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Youngstown finally put one in the win column at home and improved to 5-4-1 at home and 2-1 against Des Moines on the year. Richard Young wore the hero ribbon with a game-winner and the Phantoms held off a very game Buccaneer team that came to play in posting a hard-fought 4-3 victory.

The Phantoms dug themselves a familiar hole to crawl into as they surrendered a lead for the sixth straight game. Des Moines got on the board at the 14:20 mark when Mike Fink scored his first goal of the year. Fink was assisted by Ryan Walters and Yasin Cisse.

With just five seconds left in the first period, Chris Stafne increased the Buccaneer lead to 2-0 on his first goal of the season. Picking up assists on the Stafne goal were Jack Berger and Mitch Cain. The first period would come to a close with Des Moines in front 2-0.

Whatever Coach Bob Mainhardt said to his team during the intermission worked well. The Phantoms came out hitting and played much harder than they did in the first period. Jefferson Dahl lit the lamp at the 7:00 mark to cut the lead to 2-1. Dahl was assisted by Andrew Lamont and Joe Zarbo.

The barrage continued at the 11:39 as Ryan Jasinski netted his second goal of the year, assisted by Scott Mayfield, to tie the contest at two goals apiece.

Nick Czinder connected on an unassisted chance at the 15:26 mark to give the Phantoms a 3-2 lead, which is how the period would come to a close. The Phantoms had 17 shots on goal in the period after mustering only five in the earlier stanza.

In the third period, Daniel Heath connected on a power-play chance to tie the contest back up at three goals apiece. It was the first power-play goal of the evening for either team.

Richard Young came up big with his second goal of the year to give the Phantoms a 4-3 lead. Young was assisted by Brett Gensler and Ben Paulides on the go-ahead score at 16:45 of the third period.

After the game, Richard Young, the #1 star of the game said he was thrilled to help this team win. “It was a big goal and I was happy to just help the team. “ Young also commented on the productive line he is now a part of. “We’ve got a goal scorer [Gensler], we have a playmaker [Dowd], and we have a grinder [Young]. Coach threw us together for a couple of practices then in a game, and we just clicked.”

Coach Mainhardt was happy to record the first-ever home victory. “It feels great. There is no doubt that the first one is the toughest to get. We’re glad to get that out of the way and hopefully we can get on a little roll here.”

About the difference in play between the first and second periods, Mainhardt remarked, “We had some choice words for the guys in the locker room and they responded well.”

The Phantoms Jordan Tibbett got the win between the pipes by stopping 26 Buccaneer shots in evening his record on the season to 3-3-0.  Youngstown recorded 35 shots on goal with almost half (17) coming in the second period.

The Phantoms lock up with the Buccaneers again tonight at The Covelli Centre. The puck drops at 7:05 and the promotion everybody loves, dollar beer night, will co-feature YSU ID discount admission night. The team looks poised to make a nice run, come and check out a Phantoms game!

Eric Rodemoyer has been the best offensive lineman that YSU has had in awhile.  He has played in seven of YSU’s eight games this season.  In those seven games, he has been named the Jim Zdelar Offensive Lineman of The Week six times.  The only time he did not win that award was last week when he was named the offensive player of the game, and you can’t win both.  Rodemoyer is dominant, and he credits his success to hard work and dedication.  The 6’2, 280 lb.,  Junior wants the 12 Seniors to go out on a good note. 

 Here are the highlights of my conversation with Eric Rodemoyer:

Paneech:  Talk about the transition of playing for small Kennedy (PA) to signing with West Virginia.

Rodemoyer:  Kennedy Catholic is a small school, Single-A, which is the smallest there is in Pennsylvania.  The biggest difference was going from playing smaller Single-A kids at Kennedy to facing Division-I athletes at West Virginia.

Paneech:  What did and didn’t work for you as a Mountaineer and how did you like playing for Rich Rodriguez?

Rodemoyer:  I loved playing for Coach Rodriguez at West Virginia.  I’m a Rodriguez guy and the thing that worked for me was that I went in there [WVU] working really hard and I was coachable, which was what worked best for me.  The hardest thing was just adjusting to Division-I football.  You had to up your game and have perfect technique at that level.  In high school, I was bigger and would just dominate guys.  Now you go against guys that are just as big and just as athletic. 

Paneech:  Do you like playing much closer to hom?

Rodemoyer:  I love being closer to home.  Me and my mom are real close and that’s one of the biggest reasons I chose Youngstown State. 

