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Alvaro’s goals sparked Phantoms’ sweep of CR
By Tom Williams
YOUNGSTOWN
For a player who has four USHL goals, you might think the top highlight for Youngstown Phantoms forward Matt Alvaro in last weekend’s sweep of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders was scoring two of them.
Alvaro sees it differently.
“We take pride in being a shutdown line,” the first-year Phantom said of linemates Josh Nenadal and Chase Pearson. “We were matching up with their top line.
“I thought we did a really good job,” Alvaro said after the sweep of the USHL’s top team on their ice. “We had two goals over the weekend but the thing we were most proud of was we were [playing] ‘all for one.’
“We shut them down [pretty well]. That was pretty big for us.”
In 35 games, Alvaro has four goals and 15 assists. His plus/minus rating is +1.
Phantoms head coach Anthony Noreen is impressed that Alvaro is so versatile.
“He’s maybe the most serviceable player that we have,” Noreen said, explaining that his description is a positive. “He’s a guy who can play on your first [scoring] line, he can play on a fourth [checking] line, he can play on an energy line.
“He can play on the power play and penalty kill,” Noreen said. “He can play last minute when you are up a goal or down a goal. There’s not many guys who in today’s game who can do all those things.
“It takes a special type of character.”
Alvaro had the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 3-2 win over the RoughRiders (26-10-0, 52 points). The night before, he also scored in a 5-3 victory.
The sweep allowed the Phantoms (19-11-5, 43 points) to open up a three-point lead on fifth-place Madison (17-11-6) in the Eastern Conference. They are just three points behind the Dubuque Fighting Saints and six behind the second-place Muskegon Lumberjacks. The top four teams in each USHL conference will qualify for the playoffs.
Alvaro is from Toronto. It’s his first time living away from home.
“I’m having a blast,” Alvaro said. “It’s a great group of guys with a lot of talent.
“It’s been a great experience in the USHL so far. Obviously, the hockey has been a little bit of a step up from what I was used to.
“Beginning of the season, there was a little bit of an adjustment, but I feel I’m [progressing]. It’s fun — every game is kind of like a playoff game,” Alvaro said.
“It’s a great way to prepare for college hockey.”
Alvaro said he’s adjusted to the quieter pace of the Mahoning Valley compared to the big city.
“Toronto is a big city and you’re always on the go,” Alvaro said. “Here, it’s different, more relaxed. It’s cool to see something a little bit different — I like it just as much.”
Up next is a two-game rematch with the RoughRiders, this time at the Covelli Centre tonight and Saturday.
Alvaro hopes the Shutdown Line continues to roll against the RoughRiders’ best scorers.
“We were [on the ice] a lot for both games,” Alvaro said. “[Our success] made it easier — we know their top guys don’t like to play in their defensive zone.
“The more we can play in the O zone, the less [scoring] chances they have.”