Phantoms’ Eibler commits to Northeastern

Youngstown Phantoms 1st Game

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The new United States Hockey League team the Youngstown Phantoms take on defending champions, Indiana Ice, at the Covelli Center, Saturday, October, 3, 2009. The Phantoms lost, 6-2.

The program has a building hockey program in a town that loves the sport.

YOUNGSTOWN — Defenseman Luke Eibler of the Youngstown Phantoms has verbally committed to Northeastern University.

Eibler, 18, will skate for the Huskies beginning either next year or the fall of 2011.

Northeastern is one of the four Boston-area schools that compete in the Beanpot tournament every February, along with Boston College, Boston University and Harvard.

“It should be a lot of fun to be a part of that tradition,” Eibler said. “[Northeastern] is a great school with a lot of new facilities and the program is on the up and up.”

Under the guidance of coach Greg Cronin, Northeastern has improved from a 3-24-7 record in 2005-06, his first season, to 23-9-4 and second-place finish in the Hockey East conference last winter, qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994.

“I visited in August and they called me right after the beginning of [Phantoms] training camp and said they really liked me,” Eibler said. “Then they saw me at the [USHL] Fall Classic and told me they were going to offer me something and they didn’t want me to look at any other schools.”

Coming out of the Victory Honda AAA midget program in southeastern Michigan, Eibler was considered the best blue-liner at his age in the state.

“Luke got a lot of attention last year,” said Phantoms associate coach and director of player development Curtis Carr. “He competes, battles, and has that warrior-type mentality that you love in a hockey player. He had a strong [tryout] camp for us in June and played really well at the Fall Classic and had a lot of schools interested after that.

“Teams are going to have to be aware when Luke is on the ice,” Carr said. “He definitely brings a physical presence.”

Eibler’s decision on when to join Northeastern depends on the personnel situation at the school.

“If I step up and do well this year and they want me on board [next year], it’ll be great,” Eibler said. “If not, I’ll hold off on school and enjoy another year here.”