(USHL) Fargo, N.D. — Locked in a 0-0 tie after two periods of play, Youngstown broke things open with a power play goal early in the third period and didn’t look back in claiming a 4-1 road win over Fargo in the first game of the best-of-five 2023 Clark Cup Final.
After a scoreless first period in which Youngstown held a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal, the Force outshot the Phantoms by a 15-8 margin in the middle frame. But, as the song goes, the score remained the same with Fargo’s Anton Castro and Youngstown’s Jacob Fowler both perfect through the first 40 minutes of the game.
Youngstown forward William Whitelaw broke the ice when he tallied a power play goal at 1:36 of the third period. Then at 2:52 it became a 2-0 lead when Miles Gunty ripped a shot from the right circle over Castro’s shoulder. Shane Lachance made it a 3-0 lead at 15:15 after he banked a shot off of Castro’s back from the side of the crease. Whitelaw got his second of the game on an empty-net tally at 15:41. Fargo got on the board at 19:01 on a goal by Anthony Menghini in closing out the scoring in the contest.
The Phantoms went one-for-two in power play opportunities, but it was a 29-save effort from Fowler, the 2023 USHL Goaltender of the Year, that proved to be key in the win.
Game two of the series is scheduled for Saturday night at Scheels Arena in Fargo. Face-off between the Phantoms and the Force is slated for 6:05 p.m.
