BOX SCORE

Back and forth we go.

Neither the Philadelphia Little Flyers EHL Premier team nor the New Jersey 87s have been able to get a leg up on each other so far in 2020-21.

Take a look at the results:

Oct. 3 - 5-4 PLF win
Oct. 10 - 6-3 87s win
Oct. 11 - 6-4 PLF win
Oct. 23 - 4-3 87s win
Oct. 31 - 7-0 PLF win

The Little Flyers had a chance to sweep a weekend home-and-home set and finally put some separation in the season series on Sunday but New Jersey was too much to handle in a 4-1 loss at Jersey Shore Arena.

Through the first six meetings, we’ve come to expect a few things from these division rivals: High-powered offenses, plenty of speed and no shortage of intensity.

Next weekend will feature another two-game set -- one at IceWorks Skating Complex on Saturday and the other back at Jersey Shore Arena on Sunday. The final two matchups will be played on Jan. 22 and Feb. 28, both home games for New Jersey.

Philadelphia looked like it was going to get off to another fast start this afternoon. Just a few minutes in, Nicolas Bouchard made a beautiful touch pass to Logan Downs, who split two 87s defensemen and tried to go glove side on his shot but was stopped by Matt Corella.

On the opposite end of the ice, Angelo Carboni dived to block a cross-ice pass attempt on a 2-on-1 rush to send the puck back the other way on PLF’s next shift. Ryan Kertis sent a saucer pass over to Jack Ellis but Corella managed to get his left pad on the shot.

The 87s took control in the opening minutes of the second period. Ivan Borisov scored after his shot hit the crossbar and bounced past Trey Mattern's goalline at 1:46 and Anthony Mule went five-hole at 6:53 to put New Jersey up 2-0.

Philadelphia used a late power play to get some momentum back in its favor. After some great work down low by Johnny Lee and Downs, Bouchard put a high-percentage shot on target that somehow managed to just miss finding the goal net. 

Bouchard wasn't going to go into intermission without getting one back, however. With just 52 seconds remaining in the second, William DiStefano made a nice read at the blue line and picked off a breakout attempt. He then dished the puck to the bottom of the circle to Jon Rineer, who fed Bouchard for a one-timer to make it a 2-1 game.

Mattern, fresh off his first career junior shutout on Saturday, was tested twice with less than 10 seconds to go but came up with back-to-back glove saves to keep the game within reach.

The third period was all 87s though. They fired 16 shots on Mattern, who finished with 39 saves, and collected insurance markers from Brock Forrest (3:05) and Robert Calice (14:35) to skate away with a 4-1 victory.

Loose pucks
Bouchard has recorded at least one point in nine out of Philadelphia's 10 games this season. He leads the team in scoring with five goals and 12 assists. ... The Little Flyers went a perfect 8 for 8 on the penalty kill this weekend. After going 2 for 6 on the man advantage Saturday, they failed to convert on any of their three power plays on Sunday.