Aston, PA --  The Little Flyers EHL Premier team was in Brewster, New York this past weekend for the Premier League’s first Showcase of the season.  The Little Flyers looked to extend their win streak to four games on Saturday night when they faced off against the New England Wolves.  Kolin Grogesky got the start in net for the Little Flyers, in search of his fourth win of the season. 

                The teams would play two twenty five minute halves as part of the showcase format.  New England got on the board first with an even strength goal from Ethan Gill at the 10:18 mark.  The Wolves added to their lead just over nine minutes later with a goal from Prestyn Hoefler.  In the closing seconds of the first half, the EHLP’s leading scorers Ryan Sharkey and Kyle Scott finally got the Little Flyers on the board with Sharkey scoring his 10th goal of the season.  New England held a slight lead in shots on goal after the first half 13-12.

                With the Wolves leading Philadelphia 2-1 in the second half, the two teams battled back and forth for the next goal.  It would take a while but with less than a minute left to play the league’s leading goal scorer Kyle Scott came up big, tying the game at 2-2 with :41 left to play in regulation.  With only :15 left in the game, Sharkey was whistled for a tripping penalty giving the Wolves a 4-on-3 power play to begin overtime.  The stingy Little Flyers defense wouldn’t allow New England a shot on goal with the man advantage in the extra period.  With Sharkey’s penalty expiring, defenseman Max McAllister sent the puck off the boards through the neutral zone.  Sharkey, out of the box picked up the puck and moved into the Wolves zone, cutting across the net and firing home the game winner. 

                On Sunday, the Little Flyers played against the Vermont Lumberjacks, currently the top team in the North Conference.  Vermont wasted no time showing why they were 9-1 heading into Sunday’s game, scoring a goal just 1:34 into the first half.  The Little Flyers battled tough, putting puck son net but couldn’t find the equalizer in the first half.  The Lumberjacks added two more goals just two minutes apart to take a commanding 3-0 lead.  The Little Flyers were finally able to get on the board with less than a minute remaining in the half.  A Nate Dunning shot from the point was rebounded and put in the net by Austin Mazzulo. 

                Vermont built back their three goal lead five and a half minute into the second half with a Dillon Mensing goal.  Now, down by a score of 5-1 with under five minutes to play, Dunning got the puck down low to Sharkey who used a wraparound move to score his 11th goal of the season.  5-2 would be as close as the Little Flyers would come in this game as the Lumberjacks added two goals in the final two minutes of play to win convincingly by a final score of 7-2.

                The Little Flyers looked to get back in the win column and finish the October Showcase with four points as they played their final game on Monday morning against the Jr. Warriors.  Philadelphia controlled much of the play in the first half, outshooting the Jr.Warriors 14-8.  The Little Flyers struck first as Eric Maard took a Ryan Wain pass and shot a wrister from the slot that beat the Jr. Warriors goaltender.  Two minutes later Philadelphia added to its lead as Joe Marcella scored his first goal of the season.  Marcella fore-checking in the Jr. Warriors zone, took the puck from behind the net a backhanded it high over the goalies shoulder for the score.

                Valley got on the scoreboard 5:47 into the second half with an Isaac Espinosa even strength goal.  Ryan Creenan was solid in net for the Little Flyers stopping 15 of 16 shots in the second half including two big saves late in the game with his team short handed.  The Little Flyers would hold on to win this one by a final score of 2-1.  The team moves to 7-5 on the season, currently sitting in fourth place in the South Conference. 

                This weekend, the team will be on the road as they head to Tewksbury, Massachusetts for two games against the Boston Jr. Rangers.  This will be the first games of the season between the two teams.  The Jr. Rangers are currently 6-1-1, good enough for second place in the North Conference.     

PHOTO CREDIT: Lindsay Tendler