At Least We Didn't Get Swept w/ Jack Hextall

The Phantoms drop 2 of 3 over the weekend, but the vibes aren’t completely dead yet. We break down the games, dive into a robust Q&A, and welcome special guest Jack Hextall to the show. Plenty of hockey talk, a few laughs, and maybe even some optimism.

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This recording is the sole view of the members of the Dump & Chase Podcast.  This is a non-commercial fan production. We are not affiliated with or compensated by the Youngstown Phantoms, the United States Hockey League, or any league, club, or team.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_08 0:38

Hello, Phantom fans, and welcome to season eight, episode 22 of the Dumpin' Chase podcast. Coming up in this episode, we'll look back at a tough three-game series with the Madison Capitals, as well as look ahead to the final two regular season games played at the Cavelli Center this season with the visiting Dubuque Fighting Saints. We'll also get into a full mailbag for fan QA. And for this week's edition of Phantom Files, we welcome back to the show Phantoms Forward Jack Hexall. So my name is Sam Olmstead, and joining me as always is Dan Conley.

SPEAKER_05 1:14

I tuck you in one within. Keep you free from sin till the sand man he comes.

SPEAKER_08 1:19

I'm just glad you didn't sing it this time. And Justin Irwin. All right, all right, all right. Gentlemen, how are we doing? Tired.

SPEAKER_07 1:27

Been a long, long week, long weekend. Long weekend.

SPEAKER_08 1:32

Okay, good thing you said weekend. It's it's Monday.

SPEAKER_05 1:36

It's been a long week. It's where you lose one hour of sleep, and it feels like you it takes you several days to earn that the earn to get that hour back.

SPEAKER_08 1:44

Dan, you're you're still a few years away from these hour changes destroying your life for like a good two to three days. We'll talk about this again when you're in your 40s.

SPEAKER_07 1:57

Two or three days, Sam. I'm getting to about a week.

SPEAKER_05 2:04

Hey, something we found out this weekend. Um, I think was it last weekend? We had a question about what the team's gonna do. Are they gonna arrest players or not? I think we found out this weekend, even if they get a first-round buy, I don't think that's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_08 2:16

Or they might just take an entire game off.

SPEAKER_05 2:18

Yeah, the only easier.

SPEAKER_08 2:20

Wow. We'll get into that a little bit later on. Some show news to kick off. Uh, we we had put out a post here about a week ago. Long and short of it, I'm tired. Just anything to just lighten my load a little. So we have, I think, hired's the wrong word. There's no money involved here because we ain't seen it. Nobody else is gonna see it. Um, no, we have uh brought on board a new uh social media manager. Uh, that is uh Janelle Benson, uh the newest member of the team. Uh she's behind the scenes, she won't be on the mic. We won't do that to her.

SPEAKER_07 2:57

Uh yeah. A fan of the show for a while. I she's made that vocal.

SPEAKER_05 3:02

Just about everybody in it's a fan of fan knows who her and her family are, too. So it's what we liked. And she travels.

SPEAKER_08 3:11

Yes, she does.

SPEAKER_05 3:12

We've seen it almost every single game.

SPEAKER_07 3:15

Impressive. Yes.

SPEAKER_08 3:17

No, so uh she wanted to pass along uh this to everyone. She wanted to say that she is very happy to join the team and she can't wait to meet all the fans. That she uh how many has she not met at this point? The three of you, she hasn't met yet. She's really looking forward to meeting you. And then she said, uh, don't be afraid to come say hi to me. Uh be very afraid. She bites. That's it. That that was actually something I had to put in the contract. If if if she's gonna be under our banner now, she can't bite people anymore.

SPEAKER_05 3:46

Interesting.

SPEAKER_08 3:47

Am I held with that clause? I mean, we I mean that was the same clause we had for Dan. It took it, it took like a good month before he finally caught on, but well, I didn't even know that. I I don't think I've even signed that one, so uh, but no, I just uh real quick want to welcome Janelle to the team. This is something we've joked about in the past. It's and please, when people hear this, it is tongue-in-cheek. We do not seriously believe these things. Sam, especially in this especially, I do not believe in this, but it has been kind of coincidental the last uh four after the uh last four episodes we've put out. Uh going back, we had Cosmo Sasaki on the show uh that weekend after uh he scored a goal that weekend. Uh the next week we had Carter Murphy that next weekend, he had four assists in one game.

SPEAKER_07 4:39

That one, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 4:41

We we had Tobiash Trayball on the show uh that next weekend. He sets the uh record for points by a goalie, points by a phantom uh Phantoms goalie in season and career. Last week we have Evan Jardine on the show. He ends up with a four-point weekend. I'm not saying I'm not saying I believe in this stuff, but there's a little bit of coincidence there.

SPEAKER_07 4:59

I mean, say what you like. I mean, getting towards the end of the season, you start seeing these things happen a lot more often. But I mean, there are a couple of impressive ones on there. Um, if they are coincidence, that is equally as impressive.

SPEAKER_08 5:15

So any any any players listening to the show or players' parents listening to the show, if you got the kid on the team that needs a little bit of a bump, uh just tell them to get a hold of Jason Deskins and get yourself scheduled on the show.

SPEAKER_07 5:27

You better proof us right, Jack.

SPEAKER_08 5:29

And I we'll see how we're gonna we'll see how uh Jack Exal does this weekend. Again, if for a split second you think we're being serious here, uh don't.

SPEAKER_07 5:39

No pressure, Jack. No pressure.

SPEAKER_08 5:43

So yeah, we're coming down to it. Uh four weeks left in the season. Youngstown's still a nice little buffer here in the standings. I mean, there's some games in hand and stuff like that. We'll have to see how that plays out. Luckily, this coming weekend, it's back to a uh Youngstown's fate is in more in their own hands than anybody else's. So, yeah, taking a look at the Eastern Conference standings right now. Uh Youngstown, the only team in the Eastern Conference who has clinched. I think what there's now five in the West that have clinched.

SPEAKER_05 6:10

They all did. Oh, they all have? Yeah, Waterloo losing what's Sunday? Clinched uh Des Moines.

SPEAKER_07 6:16

Oh, Jesus. Well, I mean, that that tells you something right there.

SPEAKER_08 6:22

Uh so yeah, Youngstown in first place in the Eastern Conference, uh, have clinched a playoff spot with 79 points. Uh Green Bay in second with 71 points. They have two games in hand on Youngstown. Uh, this past weekend they were swept by the U18. So uh nice to see the U18's doing us a little bit of a favor there.

SPEAKER_07 6:39

Uh we'll take it at this point.

SPEAKER_08 6:41

Things we almost never say on this show. Uh Dubuque in third with 69 points. They have three games in hand. Uh this past weekend, they split their weekend, beating Des Moines and then losing to Chicago. Uh Muskegon in fourth with 65 points and two games in hand. They were swept by Lincoln this past weekend. So Rocky doing everything he can to hold on to his job there.

SPEAKER_05 7:07

Yeah, hasn't been giving us very good uh post-game clips either.

SPEAKER_08 7:10

Yeah, it's it's just not as interesting when they're winning.

SPEAKER_05 7:12

Yeah. Good for them, bad for us.

SPEAKER_08 7:15

Uh Cedar Rapids in fifth place with 63 points and three games in hand. Uh, they split this past weekend, losing to Sioux City and then beating Waterloo. And Madison in sixth place with 61 points, one game in hand. We're gonna talk about what Madison did this past weekend here in a little bit. Uh, Chicago in seventh with 58 points. Uh, Chicago making a run of it. They only trail uh Madison by three points right now for that final playoff spot. Chicago three-game weekend sweeping all three games that they played, uh, beating Waterloo, beating Dubuque, and then coming back with another game with Waterloo and beating him in that one as well. And the NTDP, uh, they as far as the Eastern Conference is concerned, they have been eliminated, eliminated from playoff contention. But again, the 18 swept Green Bay. So bravo to them. Thank you. Go out in a blaze of glory, I say.

