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Early wake-up call awaits Phantoms
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown Phantoms head coach Anthony Noreen wants his players to treat Wednesday’s late morning game like any other.
“We’re not going to change anything as far as what time we get to the rink,” Noreen said of the 11 a.m. faceoff against the Chicago Steel at the Covelli Centre. “We have the guys here two hours and 15 minutes before [every game].”
Still, the game, which is mostly watched by area students on school field trips, is different.
“From the time we step on the ice, it’s non-stop yelling so it gets pretty loud,” Phantoms forward Dylan Margonari said. “But it’s good to have that energy in the building.”
Defenseman Jordan Young says the commotion can be a little confusing. His memory from last year’s morning game — a 5-3 loss to the Indiana Ice — is “screaming at all the wrong times, just screaming [because they are] little kids not really paying attention.”
With 24 games remaining, the fourth-place Phantoms (21-12-3, 45 points) are in the middle of a heated race for home-ice advantage in the USHL playoffs. The Phantoms are four points behind second place Indiana and two points behind third-place Dubuque.
They also have a five-point edge over Team USA.
The top four teams in each conference get home playoff games. So letting down against the seventh-place Steel (12-23-1, 25 points) could be costly.
“Our preparations are going to be exactly the same,” Noreen said. “It’s on our staff and our players to make sure we are prepared.”
The coaching staff will suggest the players eat a big meal Tuesday evening instead of a big breakfast before the game.
“Something light when they first get up and then we’ll have something at the rink,” Noreen said.
Margonari and goaltender Matt O’Connor might tweak the menu.
“I eat the same thing before every game, so in the morning I’m eating pasta,” Margonari said. “It’s a weird feeling but I’ve just got that superstition.”
At 6-foot-5, 193 pounds, O’Connor will be wearing 40 pounds of protective gear during the two-hour-and-15-minute contest.
“I’ll be up at 7, maybe even earlier than that trying to get as much food into me as possible to get fueled up for the game,” O’Connor said. “I try to treat it like an [early] afternoon game.”
Margonari said the players will skate extra laps in warm-ups.
“Normally, we have a morning skate to get our blood flowing ... and then rest,” the third-year Phantom said. “We won’t have that luxury so we’ll take a little longer to warm up. It’s a lot different from when we are used to playing at 7 [p.m.]. ”
The Phantoms are coming off two one-goal wins earned them a rare weekend off.
After Friday’s 3-2 victory over Dubuque, Noreen went to Athens to watch former Phantoms defenseman Ben Paulides play for Ohio University.
Sunday, he scouted high school players in Indiana and Michigan.
“There wasn’t much rest, but it’s what we need to do if we want to get this program to where we want it to be,” the first-year head coach said. “It was good for me to get out and see some of the guys [head scout Jason Koehler] has been talking about.”
Defenseman Michael Gunn took advantage of his free time to watch the Winter X Games instead of NHL All-Star Game festivities.
“I like to get a little break from hockey when I get the chance,” Gunn said. “They sort of clashed so I chose to watch Winter X Games.”
Forward J.T. Stenglein said he spent time with younger teammates.
“Because they are in high school, we don’t get to hang out with them too much during the week,” Stenglein said. “It was good to take a day or two to stay away from the ice ... but we went to the YMCA [on Sunday] to do some lifting.”
Forward Ryan Belonger is looking forward to seeing younger faces in the stands.
“I think it’s a pretty cool experience,” Belonger said. “Definitely it’s a loud building with a lot of kids there screaming and yelling. I think it’s a fun time.”