The Update | Phantoms Earn Top League Honor; Dancewear Store to Open in Canfield
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Youngstown Phantoms have been named the 2022-23 USHL Organization of the Year as determined by a vote of league member clubs.
The award marks the first time the honor has been presented to Youngstown, which joined the league in 2009-10.
“Bruce Zoldan and I are humbled and honored to receive this award,” said Murry N. Gunty. Zoldan and Gunty are co-owners of the team. “To be selected by our fellow owners makes this award even more special.”
Youngstown, which hosted the 2023 USHL Cleveland Classic outdoor game vs. Cedar Rapids (played at FirstEnergy Stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns, on Feb. 23), posted a regular-season record of 38-19-4-1, finishing in second place in the Eastern Conference before going on a playoff run that saw them defeat Cedar Rapids and Chicago and then sweeping regular-season champion Fargo in three straight games to claim its first Clark Cup.
The Phantoms had a franchise record of 5,624 fans in attendance for the Clark Cup-clinching game vs. Fargo to end the season.
The team, which saw a USHL record six of its players selected in the 2023 National Hockey League Draft, embarked upon an ambitious community-service campaign. Players visited Akron Children’s Hospital at Christmastime to interact with patients, attended Oh Wow! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology’s Fun Day and went to local schools to partake in gym classes and ball hockey courses.
Game promotions saw a significant increase in themed nights and a return of Sci-Fi Night/Star Wars Night.
In addition, Andrew Goldman, Phantoms president, has been named USHL Executive of the Year.
“Winning the Clark Cup this season was only possible due to the hard work of our staff, and each and every member of that staff plays a role in my having received this award,” Goldman said. “I am equally grateful to the entire Mahoning Valley for supporting the team as you did this year, and I look forward to continuing to help grow hockey in northeastern Ohio. Finally, I want to thank our players, their families and our billet families who make everything we do possible.”
Dancewear Store Grand Opening
CANFIELD, Ohio – HK Dancewear, a new boutique that sells prominent brands in the dancewear industry, will have its grand opening Saturday, July 8.
Owned by Virginia “Gini” Snyder, the boutique is located in Hilltop Village Plaza, 584 E. Main St., Suite 20.
Snyder launched HK Dancewear to fill a need for people to purchase high-end dancewear in a store.
“I always knew I wanted to open a store one day, but I wanted to make sure it was something I was passionate about,” Snyder said. “Dancing is something I’ve always loved, and seeing my daughter have that same passion makes me even more motivated to fill this void in our community.”
The boutique will sell products from brands including Só Dança, Weissman, Glam’r Gear, Kandi Kouture, Mariia, Details Dancewear, Tiger Friday, Five the Label, Honeycut, Elevé and Pastry.
The first 30 customers Saturday will receive a swag bag that includes a pins and ponies hair accessory pack, stretch band, dance socks and massage ball.
For information, go to hkdancewearboutique.com.
Scottish Fiddling Concerts at Westminster
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Westminster College’s Strathgheny School of Scottish Fiddling will present free public concerts Monday, July 10, and Friday, July 14, at the New Wilmington Borough Amphitheater in Borough Park off of Beechwood Avenue.
An Instructors’ Concert will take place at 8 p.m. Monday, with fiddler Melinda Crawford Perttu, professor of music at Westminster and director of the Strathgheny School of Scottish Fiddling; guest fiddle instructor David Gardner of Williamsburg, Va.; and Daniel Perttu, professor of music at Westminster, on keyboard.
The Strathgheny Fiddlers Concert featuring student participants will take place at 8 p.m. July 14.
The concerts are the culmination of a weeklong fiddling camp on Westminster’s campus.
Crawford Perttu is a U.S. national Scottish Fiddling champion and author of “A Violinist’s Guide to Scottish Fiddling.”
In case of inclement weather, the concerts will be moved to Orr Auditorium on the Westminster campus.
Fireworks at Boardman Park Amphitheater
BOARDMAN, Ohio – Boardman Park’s annual Independence Day concert and fireworks display will take place Saturday, July 8, at 8:15 p.m. at Maag Theatre.
The free event will include music by the Salem Quaker City Band, with fireworks at 9:45 p.m. Concessions will be available. Guests can bring lawn chairs or blankets.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
