Aston, PA -- Having won 14 games in a row, The Little Flyers hit the road this past weekend for a two game series in Connecticut with the Nighthawks.  With goaltenders Sam Kany and Joe Giacobbo near the top of all goalie stats in the league thus far, Kany and Giacobbo would each get a start this weekend.  Kany drew the first nod and was in-between the pipes for Saturday nights matchup.

                The visitors wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as just 2:58 into the first period Little Flyers forward Oliver Arnberg batted a Nate Rogers puck out of the air and into the net for the early 1-0 lead.  Seeing Arnberg, Rogers and line-mate Jamie Bucell's names in the box score would be a reoccurring theme on the weekend.  The first period was played at a fast pace, as neither team would commit a penalty.  The Little Flyers lead would double, to 2-0 as Alex Ochterbeck got to a rebound in front of the net to backhand it past the Nighthawks goaltender for his 8th goal of the season, Konsta Jaakola and Evan Heldt were credited with assists on the play. The Nighthawks would fight back as they cut the Little Flyers lead to one as they found a way to beat Kany with just over 1:30 left in the first period.  The Little Flyers would go into the first intermission doubling up the Nighthawks in shots on goal 16-8.

                The fore-checking of the aforementioned Bucell, Arnberg, Rogers combo got the Little Flyers back on the board in the second period.  The B.A.R line sustained pressure in the offensive zone with several shots towards the net and an effective cycle.  This freed up Rogers who took the puck off the half board towards the slot and wristed a shot into the net to put the Little Flyers up 3-1, Bucell and Arnberg assisted on the play.  The Nighthawks answered back late in the period with a goal of their own to once again cut the Little Flyers lead to one.  A Nighthawks roughing penalty with 2:30 left in the second period put the Little Flyers on the Power Play.  The Little Flyers would capitalize on the opportunity as Joey Savel sent the puck to Alternate Captain Evan Heldt at the point, Heldt would wind up and fire a slap shot into the back of the net for a 4-2 lead heading into the final intermission. 

                An Alex Peterson hooking penalty early in the third period had the Little Flyers a man short but that didn't stop the offensive charge.  Co-Captain Peter Hatton was in the Nighthawks zone applying pressure as the Nighthawks were attempting to leave their zone with the puck.  The Nighthawks defenseman that was carrying the puck lost an edge and coughed the puck up to Hatton.  All alone with the Nighthawks net-minder Hatton put a shot on goal that was initially saved but the tenacious Hatton wouldn't give up on the play and poked the puck in the net for his 7th goal of the season.  The final scoring of the game would come from Nate Rogers as he took a pass from Oliver Arnberg and one timed it into the back of the net for his 2nd goal of the game, defenseman Will Vanderveen was also credited with an assist on the goal. "Arnie made a good move past the defenseman and made a perfect pass to me, all I had to do was put it in" said Rogers.  The 6-2 final extended the Little Flyers win Streak to 15 games and was goaltender Sam Kany's 8th win of the year as he saved 20 of 22 shots he faced. 

                Sunday’s game saw Joe Giacobbo in net for the Little Flyers as they looked to pick up their second win of the weekend.  Similar to Saturday the Little Flyers would find themselves on the scoreboard first as Peter Hatton opened the scoring on a power play goal at the 14:58 mark of the first period.  Hard work along the boards by Little Flyers forwards Christian Karbler and Alex Peterson got the puck to Hatton who skated in and fired a wrist shot past the Nighthawks net minder for his 8th goal of the season and his 5th straight game with a goal.

