward. In February 2023, the Phantoms participated in their first outdoor game in franchise history, hosting the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
Regular season records Season League GP W L OTL PTS GF GA PIM Finish 2003–04 NAHL 56 28 21 7 63 168 169 1347 5th, North 2004–05 NAHL 56 27 25 4 58 201 181 1365 4th, North 2005–06 NAHL 58 34 20 4 72 214 181 1288 3rd, North 2006–07 NAHL 62 47 14 1 95 283 168 1198 1st, North 2007–08 NAHL 58 36 18 4 76 227 173 1272 2nd, North 2008–09 NAHL 58 36 17 5 77 224 173 1092 2nd, North 2009–10 USHL 60 20 36 4 44 170 247 1607 7th, Eastern 2010–11 USHL 60 23 30 7 53 167 205 1145 7th, Eastern 2011–12 USHL 60 32 21 7 71 202 196 1190 4th, Eastern 2012–13 USHL 64 37 27 0 74 215 199 1348 3rd of 8, Eastern; 7th of 16, USHL 2013–14 USHL 60 17 37 6 40 172 230 1212 8th of 8, Eastern; 15th of 16, USHL 2014–15 USHL 60 40 14 6 86 233 166 1178 1st of 9, Eastern; 1st of 17, USHL 2015–16 USHL 60 31 20 9 71 192 177 1020 5th of 9, Eastern; 6th of 17, USHL2016–17 USHL 60 34 20 6 74 161 135 1054 4th of 9, Eastern; 8th of 17, USHL2017–18 USHL 60 33 20 7 73 180 189 976 2nd of 9, Eastern; 6th of 17, USHL2018–19 USHL 62 36 21 5 77 214 209 1101 3rd of 9, Eastern; 6th of 17, USHL2019–20 USHL 50 20 22 8 48 146 197 865 Season cancelled2020–21 USHL 49 12 30 7 31 145 218 689 6th of 6, Eastern; 14th of 14, USHL2021–22 USHL 62 29 23 10 68 191 199 775 4th of 8, Eastern; 7th of 16, USHL2022–23 USHL 62 38 19 5 81 225 173 1052 2nd of 8, Eastern; 4th of 16, USHL2023–24USHL623319107623020612904th of 8, Eastern; 5th of 16, USHL2024–25USHL62421828623216710911st of 8, Eastern; 2nd of 16 USHL2025–26USHL6243145912281478991st of 8, Eastern; 1st of 16, USHL
Playoff records Season GP W L OTL GF GA PIM Finish 2006 8 2 6 0 20 33 166 Lost in Quarterfinals 2007 10 9 1 0 47 24 152 Lost in Championship Game 2008 12 6 5 1 39 34 222 Lost in Round 2 2009 14 8 6 0 42 37 159 Lost in Semifinals 2012 6 3 3 0 20 25 100 Lost in East Conf. Semifinals 2013 9 5 4 0 23 23 121 Lost in East Conf. Finals 2015 4 1 3 0 11 13 95 Lost in East Conf. Semifinals 2017 5 2 3 0 8 15 79 Lost in East Conf. Semifinals 2018 11 7 4 0 39 35 164 Lost in Clark Cup Final 2019 2 0 2 0 3 6 24 Lost in First Round202220205812Lost in First Round202398102513100Clark Cup Champions20248331202375Lost in East Conf. Semifinals2025003081663Lost in East Conf. Semifinals
References
External links Official site