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Phantoms built to win
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
Just as the Pittsburgh Steelers have surprised many with a 3-1 start despite missing a key component, the Youngstown Phantoms are off to the same start minus the goaltender who was expected to be their top netminder.
During the second week of training camp in August, Jordan Tibbett, the Phantoms’ main goalie last season, accepted a scholarship to attend Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa.
“When we found out that Jordan wasn’t going to be here, some went into panic mode for a little bit because we weren’t sure what [Matt] O’Connor could do,” Phantoms captain Adam Berkle said.
They know now. O’Connor has been in goal for the first four games, backstopping the Phantoms to road wins over the Des Moines Buccaneers (3-2 in overtime), Chicago Steel (2-1) and Lincoln Stars (4-3).
The Phantoms’ winning streak was snapped last Saturday in Kerney, Neb., with a 5-3 loss to the Tri-City Storm.
Forward Cody Strang, who is an assistant captain along with defenseman Adam Mayfield, admitted that Tibbett’s departure so close to the start of the season was a surprise.
“We felt like he was our number one coming in [to training camp], [but] that’s a great opportunity for him,” said Strang of Tibbett.
“It was a big deal, Jordan is a great person,” Mayfield said. “We were kind of worried at first, but O’Connor has really stepped up.”
Once Tibbett departed, Carr took his time trying out goaltenders before trading for Green, who played for the USHL’s Stars last season and was in the Storm’s camp.
“O’Connor is playing great and Green is just as capable — he had a good year last year in this league,” Strang said.
“That’s got to be tough, coming in halfway through [training camp] not knowing anyone on a whole new team. But he fits right in now.”
Berkle agreed.
We played against him last year — he just knows what’s going on,” Berkle said. “He can teach O’Connor some things that he needs to know about the game, speed, everything in the league. It’s a great pickup by us.”
O’Connor, who played for the Junior A team Upper Canada College from Toronto, said he chose the Phantoms figuring he would have a good chance to compete with Tibbett for the number one spot.
“Initially, [Tibbett’s departure created] a bit of pressure and it turned into me realizing that this is an ideal situation,” O’Connor said. “It’s great incentive.
“To be in your first year and know you’re going to be playing a lot more games and going to be relied on like that is a gift,” O’Connor said.
This weekend, the Phantoms will open their home schedule at the Covelli Centre with games against Green Bay (Saturday, 7:30 p.m.), and Cedar Rapids (Sunday, 5 p.m.).
Berkle said Carr’s approach to training camp differed a bit from how Bob Mainhardt ran things before the Phantoms’ first USHL season.
One of the twists that Berkle enjoyed was a two-day bonding session at Camp Y-Noah near Akron which included no time on the ice.
“We stayed in two cabins and we were able to bond a lot better,” Berkle said. “We did team-building exercises in the woods. We learned to lean on each other and that everyone was there to help us.
“You needed to lean on someone else to complete the test. I felt it was a great way to get everyone together,” Berkle said.
Strang added that it was a nice change.
“Last year, we stayed at the rink [Ice Zone] for a week straight, didn’t really leave at all,” Strang said. “We got to know each other a lot better this year than last year.”
Perhaps the biggest difference this season is the presence of nine veterans from last year’s expansion team.
“We feel that this league is a very big jump because it’s so competitive,” Carr said. “It’s such a great level that there is a 10-15 game transition.
“Having nine guys who we know we can rely on for the first 10-15 games while the rest of the guys get used to it is huge for us,” Carr said.
Also returning are defender Ben Paulides and forwards Stuart Higgins, Andrew Lamont, Ty Loney, Dylan Margonari and Jiri Sekac.
Last season was Berkle’s first in the USHL.
“It took 10-15 games for me to comfortable with the speed of the league,” Berkle said. “Being able to talk with the veterans with them knowing what was going on just made it a lot easier.”
Strang said the toughest lesson the Phantoms learned last year began in late December when the Phantoms plummeted from playoff contention.
“We lost 14 out of 15 games,” Strang said. “That was probably the toughest [experience] of anyone’s career, right there.”
The skid cost Mainhardt his job and earned Carr a promotion to head coach.
“We just grew from that,” Strang said.”[With] a new coach, we had someone else to play for to put that losing streak behind us. It was time to go forward as a team.”
Berkle said qualifying for the playoffs isn’t enough.
“The goal is still the same — [winning] the Clark Cup,” Berkle said.