Posts Tagged ‘Bruce Zoldan’

The Youngstown Phantoms have reached an agreement to remain at the Covelli Centre for a fifth season, team owner Bruce J. Zoldan announced today. The agreement ensures the Phantoms will continue play and practice at the downtown Youngstown arena through the 2013-14 United States Hockey League season, and lays the groundwork for extending the franchise’s lease at the facility through future seasons.

“We are very excited to reach a resolution and continue moving forward with this season and beyond,” Zoldan said. “I would like to personally thank [Covelli Centre executive director] Eric Ryan and [Youngstown Mayor] Charles Sammarone for their commitment to our franchise, and we are eager to continue working with them as we look to begin negotiations on a new arena lease.

“I would also like to sincerely thank our fans for their unbridled passion and support for hockey in the Mahoning Valley and at the Covelli Centre. Our franchise made tremendous strides this past season and we look forward to taking the next step and bringing the Clark Cup to the city of Youngstown and this top-class facility.”

Last season under second-year head coach Anthony Noreen, the Phantoms set franchise records for wins (37) and home wins (19), and went undefeated at the Covelli Centre during the 2013 playoffs. They came within a game of advancing to the Clark Cup Finals, falling 3-2 to the eventual champion Dubuque Fighting Saints in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Phantoms are currently holding their 2013 Selection Camp to determine their roster for the 2013-14 season at the Ice Zone in Boardman. Intrasquad games will be held Saturday, June 8 through Monday, June 10 and are free and open to the public. Visit YoungstownPhanotms.com for a full game schedule and additional information.

Bruce Zoldan and his comrades at Team Valor are in the big race again with Went The Day Well.  The Team Valor entry will start from the #13 position and Johnny Velazquez riding the 20-1 longshot with the local ties.  Last year, Team Valor pulled the upset at the 137th Kentucky Derby when Animal Kingdom crossed the finish line first.

Bodemeister has been tapped the 4-1 favorite to win the first leg of this year’s Triple Crown.  Union Rags can almost be considered a co-favorite at 9-2.  With a field of 20 horses, the gamblers must remember that unless a favorite can go wire-to-wire, it is easy to get boxed in with such a crowded track.  That is why I do not like to bet the chalk in these big races.  They are all good horses and their times are not that different.  The possibility of rain is in the forecast, and on a sloppy track, a mule can beat a gazelle, you just never know what might happen.

Here is the entire field, with jockey and odds in the order of starting gate position:

1.  Daddy Long Legs (O’Donahue)               30-1

2.  Optimizer  (Court)                                  50-1

3.  Take Charge Indy (Borel)                        15-1

4.  Union Rags (Leparoux)                            9-2

5.  Dullahan (Desormeaux)                           8-1

6.  Bodemeister (Smith)                                4-1

7.  Rousing Sermon (Lezcano)                    50-1

8.  Creative Cause (Rosario)                        12-1

9.  Trinniberg (Martinez)                             50-1

10.  Daddy Nose Best (Gomez)                    15-1

11.  Alpha (Maragh)                                    15-1

12.  Prospective (Conteras)                         30-1

13.  Went The Day Well (Velazquez)            20-1

14.  Hansen (Dominguez)                           10-1

15.  Gemologist (Castellano)                        6-1

16.  El Padrino (Bejarano)                           20-1

17.  Done Talking (Russell)                        50-1

18.  Sabercat (Nakatani)                             30-1

19.  I’ll Have Another (Gutierrez)                12-1

20.  Liaison (Garcia)                                   50-1

The best way for me to deal with such a big field is to eliminate the horses I do not like.  Starting with I’ll Have Another, who would bet a horse with a drinking problem?    Hanson was my least favorite 90’s band – whack the 14 for association by name, sort of.  Take Charge Indy sounds like it should be in a NASCAR race, not the Derby.  Liaison, Gemologist, and Sabercat were all named from someones thesaurus, so I eliminate them.

Earlier, I made it clear that in a crowded field, I dislike the favorites, so Bodemeister and Union Rags can’t be in my picks.

My pick to win the race is Dullahan.  I like Desormeaux on the horse, he is a good jockey with a good record.  I think Went The Day Well and Daddy Nose Best will finish two and three, either way.

So your bet should read….  5 over the 13 and 10 in boxed exacta and trifecta wagers.  See you at the window!

For the second straight year, Guy Fieri has come to Youngstown as a guest of honor of the Phantoms.  Fieri, personal friends with Phantoms owner Bruce J. Zoldan, attended the Kentucky Derby in Louisville in May with Zoldan when Animal Kingdom, owned by Team Valor of which Zoldan is a major investor, won in an amazing come-from-behind victory to win the Roses at famed Churchill Downs. Fieri joined Zoldan and his party in the winner’s circle.

