YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – The Youngstown Phantoms woke up Saturday morning ready to continue celebrating the sweep of the Fargo Force to raise the Clark Cup and if you’re in Youngstown, you may just see the Clark Cup out and about before the parade next week.
“After the game you’re kind of in shock,” Phantoms captain Shane Lachance said. “And this morning it kind of hits you, like you woke up cup champions, you’re able to just carry this thing around and people are clapping for you when you walk by so it’s it’s awesome.”
The Phantoms completed the sweep, and now the Clark Cup is making its way around town.
“It’s been the first time in a little while that Youngstown’s won something, so I think it’s just to put them on the map a little bit like that is just great for us,” Lachance said. “I’m proud of our group, we did a great job and I’ll just soak it all in, you know, get Youngstown behind us and just have a great time here.”
On the way to claiming the franchise’s first USHL title in front of a sold-out crowd in Youngstown, Phantoms winningest first-year head coach Ryan Ward could feel the support growing as the team did.
“With 3 minutes and 40 seconds left last night, the fans at the Covellie Centre, they started doing the wave,” Ward said. “I don’t think I’ve ever sweat on a bench and I was sweating and I think it means they meant so much to us as a team to do that, for Youngstown to do that for the people that came out to support us.”
Same goes for Lachance, who’s spent two full seasons with the Phantoms.
“It’s the last game I’ll ever play in Youngstown and that was the best crowd I’ve ever seen there,” Lachance said. “So, I mean it’s definitely great to go out on top and great to go all that way and we hope for the years to come and those fans continue to come support now that we won this all.”
The memories from the 2023 Clark Cup run are plentiful with this team full of NHL prospects, from Andon Cerbone’s playoff heroics to Clark Cup Most Outstanding Player Jacob Fowler, this team will forever have their names etched in history.
“To see them here last night all together and spending time together, it’s just you really can’t put it into words, it’s just the most fulfilling thing ever as a coach,” Ward said. “Unless you win it, unless you go through it, you really can’t explain what that means. But they’ll forever, ever, ever be bonded as a brotherhood.”
The Phantoms are planning a championship parade for the upcoming week to cap off the historic 2022-2023 campaign.
