General | 1/14/2026 8:27:22 PM

Youngstown's balanced scoring effort and a last-minute milestone powered the them to an eight-goal win against the USA Hockey NTDP U17 team.

By The Numbers

1 — Win for the Youngstown Phantoms over USA Hockey NTDP U17 team, as the league’s No. 1 team in the USHL Power Rankings continued its strong run.

3 — Goals for USA Hockey NTDP, scored by Easton Johnson, Nolan Fitzhenry and Carter Meyer.

8 — Goals for the Phantoms, with tallies from Jakub He, Kazumo Sasaki, Carter Murphy, Richard Emlika, Logan Anderson, Ryan Rucinski, Malachi McKinnon and Brayden Thompson, who recorded his first goal of the season with six seconds remaining. 

47 — Combined shots on goal between USA Hockey NTDP (16) and Youngstown (31).

23 — Saves by USA Hockey NTDP goaltender Nate Chizik on 31 shots faced.

Three Stars

1st Star: Richard Žemlicka, F, Youngstown Phantoms
1G, 2A, +2

2nd Star: Nate Chizik, G, USA Hockey NTDP
23 Saves, Win

3rd Star: Brayden Thompson, F, Youngstown Phantoms
1 GWG

About the USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) and its 16 teams are committed to being the world's leading 16–to 20-year-old junior hockey league. During the 2024-25 season, USHL alumni held over 50% of NCAA Division I roster spots, and over 25% of NHL players had USHL experience. With 10 first-round selections and 49 total picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, the USHL has developed the most draft choices of any junior hockey league since 2012.

Elevated through the recently announced Declaration of Excellence with the NHL and USA Hockey, the league's player-first approach, including a 2:1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule with 92% of games played on weekends, provides its players with the optimal environment for athletic and personal growth, creating pathways for the next generation of stars like Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms), Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel), Matthew Knies (Tri-City Storm), Adam Fantilli (Chicago Steel) and Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede).