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Noreen’s Phantoms coming to life
YOUNGSTOWN
On Oct. 2, Youngstown Phantoms head coach and general manager Anthony Noreen stood at a podium in the Huntington VIP Lounge at the Covelli Centre.
His team was coming off it’s worst season in its five years of existence in the USHL and had to deal with an offseason full of uncertainty about the franchise’s future in Youngstown.
But before this year’s Phantoms had played a regular-season home game, Noreen stood in front of his players, staff, front office, owners and media and said something that most probably shrugged off at the time.
“I remember saying at our opening press conference that there’s something special about this group, something I’ve never felt before,” Noreen said following the Phantoms’ 5-1 win over Sioux City on Saturday night — a performance he called their most complete effort during the 14-game win streak.
He then recalled all the instances early in the season when he would walk away after losses feeling like his team out-worked the opponent, the scoreboard just hadn’t reflected that.
“We felt like it would come at some point,” Noreen said. “I feel like now it’s starting to payoff. The strides we made, the chemistry we have in our room has been great.
“[Am I] surprised? No. Proud of them? Absolutely.”
The Phantoms have ascended to the top of the USHL standings and hold the top overall spot in the league with 71 points and a 33-13-5 record. They lead the league in scoring with 200 goals and are second in the Eastern Conference with 1,004 penalty minutes.
The Phantoms’ standing in those categories is no coincidence, either. That’s just the brand of hockey Noreen want’s his team playing every night.
“I think what I love most about this team is we can do it both ways,” he said. “I think we have the skill to score and make plays, but we’re also pretty hard top to bottom and our team toughness is as good as it’s been since I’ve been here.”
That combination of style and attitude was on full display over the weekend at the Covelli Centre. The Phantoms took it to as good a team as there is in the league, the Sioux City Musketeers, and came away with all four points. In the finale on Saturday, they did it with a tenacity and edginess that brought a season-high 3,066 fans out of their seats.
“What we have here to offer at the Covelli Centre with the Youngstown Phantoms and these guys, I thought, was on full display tonight and I was happy we had a full house that was able to see it,” Noreen said. “And there was no doubt we fed off their energy all night.”
What Noreen’s been trying to build over the past four seasons is finally starting to come to fruition. It’s taken time, trades, additions and subtractions, but to see it come to life in the form of a championship contender is the ultimate satisfaction.
“We want a team identity that reflects the town that we represent,” Noreen said. “That’s hard-nosed, blue collar, hard-working no matter what the situation. Go out and make sure the other team knows you’re there.”
Now that attitude is inching them closer to the postseason. With nine games remaining, the Phantoms have an 18-point lead on the conferences’ fifth place team, Chicago. The top four teams in each conference qualify for the postseason.
“That’s exactly what a playoff game is gonna be like,” said forward Matt Alvaro after Saturday’s slugfest that included 207 penalty minutes — 96 for the Phantoms.
“It’s gonna be greasy, it’s not always gonna be the prettiest, but to get the crowd behind us is great.”