SPEAKER_05 8:05

Yeah, same all that just to say that there's one silver lining on this weekend. That is luckily everybody else lost too.

SPEAKER_08 8:12

Yeah, we we got beat, the rest of them got beat worse.

SPEAKER_05 8:15

Yeah, I mean, there was a big chance to really throw some points behind everybody, but it doesn't always happen that way.

SPEAKER_08 8:21

We got we got we got the U18s beating Green Bay eight to one.

SPEAKER_05 8:26

That's a score line I never thought I'd see.

SPEAKER_08 8:27

And that and that was one I didn't look at the score, I didn't look at the scoreboard the entire night. Like I didn't see like, oh, USA's up on Green Bay. Oh, they're up a little bit more, they're up a little bit more. That was I didn't look the entire night, and then I didn't look until the game was over and I saw the final score. Um, it it took my breath away to be sure. Uh Cedar Rapids, uh, Justin, they uh their their game was Sioux City. Uh they they lived out one of your favorite fra uh favorite phrases on the show.

SPEAKER_07 8:53

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08 8:54

Uh snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

SPEAKER_07 8:58

Uh yeah, that one that one was a wild one.

SPEAKER_08 9:01

Uh yeah, Cedar Rapids was up six to two at the end of the first period in that game. Uh Sioux City came back scoring five goals, going up seven to six. And then Cedar Rapids scoring late to tie the game at seven. The game would go to a shootout, and Cedar Rapids would lose in the shootouts.

SPEAKER_07 9:18

I mean, do you feel happy you got the uh extra point? Or I mean that's that's a wild one.

SPEAKER_08 9:27

That that's one of those you're up six to two after the first period. The end result is you walk away with one point. Would you have believed that?

SPEAKER_07 9:36

No, but I mean, uh going down like they did, and I mean, I I think that you know uh was a wild finish.

SPEAKER_08 9:45

So I just think the most unbelievable part of it is you have a you have a Mark Carlson coach team that lost eight to seven.

SPEAKER_05 9:52

Yeah, there was no post-game middle after that for them.

SPEAKER_08 9:59

Put down that chicken parm. Food is for winners. Yeah, that's that's one of those reasons when we do the interviews, we stop asking players what their favorite food is because it's all the same answer.

SPEAKER_05 10:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 10:11

Chicken, chicken and pasta.

SPEAKER_05 10:12

And we like and we like Chipotle.

SPEAKER_08 10:14

We like Chipotle. Alrighty. So with all the housework out of the way, let's say we go ahead and jump into the weekend recap.

SPEAKER_09 10:21

It's the weekend recap.

SPEAKER_08 10:29

So this past weekend, the Phantoms well uh, I don't want to say welcoming, but uh the Madison Capitals for three games on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. So I I really want to feel like we should like kind of match the effort of the team um as we go through this recap. So we're just gonna skip Thursday.

SPEAKER_05 10:52

That's a good idea.

SPEAKER_08 10:53

Um here we go. Yeah, the game on Thursday. Uh Phantoms losing this game two to nothing.

SPEAKER_07 10:59

I believe you used the term feckless. Uh that's not what he said.

SPEAKER_08 11:04

It's a better adjective. Less less was the suffix I used, yes. Uh feck was not the uh base word that I used.

SPEAKER_07 11:14

It might have rhymed with that.

SPEAKER_08 11:19

Yeah, phantoms lose this game two to nothing. Uh I've I don't what happened here?

SPEAKER_05 11:25

Nothing. Nothing on our part. I was telling you guys, uh I was there. My best friends, their daughter was skating in the uh you know, the little skate thing they did between the second and third period. So there was like 30 of my friends and family there all watched the game, and that was the first game a lot of them came for this year. And I was talking up the team so much, like telling them how good they were to the main players and everything like that. And then what ensued on the uh ice was nothing close to what I was just talking about. If I didn't have a record to back up what I was saying, they would have thought I was lying there.

SPEAKER_07 11:56

These things happen. We have conspiracy theories about this, which we won't go into.

SPEAKER_05 12:03

No, it was just a boring game. There wasn't even any penalties committed in the game. Like from one power play. That would have meant we tried. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 12:11

Yeah, you're right. I think Sam made that point, but I'm gonna steal it.

SPEAKER_05 12:15

But it came down when the Phantoms had that power play towards the end of the third period, it's like five, six minutes left. In my head, I'm like, all right, we get a goal here, we're still back in it. And then they didn't get a shot in that on that power play. I don't even think they got like the puck really cycle in a whole lot. It was just one of those games where everybody was off. And you are gonna have these aren't professional players, they're still learning, they're still working through it, but I can only imagine what was said after that game. I can only imagine.

SPEAKER_08 12:39

Yeah, the Phantoms not committing any penalties in this game. This the uh last time this happened, it was on February 10th, 2024. That game was up in Muskegon, so figure that one out.

SPEAKER_07 12:50

And I'm betting we lost that one too.

SPEAKER_08 12:52

Yes, we did. Yeah, thank God Madison at least had that one penalty at the end of the game because I was getting questions like when was the last time there was a game with no penalties? Um, and the records that I keep that I can very easily look up only go back to uh 21-22, and it hadn't happened in that period of time between then and now. So if it did it, if it did happen, it was sometime before uh 2021.

SPEAKER_05 13:20

Indian Cash Kruitt got his first shutout of his UH USHL career, and his first win since like December.

SPEAKER_08 13:26

Yeah, yeah, it was uh there's just nothing, then nothing, yeah. The Friday game. The game on Friday. Let's talk about the game on Friday. This game, a 4-2 win for the Phantoms. Uh, much better showing, either by design or whatever. I don't know, but uh yeah, definitely much better showing by the Phantoms in this one. How about uh yeah, three minutes into the game, Jesse Orloski? Finally, finally, and honestly, honestly, Jesse was one, I think, one of the standouts of this weekend. Um expect I mean, I mean, just I mean, beyond the goal, but uh he scored that goal, skated in front of where me and Justin sit, just kind of let out this scream as he went by. I I felt like a lot of demons were exercised in that in that goal being scored.

SPEAKER_07 14:19

And I mean, it's a guy, he's been doing a lot of things off the puck, right? I think uh he's been noticeably one of the better players in games where he hasn't showed up on the scoreboard lately. And yeah, at that point in the game, you you felt it.

SPEAKER_05 14:38

Yeah, you felt that. You know, it's what is kind of not funny, but funny is his is Billet dad missed a goal. Oh uh, he was if I say why, you'll probably know who he is. We was doing something with a a race, I should say, and um that's why he missed it. But yeah, so joke is now he has to not watch any more games so Chess can score again.

SPEAKER_08 15:01

No, I mean, but you know, I mean, a lot of action in this first period. Youngstown goes up one to nothing. Uh Madison, their lone, their one power play goal in this game, about halfway through the first period, and then it's kind of okay, how does Youngstown react? Youngstown was just kind of an all-out blitz in the offensive zone for the next like three to four shifts after that Madison power play goal. Uh, you know, Hexdall get, you know, Hextahl gets a nice one, you know, 30, not even 30 seconds later, Evan Jardine put one puts one in. And just like that, it goes from a 1-1 tie to three to one. And at the end at the end of the day, it turns out that's all Youngstown needed.

SPEAKER_07 15:39

I mean, that little spurt of energy. And I mean, I I think for two out of the three games this weekend, it was uh kind of playoff energy, and that is exactly what you want to see.

