Despite a Short Bench, Flyers Take Two from Minutemen!

Injuries, call-ups and college visits resulted in the Philadelphia Junior Flyers Junior B team playing the Valley Forge Minutemen on Saturday with only 13 skaters. Despite a rocky start which found the Flyers down 1-0 after the first period, the team battled back to take two points they could not afford to lose.

After being held scoreless in the first period, the Flyers Devon Young registered a key goal and his first of the season on a nice one-time snap shot from the slot on a feed from Drew Zucker. The Flyers Corey Alexieff would bury a rebound off the back boards to put the Flyers up 2-1 but five minutes later, the Minutemen capitalized on a 5 on 3 powerplay to tie the game at two.

The Junior Flyers stayed out of the penalty box in the third period and with just over 8 minutes left to play in the game, Drew Zucker utilized his speed to beat the Minutemen defense to a loose puck and buried one past Valley Forge Goaltender George Stark. Just over three minutes later, Zucker found a small opening on the short side and gave the Flyers an insurance goal to put the game away and secured two desperately needed points for the Flyers. Philadelphia goaltender Tyler George stopped 18 out of 20 shots on the night for the win.

Despite only adding one skater for Sunday’s game, the Flyers added offense that was missing in their previous contest. Zucker opened the scoring just over six minutes into the game on a feed from Zach Olah. Alexieff would capitalize on a nice power play feed from Zucker with just over five minutes left in the first period to put the Flyers up 2-0.

Despite numerous opportunities throughout the second period, the Flyers would not get on the board until just 26 seconds left in the period when Alexieff scored his second goal of the night giving the Flyers a 3 – 0 lead heading into the third period.

Starting the third period on the powerplay, Drew Zucker scored his second goal of the day 34 seconds in and the Flyers would not look back. Defensemen Isaac Spinler scored the Flyers fifth goal of the night intercepting a pass in the neutral zone and carrying through the Minutemen defense before beating the goaltender for his first regulation goal of the season. Joe Camerlengo and Erik Ehinger also added goals for the Flyers in the third. At the final buzzer, Philadelphia goaltender Jake Evan turned away 14 out of 15 shots and the Flyers took four valuable points on the weekend.

Next weekend will be huge for the team as they seek revenge against their cross town rivals, the Philadelphia Little Flyers who have held the Junior Flyers scoreless so far this year, beating them 4-0 and 3-0 in mid-November.

Saturday’s game is at Ice Line at 3:15 PM and Sunday’s game will take place at Aston at 11:00 AM.

Jr. Flyers Take Six out of Eight Possible Points in Thanksgiving Showcase!

This past holiday weekend, the JR Flyers demonstrated they are not a team to be overlooked amongst the MJHL’s elite.

The first showcase opponent pinned the Flyers against a strong New Jersey Rockets team (15 – 3 – 1). The game was back and forth throughout the first and second halves but it was the goaltenders who dominated play. Despite both goalies being tested, neither could be beat in regular play or overtime and Flyer goalie Philipp Allmaier would be tested in the Flyers league leading 6^th shootout. Although the team had not had great success in past shootout play, Drew Zucker and Joe Camerlengo gave the Flyers two goals and it came down to defenseman Isaac Spinler to seal the win. A well placed shot by the fifth and final shooter low on the ice beat the Rockets goalie and got the weekend started on the right track.

The second game pinned the team against the Francis Division’s Walpole Express (14 – 5 – 2). Although the Flyers were victorious in their previous meeting against Walpole, it was a 2-1 battle that was hard fought by both teams. In this game, special teams would be the difference maker and it would not be in the Flyers favor. A weak interference call late in the first period put Flyer Assistant Captain Drew Zucker in the penalty box and the Express would capitalize with just 28 seconds left in the first half. The Flyers came out flying in the second and despite several good chances, could not get the puck past Walpole goaltender Brendon Hammatt. The Express would strike again on the powerplay with just over three minutes left to play in the game and despite pulling goaltender Tyler George, who played strong in net, the Flyers could not find the equalizer falling to Walpole 2 – 0.

The team would play their second game of the day against a struggling New York Saints (1 – 19 – 1). A rocky start by the Flyers left them down 2 – 1 at the half. Despite a goal from Joe Camerlengo, the Saints found the back of the net on two late goals, both coming with less than three minutes left in the first. The Flyers made some adjustments at intermission and a powerplay goal by Tyler Kopen (1 – 0) opened the door for a strong second half of play. Billy Donovan would score just 16 seconds after Kopen found the back of the net and the Flyers would add another even strength goal less than two minutes later from Assistant Captain Kyle Drury. An aggressive penalty kill led to two Flyers shorthanded goals, one while killing a 5 on 3 by Donovan (2 – 0) and Camerlengo (2 – 2), their second goals of the night. Jordan Storz (1 – 0) would cap the Flyers scoring using his speed to beat a Saints defensemen and a rushing goaltender to put the puck in an open net. The Flyers put up 49 shots to the Saints 16 in route to 7 – 2 win and the teams second victory of the weekend. The following player registered points in the game, Paro (0  - 1), Spinler (0 – 2), Young, (0 – 2), McKee (0 – 1), Ehinger (0 – 1), Olah (0 – 2) and Moll (0 – 2). Goaltender Jake Evan picked up the win for the Flyers.