Paneech:  Explain how you can win offensive lineman of the week for six consecutive weeks and offensive player of the game last week.  Is the rest of the offensive line struggling or are you just playing that good right now?

Rodemoyer:  I think everyone is working really hard.  I just come in every day and work hard and watch films.  I come in with the attitude that I want to play my best football and whether I win lineman of the week or offensive player of the week doesn’t matter.  I am just worried about coming in, working hard, and winning football games.

Paneech:  How hard is it to stay motivated when you can’t go to the playoffs or win the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship?

Rodemoyer:  Now we are just playing for these Seniors and playing for pride.  I think if that isn’t enough to play for, then you shouldn’t be playing football.

Paneech:  Have you declared a major yet or are you still trying to figure out what you want to end up majoring in at YSU?

Rodemoyer:  I’m in the School of Business and I am going to get my degree in Management with a minor in Marketing.

Paneech:  How disappointed are you with the results on the field this year?

Rodemoyer:  I think you just have to keep working hard.  As long as everyone is working as hard as they can and studying as much film as they can, you can’t be mad, you just have to keep playing your hardest and victories will come.

Paneech:  Next season, will you be ready to take on a Senior leadership role?

Rodemoyer:  Without a doubt.  I think that is one of the things I am looking forward to in this coming off season.  There are six Junior linemen and I think we all have to step it up and be Senior leaders, but I am going to try to stand up and be the number one leader if I can.

Paneech:  Walk me through a day in the life of Eric Rodemoyer from start to finish.

Rodemoyer:  I get up around 8 and eat breakfast, walk to Kilcawley for breakfast check then I go to class at 9:30.  I come back from class at 10:45, eat a little bit, come over here to the stadium and watch about an hour-and-a-half of films.  I then go to my next class at 12:30 until 1:45, then I walk up to the stadium for practice and get out of here at about 6.  Then I go home and eat dinner and start on my homework.

Paneech:  At Monday’s press conference, Dana Balash of WFMJ was asking everyone who spoke what kind of grade they would give this team on the season.  To steal Dana’s question, what grade would you give this team?

Rodemoyer:  We’re 4 and 4, that’s about five hundred, so I think in a classroom that’s a C.

One Word Answers

Favorite Flavor Of Chicken Wings:  I don’t eat chicken wings.

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas.

Best Show on TV:  SportsCenter.

Yearly, How Many Times Do You Go See A Doctor:  Never.

Biggets Phobia:  Spiders.

Favorite Kind of Music:  Rap.

Favorite NFL Team:  Steelers.

Favorite NFL Player:  Hines Ward.

Kim Kardashian or Pamela Anderson:  Pamela Anderson.

American Idol or Survivor:  Survivor.

Worst Habit:  Biting my nails, but I quit recently.

Best Friend:  Rob Fernback.

The Youngstown Phantoms travel in a bus.  Anyone who has traveled by bus knows that it can get boring beyond belief.  I’m not talking about a deal where you pay $20 and go to Mountaineer and get $15 of it back to gamble with either.  North Dakota is a longer ride than Mountaineer Casino, much longer.  The Phantoms enjoyed the ride home probably much better than the ride to Fargo as they swept a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.

In the Friday game, Matt Mahalak (pictured) stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced and Brett Gensler broke a 1-1 tie in the third period with his second goal of the game.  Defenseman Scott Mayfield capped the scoring for Youngstown when he cleared the puck off the glass and it went into the empty net.  Fargo was on a power-play and pulled their netminder for a two-man advantage that backfired as Mayfield delivered the dagger.

On Saturday, Youngstown got a standout performance from Tom Serratore who registered an assist and two goals all in the third period.  Brett Gensler added two more goals, bringing his two game roadtrip total to four.  Gensler has been the most consistent scorer for the Phantoms all season.  Jordan Tibbett picked up the win in goal and stopped 26 shots.

With the two wins, Youngstown has improved to 4-1-1 on the road and 4-4-1 overall.  They will do their damndest to win a game at home this weekend as they welcome in Des Moines for Thursday and Friday games.  Luke Eibler injured his shoulder on the road and will miss about a month for the Phantoms.

At the Thursday game, kids wearing Halloween costumes will be admitted for free with a paying adult.  It is also Mascot Mania night where mascots from various organizations will be entertaining the crowd during intermissions.  Confirmed to appear are Sparky, Chomper (Browns), Zippy (Akron), Pete the Penguin (YSU), and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Scrappy (Mahoning Valley Scrappers).