SPEAKER_08 15:52

And then Justin Rosinski getting that empty net goal at the end of the game. That that was like your favorite kind of empty net goal where the player is almost in the net before they shoot it. Uh as opposed to being as opposed to being 150 feet away.

SPEAKER_07 16:05

A nice transition game up the ice, smart through the uh neutral zone into the offensive zone and tap it into the empty net. Yeah, there was no chance of icing on that play.

SPEAKER_05 16:18

Did you guys see McKinnon smacking his stick on the ice? He won that puck. I think he wanted just to get an assist in that. He probably would give it back to Rizzo, but he made the effort to go in down the ice with him. It was funny.

SPEAKER_08 16:29

And it let looked like he it looked like Rizzo was trying to get the puck over to him, but you just you had that one Madison defender there. I I I think I think that's why Ryan was so close to the net by the time he finally shot it. I think he was trying, he was looking to get that over to McKinnon.

SPEAKER_02 16:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 16:44

And just it, he just ran out of real estate and just had to put it in. Because I mean, we've seen that, we've seen that a handful of times this year. More often than the not, more often than not, Ryan will pass that off to whoever's coming down with him. I just think there was a Madison defender just enough in the way to kind of force him to take the take the shot himself. I mean, it's a good problem to have when it's a two-on-one with an empty net.

SPEAKER_07 17:04

Yeah. Good job by the defender, too. Yeah. Um you played that right. Take away the pass.

SPEAKER_08 17:14

Yeah, Owen Leepak, great game here. Uh, stopping uh, what was it, 21 to 23?

SPEAKER_05 17:20

Yep, that's correct.

SPEAKER_08 17:21

Yeah, great game by Lee Pack here.

SPEAKER_05 17:23

Yeah, yeah, something I noticed in this in this series here was well, A, Matt Madison 8, they play hard. And B, they have some hogs in the back. They have some size and some thick boys playing on the blue line for Madison. And they ate pucks the whole entire weekend. They did a good job of blocking so many shots before they came in, or just getting a stick and deflecting it out. They they make you work for the chances you get on that for sure.

SPEAKER_08 17:46

So then we jump ahead to the game on Saturday. The Phantoms losing this one three to two in a shootout. I mean, there were to me, there were points during this game where it got a little sloppy, but at the same time, I don't think this was a bad game by Youngstown.

SPEAKER_07 18:00

No, I I mean uh I think this was a playoff caliber game.

SPEAKER_08 18:05

Yeah, I mean it it it's great to win a game in a shootout and everything like that. I mean, it's it's not when we win in a shootout, it's something we never really say, but it's like we are fully cognizant the game was won in a skills competition.

SPEAKER_03 18:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 18:17

You know, great, you know, great for us if we win and get that extra point and everything. But I I think coming down to you know, Madison winning this game on Saturday, it's you know, at the end of the day, they won it in a skills competition. It's just I I I I think like I said, I think there were points the game was a little sloppy, but all in all, I mean, this was you know a tightly played game between these two teams. There's there's not much I can walk out of this game saying, you know, oh, I wish they would have done this better, or I wish they would have done this better. I thought I thought, I thought it was still a really good showing on Saturday.

SPEAKER_07 18:48

And to Dan's point, um, you know, Thursday he had um, you know, friends in attendance, and he's like, you know, defending the team. I had people I knew in attendance on on this game, and they walked out going, Oh my god, that was our first shootout we've ever seen. And they were, you know, still like really, really kind of energized.

SPEAKER_08 19:11

So I mean I still wish they'd flip, I'd they flip the shooter out, the shootout around.

SPEAKER_07 19:18

So we got some better, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 19:20

Yeah, because it wouldn't it wouldn't have mattered this weekend, but I know, but still it's like why can't why can't they go towards the net where all the fans are as opposed to having to go because they're going the same direction as they are in overtime.

SPEAKER_07 19:33

Uh they don't want the skaters to skate across the opposing team's bench, is what I've been told.

SPEAKER_08 19:40

Which is a bunch of the th the thing that they do 50 times a game, anyways. Yeah. But that but the shootout's gonna be the one where it all goes wrong. Yeah. That's my biggest gripe about shootouts at the Cavalli Center because it's always down at the opposite end of the ice where there's nobody down there.

SPEAKER_05 19:56

One stat in this game that I was still at at I heard on the broadcast because I didn't watch this game until Sunday is that the fans were 19-1 and 2 after leading in the first period. That's an incredible stat. They're now 19-2 and 2.

SPEAKER_08 20:10

But um, 19-1 and 3.

SPEAKER_05 20:14

Yeah. That's correct. Um Yeah, I didn't I wish I wouldn't know what the score was watching Sunday. Normally doesn't bother me. But I don't know if the this is weird. I I know there's like there's really no victories and a loss, but I don't think the fans could have played any better and still lost this game. I think they they had the the puck for Madison went minutes, many minutes in in the game with stretches of not getting any sort of offensive pressure. I'm not even talking like shots, I'm just talking offensive pressure at all. I thought, you know, they only had 11 shots on goal, I think, or maybe 12.

SPEAKER_08 20:45

Yeah, they were it it was uh late into the third period when they finally got into double digits on shots.

SPEAKER_05 20:52

The Phantoms had the Madison under pressure almost this entire game. They they cycled the puck, they had a great four check going. They just Caleb Howell had a really good game, and there is probably some chances that the some players in this game had chances net that they probably wish they could get back, where just maybe throwing an extra bounce or just kind of lipped over the net or went side, you know, just a little bit wide. But um I to your point as well, Sam. I thought the f I you hate to say that they played really well and still lost, but I thought the this is one of these things I think I said it last week too. You look at all the metrics of the game, you don't understand how the hell they lost. You just don't, it just happens sometimes.

SPEAKER_07 21:24

This is where people who don't like the um the extra point for you know making overtime, making a shootout, the the three-point games as it stands. I mean, this is one instance where maybe you justify it with the way this game went. Uh Youngstown deserved a point out of that.

SPEAKER_08 21:45

I it's you know, and we always talk, you know, and we've talked about a lot this season of just you know, phantoms, you know, finding ways to win games. I I think if you lose in a shootout, I don't think that falls into the same category.

unknown 21:59

No.

SPEAKER_07 22:00

No, but still you got you got an extra point, which if you look at the standings, that's gonna be huge.

SPEAKER_08 22:07

Yeah. Um, yeah, young I mean Youngstown has two games this weekend. Yeah, two games this weekend, two games next weekend, and only one game the weekend after that, that one game with the U 17s up in Plymouth. So I imagine that's going to be the weekend where everybody pretty much catches up. Yeah. Because last weekend of the season, everybody's gonna play two games.

SPEAKER_07 22:27

Well, I'm imagining probably teams are gonna have to play some three and threes coming down the stretch, which thankfully we are done with. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 22:36

Our our schedule is very normal, you know, from here on out.

SPEAKER_07 22:41

Yeah, there's a couple of teams with uh at least two games in hand on us, so they're gonna have to make that up somewhere.

SPEAKER_08 22:48

Yeah, Green Bay and Chicago both have two games in hand.

SPEAKER_07 22:52

Uh Dubuque and Cedar Rapids, I mean, Cedar Rapids doesn't really factor into Youngstown's goals here so much, but um, and if we're looking at the Anderson Cup, um, take a look at what's going on in the Western Conference because there's the only team that has the row against us. Who is that? Yep, Sioux Falls. Yep. Um, with their games in hand, I think they'd be what one game or a half game behind us.