                The lone goal of the second period came courtesy of the B.A.R line as Jamie Bucell and Oliver Arnberg were on a 2-on-1 in the Nighthawks zone.  Bucell dished a pass over to Arnberg on the wing who one timed it into the back of the net, Nate Rogers also picked up an assist on the play.  This isn't the last of this line we would see on Sunday.  The aggressive Little Flyers defense wouldn't allow many opportunities for the Nighthawks offense as after two periods of play shots on goal were 36-12 in favor of the Black and Orange.  Bucell extended the Little Flyers lead to 3-0 just over two minutes into the third period. "Good play all the way around. Rogers cycled the puck back to me, when I was cutting back Rogers was moving to the net which kind of set a little pick so I was able to cut again towards the middle.  I saw Arnberg screening in front of the net so I shot a high corner shot that ended up going in" described Bucell of the third period goal.  Halfway through the third the Little Flyers power play would strike again as an Alex Peterson pass found Oliver Arnberg at the side of the net to go up 4-0 with ten minutes to go in the third.  Two minutes later the Little Flyers power play would score for the third time in the game, this time courtesy of Alex Ochterbeck.  After a face-off win Evan Heldt passed the puck along to his blue line partner Ziki Mroz, Mroz shot the puck on net that was taken by Joey Savel who got the puck to Ochterbeck for his 9th goal of the season.  The Nighthawks offense couldn't solve Giacobbo as the rookie goaltender stopped all 21 of the Nighthawks shots to improve to 8-0 on the year with his league leading 3rd shutout. 

ROGERS NAMED ONE OF LEAGUES STARS OF THE WEEK
On Monday the Eastern Hockey League announced Little Flyers forward Nate Rogers as one of the Stars of the Week.  The 5'9" Richardson,TX native scored two goals and added three assists in this weekend’s sweep of the Connecticut Nighthawks.  "Since he's come back from his injury he's without question been our most complete player.  Nate's been effective offensively but most importantly he's been very responsible defensively, blocking shots and getting the puck out of our zone.  The intensity and high energy he brings to the lineup has been crucial for our team" said head coach Rocky Russo.  In 15 games played this season Rogers has 7 goals and 6 assists, four of Rogers goals have been game winners.  "This is a whole line thing not a me thing.  As a line we don't care who scores, if we continue to play unselfish hockey the results will continue to come" said Rogers of the weekly award honors, "Arnie, Jamie and I all put up similar numbers this weekend and since they both already got a star of the week I guess they decided to give it to me".

THE B.A.R LINE PUTS UP BIG NUMBERS
As noted earlier we saw Bucell, Arnberg, and Rogers names in the box score quite a bit this weekend.  The B.A.R line combined for a total of 6 goals and 9 assists this weekend.  Their performance as of late has left coach Rocky Russo with nothing but praise for the trio of players "Right now I believe they are playing like the best line in the league.  They are very complete. Winning draws, moving their feet, winning 50/50 battles, playing tough in the dirty areas and getting to the front of the net."  In talking to all three players they all agreed that communication has been the key.  "We just talk a lot out there and work well off of each other like knowing where the other guy is going to be and it's helped us succeed so far." Said first year forward Oliver Arnberg.  Nate Rogers offered similar thoughts, “We’re just out there working hard.  I don’t think any of us really cares if they’re the one that actually scores we just want to make sure we are doing our jobs, being defensively responsible and capitalizing on opportunities.  If we keep playing unselfish the results will keep coming” added Rogers. 

THE STREAK
The weekend sweep extends the Little Flyers current winning streak to 16 games, which is an EHL record.  Sometimes in sports, the people involved in such streaks don't want to talk about it, but head coach Rocky Russo sees this as a positive for his players and the organization.  "It is what it is" Russo explained, "a lot of coaches, teams and organizations would avoid talking about it but we've embraced it.  We talked about it as a staff, as a team and on social media.  Pressure and expectations, those are a good thing for these young men to have. The most important thing is we feel like we've improved week by week in all facets of the game. We are all aware that we're going to lose, no matter when it is or how many games it is we just need to make sure as a team we don't get away from what has gotten us to where we are now."  As for the players, they are going on with business as usual taking it one day at a time.  "As a team, sure we're proud of it but it's not something the guys in the locker room are concerned with.  In all honesty we are looking at every game like we are 0-0 and we just want to win that one game on that day." Said second year forward Jamie Bucell. 

The Little Flyers are back on the ice Wednesday night with a rare weekday night game as they host the New Jersey Rockets at IceWorks Skating Complex, puck drop is set for 7:30 PM.