The Friday game is YSU night.  Anyone with a valid YSU ID will be admitted free of charge.  Friday is also $1 beer night.  So YSU fans who are planning on having a $1 beer better bring two forms of ID (just my opinion).   The puck drops at 7:05 both nights.  Come by the press area and say hi, I’ll see you there.

“Everyone wants ‘THE’ answer, if it was that simple, teams would never lose.  I have been in this business a long time and I don’t believe that there is ever an answer to ‘THE’ problem”, was what Coach Jon Heacock had to say when asked why the seemingly talented team he coaches can’t register wins or finish games in a favorable manner.  Last week, Youngstown State (4-4, 2-3) dropped a hard-fought contest which was again decided by a couple of mistakes.  The loss came at the hands of #9-ranked South Dakota State.  This week, the train of hard stops continues as YSU travels to Cedar Falls to face a very good Northern Iowa (5-3, 3-2) team.

If Northern Iowa sounds familiar to the casual fan, it is because they almost beat Iowa University in the opener for both schools this season, but ultimately lost by one point to the still-perfect Hawkeyes.  The Panthers then rattled off 5 straight wins before consecutive losses to Southern Illinois and South Dakota State.  Northern Iowa is now fighting for its own postseason privelages and YSU is in the unfamiliar role of spoiler.

Northern Iowa is paced by the play of Pat Grace at QB.  Grace is a 6-2, 240 pound Senior with plenty of big game experience.  Grace completes about 63% of his passes and has 17 TD’s through the air this season.  The Panthers also feature a pair of speedy receivers, D.P. Eyman and D.J. Hord, who have combined for 1,000 receiving yards on the season.  Coach Heacock was complimentary of the Panther attack saying, “They throw it down the field.  We will have to defend the run and keep the deep ball to a minimum because they [Northern Iowa] don’t need any help.”

YSU QB Brandon Summers expressed how Youngstown State feels about not going to the playoffs by saying, “We’re disappointed and we’re heartbroken.  We want to win the last three games because it’s not how you start but how you finish that is important.”

When asked what kind of grade he would give his team for the year, Heacock responded, “You didn’t get an ‘A’ so you didn’t pass the test.  The playoffs were the goal this season, and we are not going to be in the playoffs and that is unacceptable.”

Senior WR Aaron Pitts (pictured, #83, left) said says YSU owes the Panthers a little.  “We don’t give up.  We have got to be ready for Northern Iowa.  We lost to them by one point in each of the last two years.  We want to go in there and get it done.”  Pitts was making a reference to last year’s 21-20 loss and 2007’s 14-13  loss at Nothern Iowa. 

Penguins Notes

• Northern Iowa has won 15 of the last 18 games against YSU.
• The last time Youngstown State won at Northern Iowa was 1999 and they are 3-11 all-time at Cedar Falls.
• YSU Freshman Taylor Hill posted a career-high 12 tackles in the loss to South Dakota State.
• UNI Coach Mark Farley is 80-31 and has never lost to Youngstown State (8-0).

The game kicks off at 5:05 and will be aired on AM-570 with Bob Hannon, Dick Hartzell, and Robb Schmidt on the sidelines.  The air team hits the dial at 4:30, so be sure to tune in.  The weather has no bearing this week because the game will be played at the infamous UNI Dome.

Congratulations are in order to the 2009 Youngstown State University Homecoming King and Queen.  Krista Cunningham and Carrington Moore were announced as the new heirs to the throne at halftime of the Youngstown State – South Dakota State game on Saturday.  May your rule be filled with joy!

Youngstown State University will not be participating in the 2009 Postseason Playoffs.  That is the unfortunate reality following a 17-3 setback to #9 South Dakota State at Stambaugh Stadium.  The Jackrabbits were consistent and opportunistic in defeating a very tough YSU team in a physical game.  Defense and turnovers were the keys to victory for the Jackrabbits (7-1, 6-0) who got the big breaks at just the right times in turning back the Penguins (4-4, 2-3).

South Dakota State took the opening drive and marched all the way to the YSU 2-yard line before a penalty backed them up to the 7. After a couple of plays, the normally reliable Jackrabbit Kicker, Peter Reifenrath, hooked a 25-yard attempt and no scoring was recorded.

