Staff photo / Brian Yauger Phantoms forward Tyler Catalano attempts to wrangle the puck free during the team’s 4-1 victory over Cedar Rapids on Thursday.

CLEVELAND — A big event requires a big performance, and the Youngstown Phantoms stepped to the challenge.

After falling behind early, the Phantoms responded, scoring four unanswered goals to take down the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders 4-1 in the Cleveland Classic at FirstEnergy Stadium.

“It’s unbelievable,” defenseman Chase Pietila said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We’re never going to have this again. All the fans that came out, I’ve got to say thank you to them. It was unbelievable. That’s all I can say.

With the big stage, nerves played a factor early. The RoughRiders took advantage, getting on the board first with a Martins Lavins goal.

Near the halfway point in the first period though, a switch flipped and the Phantoms got hot.

“I think right around the 11-minute mark in the first period, I felt like we settled in,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said. “I looked up and down the bench, and the guys looked like they were back. I think the first 10 minutes, everyone’s a little awestruck and trying to get the lay of the land, but after the 10-minute mark of the first period I thought we were settled in.

“I was honestly pretty calm inside as far as thinking that we were going to get the job done and certainly Kenta (Isogai’s) play to Andon (Cerbone) to tie it up (helped). We always say as a group, tie or better after the first to give yourself a chance. That was a huge goal coming down the stretch.”

Cerbone scored two goals on the night. The forward has been on a tear since his acquisition by the Phantoms in early December, scoring 31 points in 23 games.

The University of Michigan commit has been instrumental in the Phantoms’ surge.

“Bones has been a huge catalyst for our team since we acquired him,” Ward said. “He’s an unbelievable kid. Just watching him grow and develop, he’s got 31 points since we got him. He’s driving our offense. He’s a great kid, he plays 200 feet, and when you’re trying to win a championship, you need guys like that and you saw that tonight.”

Two of the four Phantoms goals were scored on special teams Thursday. Pietila got his sixth goal of the season on the power play in the second period, then Cerbone iced the game on the penalty kill in the third.

That special teams performance is perfect for confidence.

“If you win the special teams battle you win 75-80 percent of the games, and our special teams have been coming for a while now,” Ward said. “The work’s definitely not done, but we’re getting some swagger and some confidence. For us, we look internally and what we need to do to have success on both sides of that, and our guys are buying into what we’re teaching them and they’re paying attention to detail and that’s really what special teams are. Paying attention to details and the little things when you pre-scout.

“Our guys have done a great job and especially in an atmosphere like this, where it’s easy to kind of just focus on the fact that we’re playing in an outdoor football stadium. For them to have the detail that they did tonight is a huge, huge feather in their cap.”

Recent acquisition Martin Misiak scored the go-ahead goal five minutes into the second period. After a brief adjustment period, the potential first-round draft selection has been a very impactful addition.

“When you’re the type of player he is, he’s going to impact the game,” Ward said. “He’s finding his way. We don’t need Marty to put up eight points a night, like Marty is going to impact the game. He’s been great down the middle. We weren’t sure about how it was going to impact our team with him playing center and he’s been great.

“That line has been great. They drive possession. They drive offense and that’s what we need from them and (Mišiak) has been a huge part of that. He’s a great kid and loves being here in Youngstown. I’m super excited to see how he grows in this structure.”

Game 1 of the three-game slate is in the books. The Phantoms (24-13-4-1, 53 points) host Cedar Rapids back at the Covelli Centre tonight and Saturday.

The Phantoms are right on the heels of Eastern Conference-leading Chicago (28-13-2-1, 59 points).

Puck drop for Friday is set for 7:05 p.m.

byauger@tribtoday.com