Phantoms ready for their version of ‘March Madness’

By TOM WILLIAMS

williams@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Asked if he has started calculating the effect on his Youngstown Phantoms when he’s scoreboard watching, Curtis Carr resisted giving the standard answer all coaches are expected to recite, i.e., “we’re taking them one game at a time.”

Instead, the Phantoms coach said, “Yeah, I’ll be honest. I think at this time of the year with where we stand, we’re always kind of looking.

“We try not to let it creep into our strategy and our philosophy,” Carr said. “All we can worry about is to take care of ourselves but ...”

Last weekend, the Phantoms had a rare Saturday off and Carr and his wife, Margaret, were enjoying a movie at home.

Well, one of them was enjoying the movie.

“I was checking the Waterloo-Green Bay score,” Carr said. “And my mood changed drastically once I saw Waterloo win.”

In their second USHL season, the Phantoms (21-24-5, 47 points) are in a four-team race for the final three playoff spots in Eastern Conference. This season, six of the eight conference teams qualify for the postseason, with only the top four assured home games.

Heading into tonight’s 7:30 game against the first-place Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (33-10-5, 71 points) at the Covelli Centre, the Phantoms are in sixth place. Ahead of them are Team USA (25-21-4, 54 points) and Muskegon (21 22-8, 50 points).

Trying to overtake them is Waterloo (18-25-7, 43 points).

Second-year Phantoms Adam Berkle and Scott Mayfield are happy that they are enjoying their own version of March Madness. Last season, the Phantoms were eliminated from playoff contention by late February.

“It’s really a huge difference, from the locker-room [atmosphere] to the attitude in practice,” Mayfield said of the playoff race. “Everyone knows it’s kind of do-or-die now.

We have to make playoffs for this team, this organization,” Mayfield said. “And no one is packing it in like last year. No one has given up because we’ve got something to play for this year.”

Berkle said coming to the rink now “is a lot of fun because you know you have something to work for. Playoffs are less than a month away and we could even get home-ice advantage.”

To overtake Team USA, the Phantoms need a winning streak. After tonight’s game, the Phantoms have road games against the Indiana Ice (Saturday), Cedar Rapids (March 25) and the Omaha Lancers (March 26) before a home-and-home series against Team USA (April 1-2).

Following Wednesday’s practice, Berkle and Mayfield said they still needed to finish filling out their NCAA basketball brackets.

“I’m liking Ohio State,” said Mayfield, a native of St. Louis, of his overall winner. Berkle said he has “no idea” who he’ll pick to win.

“I don’t really start watching [college basketball] until March Madness,” said the Phantoms captain from eastern Pennsylvania.

Carr, a native of Ontario, said he doesn’t usually fill out a bracket.

Why?

“I pick the same team every time — Duke,” Carr said. “I read a lot of coaches books and I have a lot of respect for the way [Mike] Krzyzewski does things. He’s an outstanding coach and I’d never vote against him.”