Phantoms hope to extend streak

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The holiday break is over for the Youngstown Phantoms who will take on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders tonight at The Stable in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Phantoms (16-6-1, 33 points) are tied f0r second place in the USHL’s Eastern Conference and take a four-game winning streak into the game. The Phantoms have won their last three road games.

The RoughRiders (9-9-7, 25 points) are in sixth place and have lost seven of their last eight games. They have also lost more games in overtime (seven) than any other team in the league. Two of those came at the hands of the Phantoms earlier this season in the Covelli Centre.

This will be the Phantoms’ first trip to Cedar Rapids this season. In their two previous USHL seasons, the Phantoms have had little success at The Stable, one of the league’s most boisterous venues, going 0-4-1.

Head Coach Anthony Noreen said that getting that elusive first road win over the RoughRiders will be no easy task.

“We’re walking into one of the liveliest buildings in the league, against one of the better teams in the league,” Noreen said. “There’s no doubt about it, we know we’re going to have to be ready from the get-go.”

Noreen said that it will be crucial for his team to be able to quickly adjust from the layover, but that the Phantoms will not be the only ones dealing with it.

“Cedar Rapids had a week off too, but we’re sure they’re going to be ready,” he said. “We’re going to take every step from now until then to make sure we’re ready as well.

“We had a really hard skate yesterday and today to get the legs and the hands back going and we reviewed systems, too.”

First-year defenseman Ryan Lowney will be filling in for Kevin Liss, who is sidelined with an injury.