Archive for December, 2009

For some reason, the Chicago Steel (10-8-3)are ahead of the Youngstown Phantoms (9-8-2) in the standings but can never seem to get by them on the ice. The Phantoms used timely third period heroics to take the verdict, 6-4. Luke Eibler (pictured) hit a game winner and Jefferson Dahl put it away with an empty netter.

The Steel did not take long, 1:30 into the first period to be exact, to put a goal on the board. Mark Anthione beat Jordan Tibbett with a wrist shot. Anthione was assisted by Sahir Gill and Patrick Raley on the quick goal.

The first period ended with Chicago ahead 1-0. Both teams had three powerplay chances each but neither could capitalize. Chicago outshot Youngstown 11-7 and both goalies, Tibbett for Youngstown and Nick Pisellini for Chicago, made a couple of nice saves to keep the scoring down.

Adam Berkle took less than a minute to score the tying goal on a nice feed from Tom Serratore. The goal, scored at the 19:02 mark of the second period was Berkle’s fifth of the year.

David Donnellan gave the Phantoms a short-lived 2-1 lead at 2:55 into the second period. Donnellan was assisted by Dan Senkbeil on the go-ahead score.

Jake Chelios, son of future NHL Hall of Famer  Chris Chelios, scored from about 50 feet away as the puck was curving and bouncing and somehow got past Tibbett to tie the game at two apiece at the 16:33 mark of the second period. Zack Rall picked up the cheap assist for the Steel.

Gill put the Steel back in front, 3-2, as he beat Tibbett on a nice pass from Patrick Raley. The goal was a powerplay at the 15:32 mark of the second period, Chicago’s first successful conversion after five previous advantages that failed.

The Phantoms tied the game with a powerplay goal of their own with less than a second left in the second period. Ryan Jasinsky connected off of a shot that hit the crossbar of the Chicago goal and slid out of the crease where Jasinsky was able to knock it home.

Just 1:24 into the third period, and five seconds into a powerplay, Gill scored again for the Steel. The goal gave Chicago a 4-3 lead. Gill’s second goal of the game was assisted by Andrei Kuchin.

Scott Mayfield, who earlier in the week drew praise from Bob Mainhardt for his efforts, tied the game at 4-4 on a shorthanded goal. Mayfield was assisted by Donnellan at the 14:19 mark of the final period. It was Mayfield’s fifth goal of the year.

With 3:05 left in the game, the Phantoms took a 5-4 lead when Luke Eibler made a beautiful move after receiving a pass from Taylor Holstrom. For Eibler, it was his sixth goal of the year. Eibler skated from the right faceoff circle toward the left side of the crease to beat Pisellini.

Jefferson Dahl put the icing on the cake with an empty net goal giving the Phantoms a 6-4 lead with just 46 seconds remaining in the game. Mayfield picked up the assist on the free chance.

Richard Young Tilt-O-Meter:

Penalty Minutes Entering 12/4 game: 89

Penalty Minutes After 12/4 game: 94

Young was on his best behavior until the very beginning of the third period. Chicago Forward Charlie Thauwald dropped the gloves to fight with Young and just landed on top of him. Young went to his second home, the penalty box, feeling cheated as he was taken down with a cheap WWE move.

Coach Mainhardt was happy with his team.  “That was the best 60 minutes of hockey we have played so far this year.  Chicago is a great team and near the top of the standings for a reason.  They will show up ready tomorrow.”

Luke Eibler was elated he got to help the team make a difference, as just a couple of weeks ago he was a medical scratch with a bad shoulder.  “Coach told me not to pinch because they would run and gun if we collapsed in the zone.  Holstrom made a great pass between the defenders legs and I was in position to make a good shot.  It felt great to be on the ice.  Seems like we are clicking on all cylinders and Cody [Strang] and I are happy to be out there with the guys helping to get a win.”

These Chicago – Youngstown games have been very entertaining and Saturday will mark the regular season finale in Youngstown.  The two teams do play again in Chicago on March 31, but treat yourself to guaranteed good hockey Saturday night, December 5, at the Covelli Centre.

