Aston, PA -- The Little Flyers hit the road for three games at the Eastern Hockey League's second Showcase of the season in Hudson, New Hampshire.  The first opponent of the weekend was the always tough Northern Cyclones.  The Little Flyers would start veteran Sam Kany in the Saturday evening matchup. 

            Some back and forth play started the first period as both teams were able to generate some shots on goal but neither team was able to find the back of the net.  The Little Flyers found themselves on the Power Play five minutes into the period and they would capitalize.  Defenseman Cameron Bartkoski passed the puck to Captain Peter Hatton at the blue line; Hatton shot a wrister towards the net that was put in by forward Alex Peterson for the power play goal and an early 1-0 lead.  The Cyclones would have their opportunity to answer as the Little Flyers committed penalties to give their opponent two straight power play opportunities.  However, Kany was up to the task, making several saves against the Cyclones power play.  After successfully killing off both penalties the Cyclones would tie the game midway through the period on a rebound chance to the side of goalie, Sam Kany.  The Cyclones would keep the pressure on in the first period outshooting the Little Flyers 16-8.  The second period started with both teams going on the power play early but neither could break the 1-1 tie.  The Little Flyers created pressure in the offensive zone with forwards Tom Holowchuck and Brett Abdelnour getting the puck along the boards and finding a wide open Joey Savel all alone with the goaltender across the ice.  Savel would beat the Cyclones goalie high glove side to give the Little Flyers a 2-1 lead on his first goal in a Little Flyers uniform.  The Cyclones put the pressure on for the rest of the period but Kany and a team defensive effort prevailed as the Little Flyers won 2-1.  Sam Kany finished the game with 28 saves and his third win of the season.  "We started out slow. We were losing battles, and gave up opportunities. The second half we played Little Flyer Hockey. We were the first to the puck, and we eliminated their Grade-A scoring chances. All the boys were blocking shots, and the bench was igniting.  Every team is going to give us 110% every night and we need to be ready and play up to our level” said Kany after the game. 

            The Little Flyers were back on the ice early Sunday morning with a matchup against the Walpole Express.  Head coach Rocky Russo would start rookie Joe Giacobbo in net who is off to a hot start, bringing a record of 2-0 with two shutouts into the game.  The Little Flyers would get a prime opportunity to take the lead early in the game as they were on the power play just over two minutes into the first period.  After winning the face off, Defenseman Cameron Bartkoski found Peter Hatton along the half wall who fired the puck into the slot for Konsta Jaakola , Jaakola took a backhand shot which beat the Express goalie to put the Little Flyers up 1-0 just 12 seconds into the power play.  The Express would try to tie the game late in the period on the power play but Giacobbo was up to the task, saving a shot from the circle and the rebound opportunity at point blank range in front of the net.  Jaakola's goal would stand as the only scoring in the first period.  After the intermission the Express would strike early in the second period on a shot from the point that was deflected in past Giacobbo to tie the game at 1-1.  The game would remain tied until the 11:32 mark of the 2nd period when forward Chris Franzen took a pass from Zikmund Mroz in the neutral zone, moving into the offensive zone Franzen made a move past a defender, while falling down to the ice Franzen shot the puck past the Walpole Express goalie to take a 2-1 lead.  “Great job by Ziki (Zikmund Mroz) blocking the shot and getting the puck out to me, went by the defenseman, lost an edge, shot the puck and scored,  it feels good to get the game winner” said Franzen after the game.  “We struggled a little in the first period but I think everyone stepped it up in the second and we were able to win the game, one of my favorite players Wayne Gretzky said “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” so we just have to keep on shooting” continued Franzen.  The Walpole Express would get their chances but couldn’t connect as the Little Flyers held on for the 2-1 win.  The Express outshot the Little Flyers 19-12 in the period; Joe Giacobbo improved to 3-0 on the season making 29 shots. 

              Columbus Day brought a matchup with the Boston Jr. Rangers before the Little Flyers headed back to Philadelphia.  A scoreless first half of the period saw the Little Flyers and Jr. Rangers get limited scoring chances until Peter Hatton broke the 0-0 tie.  A Chris Best shot from the point was deflected by Konsta Jaakola, Hatton got to the rebound and put the puck in the net for a 1-0 lead.  The Hatton goal would ignite the offense, as the Little Flyers scored four goals in just over one minute of game time to take a commanding 4-0 lead.  Bobby Rogers put the Little Flyers up 2-0 after following a shot to the net Rogers stuck with the play and scored the goal.  Eleven seconds later Alex Ochterbeck would extend the lead with a wrist shot off of a pass from Joey Savel and Will Vanderveen.  Ochterbeck would strike again just twenty seconds after his first goal as he deflected a Trevor Lewandoski shot into the back of the net.  “That stretch of play was huge for Alex (Ochterbeck), hopefully today’s game boosts his confidence and shows him that he’s capable of scoring at this level” said Coach Rocky Russo.  Brett Abdelnour would get in on the scoring, taking a shorthanded 2-on-1 chance to beat the Jr. Rangers goaltender high and glove side with a wrist shot, Will Vanderveen assisted on the play.  The Jr. Rangers would score their only goal of the day less than a minute later creating traffic in front of Little Flyers goaltender Sam Kany to put a second chance puck into the net.  The final scoring in the game would be scored by defenseman Cameron Bartkoski who carried the puck from his own defensive zone past the Jr. Rangers blue line and wristed a shot into the net.  In total seven goals were scored over an eleven and a half minutes of game time in the first period.  The second period would see the Little Flyers outshoot the Jr. Rangers 18-12 but neither team would put a goal on the board.  Sam Kany stopped 24 of 25 shots in the game for his fourth win of the season.  Head Coach Rocky Russo was pleased overall by his team’s effort this weekend “we’ve been struggling to find the back of the net for a majority of the season, coming into the weekend we were averaging just over 2.5 goals per game and our staff has been preaching getting into the dirty areas to create good chances.  We had a lot of guys contribute this weekend, we just need to maintain complete efforts in all zone and not take any shifts off.” 

Kany named to League’s Three Stars of the Week, Little Flyers named Team of the Week.

     Little Flyers 1996 birth year goaltender Sam Kany was named to the EHL’s Three Stars of the Week for his performance at the Hudson Showcase.  Kany started two games, winning both while making 52 saves on 54 shots.  For the season Kany improves his overall record to 4-0-1 lowering his goals against average to 1.32 with a .943 save percentage.  The Little Flyers were named EHL Premier Team of the Week going 3-0 at the league’s second showcase of the year.  The team scored 10 goals in the three games while only allowing three goals against.  The Little Flyers are on home ice this weekend with three games including a 2pm rematch of the leagues championship series with the New Hampshire Monarchs Friday October 14, at IceWorks in Aston, PA.