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USHL Youngstown Phantoms

Phantoms Head West to Face League-Leading Lancers

March 6, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Youngstown Phantoms News Release


OMAHA, Nebraska - The Phantoms are off to Nebraska for a doubleheader weekend against the Western Conference's first place team, the Omaha Lancers. The first meeting will be on Friday night at 8:05 pm, while the second will start at the same time on Saturday.

The team is coming off of a weekend that saw them split two games, with each going to overtime. Thursday night's contest against the Dubuque Fighting Saints needed a shootout to decide the winner, with JJ Piccinich's winner lifting the Phantoms to the bonus point. However, Saturday did not go as planned for Youngstown, as Des Moines overcame a two-goal lead in the 3rd period and then won in overtime.

For the last month or so, head coach Anthony Noreen has talked about his team's maturation process. In recent times, he seems to be pleased with what has happened on the ice.

"I feel like it's been coming along as of late," Noreen said. "You do so many things over such a long period of time that you never know when things are going to click. We're still far away from where we want to be as a team, though. For our guys, it's starting to click, and we've really seen it while breaking down video. I can talk about this week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and as a staff, we thought it was the best week of practice we've had since we've been here. We've been seeing a lot of strides, and especially as of late."

One continued bright spot for the Phantoms is Kyle Connor, who is five points shy of the all-time franchise single-season points record. The future Michigan Wolverine has 23 goals and 37 assists for a total of 60 points on the year.

"I can't speak highly enough about Kyle," said Noreen. "His talent is immense, and there's no one on the other side of the fence that would have anything bad to say about it. I credit him because everything we go over, he just soaks it up like a sponge."

Although Connor ranks third in the USHL in scoring, the Phantoms will face off against numbers one and two this weekend in Omaha's Jake Randolph (74 points) and Tyler Vesel (70). Coach Noreen is certainly aware of the fact that the Lancers boast the top two scorers in the league, but does not feel that a different approach to the game is necessary.

"No, not at all," said Noreen. "Obviously, when they're out on the ice, we're going to make sure we have certain guys against them. Our main focus though, right now, is on us. We need to make sure we're ready to play and that our guys are ready to execute the things that we want to do. Not so much of that is going to be worrying about the Omaha Lancers, their personnel, and what they have going on."

Aside from the fact of them having offensive threats, the Lancers are currently in first place in the USHL's Western Conference and have already clinched a playoff spot. Teams in a position like the Lancers are usually equipped with many strengths, and according to Noreen, there are not many weaknesses in with the way they play.

"When you talk about the Omaha Lancers, you're talking about the most storied program in the history of the USHL," Noreen said. "Perennially, they're the team that sits at the top of league, and they're there for a reason. They're a strong organization from top to bottom; they have a young head coach who has brought a ton of energy to that program. It's an organization that I knew would have success."

Noreen went as far to say that he believes he and Brian Kaufman, head coach of the Lancers, have similar views when it comes to coaching.

"Brian Kaufman and I come from the same coaching tree," he said. "We have a lot of the same philosophies. I think their approach will be very similar to ours in the way we play the game. I expect he'll want a lot of the same staples in his game as we have in our game. Obviously, they're very skilled, and they have had some great goaltending. They're great defensively, and they have a line that's been able to score well the entire season. We need to be good in our game, and be sound that we're sticking to our fundamentals. If we're going to have a chance to win against a team like this, the special teams battle is also important."

Lancers goaltender Hayden Hawkey currently leads the league in goals-against average (1.74) and save percentage (.935). Backup goaltender Cole Bruns is also near the top in the league rankings, with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.

"We need to get to the net against them," Noreen said. "They have a very good 'D' corps, and obviously good goaltending. The way you beat good goaltending is that you get traffic to the net and try to score some ugly ones. If the pretty ones develop, that's great, but our main objective is no different than it was this Saturday against Des Moines. We have to get bodies to the net and develop good scoring habits. This is something that we talked a lot about at practice this week, just shooting the puck and not being worried about making pretty plays."

Single game tickets are on sale now for all Phantoms' home games at the Covelli Centre. Phantoms 10-Game Flex Plans are also available starting at the low price of just $89. Call 330.747.PUCK (7825) for more information or to reserve seats today. For all the latest news, visit www.YoungstownPhantoms.com, follow the Phantoms on Twitter (@YtownPhantoms) and 'like' them on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/YoungstownPhantoms).

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