YSU took over on their own 20 and got to the South Dakota State 27 before having to settle on a 48-yard FG from Stephen Blose to take a 3-0 lead with 2:43 left in the first period. On the drive, Brandon Summers looked sharp and YSU featured a one-back offensive look with FB Dana Brown exclusively on the field for the entire drive. The first quarter would end with the 3-0 YSU lead.

Senior QB Ryan Crawford  marched the Jackrabbits deep into YSU territory. Good coverage prevented a couple of shots to the end zone and SDSU would have to settle for a Reifenrath field goal of 25-yards to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:33 left in the first half.

After an exchange of possessions, the half ended deadlocked with a 3-3 defensive battle taking place at The Ice Castle on Halloween.

A 5-yard Kyle Minett run put the Jackrabbits in front, 10-3, to capitalize on a Brandon Summers interception on the Penguins first play of the second half.  The turnover gave South Dakota State a ton of momentum coming out of the intermission.

Dailyn Campbell (6-1, Soph.) opened the next drive for YSU at quarterback. Summers had been hampered by an injury he suffered in last week’s loss at Southern Illinois.  Campbell used his speed and elusiveness to create positive rushing yards on a nice drive but the Penguins came up empty on a missed field goal leaving the score at 10-3. The next few drives saw Campbell and Summers being used at different times. After three quarters, the Jackrabbits clung to their 10-3 lead.

It was Minett again scoring at the 4:51 mark of the fourth quarter to extend the Jackrabbit lead to 17-3. The South Dakota State drive took almost five minutes off of the clock as they marched 66 yards in 9 plays.  The pattern that was becoming more obvious during this drive was that the Jackrabbits were not a big-play team, but rather a methodical and well-oiled machine able to get at least four yards per touch with anything extra being a bonus.  The SDSU tight ends and receivers seemed to shift and / or motion on every single offensive play.

The Penguins were able to move the ball 60 yards in less than a minute-and-a-half, but again came away empty turning the ball over on downs as Summers was sacked helped in part by a low snap.

The Penguins defense forced a quick three-and-out while burning their timeouts to get the ball back with just under two minutes left in the game. A sideline interference penalty turned a second-and-one to go into a second-and-seventeen to go, that is just the kind of day it ended up being for Youngstown State. South Dakota State would intercept Summers on fourth-and-twenty to seal the victory in a hard-fought 17-3 win.

For the victorious Jackrabbits, Ryan Crawford was 19 of 28 for 178 yards and 4 rushes for 22 more yards.  Kyle Minett had 22 carries for 87 yards and 2 catches for 32 yards.  Colin Cochart hauled in 6 Crawford passes for 51 yards.  Statistically, the Jackrabbits dominated the contest.  They had more first downs (17-14), more rushing yards (131-73), won the time of possession battle (32:36-27:24), and controlled the turnover battle (2-0).  When you are defeated in those four categories it is tough to win a game.

Youngstown State was paced by Dailyn Campbell (who only played sparingly in the second half) with 32 rushing yards on 7 attempts.  Brandon Summers finished the game going 19-29 for 181 yards and two interceptions.  Donald Jones and Dominique Barnes both caught six balls each to pace the Penguins receiving corps.

After the game, a very exhausted and frustrated Jon Heacock addressed the obvious problems that resulted in a loss.  “The playoffs are shot.  We will continue to practice and prepare like champions.”

Heacock also explained why Dailyn Campbell replaced Summers in the third quarter.  “It’s a tough decision for me to take a Senior out of a game.  In that situation, I was more inclined to give Brandon [Summers] a rest out of concern for an injury he has been battling from last week’s game.  I owe it to these Seniors who have stuck it out this long to always see that they get their chances.” 

Junior Andre Elliott said the Jackrabbits didn’t do anything surprising to win.  “They did everything we expected them to do.  Their offense doesn’t get big plays, they just move the ball.  We will continue to play hard because we want to send our Seniors out on a winning note.” 

The Penguins go back on the road next week traveling to Northern Iowa, their third ranked opponent in a row, for a 5:30 kickoff.

There are alot of quality skill-position players on this years Youngstown State University Football Team.  The Senior who gets overlooked too many times is Dana Brown.  Brown is a fundamentally solid running back who contributes in every way possible to help the Penguins win games.  Brown is a quiet and reserved individual but is loud and explosive on the field of play.  I got to catch up with Dana and here are the highlights of that interview:

Paneech:  Walk me through a typical day during football season.