The Youngstown Phantoms have shown bursts of greatness and breakdowns of unthinkable proportion, sometimes in the same game.  Bob Mainhardt, the Phantoms GM and Coach, never holds back after a game when giving quotes to the media, win or lose.  Alex Zoldan, the Phantoms President has opinions too, but in a much quieter demeanor.  I recently caught up with both of them to assess the team after one third of the season has been played.

Mainhardt gives his team the letter grade of a ‘C’ to this point.  He feels that many of the individuals on the team are striving toward becoming better hockey players.  However, sometimes the team loses focus and leaves the coach scratching his head.  “These guys know that every day they must show up and earn their spot.”

We discussed the progress of some Phantoms players.  Fan-favorite Richard Young was first to be discussed.  Mainhardt said that Young is maturing and getting better at picking the opportunities where a fight may lift the team a notch.  “He is maturing and starting to understand his role, Rich is a very good hockey player.  He is not a guy that we are just looking to tade off for five minutes at a time.  He is doing a real good job so far.”

In the first third of the season, Mainhardt cited Taylor Holstrom as the biggest surprise.  “Holstrom has exceeded my expectations and has shown that he belongs night in and night out.  It’s no fluke, he is one of the few ‘A’s’ I would give out so far.”

Jordan Tibbett, coming off of a hand injury, and Matt Mahalak have both done good work between the pipes for the Phantoms.  “We set it up where these two guys would push one another.  We are definitely nearing a point where we are going to hand the reigns over to one of the two guys and let them steer us the rest of the way home.  They are still battling it out, and I couldn’t be happier than having these two guys playing well.”

The return of Luke Eibler was something Mainhardt was quick to praise.  “Luke is good for about four or five big hits a game.  If a guy gets one big hit a game, he is considered a big hitter.  Luke brings a physical presence and a competitive spirit, he hates to lose.  He is completely in a routine and wants to do whatever he has to so that we win.”

Ryan Jasinsky is not putting up the numbers yet, but Mainhardt commented on his recent play.  “Ryan has been productive enough, would we like him to be more productive? Yeah.  We are comitted to developing these guys into what they can be and he has really taken some big strides to get going.”

Brett Gensler was lighting it up but has been quiet on the scoring end lately.  Mainhardt feels Gensler will get it going again soon.  “He [Gensler] is a guy that needs to be in the right combination.  He has been getting opportunities but has been coming up a little unlucky.  He had good luck with a couple of his goals early on, but lately he has been snakebitten.”

Andrej Sustr (SHOE’ stir), the Czech Republic Defenseman who recently garnered USHL honors as Defenseman of The Week is doing what he should.  “He [Sustr] is right where he should be.  Big guys like that get worn down with this sort of training regimin, but he is holding up real well and will coninue to improve as he gets bigger and stronger.  He is an NHL Defenseman for sure if he makes the right decisions from here on out.”

On who may be in danger of losing a spot, Mainhardt had this to say, “Nobody is really in jeopardy of being sent away.  It is all baby steps and maximizing what you can get, and we knew that going in.  A guy can score 50 goals on a losing team, or a guy can score 20 goals on a winning team, and the one who succeeds around here will be the guy whose team wins and I am trying to get that across to them and they understand it.”

I asked Mainhardt if I were an NHL Scout and approached him before the game and asked ‘Which three guys should I keep an eye on tonight?’ who he would offer.  “I’ll give you five.  [Matt] Mahalak, [Scott] Mayfield, [Andrej] Sustr, [Luke] Eibler, and [Nick] Czinder.  If you asked me tomorrow that list could change.  It’s all about who is making the right decisions combined with the raw talent.”

On the business and promotional end of things, Mainhardt and Zoldan know that there are more steps to take to increase the interest locally.  Mainhardt commented on attendance and seeing repeat customers.  “The shock and awe of having a hockey team in this building have already been used up by previous teams.  What we have is the chore of educating the fans.  What we are seeing is that the people who come, are coming back.  We are promoting as much as we can by being a part of the community.  Mr. Zoldan is comitted to building something that is going to last, and that is why he brought this franchise here.”

