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Despite rain, Phantoms (mostly) keep to schedule
By Tom Williams
BOARDMAN
Youngstown Phantoms head coach Anthony Noreen said his staff did well adjusting on the fly this weekend after Mother Nature delivered a bodycheck of a thunderstorm.
“We always tell our guys to control what you can control,” Noreen said Sunday as camp was concluding at The Ice Zone. “And things out of our control, it is what it is. “We were tested on that big time as a staff on Friday,” Noreen said. “You have a plan in place [based on] what’s worked in the past. Mother Nature kind of put it to us on that.”
The Phantoms’ annual tryout camp for approximately 120 players was supposed to get under way on Friday. But Thursday’s fierce storm knocked out the power to The Ice Zone, delaying camp activities until Saturday.
Noreen’s staff considered cutting back on the scrimmages expected by the players who had traveled many miles to attend. Instead, all the scrimmages were played.
“All the guys who came here got what they were promised — three games to play in,” Noreen said. “The staff, our players, the people at the camp handled it extremely well.”
What was sacrificed was one of the two final “all-star” games.
Traditionally, the 120 players are divided onto six teams. After each squad plays three times, the camp roster is reduced to 40 who play in the final games.
This time, there was one game for the final 40.
“Was it the best thing for us picking the team? Maybe not, but it was the right thing to do for so many people who spent time to come to Youngstown,” Noreen said.
The Phantoms staff, including assistant general manager Jason Koehler and assistant coaches Brad Patterson and John Rohan, left The Ice Zone Saturday at 11 p.m. and returned Sunday at 5 a.m.
“The coaches did a great job,” defenseman Vas Kolias said. “I wouldn’t say it was a big change [from last year]. They did a great job of piecing this all together and making sure the camp went as fluid and as smoothly as it possibly could go.”
Forward Matt Alvaro agreed.
“I think we adjusted well,” Alvaro said. “Guys still got three intra-squad games and the prospects game is pretty cool.”
Kolias said the changed schedule created “a it of a disadvantage for some of the new guys. But ultimately, I thought they handled it well. They all came to play hard.
“We had a very talented camp.”
Kolias and Alvaro were on the team that won the all-star game, 2-0, with goaltender Colin DeAugustine, the Phantoms’ leader in wins the past two seasons, getting the win.
“It was good to get the shutout for him,” Kolias said.
Noreen said the team’s challenge this summer is replacing the top six forwards from the best Phantoms team in six seasons. Of the 10 players expected to return, five are strong players in the defensive zone (DeAugustine, Kolias and defensemen Kris Myllari, Matt Miller and Ty Farmer).
“Those guys played vital minutes for us [last season] and are the keys to the back end.” Noreen said.
Noreen’s next mission is to mend fences at home. A diehard Chicago Blackhawks fan, the Illinois native admitted he’s cheering for the Tampa Bay Lighting in the Stanley Cup Final.
One reason is that Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr was a Youngstown Phantom in the team’s first season. The other is that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper coached the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers at the same time before skyrocketing to the NHL.
“My mom hated it when I told her that I was actually rooting for Tampa to win,” Noreen said. “Obviously for Andrej, but Jon Cooper, what a great representative he’s been of our league, not just in the playoffs.”