Brown: Get up, we have breakfast check ten minutes before your first class, go to my classes, try to get lunch in between classes and having to get to practice at 2:10 for special teams meeting.  Then we do team meeting and then position meetings before we hit the field.

Paneech:  How hard was it to resist going to smaller schools where you went to high school closer to Clairton, PA? 

Brown:  I wanted to get away from home, well, not too far.  I ended up going real far when I went to Iowa, but I wanted to be away so there was no temptation to go home and get into trouble.  It was good to transfer to Youngstown State because I am alot closer to home.

Paneech:  Talk about the days at Iowa.  They are winning, undefeated, this season.  Due you root for the Hawkeyes, or are there hard feelings?

Brown:  I know alot of those guys, I still talk to some of them and consider them good friends.  I wish them the best and there are no hard feelings.  I like it here [Youngstown] because it is alot closer than Iowa was to the lifestyle that Pittsburgh has.  I like this team, the environment, and the family-type atmosphere that we have here.

Paneech:  This week you guys play South Dakota State.  Tell me what it would mean to pull off the upset.

Brown:  As you know, in the Missouri Valley Conference every game is tough.  Every conference game you play can go either way, you can win or lose.  We are going into this game wanting to execute and win the turnover margin.  We are coming into every game with a chip on our shoulders.  Obviously, we are doing better than we did last year but we want to keep the ball rolling.

Paneech:  With the tandem of running backs YSU is using (last week 4 RB’s got action), how are the carries split up and is there animosity between the group about who should get the bulk?

Brown:  We all expect to get our number called.  There is no selfishness, but we have to be ready when our number is called.  When we get on a roll and get the rhythm going with a back, coach will stick with the rhythm and use what is working best.

Paneech:  Have you decided on a major yet?

Brown:  I picked multi-media, technology, and web-based management.  Our world is slowly evolving into an age where technology takes over.  With that major, I have alot of different options I can go into. 

Paneech:  Tell me something about Dana Brown that I can’t read anywhere else.

Brown:  I’m a Christian, and I recently gave my life to the Lord.  I live the right way and I try to encourage my friends to live right also.  As a Senior, I have to be a good role model for the younger guys. 

Paneech:  What did you do on the bye weekend?

Brown:  That weekend was more of a rest period than anything else.  That doesn’t mean kicking back and not doing anything at all, it was an easier week.  At practice, we worked on the mental more than anything and we didn’t want to bang each other up too much.  At the same time, we wanted to get some work in.  We watched Ohio State play on Saturday.  Alot of teams that lost games that weekend also lost the turnover margin, so that is our goal.

One Word Answers

Favorite Cereal:  Frosted Flakes.

Best Running Back In The NFL:  Adrian Peterson.

Best Show On TV:  The Game on TNT.

Favorite Holiday:  Thanksgiving.

Best Movie Ever Made:  Pursuit of Happiness.

2009 Super Bowl Champs:  (laughs)  Pittsburgh Steelers, of course.

Kobe or LeBron:  Kobe.

Favorite Flavor of Handel’s Ice Cream:  Cookies and Cream. 

Best Cartoon Character:  Sponge Bob.

Besides Lettuce, What Goes In The Salad:  Croutons, cheese, and Ranch dressing.

Nicest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For You:  I’m still waiting on it (laughs).

Any fan of Rock & Roll in the Youngstown area will want to mark November 7, 2009 on their calenders.  Usually when a band we have heard of and admired for so many years comes to our area, they bring an opening act who might have a hit or two.  On November 7, Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Night Ranger will invade Youngstown in the biggest concert value of the year.  All three bands qualify as dominant headliners.  Maybe they flip coins backstage to determine who plays first and see who closes.

Tommy Shaw, the backbone of Styx, and Jack Blades of Night Ranger have collaborated several times in the past.  Styx and REO Speedwagon have been touring together off and on for almost a decade.  Expect surprises.  Shaw and Blades were together in the 80’s supergroup Damn Yankees.  Not long ago, the duo also did an album of remakes from various eras in music with Shaw-Blades.  None of the three performing groups have anything new that is tearing up the charts, but all three groups have a catalog of hits that could make a four-hour concert special because the audience could recognize every single tune performed.

Below, I have showcased the 10 must hear songs for each band.  I can guarantee you will hear at least eight from each list.  I also predict there will be collaborating of some sort.  Expect all three groups to do something together at the end.  The starpower coming to the Covelli Centre is unheard of.

