The Team | PHANTOM PHILES: Lessons from a Master | ||||
|
|
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – These are the Phantom Philes, a weekly comprehensive look at Youngstown’s very own stop on the road to the National Hockey League. Every Tuesday afternoon for the past month, the Youngstown Phantoms have departed from their usual routines, stepped out of their comfort zones and into Grandmaster Moon S. Park’s domain.
Park, the South Korean-born president of Master Park Martial Arts International, has made his home in the Youngstown area for more than four decades and has a track record of teaching the valuable tenets of martial arts to local athletes.
“Most of the focus [in martial arts] in this country is on fighting,” said Park, who has instructed past Phantoms players, Youngstown State University football teams as well as baseball, basketball, soccer and track and field athletes. “I teach this program as a way of life. It develops relaxation, discipline and respect and encourages confidence and teamwork.”
A former mechanical engineer in the Korean Army Special Forces, Park implements proven physical and mental techniques to improve his students’ strength, flexibility, speed and balance.
“From my experience in the military, I know that hard, demanding training builds teamwork effectively,” he said from his Boardman location on US Route 224. “I want this to have an impact on their lives.”
Even though most of these Phantoms are experiencing formal martial arts training for the first time, Park has been very impressed by the progress they’ve made in four hour-long sessions.
“Their flexibility as a group has improved so much,” he said. “I’m putting special attention on that because it’s key to their safety as athletes and they are responding well.”
Park has traditionally enjoyed working with Phantoms hockey players and this year’s group, despite the increased talent level that the USHL demands, has been no different. He made sure to compliment their discipline, determination and pleasant demeanor as a group.
It’s clear that no matter whether their games are headed north or south, the Phantoms will always have a Far East Master in their cheering section.
“I always encourage them and tell them how good they are so they can have confidence for life,” Park said. “I tell them every time that they could be in the NHL next year!”
For additional information on Master Park Martial Arts International, with locations in Boardman, Austintown and Poland, call (330)965-9000 or log onto www.masterpark.com.
UPCOMING GAMES AT THE COVELLI CENTRE…
Friday, December 4 at 7:15 p.m. vs. Chicago – Pheed the Valley / Join the Phantoms and WFMJ-TV in donating to Second Harvest Food Bank. Bring a non-perishable food item and receive a half-priced ticket; donate five and get both a half-priced ticket AND a free ticket to a future game!
Saturday, December 5 at 7:15 p.m. vs. Chicago – Toys for Tots Night Featuring Teddy Bear Toss / WYTV-TV combines with the Marines’ Toys for Tots program on this special night. Bring a new, unwrapped toy and receive a half-priced ticket. Purchase a $5 teddy bear to throw on the ice after the Phantoms score their first goal. Help us cover the ice and support Toys for Tots during the holiday season!
Thursday, December 10 at 7:15 p.m. vs. Indiana – Phantoms Furry Friends Night / Bring any pet care product to the Covelli Centre and receive a half-priced ticket! Visit www.angelsforanimals.org to ensure $3 from your ticket goes to Angels for Animals, which provides education and solutions to pet overpopulation in our region. Be on the lookout for special furry guests throughout the night!
FOLLOW THE PHANTOMS ALL SEASON LONG!
Listen to Voice of the Phantoms Matt Gajtka call exciting Phantoms hockey on Youngstown’s ESPN 1240. Broadcasts begin approximately 15 minutes prior to opening faceoff. Phantoms fans outside the listening area can log onto www.wbbw.com and use ESPN 1240's streaming audio player, so there’s no need to miss a second of the action.
Phantoms Phever, presented by House of Speed, is an hour-long weekly talk show that brings you an inside look at your Youngstown Phantoms. Gajtka sets up shop Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at Jeremiah Bullfrog’s Sports Bar & Grille on US Route 224 in Boardman, chatting with coaches, players and front office staff about northeast Ohio’s most exciting team and the great sport of hockey. Catch Phantoms Phever on Youngstown’s ESPN Radio 1240 AM and online at www.wbbw.com.
Also, make “Youngstown Phantoms” your friend on Facebook and follow “ytownphantoms” on Twitter to stay plugged into the Phantoms 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
RADIO REPLAYS, PRESS BOX OPINIONS AND MUCH MORE…
Relive heart-pounding Phantoms action on demand! Listen to all the best goal calls from the past week’s worth of games and get Gajtka’s take on Youngstown’s inaugural season in the USHL at the online Voice of the Phantoms blog.
THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Friday, November 27: LINCOLN 5, YOUNGSTOWN 4 (SO)
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Youngstown Phantoms went through their first 16 games in the United States Hockey League without participating in a shootout. When they finally did enter one, it was the last place they wanted to be.
The Lincoln Stars’ John McCarron lifted the puck past Phantoms goalie Matt Mahalak in the fifth round of the shootout, followed by Matt Green’s save on Youngstown’s Brian Dowd to clinch a 5-4 win for the visiting Stars Friday night at the Covelli Centre, who trailed 4-2 with less than three minutes to go in regulation.
Phantoms blueliner Luke Eibler converted Brett Gensler’s centering pass with 3:56 to go in the third for his second goal of the game and a two-goal Youngstown advantage, but a pair of Lincoln power play markers evened the score.
