The 2016-17 Eastern Hockey League Regular Season Champion, Philadelphia Little Flyers, kicked off the post season against the eight seed in the South conference, Connecticut Nighthawks.  The Little Flyers had success in the regular season against the Nighthawks, sweeping the season series 4-0.  

     In game 1, Sam Kany was in net for the Little Flyers and a familiar face in net at the opposite end of the ice in Brock Thompson for the Nighthawks.  Last season, Thompson split time in net with Kany for the Little Flyers, as the duo led the team to the EHL's finals against the New Hampshire Monarchs.  The Little Flyers controlled play for most of the first period challenging Thompson but were unable to get one past the Nighthawks net minder.  A Nighthawks roughing penalty would give the Little Flyers their first power play opportunity of the game and a prime chance to take the lead.  Joey Savel was able to light the lamp as he took a pass from Cameron Bartkoski and fired a shot high and short side past Thompson to take the lead.  A few minutes later it was the Nighthawks who found themselves on the power play with just over thirty seconds to play in the first period.  Ten seconds into the power play the Nighthawks capitalized she Gavin O'Neil took a cross ice pass that he shot on net and found its way through Kany.  

     With the two teams tied in the second period the Little Flyers dominated play, outshooting the Nighthawks 12-3 but were unable to retake the lead.  Still tied at 1-1 in the third period both teams locked down the defensive zone, not allowing many prime scoring opportunities.  Just over five minutes into the period a Nighthawks shot that went wide bounced off of the backboards and out the opposite to Kirk Underwood who was able to get it past a sliding Kany to give the underdog Nighthawks a 2-1 lead.  For the remainder of the period the Little Flyers attempted to tie the game but couldn't solve Thompson, as the Nighthawks came in and won game one by a score of 3-1, adding an empty net goal at the end of the game.  In the game, Thompson saved 31 of 32 Little Flyer shots on goal leading the number eight seed Nighthawks being just one win away from eliminating the EHL's regular season champions.  "We knew Brock was going to be ready.  He is a great goalie and an even better person.  There was never a question that he was going to bring his best effort against us. We emphasized the importance of getting in front of him and looking for 2nd and 3rd chances" said Little Flyers head coach Rocky Russo following the game. 

     With their backs against the wall and just one loss away from an early summer the Little Flyers turned to Joe Giacobbo as the starting goaltender.  Giacobbo, would be making his first career playoff start in the junior ranks in a must win game for his team.  A power play chance just under two minutes into the game gave the Little Flyers a chance to grab an early lead.  Fifteen seconds into the power play, a blast from Evan Heldt through traffic beat Thompson to put the Little Flyers up 1-0, Joey Savel and Alex Ochterbeck would assist on the goal.  "The goal from Evan was important in two ways, obviously we wanted to establish an early lead but more importantly we wanted to have some success on the power play.  That goal accomplished both goals at the same time" said Russo.  Throughout the period the Little Flyers continued to point the Nighthawks goaltender with 17 total shots on goal in the period, but were unable to add to the lead.  Giacobbo down the other end was solid for the home team, making 8 saves in the first.

       The Little Flyers would start the second period on the power play as a Nighthawks penalty carried over into the second period.  Just over a minute into the period a Cameron Bartkoski wrister from the circle found its way to the back of the net with Little Flyer bodies in front of the net screening Thompson, Jamie Bucell and Nate Rogers were credited with assists.  The Nighthawks would not go away quietly as they took advantage of a power play chance of their own, finally getting a puck past Giacobbo with five minutes to play in the second period.  

     Starting the third period with a one goal lead in a must win situation, it would be '98 birth year forward Alex Peterson who would provide the insurance for the Little Flyers.  Just 1:45 into the period, a cutting Peterson would take a backhand pass from Savel and fire a shot high over Thompson's blocker to give the Little Flyers a 3-1 lead.  Three minutes later it would be Peterson again, as he deflected a Savel wrist shot into the back of the net to give his team a three goal lead with under fifteen minutes to play.  The defense and Giacobbo would clamp down on the Nighthawks in the third, only allowing them six shots on goal in the period.  Winning the game 4-1 the two teams were set to face off in a decisive game 3 on Sunday afternoon.

      In Sunday's must win game, it was Giacobbo in net for the second straight game for the Little Flyers.  While the Little Flyers dominated play in the first, they had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard for the first 17 minutes.  The old saying is "captains lead by example" and Little Flyers captain, Peter Hatton gave his team the lead they needed.  At the 17:42 mark of the first period with a Nighthawks defenseman screening Thompson, Hatton took a pass from line mate Brett Abdelnour and beat Thompson for a 1-0 lead.

     The next goal would be huge for either team and it was once again Alex Peterson who came up big.  Coming down the wing with the puck Peterson backhanded a puck on net that was initially saved, the rebound deflected off a Nighthawks defenseman and into the net.  Just two minutes later it would be another Alex, Alex Ochterbeck adding to the Little Flyers lead.  While on the power play Ochterbeck took a pass from Peterson and shot the puck into the back of the Nighthawks net.  Just like Saturday's game, the Nighthawks responded with a power play goal of their own to cut the lead to 3-1 heading to the third period.  

     In the third, both teams got numerous power play chances but neither could capitalize on the opportunities.  With time winding down in the third period and their season on the line, the Nighthawks pulled Thompson with over two minutes to play.  Ochterbeck would ice the game for the Little Flyers, scoring an empty net goal for his second score of the game.  In the third period Giacobbo saved all six shots that he faced, advancing the Little Flyers to the quarterfinals.  "Joe did exactly what our staff expected of him, he made the saves he needed to make and a few that we didn't expect.  It's great to have two number one goalies at this time of year. We can expect big performances from him and Sam as we move forward" said Coach Russo following game 3.  Coming back from an 0-1 deficit in the best of three series both Little Flyers captains, Peter Hatton and Chris Best liked what they saw from their team in two must win games, "I think we had a great response" said Hatton, he continued "Obviously losing game one wasn't the plan going into the series, but we knew we were going to face adversity throughout the playoffs and this was the first obstacle. It's huge to respond and gain some confidence knowing that we may be down but never out of the fight.  We definitely had some guys step up this weekend when things got tough. Coach Russo changed a few things up and the Savel line with Peterson and Ochterbeck really came through for us. Every guy whether on the ice or not helped contribute and prove the strong character and fight our team has" said Hatton.  Best added similar thoughts to the way the team bounced back after game 1, "I thought we responded well and showed that hopefully we can bounce back during a very tough series.  We will most definitely have more tough opponents if we hope to win this year.  It's clear to see everyone's character on the team, that's never the issue. We just need to remain focused and keep a game plan in sight while working towards a common goal" said Best following the game 3 victory.

Peterson Named TSR Hockey First Round Top Performer

Alex Peterson was named the TSR Hockey Top Performer for the Little Flyers first round series against the Connecticut Nighthawks.  Peterson, led the way for the Little Flyers offense scoring three goals, including what would be the game winner in the clinching game 3.  During Game 2 with the Little Flyers up 2-1 in the third period Peterson scored two goals just three and a half minutes a part to give his team a commanding 4-1 lead.  “Alex has had a slow recovery from an upper body injury he dealt with in January.  He has finally gotten back to playing 100% and that was huge for us.  He has a knack for scoring big goals for us and this weekend was no exception” said Little Flyers head coach Rocky Russo of Peterson’s first round performance.