“They’re a quick team and they skated really well,” Phantoms coach Brad Patterson said. “There were periods of time in our own end where I didn’t think we were great. It was disappointing in the end. I don’t know if we deserve the one point to be fair. We have to be better tomorrow.”

Third-year Phantom Trevor Kuntar got his team on the board seven minutes into the game with a goal assisted by Yusaku Ando. The new faces in Youngstown have begun to make an impression.

Ando, who is a native of Tomakomai, Japan, has gotten off to a great start in his USHL career. The 16-year old, who has two more years before he’s eligible for the NHL Draft, has tallied eight points in six games. Ando assisted on a later goal, giving him five assists this season.

The Steel responded quickly however. Chicago center Brendan Brisson snuck a shot past Phantoms goalkeeper Dominic Basse tying the game. The Steel scored the only goal in the second period with Elis Hede getting his first of the season.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Phantoms winger Matthew Cassidy, center, waits for a potential pass from a Youngstown teammate.

Trailing with one period remaining, the Phantoms came out strong. Within the first 10 minutes of the final period, the Phantoms scored twice. The urgency must have re-energized the team, as their footspeed picked up from the second period.

“We wanted to play on our toes a little bit more,” Patterson said. “We went through a couple things systematically, but to me, it was just about moving our feet. I thought we were in the mud a little bit through the second period and in the third period we started to get better.”

In the third, defenseman Aiden Gallacher scored his first goal of the season three minutes into the period. A couple of minutes later, center Reilly Funk continued his great start to the season, scoring his fourth goal. Funk joined the team from the Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.

“He’s been tremendous,” Patterson said. “He’s played junior hockey before. He’s tremendous away from the rink and it pays dividends. When you do the right things, you often are rewarded on the ice, and Reilly has been a great example of that. I think that line (Kuntar, Funk and Ando) has been clicking for us and we need them.”

Through six games Funk, a Northern Michigan University commit, has nine points; five assists and four goals.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Phantoms goaltender Dominic Basse scans behind the net during the first period of the game against Chicago.

The urgency that pushed the Phantoms ahead to start the third period, pushed Chicago to tie the game later in the period. Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored his fourth goal of the season on a redirect from Brisson to knot the game at three goals each.

Fontaine played the hero in the overtime period as he beat Basse with just over a minute left in the overtime period.

The Phantoms (3-1-2-0) face Chicago again tonight at 7, and to come out with a win, Patterson thinks the Phantoms need to keep it simple.

“I think we need to move our feet, it starts with that,” Patterson said. “At the end of the day we need to play in the hard areas of the ice, and I felt like we were content to watch plays happen on the perimeter without engaging and we need to be tighter in that area.”