Alex Zoldan discussed the business end of things.  “Eric Ryan and The Covelli Centre have worked with us a great deal to promote the team.  I have already seen an increase in attendance, and I understand that alot of the early crowds were in direct conflict with high school football. You hope to have 5,000 or 3,500 at every game, but realistically I envisioned what we are drawing and expect increases, it is a process.  By getting the people involved and getting their hearts behind us, the city can claim ownership of the team.  Being a sports fan, when you follow a team and that team leaves, it is real hard to jump back in.  The people that have given it a chance notice that it is better hockey.  The fans that are coming are into the game.  People are waving towels and t-shirts and screaming their support.”

The ride has been a fun one so far.  I think Zoldan and Mainhardt have a winner.  It is nice to have Eric Ryan in your corner, but believe me, this hockey will sell itself sooner than later.  To this point, the games have been fun to watch, easy to write about, and very well played.  I agree 100% with Zoldan that this process will steadily improve over time.  If you have not been to a Phantoms game yet, they play on Friday and Saturday this week against one of the better USHL teams, Chicago. 

Give this product a shot.  It is cheaper than going to the movies and the fact that you are watching players who will definitely be in the NHL in a few years adds to the exciting atmosphere.  I even enjoy listening to the road games.  Matt Gajtka is phenomenal on the air and could probably do play-by-play in the NHL if he had to.  Look for this team to break out this month.  Wins are going to happen more often than not.

Kelvin Bright is enjoying life at Youngstown State University.  He feels that this year’s basketball team brings something really special to the table and that they can win games in bunches.  Bright is one of the most personable players on the team and his trademark big smile can light up the room.  He is among the team leaders in scoring and had a nice showing against Pitt.

Paneech:  Growing up in Maryland, what schools recruited you, and how did you decide on Robert Morris?

Bright:  Coming out of high school, not too many Division-I schools were recruiting me.  Robert Morris was interested in me, as was Mount St. Mary, which is in the same conference as Robert Morris.  Those were the only D-I schools with interest in me.  There were alot of Division-II and Division-III schools that showed an interest in me, but I ended up wanting to go to Robert Morris.

Paneech:  You averaged 24.2 ppg at Hagerstown Junior College, meaning you were pretty much “the man“.  How much pressure is there on you to be “the man” at YSU?

Bright:  It is a transition, but I am used to it now.  At Hagerstown, I could take all of the shots and that wouldn’t be a problem.  At Youngstown State, there are other guys who can shoot and I don’t have to have that load on my shoulders by trying to score all of the points.  We have got great guards like DeAndre Mays, and other players like Sirlester Martin who can score.  I don’t have to force it or worry about it as much here, I can kind of just let it come to me.

Paneech:  What brought you to YSU?

Bright:  When I was at Hagerstown, I told myself that I wanted to be in a situation that would allow me to trust the coaches and feel good with everything.  Obviously, Robert Morris did not allow me to get too many minutes or do the things that I needed to do.  The second time around, I wanted to get to a place where I felt I could trust the coaches.  When I came here on my visit, I was told what would be expected of me and trusted what the coaches were saying, so I made the decision to come here.

Paneech:  What has it been like playing for Jerry Slocum?

Bright:  It’s up and down, but mostly up.  Players and coaches go through things, but that is normal.  Coach Slocum is a great guy and I really believe that he only wants the best for me.  Sometimes he will get on me, and I feel like he is ‘just getting on me’, but in the long run, I know that he is just looking out for my best interests.

Paneech:  You have selected Communications as a major, how is that going so far?

Bright:  It’s going good, I am looking forward to finishing up in the Spring.  Guys like Jamie Hall and Robb Schmidt are a part of the Communication Department, and I would like to do something along the lines of what they do after I graduate. 

Paneech:  You are tied 42-42 with Pitt in the second half.  Does something like that boost the confidence of the team?

