Phantoms’ regular season was beyond special

Forty wins in 60 games — pretty remarkable for a team that finished the season a year ago with a franchise-low 17 victories.

The key to the Youngstown Phantoms’ success this season was a 17-game winning streak that included every game in February and all but one in March.

When the streak was at about 10, a colleague asked if I had seen this kind of stretch coming. Without hesitation, I replied absolutely not.

Who envisions a team seven games over .500 about 60 percent of the way through a season going on a tear that results in 21 victories in the final 23 games? Who knew a team could earn points in 22 of 23 games?

What the Phantoms accomplished this season is so beyond special — they won two of every three games. Despite traveling more miles than any opponent, they finished as the league’s regular-season champions to earn the Anderson Cup, a monstrous trophy that contains plaques with the names of the previous winners.

“The tradition, seeing all the people whose names are on it,” co-captain Josh Nenedal said. “You look at the names on there and it makes you step back and look at what we’ve done, what we’ve achieved.

“But at the same point, we’re not satisfied with that trophy,” Nenadal said. “We’re going for the whole shebang. We’re excited but at the same time, we know our goal isn’t over.”

Now comes the hard part — the USHL’s Clark Cup playoffs. First team to nine wins will earn the Clark Cup.

“Our ultimate goal is getting the Clarkie, but winning the Anderson is a huge accomplishment,” defenseman Connor McDonald said.

The USHL uses best-of-five series and the team that wins three of them will be the champion. Four teams from the Eastern and Western conferences qualify. Youngstown (40-14-6, 86 points), which has home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, opens against the fourth-seeded Muskegon Lumberjacks (35-21-4, 74 points).

The USHL allows the higher-seeded teams to pick the format for their series. All four top seeds (Youngstown, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and Tri-City) chose 1-2-1-1 formats over the traditional 2-2-1. The reason is securing a Saturday home game in the first round. Had the Phantoms chosen the 2-2-1 format, they would have been on the road this weekend. Instead, after playing Game 1 in Muskegon on Wednesday, they’ll host the Lumberjacks on Friday and Saturday at the Covelli Centre.

“We’ve always been a pretty good road team,” forward Kiefer Sherwood said. “Games 2 and 3, a lot of times, [are] where a series is [determined] so that helps to have them at home.”

While the Phantoms were celebrating the end of an incredible regular season Saturday night, one of their alums, Boston University goaltender Matt O’Connor stood tall after a mistake in the NCAA Championship Game against Providence proved costly.

The idea for the USHL (ages 16-20) is to earn college scholarships. Any success beyond that is a bonus. O’Connor, from Toronto, was the Phantoms’ main netminder from 2010-12. Two leg injuries hampered is first season with the Phantoms, who missed qualifying for the playoffs on the last day.

O’Connor’s second season went much better. Playing in 50 games, his record was 28-16-5, helping the Phantoms finish in fourth place and earn their first playoff berth.

Back then, six teams in each conference qualified. O’Connor was in goal as the Phantoms swept Cedar Rapids in a best-of-three series, then fell to top-seeded Green Bay, 3-1. Although eligible for the NHL Draft, no team picked O’Connor, making him a free agent who could sign a professional contract in the next few days.

This season, O’Connor was 25-3-4 as the Terriers advanced to the Frozen Four finale. They led 3-2 in the third period when O’Connor lost control of a dump-in shot by the Friars. He thought the puck was in his glove, but it fell under him. As he skated back to protect the net, he kicked the puck into the net. The Friars went on to win, 4-3.

Here’s why we should all want to be more like Matt O’Connor. Instead of ducking the media, O’Connor answered question after question after question. We can only imagine how painful that was. The Boston Herald reported that at one point a coach whispered to O’Connor about ending the questions.

“No,” O’Connor said. “It’s better to get it over with.”

According to the Associated Press, O’Connor said, “I couldn’t really see it in my glove. I thought it rolled out of it. I tried to drop and throw it to [defenseman] Jack [Eichel] and it was too late.

“Everyone in this locker room deserves a lot better. They deserve to be hoisting the national championship right now.”

Sunday, Curtis Carr, the Phantoms’ head coach from 2010-11 and now an assistant at Merrimack College, said, “I am extremely proud of Matt and how he handled that situation.

“I am not surprised — he always [acted like] a professional,” Carr said. “But I feel for him.”

Phantoms backers should be proud of what their team accomplished. They should be equally proud of one of their classiest alums who faced the music when it was a tune no one ever wants to hear.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Williams_Vindy.