SPEAKER_08 23:18

All right. Well, if we if if we want to get into this a little bit here, uh because I have I have been tracking this now the last couple weeks. The and the the the order of this is going by uh points right now. So talking as far as like the Anderson Cup and looking at that. So uh starting out with Youngstown, uh, seven games left on Youngstown's schedule. The average win percentage of their opponents is five thirty-seven. Thank God. Sioux Falls has nine games remaining. The average win percentage of their opponents in those nine games is four sixty-three.

SPEAKER_07 23:52

Dear Lord. I knew where he was going with this.

SPEAKER_08 23:58

Yeah. I mean, even that uh okay, even this breaking it down into Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Uh Youngstown, seven games remaining, 537 opponent win percentage. Green Bay, nine games remaining, um, opponent win percentage is five eighty-four. Dubuque, ten games remaining, their opponent's win percentage is five ninety.

SPEAKER_07 24:18

And how much of Dubuque's win percentage is us?

SPEAKER_08 24:22

Yeah. Uh, but Dubuque, Dubuque has games with us. They have games with Green Bay, with Fargo, uh, with Muskegon to finish out the season. Their their schedule at the end of this season is brutal. Hopefully, we take care of our part of it, then it's their problem for the rest of the season. Um, so go to the Western Conference. Uh, Sioux Falls, nine games left, opponent win percentage 463, Fargo, 10 games left, opponent win percentage 484. So again, people think all you know, all six teams in the Western Conference clinching a playoff spot, and you know, Sioux Falls within striking distance of possibly winning the Anderson Cup. Uh, think of those numbers.

SPEAKER_07 25:02

And what are Waterloo and uh Omaha's win percentages?

SPEAKER_08 25:06

I'm not all their win percentages. Uh let's see, Waterloo's win percentage is two eighty-eight, Omaha is two sixty-nine. Sioux City is in third place in the West, their win percentage is five forty-eight. That's one point better or wait, five forty-eight. They would not qualify for the playoffs in the Western in the Eastern Conference. Third place team in the West would not qualify for the playoffs in the East. They would be the seventh seed. That's insane. Yeah. Which is kind of funny. We we talk about these things where it it's it's it factors in at the beginning of the season, and we talked a lot about that at the beginning of this season, just kind of how it like how it seemed like the Western Conference was struggling so much more than teams in the Eastern Conference. And it's like if we ever see anything like that, by the time you get to mid-season, everything kind of evens out. That no, that hasn't really happened. That's kind of carried through this entire season. So I'm just I'm just saying, if you're in the west, don't be so impressed with what you guys have done so far.

SPEAKER_07 26:02

Uh okay, back on the rails. Back on the rails.

SPEAKER_08 26:06

All right. Um, so with that, it is now time for the Dumpin' Chase podcast. Three stars of the week. So kicking it off with a third star.

SPEAKER_05 26:13

And our third star this week is Cal Houston. Hid one goal and one assist.

SPEAKER_08 26:17

And that goal didn't have to be reviewed. You know how it is. When Cal scores a goal, it's gonna get overturned, and then he'll get then the next one will be good. Yep. So he was able to get this one without review. Uh, the second star of the week is the captain Ryan Rusinski. One goal, one assist on the weekend. And somehow I ended up with Evan Jardine.

SPEAKER_07 26:40

Dan didn't read that far down the list. Uh keeping the uh podcast streak alive, uh, two goals and two assists. First star of the week.

SPEAKER_05 26:50

Sam, that's awfully nice you think I can read.

SPEAKER_08 26:52

We just we just hired you for your good looks.

SPEAKER_05 26:54

I have something bad, I have some bad news for you, though.

SPEAKER_08 26:56

Okay. Well, I keep saying the word hired, like money is involved. Indentured servitude. There we go. All right, so with that, uh, we're gonna take a short break. Uh coming up next, we have Jack Hexdahl on this week's edition of Phantom Files. So stick around right here with the Dump and Chase podcast.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Are you tired of switching apps just to catch your favorite shows and live events? Say hello to the iMedia One Network app, your one-stop destination for streaming and everything that matters. From national sports to exclusive local content, custom reserve radio, customer reserve radio 2 instead of being sports cast, all in one place, anytime, anywhere. Download the free iMedia One Network app on iOS and Android and unlock the future of sports audio in the palm of your hand. iMedia One Network, your sports app in the valley.

SPEAKER_08 28:06

And we are back with the Dumpin' Chase podcast. So for this week's edition of Phantom Files, we welcome back to the show a Michigan State commit that, according to NHL Central Scouting, is the top-ranked North American skater in the USHL for the 2026 NHL draft. He has already passed the 50-point mark this season with 18 goals and 31 assists. He is currently the third leading scorer on the roster, tied with last week's guest, Evan Jardine. He's appeared on two main camp episodes. So finally, we get to welcome to the main show, Phantoms Forward, Jack Hexalt. Jack, welcome back.

SPEAKER_06 28:43

Hey, thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_08 28:44

Long weekend. How are you feeling coming out of it?

SPEAKER_06 28:47

Uh a little tired, but got some sleep and I'm feeling good now.

SPEAKER_08 28:51

Uh so uh four weeks left in the season. I mean, you guys still got some work to do. Um, first off, uh congratulations on uh, you know, being back in the playoffs again this year.

SPEAKER_06 29:00

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_08 29:01

Um, you know, and it's you know, you kind of look at the scheduling, like what you got, like the teams you guys have played recently, and then you know, teams you have coming up, especially, you know, debut coming up this weekend, you know, these tough weekends, tough opponents. I mean, at this case, is it just kind of like a like just steel sharpening steel when you're playing these teams?

SPEAKER_06 29:18

Yeah, I think so. And the playoffs are gonna be hard. So I think these games are really testing us right now and getting us ready for playoffs.

SPEAKER_08 29:26

It's crazy to think that it's it was about two years ago you would sign your tender with Youngstown. Uh, you came to Cavelli Center, uh, a few of us like got to like interview you after, you know, uh one of the games that weekend. Um, I mean, does number one, I mean, does it feel like that that was two years ago?

SPEAKER_06 29:45

No, I was actually uh having this conversation with my parents the other day. It feels like not two years, that's for sure. It feels like yesterday that I just signed my tender and started my rookie season, but yeah.

SPEAKER_08 29:57

Now, when we talked to you that first time, uh, you know, one of the things you brought up, you you know talked about, you know, wanting you know, wanting to come into the league, play a 200-foot game. Two years later, how do you feel that's going for you?

SPEAKER_06 30:07

Uh, I think it's going good. I mean, I'm really comfortable now, and I think you can always get better, but I think that's going good for me right now.

SPEAKER_08 30:15

Now, a handful of times this season, uh, you know, we've seen you playing on the line with uh Rizzo and Jars. Um, I I would have to imagine the three of you, uh, I mean, on the ice, I'd have to imagine that chemistry is just absolutely insane.

SPEAKER_06 30:27

Yeah, I mean it's really fun playing with those guys. Obviously, played with them for most of the season last year and played really good together last year. And uh, yeah, I mean, it's awesome playing with them. They're really good players.

SPEAKER_08 30:40

So how how would you uh kind of you know this year now, how how would you uh rate Rizzo uh with the C on his chest?

SPEAKER_06 30:46

Oh, I'd give him an A plus. He's a great captain and great leader.

SPEAKER_07 30:50

Okay, so uh even before this season started, you had the Helenka Gretzky cup. Um, you guys did pretty well over there, won gold. Yeah. Um what was that like? I mean, traveling to uh Chechia and and uh Slovakia and bringing home that gold.

SPEAKER_06 31:08

I mean, it was an awesome experience. It's like you're probably gone from home from like for like three weeks, but it's with a bunch of guys that grow close with so fast and it makes it so much fun. And winning is obviously the best feeling in the world. So it was awesome to win that tournament, especially as underdogs.