Bright:  Just being in the game with those guys [Pitt], and them being a Big East team, we felt we played well against them.  With Horizon League play getting ready to start it gives us the confidence that we can play with anyone. 

Paneech:  Heading into conference play, do you feel that the strengths and weaknesses of this team are better spelled out after the first six games?

Bright:  We have been working really hard at practice and we are discovering how good we can really be.  I feel that six games into the season, at 3-3, that things could obviously be better.  I also believe that we have learned from our mistakes and we are going to take what we have learned and apply it at our next game.

Paneech:  Many people picked YSU to finish 7th in the Horizon League this season.  That hasn’t really sat well with anyone that I have spoken with.  Where can this team finish realistically?

Bright:  We believe that we can finish in the top three of the conference.  We are striving to be number one in the conference.  Everyone knows about Butler and Wright State, and we feel we can beat those guys.  For me to say that I don’t think we can be a top three contender would not be very realistic.

Paneech:  You have a tough stretch coming with four consecutive road games.  How important is it to win at least three of them?

Bright:  It is very important.  Coming into this year, everybody on the team talked about a 20-win seaason.  Coach always stresses how important road games are.  On the road, we become a tighter bunch.  The crowds are rooting against you and nobody expects you to come in and win.  We end up focusing more on the road and sometimes we play better.

(photo courtesy of Ron Stevens)

Paneech:  Growing up near DC, were you forced to root for the Bullets / Wizards?

Bright:  In a way (laughs), they were not as good as they should have been.  I got to see Michael Jordan play when he was a Wizard, and he had a really good game against the Celtics.  When he was at Chicago, I never really had a chance to see him, but with Washington I did, and that was a great experience.

Paneech:  What is the deal with free throws?  The team has really been struggling in this department.

Bright:  With free throws, it is more of a mental thing.  Obviously, it is something that we work on every day at practice.  In the games, you put so much pressure on yourself to make free throws that it can work against you at times.  We just need to loosen up, go up there and not think about missing the free throw.  We have free throw contests at practice.  If you miss you have sprints, so there is pressure on you to sort of simulate the pressures of a game.

One Word Answers

Favorite Fast Food:  McDonalds.

Worst Habit:  Procrastination.

A Word To Describe Coach Slocum:  Is he gonna read this or not?  He might:  Thrilling.

Best Movie Ever Made:  Space Jam.

Who Is Your Hero?  My dad.

Biggest Phobia?  Germs.

Favorite Flavor of Gatorade?  Cool Blue.

Toppings You Get On A Pizza:  Just pepperoni.

Who was better, Xavier or Pitt?  Xavier.

Favorite NBA Player?  Michael Jordan.

Favorite Hobby:  Playing NBA 2K10 on my X-Box.

Best Class Ever Taken:  Inetrviewing.

YSU (0-7) and #19 Pitt (6-0) are two teams on very opposite ends of the spectrum. Pitt will contend for a national championship this season, while YSU will just try to get through the season with enough healthy bodies to field a team.  The result was an 89-37 verdict for the Panthers.  YSU played hard, but Pitt has more size than some Division-I men’s teams.  Couple the size factor with only seven Penguins dressing for this game (Boki Dimitrov, the Penguins leading score, sat out injured) and you come out with a 52 point deficit.

Pitt started very strong, controlling the boards on both sides of the court in running out to a 9-2 lead with 15:02 left in the first half. The two teams would remain scoreless over the next 3:00. Pitt was missing layups and YSU was working very hard to get loose balls. An encouraging sign was the presence of Kaitlyn March, a Senior, who has been having issues with her shins dating back to last season.  March played good minutes and scrapped for Youngstown State.

At the 7:08 mark of the first half, Pitt extended their lead to 26-8, using some great perimeter shooting from Chelsea Cole and Shayla Scott. Selena Nwude played the role of big person underneath for Pitt. Nwude had eight points, mostly on second chance putbacks. To this point, YSU was struggling to get good looks at the basket because Pitt was so much taller and playing ferociously in their zone defense.