After Brodie Reid ripped one through a screen with 2:38 left to make it 4-3, Kyle Gibbons found Phantoms nemesis Ben Lynch, who deposited a perfectly placed one-timer with 12.4 seconds remaining to stunningly send the contest into overtime. Lynch scored two goals, including the overtime game winner, Oct. 16 in Lincoln, Neb., in the Stars’ 7-6 win.
Lincoln (7-12-0, 14 points) claimed the shootout by a 2-1 count, with Phantoms defenseman Andrej Sustr rifling one through Green in the second round only to be answered immediately by Lincoln’s Dominik Shine. The two teams will collide again Saturday night at the same location.
Each team was whistled for 14 penalties for 34 minutes, which was a worthy encore of the Oct. 16 Youngstown-Lincoln clash which saw the clubs combine for 131 total penalty minutes. Twin Phantoms enforcers Ryan Jasinsky and Rich Young, the USHL leader in PIM with 89, both dropped the gloves Friday, squaring off against Lincoln’s Dax Lauwers and Hibbeler, respectively.
Youngstown (8-7-2, 18 points), down 1-0 after the first period due to Reid’s shorthanded tally, poured on the offense in the second, scoring three goals and chasing Stars starting goaltender Jared Coreau, who stopped seven of nine shots. Eibler’s 40-foot wrister found twine 37 seconds into the second, then Nick Czinder tossed his seventh of the campaign into the goal from the left wing side from a similar distance at 4:31.
That was enough for Lincoln head coach Jimmy McGroarty, who yanked Coreau in favor of Green after Czinder’s thunderbolt. Brian Dowd added to the Stars’ misery, though, when he beat Green through the legs at 11:38 with the Phantoms enjoying a 5-on-3 power play. Sustr earned the primary assist, tying him with Taylor Holstrom for the team lead with 10. Youngstown has now scored at least one power play goal in six of its last seven games.
Stars defenseman Cory Hibbeler punched in a David Gerths rebound with 1:08 left in the middle frame to draw the visitors within striking distance at 3-2.
Green turned away nine of 11 and four of five in the shootout to earn his second win of the season; Mahalak (4-4-2) made 28 stops for Youngstown.
Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=1048892 for full box score.
Saturday, November 28: LINCOLN 3, YOUNGSTOWN 2
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – When Brian Dowd stashed Lincoln Stars goalie Matt Green’s giveaway into an open net early in the third to tie the game at 2, it appeared perhaps the hockey gods were smiling on the Youngstown Phantoms.
If that is to be believed, then call Lincoln defenseman Alec Rush an atheist.
Rush’s wrist shot from the right dot found twine with 7:32 to go in regulation and held up as the deciding goal in the Stars’ 3-2 win over Youngstown Saturday night at the Covelli Centre. Lincoln swept the two-game weekend series and has won all three against the Phantoms this season.
After Phantoms blueliner Ben Paulides drilled John McCarron with a sharp hip check in front of the Youngstown bench, Rush stepped into the void created by the hit and squeezed off his game-winning shot before the Phantoms could cover him. The drive beat goalie Matt Mahalak, who made 32 saves in his seventh straight start, to the glove hand side.
In a relatively quiet encore to Friday night’s pyrotechnic affair, the teams combined for just six minor penalties, four of those issued to Youngstown (8-8-2, 18 points). Both power plays came up empty as well, after three of eight goals were scored with the man advantage in last night’s 5-4 Lincoln shootout win.
The first few minutes were anything but quiet. Jon Puskar converted a backdoor pass from McCarron to put the Stars ahead 1-0 3:47 after the opening faceoff. But a mere 15 seconds later, the Phantoms had their equalizer courtesy of Lincoln netminder Green.
Green fumbled the puck in the right wing corner, turning it over to Youngstown’s Tom Serratore, who found Nick Czinder open between the circles. The USHL leader in shooting percentage at .471 – eight goals on only 17 shots – made no mistake, rifling the puck past a sliding Green 4:02 into the first.
Early in the second, Brodie Reid drifted a breakaway pass for Ben Lynch up the center of the ice. Lynch took it in stride and beat Mahalak (4-5-2) with a well-placed snap shot into the upper-right corner of the goal, boosting his Stars to a 2-1 edge and giving him four goals in three games versus the Phantoms.
Despite his twin stickhandling gaffes, Green (3-2-0) earned his second win in two nights for Lincoln (8-12-0, 16 points), stopping both Brett Gensler and Ryan Jasinsky on breakaways and robbing Jefferson Dahl with a sprawling save in the second. He stopped 22 of 24 shots one night after relieving regular Stars starter Jared Coreau early in the middle frame.
Go to http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=1048908 for full box score.
The Youngstown Phantoms are a Member Club of the United States Hockey League (USHL), America’s only Tier I hockey league and premier developer of National Hockey League talent with more than 100 alumni on current NHL rosters.
Visit www.youngstownphantoms.com or call the Front Office at 330.747.PUCK(7825) for more information on the Phantoms organization. The Youngstown Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company (Phantom Fireworks), located in Youngstown, Ohio.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email this
Hits: 649 Comments (0)
 Write comment
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