SPEAKER_05 31:27

Uh, you were named the the a player of the game for the championship game, the gold medal game. Yeah, you were on you and Blake Zelensky were really on something that whole entire tournament. That's something you knew you were gonna get, and is that something like what was it like being into player? I know winning gold was pretty sweet, but uh, what was it like being a player of the game too?

SPEAKER_06 31:43

Uh yeah, I mean, I wasn't really sure coming in coming into the tournament what I was gonna be. Um, me and Blake were actually roommates that whole time, so developed some chemistry off the ice and on the ice. And yeah, I mean, when player of the game was great, but just winning the whole thing was was awesome. Like there's no better feeling.

SPEAKER_07 32:02

Okay, so then fast forward to after your junior career is done, just Michigan State commit. What made Michigan State stand out and and made that, you know, right for you?

SPEAKER_06 32:14

Yeah, I mean, just their coaching staff. What they were able to do with the guys from the old coaching staff till when they coached them, those guys got so much better. And obviously the the program kind of did a 180, went from like not so good to one of the best programs in in college. And you know, their facilities are great. It's three and a half hours from home, so it was kind of a no-brainer.

SPEAKER_07 32:37

Okay, and and speaking of of improvements, since last season, I mean, you were good last season, you're obviously better now. What part of your game do you think has developed the most?

SPEAKER_06 32:48

I think kind of my whole game has just taken a next step. Um, I think my confidence is a lot better than last year, just trying new things and making plays. I like to say I'm a little bit faster than last year, and that that helps me, and that's something I've been trying to work on this year.

SPEAKER_05 33:05

Now, kind of piggyback on Justin's point there. You know, over the past like two months, I'd say your game has really taken a step forward past two months. It's being noticed by everybody online and stuff. Are you is the game just slowing down for you now?

SPEAKER_06 33:18

I'm not I'm not sure. Uh I'm just trying to have as much as much fun as I can with hockey. Um and I feel like when I do that and I'm trying to have fun and playing confident, I think that's when I play my best. And these last two months, yeah, I feel like I've taken a step, but I feel like the team kind of took a step as well. And obviously when the team's playing good, they're usually playing good, so it helps.

SPEAKER_05 33:39

Yeah, have you been doing a lot of interviews with with scouts being this is your um like NHL teams being this is your draft year?

SPEAKER_06 33:45

Yeah, yeah, like a lot of like a lot of Zoom interviews like this and some interviews after the game. Um it's nothing too harsh or uh hard-hitting questions, it's kind of just them getting to know you and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_05 34:01

Yeah, one thing I wondered is like for the NFL, they asked quarterbacks, it's it's a thing called the Wanderlick test. It's just like a test of like basic common sense. Do teams run tests like that through you as well?

SPEAKER_06 34:13

Um, there's been a few tests. I don't think there's been like common sense tests like that, but like I think there's like tests that have like hidden meaning, hidden meanings. And then there's I'm not really sure what the other test is, but it's like recognizing patterns and stuff like that. Not sure it's a little different.

SPEAKER_07 34:32

So you know you're making the playoffs, you made the playoffs last year. I'm assuming this being your second season, you're gonna be, you know, feel a little bit better prepared for the playoffs, know what to expect. So, you know, what are you telling guys like Logan Anderson, you know, uh who's in kind of the same spot, you know, telling some of the newer guys, you know, what to look out for.

SPEAKER_06 34:56

Honestly, not much. I think just just play your game. Like, just be confident and play your game, and I think you'll have success. And obviously, playoffs is kind of a different breed, it's a lot faster and and harder. But I mean, Logan plays fast, he plays hard. I think he'll be just fine. And I think all the guys that haven't played in playoffs will be just fine just playing their game.

SPEAKER_05 35:16

Now uh who was your first hockey jersey that you got?

SPEAKER_06 35:19

Uh I'm not sure. It's it's it was probably either Taze or Cain. So you're a Blackhawks fan. Who's your favorite player? Uh right now or when I was growing up? When you're growing up, Jonathan Taze and then Taze. It was Panair and E. For a little bit when he was at the Hawks.

SPEAKER_05 35:34

You know what? Yeah, you say that when you um power play most of it, when you kind of shift the puck back and forth, that's kind of like Panair does that quite a bit. I never thought about that before.

SPEAKER_06 35:43

Yeah, I mean, I just I love to watch him play. He's a great player.

SPEAKER_05 35:47

Now he's like in a specific time zone now. Yeah. Um, do you still follow the triple-A hockey scene? Uh a little bit. Yeah. Uh this is just a an oddball question. I've I've been thinking of Phil. The success that you've had in Youngstown, I I know you chose to not go with the NTDP program. You chose to tender here. Um, I really feel like you're one of the poster boys for really tendering with the USHL team instead of going for the program because you are such a highly tatted you know prospect because of that. Does the team kind of use you to talk to players to bring them in to tell them like this is a this is also an avenue for you to be like reach success as you know in your game?

SPEAKER_06 36:24

I mean, yeah, for sure. Like ultimately ultimately, if you tender in Youngstown, you get a bunch of opportunity and you get great coaching. And I think not everywhere has that, like Youngstown. And yeah, I definitely talked to the recruits and stuff. Like I talked to Logan last year, and but I kind of just tell them like everyone has their own path and go with your gut and making a decision.

SPEAKER_08 36:49

Um, coming down to the end of the season here, um, you know, still got you know four weeks left or so. What what do you what do you feel like? I mean, I mean, obviously, team goals, you know, you hear it thrown around, you know, you got you know, you guys want to make a run at the Anderson Cup here, you're certainly in a great position for it right now. Maybe like you individually, like kind of like this last month of the regular season, like what are like your goals, you know, heading into the playoffs?

SPEAKER_06 37:11

Obviously, yeah, like the Anderson Cup, and we want to win that and then go on a Clark Cup. But for me, it's just keep getting better every day, just getting 1% better. And obviously, you want to be at the top of your game in playoffs. So I'm like, like I want to be at the top of my year in playoffs, so we have a good run.

SPEAKER_08 37:30

All right. Um, so before we let you out of here, um, is there any uh family, friends, anybody like that you'd uh like to give a shout out to?

SPEAKER_06 37:39

Uh yeah, I mean, I'll shout out my whole family. Uh, my mom, dad, Quinn, Morgan, Brooklyn, and I'll shout out my grandpa Bill and my grandma Pam.

SPEAKER_08 37:49

Alrighty, so we have been joined by Phantoms Forward Jack Hexall. Uh, Jack, thank you for coming back on the show again. Um, sorry it took this long to get you on this version of it, not just the uh sitting on the couch at main camp. Um, but yeah, stay healthy. Uh, good luck the rest of the way here, and uh, we'll see you this weekend.

SPEAKER_06 38:07

All right, sounds good, thank you.

SPEAKER_08 38:09

All right, thank you, bud. All right, so we're gonna take a quick break. Fan QA and the weekend preview is coming up next, right here on the Dumpin' Chase podcast.

SPEAKER_04 38:27

I'm Tim and I'm Dan and Chris. This is Pitchmen, the Steel Valley Soccer Podcast. We cover all things high school soccer in the Pony Valley. Catch our episodes on Spotify, or visit our website for the skill in the back in the net.

SPEAKER_00 38:43

The teams bitching with the shot.

SPEAKER_04 38:48

And the soundboard is the best next.

SPEAKER_09 38:51

For more information, go to steelvalysoccer.com.

unknown 38:55

That's boot.

SPEAKER_08 39:02

And welcome back to the Dumpin' Chase podcast. So, gentlemen, it's our favorite time of the week. Dan, I believe you said last week this is like your Christmas.