Canfield native, Kate Popovec (pictured above), completed a three-point play when she gathered an offensive rebound and laid the ball up while being hacked.  After the game Popovec commented on playing near home.  “It was really special to have a chance to play in front of so many friends and family members.  YSU played better than the score will tell you, they were diving after loose balls and hustling everywhere.  We [Pitt] expect to do more than we did last season.  Two Sweet 16’s in a row was nice, but now we expect to get farther and hopefully win the national championship this season.”

Pitt, ranked #19 in the country, was just too much for the Lady Penguins in the first half as the Panthers held a commanding 47-19 lead. To build their lead, Pitt used 52% shooting from the field, 37% shooting from three, and outrebounded YSU 31-12.

Give credit to Youngstown State for playing hard. This was a monumental task even if there were 13 players in uniform.

At the 11:32 mark of the second half, YSU trailed by the score of 60-24. Pitt was duplicating what worked in the first half, taking advantage of second chances on offense and limiting the shot selection for the Penguins.

Pitt took advantage of the size differential down the stretch and the YSU Lady Penguins played the last eight minutes looking fatigued.  Too much Pitt tonight and a final result of 89-37 in favor of the Panthers.

Pepper Wilson paced Pitt with 13 points, Popovec and Jania Sims chipped in with 11 points each.

Youngstown State got 10 points and seven rebounds from Brandi Brown who played well against the larger competition. 

After the game, Coach Cindy Martin talked about the game.  “We are not quitters and we don’t lay down.  Pitt is #19 for a reason, they have a great team.  They [Pitt] were struggling with their shooting the last couple of games and they picked tonight to be on fire.  They are a big team and they are going to do well in the Big East, and I wish them luck.”

My heart really goes out to Coach Cindy Martin.  This is a really bad situation to be in with such limited combinations.  Next year when the transfers are completed, the injuries are healed, and the numbers are quantitively fair, Youngstown will get a glimpse of what kind of results the work ethic Coach Martin and her staff yield.  Unfortunately, at least to this point, the numbers game is too much.

Poor Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  “Coach Of The Year” Mike Brown, aka LeBron’s ventriloquist puppet, showed poor common sense when he failed to put Big Z on the court against Dallas on Saturday.  Ilgauskas is set to break the franchise record for games played by a Cavalier.  LeBron spouted off about it saying that Brown should have gotten him into the game.  Brown, of course, is defending not playing Ilgauskas saying that Dallas was shorter and quicker and he needed to match ’em up that way.  When did Shaq start running a 4.5 40-yard dash?  Boo Mike Brown.  Boo.

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• Intentional Foul asks a good question…  What did we accomplish by exposing Tiger Woods?
• Not Qualified To Comment reports that Ron Artest was getting loaded at halftime when he played for the Chicago Bulls.
• PSAMP has the apology of Hines Ward to Ben Roethlisberger straight from Ward’s Facebook page.
• Fansided unveils their Everything Power Rankings segment which is set up like this post, a bunch of links to other great stories.  Think of it as SportsCenter without commercials.
• Globalsports Fraternity has been posting videos of chimps that they say run the BCS.  A new video was posted today, very entertaining stuff!
• A new blog, 7th Inning Stache, has a hilarious piece about what to expect when seeking Pete Rose for an autograph while in Las Vegas.
• Josh Q. Public notates the hot shooting of the Boston Celtics in the article, Celtics: Shooting The Lights Out.
• NESW Sports has a phenomenal video of Florida State’s Zebrie Sanders. There has to be drugs involved with this one…
• Detroit4Lyfe has the audio of the voicemail Tiger Woods left for his mistress. 
• MoonDog Sports dives into the recently made Notre Dame vacancy asking if Cincinnati Coach Brian Kelly is the right fit?
• Guyism takes a look at the eight most dysfunctional athletic relationships.
• Just Blog Baby, a Raiders blog, says that Raider Nation has had enough Al Davis and is now begging for Davis to hire a GM.

