Youngstown Phantoms will go after .500 mark

The Phantoms are 2-3 with one win against Toledo, tonight's opponent.
BOARDMAN -- The Youngstown Phantoms will have the opportunity to even its record at 3-3 tonight at Toledo. The 7:30 p.m. game against the Ice Diggers will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams.
The Phantoms registered a 5-2 victory at the Team Toledo Ice House Sept. 22, but the Ice Diggers have won four consecutive games since then.
Last weekend, Youngstown split a pair of road games against the Soo Indians. The Phantoms were blanked, 3-0, in the opener on Friday night, but bounced back for a 4-1 victory over the defending NAHL North Division champs on Saturday.
"We played terrible in the Friday game," Phantoms' coach and general manager Bob Mainhardt said. "For some reason there was zero emotion that first night, but we still had more than enough opportunities to score goals and win the game. In a way, it's good that we didn't win Friday night because that would have reinforced some bad habits. When we make a commitment to defense and doing the little things, I know we're going to get offensive opportunities and that's what happened on Saturday night."
Down time
Youngstown will be idle for 11 days before taking part in the NAHL Showcase Tournament in Minneapolis. There, the Phantoms will play five days in a row, starting Oct. 21.
The early-season schedule contains some sizeable gaps, which Mainhardt believes has contributed to inconsistent play by the young squad. The Phantoms had an eight-day layoff between the Sept. 22 game against Toledo and last weekend's series.
"It's been tough to get into a groove because we play a game and then we have a week off, and then we play another couple games and we have another week or more off," Mainhardt said. "But that's the kind of thing you have to overcome in order to win games and be right in there with the top teams. There's a lot of parity in the division this year, more so than last year. There's not going to be a team that just runs away with it like the Soo did last year."