The final game would pin the Flyers against the New Jersey Rockets team for the second time in the weekend. The Rockets were coming off of three tough losses to some of the leagues best and were not going to come out quietly. Both teams played physical from the start and were not going to back down. The Rockets scored first on a fluke goal from the point which hit Flyers goaltender Phil Allmaier in the glove and trickled into the net. Despite the goal, the Flyers team did not give up and Allmaier shut the door on the Rockets for the remainder of the game. The Flyers came out in the second period and Drew Zucker scored on a nice two on one goal from Jimmy McKee to tie the game half way through the second period.  Less than four minutes later, Zucker would capitalize again on the powerplay on a nice drop pass from Joe Camerlengo to get the go ahead goal. The Flyers would persevere and close out the game despite a penalty by McKee which gave the Rockets a man advantage for almost the last two minutes of the game.

Overall, the team made strong improvements and is charging into the second half of the season in a positive direction. The team will look to keep things going as they battle an improving Valley Forge Minutemen team in league play on December 12^th and 13^th at Center Ice at 5:45PM and 10:45AM respectively.

McKee leads way as Jr Flyers Take Three out of Four Points from Renegades!

Saturday’s game in New Jersey would test the JR Flyers character as a slow first period almost cost them a loss. A lack of toughness in front of the net led to two goals and a screened shot from the point sent the Flyers into the lockeroom after one period down 3 – 0. Determined to not allow any more goals, Tom Littwin closed the door on multiple additional opportunities and allowed the Flyers to chip away at the three goal lead.

On Sunday, the JR Flyers would come out in the first period with much more enthusiasm then was demonstrated in Saturday’s contest. Just over the half way point in the period, Jimmy McKee registered his first goal of the night on a feed from Drew Zucker in front. The play between the both teams went back and forth for most of the remaining minutes until with just under twenty seconds left, McKee and Zucker connected again to give the JR Flyers a boost headed into the first intermission up 2 – 0.

JR Flyer goaltender and ex-Renegade Tyler George stood strong in the net and kept the visiting team off the scoreboard despite a few solid scoring opportunities. The Renegades took an interference penalty mid way through the period and JR Flyer Captain Jimmy McKee would register his third goal of the night and a natural hatrick on the power play on a feed from Tyler Kopen who tallied two assists in the game.

The home team came out a little flat in the third period and at the 8:26 mark in the period allowed the Renegades on the board cutting the lead to two. However; with a little more than five minutes remaining, Drew Zucker scored a rebound goal on a good effort in front to put the Renegades away for good.

The team will be in Cromwell, Connecticut this weekend for an MJHL Showcase. The JR Flyers will be playing four games in three days and will look to keep the momentum going into the second half of the season.

The team would like to wish everyone safe travels and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Jr. Flyers Shut Out by Cross Town Rivals!

It was a tough weekend for the JR Flyers as they battled a Little Flyer team that had only one loss since October 10. In a weekend which could have put the JR Flyers ahead of the Little Flyers in the standings by two points, and tied with the Titans for second place in the Dowd Division, the two losses put the JR Flyers in fourth place just ahead of the New Jersey Renegades.

Saturday’s game was tight until just under three minutes to play in the first period when the Little Flyers got on the board with a goal by Steve Falcone. Dave Owsiany would add another goal less than a minute later and would put the Little Flyers up by two at the end of the first period.

The JR Flyers came out stronger in the second period but could not put the puck past Little Flyer goaltender Stephen Kelly. The Little Flyers went on the power play late in the second period and capitalized with just under a minute left in the period.

Not much changed for the JR Flyers in the third as the Little Flyers added their fourth and final goal of the night just over two minutes into the period. Despite the shot total being tied at twenty six for both teams, the Little Flyer goaltender combo of Kelly and Matt Franko, who got some time late in the third period, would not allow the JR Flyers on the scoreboard.

Sunday would prove no better for the JR Flyers. Similar to game one, neither team would get a goal until late in the first period. The Little Flyers capitalized on a defensive breakdown by the JR Flyers and Chris Brennan scored his first of two goals on the night with just over a minute left in the period. The JR Flyers had their share of opportunities in the second period but the Little Flyers would score on a neutral zone turnover which led to a two on one rush and the puck in the back of the JR Flyer net.

The Little Flyers Brennan would score his second goal of the night and the final goal of the game just over three minutes into the third period. Toughness around the offensive net was something the JR Flyers lacked all weekend and no one on the team would be able to find the back of the net.

The JR Flyers are looking to pick up a few points in the standings and put some distance between them and an up and coming New Jersey Renegades team when they take to the road for a game against the Renegades in Flemington on Saturday night at 6:15PM. The Flyers then return home on Sunday verses the Renegades with puck drop scheduled for 10:45AM.