One opinion that I feel strongly about is that whoever the Youngstown State University Penguins name as their new football coach, the salary will be upped significantly from what Jon Heacock made this past season.

Executive Director of Athletics, Ron Strollo, made it clear at a press conference over a week ago that whoever is selected will have Division-I coaching experience.  He also talked about affordability, meaning Charlie Weiss, Bobby Bowden, and a few other yet to be fired coaches are eliminated.

Think about this for a minute.  This team had a winning record at 6-5 this past season.  There were 12 Seniors on the roster.  Those 12 guys will be tough to replace but there is experience coming back.  Three of the 12 were running backs, two were receivers, one was an offensive lineman, one was a punter, one was a quarterback, one linebacker, two defensive linemen, and a defensive back.

That means that there are numbers coming back next year.  In no way am I downplaying the accomplishments of 12 very hard-working seniors, they earned the respect that they deserve a long time ago.  What I am bringing to light is that whoever YSU selects to coach this team is going to have a chance to win games immediately.  There is a bunch of experience returning next season.

A couple of names thrown out into the mighty Mahoning Valey Rumor Mill were Rick Shepas, Mike Tressel, and Pat Narduzzi.  All three of these candidates have ties to Youngstown, but based on the criteria and the logic, they would be pushed down the list based on recruiting experience or Division-I coaching experience.

I would love to see Mike Stoops here for a few reasons.  First of all, Cardinal Mooney has been a national institution for high school football.  Most of these guys go elsewhere, bigger 1-A schools.  Stoops would be the best recruiter in keeping some of the locals here.  Granted, many transfer back here if the big plan does not go as drawn up.  Taylor Hill is a perfect example.  Hill played football at Mooney, went to Michigan, and for whatever reason, returned to Youngstown.  The same can be said for any great athlete that comes out of these area schools.  Why not try to keep them here.  I know it is not as easy as it sounds, but with Stoops, you have a better chance than with any other candidate on a short list.

Another reason Stoops would be a good fit is because it would rouse the locals.  This is a family, a Youngstown-based family with extended families.  They all have neighbors, and those cousins have neighbors too.  I think attendance would dance back up in the 80-100% capacity based on the name and the weight it carries in this area.

The downside to Stoops is that he will not come cheap.  Expect Stoops to want close to $275,000.  Is this a case of you get what you pay for?  I think it is.  The quality Stoops will bring to the program coupled with a big attendance increase will help cover the money that must be generated to cover the salary increase.  Nothing will happen until after Saturday when Arizona faces off against USC.  WFMJ-TV aired a clip in which Stoops was quoted as saying, “I’ve invested too much in this program to go anywhere with this stuff until after the season.  I work for my brother [Mike] and all this stuff takes care of itself later.”

Mark Snyder, who recently stepped down at Marshall, would be next on the short list.  Snyder would also command a higher salary than what is available.  I don’t see him recruiting quite as well as Stoops, which is why he is second on my list.

I know that there are still five weeks left in the NFL’s regular season.  I also know that people who vote like to do things to shake the can sometimes.  In this case, considering Brett Favre over Drew Brees for the NFL MVP would be a travesty.

Brees threw at least five passes in New Orleans 38-17 pasting of New England that could only be caught if thrown to a perfect location.  He has been doing this game after game all year long.  As a biased Saints fan, I have watched Brees shred defenses with this sort of precision passing all year.

How many people think the Saints are a flash in the pan now?  This was supposed to be the game that proved what a rouse this team was.  Yeah, they play in a crappy division, but so has Pittsburgh for the last few years.  When the Saints are in full stride, the only way to beat them is to outscore them, and I just do not see that happening. 

Looking at the rest of their schedule, New Orleans has a Thursday game with Dallas in a couple of weeks that could pose a threat to going undefeated.  They also play scrappy Atlanta again, but I don’t think anyone can beat the Saints this season.  They can beat themselves, which is probably the better choice.

Give Brees the trophy now.  And thank you San Diego a million times over for the gift you have given New Orleans!