The wildly popular Fieri, the host of NBC’s “Minute To Win It” and the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” was amicable and friendly with everyone who he crossed paths with.

Fieri’s advertised appearance on Veteran’s Day was well-publicized and the Phantoms enjoyed their biggest crowd of the season.  A lot of people left the Covelli Centre carrying barbecue sauce, Fieri’s newest creations.

The Youngstown Phantoms take great pride in announcing that Head Coach Curtis Carr has accepted an assistant coaching position with the Warriors of Merrimack College. Merrimack competes in Hockey East with the likes of Boston College, Boston University and the University of Maine.

The Phantoms and the BJ Alan Corporation continue to pride themselves on both the development of their players and their coaching professionals that have called Youngstown home. For the Phantoms, this summer has been one for the memories as Scott Mayfield was drafted into the National Hockey League, the organization’s first ever NHL selection, 34^th over by the New York Islanders, seven players attended NHL rookie developmental camps and now the organization will proudly watch as Curtis Carr becomes the first Phantoms coach to coach NCAA Division-I hockey.

“The promotion of our head coach continues to validate the program that we continue to build here in Youngstown,” said BJ Alan President and CEO Bruce J. Zoldan. “Curtis is a solid character coach and he exemplifies what we and the other members of our organization look for in both our players and coaches. We have been proud to have a person like Curtis acting as a role model for the players that we continue to develop in our system.”

Carr was named the head coach and general manager of the Phantoms on April 2, 2010 after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach within the organization. As a coach in the Phantoms system, Carr assembled a coaching record of 170-100-20 after 290 games behind the bench. Carr and the Phantoms also found post season success as they made three National Championship appearances in the North American Hockey League (2006, 2007 and 2008). Carr also found success on the college recruiting trail as 90 players under his guidance have gone on to play collegiate hockey.

“My time here in Youngstown has been outstanding,” said Carr. “I am very grateful to have worked for the Zoldan family and the entire Phantoms organization. I also want to thank Bob Mainhardt for giving me the opportunity to work as an assistant coach underneath him in both the North American Hockey League and the United States Hockey League. I was very fortunate to move into the USHL and receive the promotion to head coach in such a prominent league. For me and my family we felt like this was the right time to move on and pursue my goal of coaching Division-I hockey.”

The Phantoms now former head coach will be headed to a Merrimack program that saw great success during the 2010-11 season. Not only did the Warriors finish the season ranked tenth in the nation, they put together a 25 win season, a new Division-I school record, reached the final game of the Hockey East postseason tournament for the first time in school history and Merrimack clinched a berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998. Ranking second in Hockey East in goals, goals against and power play, Merrimack defeated every Hockey East team for the second straight season and second time ever and was ranked nationally for the final seventeen weeks of the season, reaching #4 nationally in February. The Warriors finished the season ranked tenth by both United States College Hockey Online and USA Today. Adding to the success the Warriors have seen on the ice, this past season, ten Merrimack players were named to the Hockey East All-Academic team, while the program as a whole was named a finalist for the top GPA among all Merrimack male programs.

“I am very thankful and I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to join the Merrimack program,” said Carr. ”Coach [Mark] Dennehy has done a great job over the past seven seasons and Glen Stewart has done a phenomenal job scouting the right players for their program. I am looking forward to learning from both of them as I further my coaching career.”

In the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby, Animal Kingdom took home the roses with an impressive performance at Churchill Downs. This win marks the first Kentucky Derby win for President of Phantom Fireworks Bruce Zoldan.

Zoldan and the other members of Team Valor International entered Animal Kingdom, the first horse from this group to compete in the derby since Visionaire three years ago, after a qualifying win in the Vinery Racing Spiral on March 26 at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. Animal Kingdom’s trainer, Graham Motion, has captured over 1,000 races and his most accomplished horse was Better Talk Now in the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Turf and Shared Account in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Last week, there was speculation that Animal Kingdom would not run in the derby thanks to torrential downpours in the Louisville area. The status of Animal Kingdom was up in the air until last Saturday after trainer Graham Motion and team leader Barry Irwin determined the track conditions would not put the horse in any danger. Animal Kingdom tested at Churchill Downs and the colt ran six furlongs in 1:13.17, which was a time that surprised the clocker’s. Animal Kingdom was steady in the middle of the pack and jockey John Velazquez made his move down the home stretch. Animal Kingdom has won the first leg of horse racing’s coveted Triple Crown.