Phantoms on road for 2

October 10, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

Phantoms Premiere At Covelli

The home opener against the Indiana Ice Saturday night, 7 PM at the Covelli Centre.

STAFF REPORT

The Youngstown Phantoms return to the ice for a pair of games this weekend against United States Hockey League opponents.

The Phantoms visit Des Moines tonight at 8:05, then travel to Chicago to face the Steel on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Both games will be broadcast on WBBW-AM (1240).

Last weekend the Phantoms opened their season with a 6-2 loss to the Indiana Ice at the Covelli Centre.

“I felt we were pretty good for the first 25 minutes or so,” Phantoms coach and general manager Bob Mainhardt said. “But it’s obvious we got rattled in the second half of the game and got undisciplined and completely away from the game plan.”

The Phantoms led 2-0 midway through the second period before the Ice, the defending USHL champions, scored the final six goals of the game.

“We just executed the game plan,” said Mainhardt of the team’s early success. “We kept it simple, made the easy plays and didn’t get overconfident.

“I think in any sport, you have to avoid the emotional rollercoaster, and that ability comes with confidence,” he added. “Whether you’re up a couple or down a couple, you have to know you have the ability to finish the game and win it.

“I got the feeling that once that first [Indiana] goal went in, the wheels fell off and guys just completely got away from the game plan and never recovered.”

Mainhardt’s gameplan for this weekend is to stay the course.

“We’re going to continuously work on the same stuff,” Mainhardt said. “We don’t need to change anything, just continue to solidify what we’re doing. I’m sure this week we’ll get closer to playing that perfect 60 minutes.”

The one thing Mainhardt wouldn’t change about the home opener was the energy in the Covelli Centre.

“I think we have some great hockey fans and we saw terrific support from the community,” Mainhardt said. “On a night that’s right in the middle of football season, I was quite pleased with the level of support we got.”