Staff photo / Brian Yauger Members of the Youngstown Phantoms celebrate after scoring a goal against Waterloo on Thursday at the Covelli Centre.

YOUNGSTOWN — With children from across the Mahoning Valley in attendance for the team’s yearly School Day Game, the Youngstown Phantoms put on a show.

Piling on a flurry of goals, including a hat trick from forward Ryan Botterill, the Phantoms dispatched the Waterloo Black Hawks 10-4 on Thursday.

“I thought we were good from the get-go,” Phantoms coach Ryan Ward said. “The two goals we gave up in the first period should have never happened. A couple of breakdowns, things that can’t happen, just really mismanagement of the game.

“After that, in the second and third, I thought we were pretty lights out. I thought we played tight, I thought we defended hard. That’s a team that’s going to give you quite a few odd-man rushes every night, and I thought we cashed in. Overall, proud of their effort. We practice every morning at 10 a.m. so it was just another day for us. Stakes were a little higher, but overall proud of the guys.”

Four years to the day since their last visit to Covelli Centre, Waterloo got on the board first. Forward Grady Deering scored the opening goal just 30 seconds into the contest.

The Black Hawks would hold that edge for only a minute as Zach Morin responded for Youngstown. Later on in the period, Botterill gave the Phantoms their first lead of the morning.

Right before the end of the first period however, Waterloo tied things up again, with forward John Mustard ripping the puck past netminder Aiden Wright.

That tie didn’t last long either, as within the first two minutes of the middle period, Daniel Jencko scored his ninth of the season to give the Phantoms a lead they wouldn’t surrender.

Botterill got his hat trick in the second period, scoring a pair of goals in the second. Also piling onto the scoresheet was Broadview Heights native Ryan Rucinski, scoring his sixth of the year.

Botterill’s hat trick ties a team record for hat tricks in a season with four. Last time it happened was the 2018-19 season.

“He’s a goalscorer,” Ward said of his forward. “Every league he’s been in he’s scored and we expect him to keep doing the same thing here.”

The Phantoms weren’t shy about pouring pucks on net, outshooting Waterloo 38 to 26. In the second period, Youngstown limited the Black Hawks to just five shots on goal while putting 16 on net themselves.

Half of Youngstown’s shots on goal in the final frame connected with the back of the net.

Taking advantage of a pair of 2-on-1 opportunities in the beginning of the third, the Phantoms converted both. The first came from Charlie Cerrato with an Adam Pietila assist, and on the second one, Pietila called his own number.

The Black Hawks briefly interrupted things with a goal of their own, but the Phantoms responded with two more, one from Hunter Ramos and one from Mikey Burchill.

This snaps a five-game losing streak to Waterloo.

Four of Youngstown’s goals Thursday came from the special teams units — two from the power play and two from the penalty kill. Over the year, the power play has steadily improved, and now looks to have found its groove.

“I thought the power play was good. I thought the penalty kill was outstanding,” Ward said. “I think we’re just getting comfortable in our units. I think it takes some time sometimes, but the guys are sticking with it, sticking with the process, becoming more dangerous as we go, and the guys are developing.

“Adam Pietila does a great job netfront, and (Botterill) has been good on the hook, and Grant Young and Charlie (Cerrato) in the middle, (Andrew Strathmann) running it and (Luke Osburn) stepping in for Sascha (Boumedienne). This team, for whatever reason, won’t go away. I’m proud of them in every facet, and today was a good example of our depth.”

The Phantoms have jumped ahead of Muskegon for third place in the Eastern Conference with a 26-13-4-3 record and 59 standings points.

Tonight and Saturday are two crucial games for the Phantoms as they play host to the Dubuque Fighting Saints, the Eastern Conference’s top dog.

Start time is set for 7:05 p.m. on both nights.

Have an interesting story? Contact Brian Yauger by email at byauger@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @_brianyauger.