“I thought we lost momentum in the first,” Phantoms coach Brad Patterson said. “We go on the (penalty) kill and one goes in the back of our net and it’s tough, but I like the resiliency in the guys.

“I thought we had numerous chances throughout the first two periods and thought we had a lot of really good looks, and we ultimately didn’t capitalize.”

A tripping call on Miles Gunty 4 minutes into the game sent the puck — which was mainly in the Phantoms’ attacking zone prior to the call — into the defensive zone.

Just 16 seconds into the penalty kill, Green Bay forward and Penn State commit Ryan Kirwan put a shot past Phantoms goaltender Mattias Sholl to put the Gamblers up by a score.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Youngstown Phantoms winger Nate Hanley is held off by Green Bay defenseman and Ohio State conmit Mason Lohrei.

An important factor is to keep a team focused when the game continuously switches from 5-on-5 to either a power play or penalty kill, Patterson said.

“Part of that’s on us as a staff and part of that’s on our leadership core,” he said. “The momentums that you go through on a daily basis, a gamely basis, a weekly basis, those need to be maintained and not so high and not so low.”

Green Bay scored again in the second period, with defenseman Jarod Crespo beating Sholl to put the Gamblers up 2-0.

Georgii Merkulov scored the lone Youngstown goal 6 minutes into the third period. Merkulov, who is one of four yet uncommitted players on the roster, has embraced his role as one of the oldest players on the team and has been setting an example for the younger players.

“He has been great all year,” Patterson said. “I can’t speak highly enough. He puts the work in not only at the rink but in the gym. He’s completely committed. You’re looking at a guy who hasn’t seen his family since November of last year and he’s here and he’s the first one to the rink and the last one to leave. He’s a great example for a lot of our guys.”

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Phantoms forward Kenta Isogai makes a move on the puck during the second period of Friday's game. 

A few minutes after Merkulov closed the gap, the Gamblers extended it once again. Ryan Greene scored his fourth of the year to make it 3-1. Green Bay closed out the game with an empty net goal from Jackson Kunz.

“The way things went, the guys were down and that’s an area of our game that we need to be better at,” Patterson said. “You’re in a game, could have been either way, and ultimately we didn’t come out on top.”

The two teams close out the series tonight at 7 p.m., with the Phantoms (2-7-0-0) looking to recover and find solid footing on what’s been a rocky start.

“I look forward to it,” Patterson said. “We want to be up for the challenge. Green Bay’s one of the best teams in the league right now and it’s a great test for us.

“We’ve got to show up and we’ve got to be better than in the areas we talked about and ultimately, to do that, you put yourself in a situation where you have the ability to get two points.”