SPEAKER_05 39:11

It is.

SPEAKER_08 39:13

Uh, so let's jump into this week's fan QA. Uh, kicking it off, uh, it looks like AA Ron is back. He asks, What is your opinion on the black jerseys? For me, get rid of them. They look so boring, and black and gray are not our colors.

SPEAKER_07 39:30

Uh, my sweet summer child. We have seen a lot worse. I mean, I I I respect your opinion, but again, it could be a lot worse. Yeah, I actually really like the black jerseys.

SPEAKER_05 39:46

Yeah, they're my favorite ones. I don't know the three they're wearing right now, those are my favorite ones.

SPEAKER_08 39:50

Well, what what would be your least favorite?

SPEAKER_05 39:52

Are the purple ones? Yeah, I think if they did something different with like the cuffs, the sleeves on them might if the silver was something different that doesn't look like aluminum foil, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 40:02

Like a wrestling jersey, yeah, a wrestling outfit.

SPEAKER_07 40:04

Yeah, I mean, at least you could recognize these when you're watching flow hockey. Very true.

SPEAKER_08 40:10

Yeah, apparently it's unanimous here as much as we hate to disagree with you. Uh there's a lot of things.

SPEAKER_07 40:16

No, no, I respect the opinion that they are kind of blase.

SPEAKER_08 40:21

I I I think at the same time it's you know, obvious, obviously it's the tie-in with Phantom Fireworks and everything. And honestly, to me, in a way, I've I feel like over the years that was kind of a branding problem. Because I know for me personally, and talking to others that kind of had the same experiences, is you'd wear something with the Phantoms logo on it, and then somebody would walk up to you and be like, Oh, do you work for Phantom Fireworks? So, and like kind of and kind of over time we've seen it where you know you you have you have the core of the Phantoms Fireworks logo, but now it's kind of done in a way that it's more unique to the hockey team than you know to the fireworks store.

SPEAKER_07 41:02

Yeah, but still recognizable to the fireworks store. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:06

You know, something else I just thought of. I think the purple jerseys for me too. Uh I think Citron has kind of ruined them for me. Whenever he's calling him, he talks about how much he likes the grape jerseys. He just talks about it all the time. So every time I see him wearing, I'm like, oh, they got the grape sweaters on again.

SPEAKER_07 41:23

At least the the silver trim isn't as sparkly as it was.

SPEAKER_08 41:28

Well, they they they rem they remind him of the grape Capri Suns that he packs in his lunch when he comes to these games. Pacific Cooler. Um now, see, I mean, but at the same time, like a few years back when they had the all purple, more of like the more of like the plum purple almost, like at first I wasn't the biggest fan of them. By the end of the season, those ones grew on me. I mean, I I know there's history and then and then nostalgia and everything else like that, and people that were around at that time, but if you look at the Phantoms jerseys from you know the early years of the Phantoms, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 42:06

You know what I'm saying like about the black jerseys is do I have one for myself? Is I can spill stuff on it and it not be shown. The stains won't be shown.

SPEAKER_08 42:15

That's why I will in any sport or anything, any jersey I buy, I will not buy a white jersey.

SPEAKER_05 42:21

Never. I don't own any white shirts.

SPEAKER_08 42:24

Even because I will I will do everything I can to make sure I do not spill anything out on myself. That does not mean the universe at large will not send somebody with a hot dog covered in ketchup tripping in my direction.

SPEAKER_07 42:37

I mean, you guys have seen me eating a gyro. Accidents do not happen. Oh, yes, they do.

SPEAKER_08 42:47

Oh, you you you spill some of the gyro? I I hear the hoovering sounds. I figured it's just all going up. I wouldn't think there'd be any waste.

SPEAKER_05 42:56

That's not the accent I was thinking of.

SPEAKER_08 43:00

Alrighty. Um next question here, no name attached to it. Uh Justin has mentioned his cats before. What pets do you all have? So uh Justin, is it just the two cats for you? Uh at the moment, yeah. What what are their names?

SPEAKER_07 43:15

Uh Sabine and Hime. One's a character from a Star Wars series, one's the Japanese word for princess, and she lives up to it.

SPEAKER_08 43:27

What about you, Dan?

SPEAKER_05 43:29

Uh I currently have two cats that both Sam and Justin have seen, but not lately, crawling uh my basement. I have a black cat named Pepper and a white cat with black spots named Cookie. And I did I had a dog, she passed away three years ago. Yeah, she was like 17. Weirdest dog you ever see. She had the face of a like a true w rottwilder size wise, but the body of a beagle. So when like when someone sees her like in the window, they think she's a dog, which they was well aware of. Yeah, they think she's a huge dog, but then they come in and like, what happened? To the rest of her. Looks like someone played the match game where they just like have a dog body and they had like random heads just like spinning around a circle and you hit stop. And that's what she landed on.

SPEAKER_08 44:09

My my mom and dad for many years had a pug, little little female pug named Mariah. And pugs are like the ultimate definition of a face only a mother could love. This dog, this dog looked like it spent the bulk of its day just running face first into walls. And there was and and there there was there was never an issue of a pug sneaking up on you. You could hear them from 20 feet away.

SPEAKER_07 44:36

Yeah, it's called a genetic defect.

SPEAKER_08 44:38

Yeah, that's yeah, but yeah, they they were bred to look that way, they didn't always look that way.

SPEAKER_07 44:42

Yeah, there's people out there actually reverse engineering them to be more like the originals.

SPEAKER_08 44:48

Now this this is important nowadays. Are your cats rescues?

SPEAKER_07 44:52

Yes. Mine were digging through your garbage, yeah. Well, mine were the crazy cat people of the neighborhood took in a couple stray litters and were like, hey, anybody want these?

SPEAKER_08 45:08

Okay, so yeah, they're rescues.

SPEAKER_07 45:10

So yeah, so we took two, yeah. They the um gentleman who we got them off of had um two more in the basement in his toolbox that weren't ready to be weaned yet. So yeah, mine are both from Angels for Animals.

SPEAKER_08 45:26

No, so we have we we have a small Russian tortoise named Perry. Uh that was my youngest son. He wasn't a platypus. We didn't get him a platypus, they're not really available to uh adopt or anything like that.

SPEAKER_07 45:40

So no, they're not it was a Russian tortoise.

SPEAKER_08 45:44

So instead of Perry the platypus, we have plant we have Perry the tortoise. Um we have a dog that's a rescue. Uh God, I want to say about six years old now. Uh he's a lemon beagle. Uh his name is Calvin. That would that was uh the shelter we got him from. That was his name when he was there. And we figured he's already two years old. No sense to change the name. He's already if he's already used to it. Um and then here Cal.

unknown 46:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 46:10

I'd call him Cal. Cal Calvin. Actually, we give him middle names just so if we need to yell at him, we can middle name him. He's he's Calvin Lee, so if he if he does something bad, we yell Calvin Lee at him. We just gave him a middle name. Um, and then here, what was it, back in October? Uh, same shelter we got Calvin from. We got a cat, uh little black and white cat. Her name is Beans. Uh, based off of a game me and my youngest son used to play that the name had nothing to do with the game. It was just some goofy name we came up with for the game. So and then we went to the shelter and it turned out there was a cat named Beans. So uh that it that is Beans Marie, so she's getting yelled at for knocking stuff off the stand. Or my my cat my cat is a big hockey fan. Beans is a big hockey fan. Every time I'm watching a hockey game on television, she climbs up onto the stand and tries to bat at the players on the screen as they skate by.

SPEAKER_07 47:02

Both of mine do that occasionally.

