Phantoms excited about start of season

October 8, 2010 at 12:10a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

With an expanded playoff format and nine players returning, Youngstown Phantoms captain Adam Berkle believes his team will be active in mid-April.

“Even [with the old] format, I think we would be a playoff team,” said Berkle at Thursday’s media luncheon. “We have a great chance of making it to the end.”

Last year, the USHL had two seven-team divisions where the top four in each qualified for the postseason.

This year, the USHL added Muskegon (Michigan) and Dubuque (Iowa) as expansion teams, and tweaked the postseason format to include six teams from each division.

Curtis Carr, who began his first full season as Phantoms head coach with victories last weekend over the Des Moines Buccaneers and Chicago Steel, said the top two teams in each division will receive first-round byes. The other four teams will play a best-of-3 series, with the higher seeds getting all three games in their buildings.

Asked which format he prefers, Carr said, “It doesn’t matter — we’re a playoff team either way. I think it’s better for the league to have more teams involved in the playoffs.

“But for our organization, I don’t think it has affected us,” Carr said.

Last year, the Phantoms went 20-36-4 in their expansion season, finishing last in the East Division.

But the presence of Berkle and eight other players from last season makes Carr optimistic.

“Our nine returning players have done a great job,” Carr said. “Overall, we have a great group of leaders.”

Other forwards returning are Stuart Higgins, Cody Strang, Andrew Lamont, Ty Loney, Dylan Margonari and Jiri Sekac. On the blueline, Scott Mayfield and Ben Paulides return.

“Experience is very important in this league and to have nine returners who learned a lot last year” is what Carr said is different about last year’s squad that started off well then faded in midseason when they had just three wins in 25 games.

In early February, Carr took over as head coach when Phantoms president Alex Zoldan fired Bob Mainhardt.

“It’s very important to have core group of veterans,” Zoldan said. ”Last year with an expansion team, we weren’t able to have that. This year, we have an exceptional group.”

Carr said this year’s new players have something in common.

“We went out and made an effort to make sure that the players that we added to those nine came from winning programs,” Carr said. “We believe that winning is something that’s contagious — once you do it, you want to continue to do it.

“We’re very excited with our start and we’re going to continue to build off [it],” Carr said. “We feel that we have all the pieces we [need] to have a successful year.”

One of the key newcomers is goalie Matt O’Connor, a Boston University recruit who won both games last weekend.

“Those two big wins were just unbelievable,” Mayfield said of O’Connor, who played for a Junior A team in Canada last season.

“There were 2,000 people at our first game and it’s the most he’s ever played in front of,” Mayfield said of the 3-2 overtime win in Des Moines. “He really did a great job for us.”

The Phantoms’ season continues tonight in Lincoln, Neb., against the Stars.

“They will have 7,000 people,” said Mayfield of the Lincoln fanbase. “It motivates you. To have fans behind you [like that], that’s what we want.“

The Phantoms open their home schedule at the Covelli Centre on Oct. 16 against Green Bay and on Oct. 17 against Cedar Rapids.

The 64-game season continues through April 9.