Phantoms prep for 3-in-3 on road

Staff report

Youngstown

After dropping consecutive home games last weekend — and three straight overall — for the first time this season, many of the Youngstown Phantoms returned to practice on Monday expecting a shake-up.

But there was anything but fire and brimstone from head coach Anthony Noreen.

“I’m going to be me and our staff is going to be the same, whether we win 10 games in a row or lose 10 games in a row,” Noreen said. “Thankfully at this point, this is really the first losing streak that we’ve really had.

“We’re not going to worry about what happened last weekend,” Noreen said. “We’re going to try to get better and worry about this weekend coming up. Hopefully our attitude carries over to [the team].”

Noreen will have the chance to see how much weight that message carries this weekend when the fourth-place Phantoms (18-11-2, 38 points) hit the road for three games in as many days.

They will face the Buccaneers in Des Moines, Iowa, tonight and Saturday before trekking east to take on the Steel Sunday in Chicago.

Life on the road has not exactly been kind to the Phantoms, who have a .500 record away from the Covelli Centre. Noreen said he sees the three-game, 1,500-mile trip as something to rally around.

“It’s kind of us against the world,” Noreen said. “It’s a tough situation for three games, and we’re a little banged up injury-wise.

“This will test our true character — what we’re made of as a team — and it could be a good thing to help us get back on track.”

One positive factor the Phantoms will have going for them is familiarity with their opponents. They have faced the Buccaneers (12-14-3, 27 points) and Steel (9-21-1, 19 points) a combined six times already – all wins for the Phantoms.