SPEAKER_08 47:06

So that that's where Beans Marie comes into comes into play when I have to yell at her to get off the stand.

SPEAKER_05 47:11

I keep calling saying beans, I just think of like tow beans on a cat.

SPEAKER_08 47:14

Yeah. Which she does not appreciate being touched. Some cats you can dig your finger right in between like the pads and their paw, and they're just fine with it. My cat is not. Actually, my cat is spoiled, is sleeping on a bed under my desk right now because I bought her a bed to sleep on under my desk. Because she was just laying on the floor. I got her a little cat bed that's under my desk. She's currently at my feet.

SPEAKER_05 47:38

And you can share it when your wife throws you out.

SPEAKER_08 47:40

Yeah. I wouldn't be able to fit my head on that thing. Um, this one, I hate to say we've got nothing for this one. Um, the the question is who has the weirdest curve on their stick and who has the weirdest pregame routine? Curve on their stick, I have no idea. Um, I cannot quantify that. Yeah. I will try to ask somebody this week and try to get a question next week. Uh, pregame routine, I don't know if this means like in the locker room or out on the ice during warmups or because honestly, by the time I get to the game, warm-ups are pretty much over.

SPEAKER_07 48:16

So I mean, uh from where I sit for warm-ups, I'm watching the other team and I'm not really paying attention really to any quirks. So, I mean, from what I've seen of the Phantoms, I mean it's a pretty normal pre-game warmup.

SPEAKER_08 48:35

But that's what I said. I'm not sure if this means like the warm-up or if it means in the locker room beforehand, or I'll I'll I'll try, I'll reach out to somebody this week, see if I can get an answer on this one. We'll we'll come back around to this one next week. This next question is from Troy, and he fully leans into the more random the better on this one. Um Troy asks, would you rather be a human with lion paws and as feet and hands, or a lion with human feet and hands?

SPEAKER_07 49:02

And Dan is our resident furry, so well, this is an easy question.

SPEAKER_08 49:10

We played another version of this game earlier, but it's a tad more tad bit more uh vulgar and probably can't do it on here.

SPEAKER_05 49:17

Which was a fun thought experiment. But this one here, uh for sure, I'd rather I want to have opposable thumbs and be a lion at the same time. And the only thing I could think of is that explains how the raptors were able to open the doors in Jurassic Park. You know, you always wonder how they could open the doors in that movie. That's they must have had opposable thumbs too.

SPEAKER_08 49:37

No, I think the guy in the suit just like took the hand off and opened it and just popped it back on. Sorry to ruin the magic for you there. You mean those weren't raptors?

SPEAKER_05 49:52

I thought it was weird how they'd never seen a door before, but they knew they opened it.

SPEAKER_07 49:56

I mean, I'll go with Dan on the opposable thumb saying I'm I'm kind of attached to that.

SPEAKER_05 50:04

I heard the scroll my thumb with lion claws.

SPEAKER_08 50:12

We all know this is where this is leading, so I'm gonna move on. A lot of Dan's favorite pastimes would be ruined. Um again, and I I brought this up before we recorded. Um just it's like are you the size of a lion? Are you like five, six hundred pounds, but you have human feet and human hands? Because I I feel like you would like snap your ankles pretty quickly. I think things would have to be proportionate, but um, we have no no, it says no, not proportionate, it says human feet and hands, not oh not jo ginormous oversized feet and hands, human feet and hands.

SPEAKER_07 50:54

I mean, you have a valid point.

SPEAKER_05 50:57

I'm still taking those hands and feet.

SPEAKER_08 50:59

I'm just I I I feel like if if you had the human feet, I feel like you would snap your ankles like the the first time you took a step.

SPEAKER_07 51:06

I I'm thinking if I had the other abilities of a feline, I would not be walking.

SPEAKER_05 51:12

You're basically Edward Scissors hands.

SPEAKER_07 51:14

I'd just be laying there.

SPEAKER_05 51:16

I just walk around all day just as a human with like paws. Like I said, you're basically Edward Scissors hands. There's no other answer other than this.

SPEAKER_08 51:24

See, I like I like my version that I posed to you guys earlier, I think a little more than this one. If you're listening to this show and you would like to know what that other version is, be sure to come find me on uh either Friday or Saturday this weekend. And I I will pose it to you as well. I don't think we can really get into it on the show.

SPEAKER_07 51:41

Make sure you ask Sam, I think you will be very, very entertained and disturbed at the same time.

SPEAKER_08 51:49

And then ask me what Dan and Dan's answer was to that question. Um, so the last question here, uh, this one is from Zach. He asks, Will there be a live draft stream again this year? I thoroughly enjoyed watching last year. Whew, last year was a marathon. Uh that was that one was rough. Was that was was the one last year when there was issues in the beginning, or was that the year before?

SPEAKER_05 52:18

No, the one last year was 15 rounds.

SPEAKER_07 52:20

So yeah, that was god, what did that was like five hours out early, even yeah.

SPEAKER_08 52:26

Oh, just oh, justin dropped Justin dropped out and we went on for like three more hours after that.

SPEAKER_05 52:31

Yeah, and it was like 15 rounds, like rounds 11 through 15. Teens were getting multiple picks in there for whatever reason. Very weird.

SPEAKER_08 52:39

Um, I mean, we haven't officially talked about it yet, but I imagine we're gonna do it again this year.

SPEAKER_05 52:45

Yeah, as long as my schedule is free and we're wanting to do it, I'll do it.

SPEAKER_08 52:49

Well, if if I remember last year, it was everybody getting home from work and like rushing to the computer to get the live stream going.

SPEAKER_05 52:55

I believe that's gonna happen again.

SPEAKER_08 52:56

It's like the the draft starts at like five o'clock. I get home at like 20 till 5.

SPEAKER_07 53:01

So it was like get home, rush into the office, get everything, get everything up and going, and trying to I usually get around 10 to 15 minutes as the best after five. So yeah.

SPEAKER_08 53:14

Yeah, I mean we we haven't had official talks about it yet, but yeah, I imagine we'll be doing it again this year.

SPEAKER_05 53:18

I'm gonna try to figure out a way to use my stream deck and like have hit buttons for player notes and stuff like that. Maybe if I could show it up on my screen.

SPEAKER_08 53:26

Alrighty, so that will do it for fan QA. Thank you, everyone, um, again for the questions. Boy, I I I I said the weirder the better. It did not disappoint. Troy did not disappoint on that one.

SPEAKER_07 53:37

No, not at all. Good philosophical debate.

SPEAKER_08 53:40

There you go. All right, gentlemen, coming down to the end here. Uh, let's go ahead and jump into the weekend preview.

SPEAKER_01 53:49

Weekend preview.

SPEAKER_07 53:56

We're almost done.

SPEAKER_08 53:58

So this Friday and Saturday, the Phantoms welcome the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Again, not welcome. Uh the Dubuque Fighting Saints coming to the Caveli Center. Uh, these are uh these are the last games against Dubuque this season. They are only the third and fourth games of the season against Dubuque. We played Tri-City more this season than we will have played Dubuque.

SPEAKER_07 54:19

I I think we've almost played Waterloo as much.

SPEAKER_08 54:21

Um thank you again. Thank you, AI scheduling. So these teams last played on way back when uh November 21st and 22nd, those games were in Dubuque. Uh Youngstown winning the first game four to three in overtime, and then winning the second game five to three. And if you go back to that overtime game, uh if you go back in your memories, that was the uh Jack Wilson game-winning goal, uh, only 14 seconds into overtime.

SPEAKER_05 54:45

I mean, finish it quick. Yeah. Yeah, that was when Wilson was on a heater of all heaters for himself.