10 Night Ranger Songs To Expect

• Sing Me Away (Above Video)
• Sister Christian
• (You Can Still) Rock In America
• Goodbye
• The Secret Of My Success
• Don’t Tell Me You Love Me
• When You Close Your Eyes
• Four In The Morning
• Restless Kind
• Sentimental Street

10 REO Speedwagon Songs To Expect

• Keep On Loving You (Above Video)
• Roll With The Changes
• That Ain’t Love
• Take It On The Run
• In My Dreams
• Don’t Let Him Go
• Can’t Fight This Feeling
• Time For Me To Fly
• One Lonely Night
• Ridin’ The Storm Out

10 Styx Songs To Expect

• Fooling Yourself (Above Video)
• Lady
• Too Much Time On My Hands
• Renegade
• Come Sail Away
• Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
• The Grand Illusion
• Crystal Ball
• Suite Madam Blue
• Miss America

The above lists are in no way set in stone, but rather my predictions of which songs you may hear at the November 7 concert.  There are several songs from each band that I do not have listed that may well be played.  I think there is a shot of hearing High Enough, the Damn Yankees hit,  as some sort of encore.

The thing that makes this triple-headed monster of a rock concert special is the ability of all three bands to harmonize.  Put any Night Ranger CD on, wipe off a Styx album, pop in an REO Speedwagon cassette and you will find a very common element – very thick and rich harmonies that trademark each bands sound as their own.  Don’t blow your chance at missing the very best concert Youngstown will have to offer for a long time.

Tickets are flying, but there are still a few left.  You can call the Covelli Centre Box Office at 330-746-5265 or Ticketmaster by phone at 800-745-3000.  You can also purchase tickets online with a credit card at Ticketmaster.com, by clicking on the link.

Kudos to Eric Ryan and staff at The Covelli Centre for bringing this high-level of entertainment to Youngstown, Ohio!

Richard Young is a ferocius forward with aspirations of going to bigger things.  The 18 year-old enforcer says the time he has spent with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL has already been rewarding.  Young is a character and someone I really enjoyed listening to.  He touched on everything from growing up in Philadelphia to how important his teammates really are to him.  Here are the highlights of my interview with Young:

Paneech:  Do you prefer to be called Richard or Rich?

Young:  You can call me anything you want to.  Alot of people call me Youngie or Young.  I also still get Rich and Richard, so take your pick.

Paneech:  Tell me about your road into hockey and how you got hooked up with the Phantoms organization.

Young:  I was born in Philadelphia.  Growing up, my stepdad would take me out back into the alleyways and we would play street hockey.  I would normally play goalee.  We then moved out to Jersey where I started playing alot of roller hockey.  A guy saw me and thought I should play ice hockey, so I went out not even really knowing how to skate.  My stepdad stayed with me and pretty much taught me everything I know.  I then played for the Little Flyers, which was a great organization and I really had fun.  I got a call from Jason Koehler asking me if I wanted to come and play in the USHL. 

Paneech:  I see scouts at the games, some from the pros, some from colleges.  It seems like they hide there identities, but you know they are there.  Does it affect you?

Young:  I don’t think about college because I don’t have the best GPA in the world.  I love the game, I love the boys (* Young refers to his teammates as the boys), I just love it.  The Lewiston Maniacs in the Quebec Hockey League and I kept contact for most of the Summer.  They were interested in me coming up and trying out at their camp.  I told them I was more interested in trying out for the USHL Phantoms.  They understood  and told me to stay in contact to let then know how everything was going. 

Paneech:  How do you like this level of hockey so far?

Young:  It’s a big step from the East Coast.  Hockey is not too big out there.  Coming out and playing with boys who are bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter has been fun.

Paneech:  You are racking up alot of penalty minutes.  Do you like having the repuatation of the playground bully?

Young:  I almost pattern my style after Eric Lindros and the whole tough-guy act.  When I want to, I try to put some finesse into the game.  I try to keep the boys on their feet, keep the intensity level up and going.  I try to create some life when we go down by a goal, I would do anything to help my team.

Paneech:  I was at the Tri-City game this past weekend and you got a penalty for what looked like a clean hit.  The hit happened behind their goal and the player you bumped stayed down.  You then went to the penalty box and were jawing across at a Tri-City player also in the penalty box, what kind of stuff gets said?

Young:  He wanted to go, wanted to fight.  At the time, I really didn’t want to fight because I was having a good game, was getting some shots on net, was battling, and it was 3-3 so I didn’t really see a reason to fight.  It was more important in that situation to get the puck in the net and get a win.  It wasn’t too hard to restrain myself, I just laughed at the kid.  I asked him earlier in the game if he wanted to go in the first period and he said no.  I asked a couple of other guys if they wanted to go and they said no.  There is no reason to fight with under five minutes left in the game because that is when everybody turns into a tough guy.

Paneech:  So what you are telling me is that you guys can kind of script when you fight before it happens?

Young:  If somebody skates by and asks me if I want to fight when I am on the bench, I tell them no every time.  If we are jockeying for position on a draw, I won’t.  To me it has to be a heat of the moment thing.  If somebody is taking cheap shots or running their mouth at one of our players, then I say yeah, lets go.

Paneech:  How short of a fuse does Richard Young have?

Young:  Depends what kind of day you catch him on.  Sometimes it takes alot, other times it takes just a little. The maddest I ever got at a hockey game was probably that overtime loss we had in Lincoln.  We were outplaying, outshooting, and outgrinding them and they caught a lucky bounce and we lost.  I was pretty upset and was grateful that the boys were able to pick me up and tell me that it was okay, we would have another shot at them someday.

Paneech:  What was the most penalty minutes you ever got in a game?

Young:  Last year in the AJ, my first fight.  My captain was jumped, so I went in and grabbed the kid.  I ended up with a little over 30 penalty minutes when it was all said and done.  10 for fighting after a whistle, 5 for fighting, 10 for facemasking, and 10 for being an instigator.  I got a little bit.

Richard Young (in blue) works on his fighting skills at practice

One Word Answers

Best Cartoon Ever Made:  The Hulk.

Best Defenseman In The NHL:  Mike Green.

Favorite Fruit:  Watermelon.

Toppings On A Pizza:  None, just the cheese and sauce.

Best Musicians Out There:  Aerosmith.

Name The Four Beatles:  (laughs) I don’t know one.

Favorite Restaurant In Youngstown:   Golden Corral.

Favorite Sport Other Than Hockey:  Lacrosse.

Favorite Character On Family Guy:  Peter.

One Word To Describe Coach Mainhardt:  Papa Bear.

Notable Quotes

• “We are getting lazy when we go up a couple of goals, it is something we need to work on, to just stay on it.  We need to stay on top, keep grinding, and just start putting teams away.”
• “We feel like we can compete with and beat anybody.  If they feel they can just come in and walk all over us, they have got another thing coming.”
• “Everything we do, we do as one.  If you do something wrong, the whole team knows about it and you get punished by 23 other guys.  They don’t let you live anything down.”
• “I put my boys in front of myself and I never put myself first.”

Two great players on one team.  Two accomplished athletes who love to compete, but love to win more.  Two guys with one goal, to bring an NBA Championship to Cleveland.  If last night was any indicator, two guys have their work cut out.  The Cavs started the game on a positive note.  They were finishing, Anthony Parker looked like the right peg for the vacant hole, and for a moment, I believed that the two men pictured would be able to carry the rest of the load.  Unfortunately, the Cavs fell into ‘predictable’ mode in the second half and played like they did against Orlando in last years postseason.  It’s one game, I won’t kick and scream yet, but changes must be made to the offense.  Boston 95, Cleveland 89. 

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• Not Qualified To Comment says there is a racism problem in the Chicago Cubs organization that has existed for years.
• Major League Jerk points out the inconsistencies that are plaguing the Chicago Bears.
• Josh Q. Public takes a further look at last nights Cavs vs Celtics matchup in the article titled Paul Pierce and the Celtics.
• Guyism says that Andre Agassi has fessed up on his use of controlled substances and has some pretty funny-looking pics of the tennis great.
• PSAMP thinks that Mike Tomlin, Head Coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is such a boss. The Mike Tomlin rap song by Freak Show.
• Chicago’s MMA is giving away a Joachim Hansen signed jersey.  Click on the link to find out how you can win.
• MoonDog Sports takes a look at Halloween costumes that just aren’t going to work.
• Style Points has the information of more Favre’s coming through the pipeline, as Brett has a nephew who is excelling as a high school quarterback.
• Outside The Boxscore has video of Terry Bradshaw’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.
• Sports Untapped calls the Kansas City Chiefs disgruntled running back, Larry Johnson, the king of apologies.