SPEAKER_08 54:51

Um, so last weekend, uh a five to one score was very popular with Dubuque. Uh, they beat Des Moines on Friday 5-1, and then uh lost to Chicago 5-1 on Saturday. I'll tell you what, Chicago's trying to make a little run here. Again, they're, I mean, they're only trailing Madison by three, but Chicago's been on a little bit of a heater here, trying to make things interesting. They're going for the going for the sixth seed.

SPEAKER_05 55:14

Yeah, Chicago moved a lot of pieces out and got a lot of draft picks and a lot of younger players in return. So they're they're staying competitive and they got they they stockpile some picks for next year.

SPEAKER_08 55:25

Maybe they took Citron's advice and the coach actually started talking to the players. Instead of standing there with it, instead of Scott Gomez standing there with his arms folded, not saying anything.

SPEAKER_05 55:37

Oh boy. What if there's a conversation after that?

SPEAKER_08 55:39

I just want to imagine what it would be like if Matt Lipsack made those kind of comments on the broadcast about Ryan Ward.

SPEAKER_05 55:44

You ever seen the Homer Simpson show Bart Simpson?

SPEAKER_08 55:54

You would just hear this noise and you would just see Matt like flying over the front of the press booth down into the seats.

SPEAKER_07 56:02

Ryan Ward.

SPEAKER_08 56:08

So Debut coming into this weekend with a record of 33-16-3, giving them 69 points. They are third in the Eastern Conference, and they are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Youngstown coming in with a record of 37-13-3-2, giving them 79 points. Holding on still, first place in the Eastern Conference and the USHL. They are 5-4-0-1 in their last 10. Uh, Dubuque is led by Arizona State Commit Michael Barron. 15 goals, 40 assists, 55 total points on the season. They are led in goal by Czechia Native, Voytek Hambeck. Oh my god, Voytek Hambalek, Hambalek. There we go. Votek Hambalak.

SPEAKER_07 56:50

That one shouldn't be too hard.

SPEAKER_08 56:53

No, it was. I I have the name down here, and I even put the pronunciation after it, and I rushed through the pronunciation. I that was my fault.

SPEAKER_05 57:00

No, Dubuque, yo, Michael Barron, I think he has like 181 games played in the USHL so far. Um they're pretty similar. It's it's weird, you know. The Phantoms and Dubuque, they don't play a ton throughout the season, but when they do, there's always fireworks. It's always a rough and tough game. And the thing with Dubuque is everybody knows they can score, but can they defend? That's the question. Because they can score at will sometimes, but can they defend? It's improving in the past they cannot. So if you're the Phantoms, I think if you get up early on them, put them behind an eight ball and make them make them defend, they're gonna be in trouble. And I think they're also their their offense mainly comes from breakout passes and quick transitions. So I think we heard um Coach Ward last postgame saying they know what they gotta do to try to beat them, and you know, it's make them defend and defend those areas where the breakout passes happen. I think that was I think they did a great job that last time they played them in in in Dubuque, and we have to see the fans melt down because of that. And um the fans on the Dubuque uh social media Facebook pages, and uh hopefully we can see that happen again.

SPEAKER_08 58:03

Yeah, to to your point, uh Dubuque has been involved in a lot of high-scoring games this season where they've lost.

SPEAKER_05 58:11

And that's not that's not the fans mo.

SPEAKER_08 58:14

I mean talking like four, five, six goals and they lose.

SPEAKER_07 58:18

Yeah, and I I I think to piggyback off of what you said. I uh if the Phantoms can get up early, um, that will pay dividends.

SPEAKER_08 58:28

Yeah, it's yeah, yeah, those quick strikes, it's it's definitely gonna neutralize a lot of what Dubuque likes to do, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 58:37

On the on the you know, flip side of that, uh you get down early, you have to really watch yourself against them.

SPEAKER_05 58:45

Yeah, I will probably feel like it's still the wrong way if that's the case.

SPEAKER_08 58:49

And not not allow a goal on the first shot of the game. Did you hear the the kind of the roar from the crowd when Lee Pack stopped that first shot on Saturday? Yeah, we may have been part of that roar, but anyways. All right, so uh the games this weekend, the game on Friday. That is a 705 puck drop. Uh Dan, your favorite night of the year, the St. Patrick's Day game.

SPEAKER_05 59:16

Let me guess, you won't be there. Nope.

SPEAKER_08 59:18

Uh I'm I'm I'm just gonna say I might have caught a sneak peek at the jerseys. Uh, might be one of their best ones yet.

SPEAKER_05 59:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 59:26

For uh St. Patrick's Day.

SPEAKER_05 59:28

That makes me sad.

SPEAKER_08 59:30

Makes me sad I won't be there. It should. Uh the game on Saturday. That is a 605 puck drop. That is Billet and Parent Night. And of course, again, the final uh regular season game at Caveli Center. And the way it's shaping up, if Youngstown gets a first round buy, we're gonna be looking about four weeks or so, four or five weeks uh before Youngstown returns to the Caveli Center. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 59:54

Month or more.

SPEAKER_08 59:55

Uh so yeah, get your fill this weekend because it's gonna be a little while before they're back. Um, there are tickets available for these games. Uh, these all tickets are$12 uh except for the glass seats. Uh, you can get the the$12 tickets you can only get by calling the Phantoms Box office at 330-747 Puck. That is 330-747-7825. Uh the video stream of this game uh you can watch on Flow Sports. The audio stream will be available on the iMedia One Network app and the Facebook page with Voice of the Phantoms and friend of the show, Matt Lipsack on the call. So, guys, uh I mean that's pretty much all we got. I'm not I'm not sure how we did it. This one may actually be a little bit shorter this week. I guess it helps when you only have two and a quarter games to talk about.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:44

That definitely did help a little bit.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:46

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:48

Thank you, AI scheduling. Have we mentioned that yet?

SPEAKER_08 1:00:52

No, I don't think we have. I'll I'll have AI do a read-through the episode and let me know. All right. Or or write the outro. Yeah, there you go. Uh, so for next week's show, we will be recapping these two games with Dubuque and previewing the start of a five-game road trip that'll end the Phantoms regular season, uh, with two games up in Chicago with the Steel. So you can catch this show wherever it is you listen to your favorite podcast, Apple, Spotify, wherever. You can find us on social media on Facebook and Instagram. So before we get out of here, to my co-host Dan Conley and Justin Irwin, any final thoughts?

SPEAKER_07 1:01:31

We're down to the final two home games of regulate or regular season. We are chasing an Anderson Cup. I I think you know my my position here. What better entertainment do you have in Youngstown right now?

SPEAKER_05 1:01:45

You know what, Justin, as you say that, I have I have plans Friday and Saturday night. We're going out, we're going out Friday night, but I just thought of this. I I think we have time. I'm gonna try to convince the whole friend group to go to the game Friday night and then go out afterwards. I think that can happen now.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:00

Is this gonna be another one of you guys begging the security cards to let you in at the end of the second period? Oh, that's that was so that was so much fun the last time.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:06

That was crazy. I will come down and fight for you. We got in.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:13

Well, no, that that was that was your wife kept saying she had to go to the bathroom, so I gave her a giant hug and wouldn't let go. Um, okay. But I but I can't, but I can say she did talk to me afterwards, so okay. It's alright, she's not listening. All right, so as always, hockey is a sport played on ice with sticks in a puck, and our podcast is a thing you just listened to. See ya.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:42

Sam, will you please record people's video reactions to your your question you posed to us this weekend when they come ask you about it?

SPEAKER_07 1:02:50

I will I'll I'll try to record that if I can.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:53

That gets into like permission and everything else.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:56

How is a what is a one party state?

SPEAKER_07 1:03:00

Dan is technically correct, and that is the best kind of correct.