Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
Saturday evening the Flyers rookie squad faced off for the second night in a row against the New York Rangers hopefuls. The Rangers won the first match-up in the shootout. That game ended in dramatic fashion with Massimo Rizzo scoring the tying goal with the Flyers goalie pulled and just 14.4 seconds left in regulation. It was our first chance to see Matvei Michkov wearing the orange and black in a competitive situation. He played an impressive game and scored his first goal as a Flyer. Michkov was not scheduled to play in tonight’s game.
Where things stand
We are starting to get a clearer picture of where individual players stand in their development as we see them battle it out in game situations. These guys are competing for a shot at sticking with the team for as long as they can leading up to opening night and possibly beyond. For Flyers Fans these are pre-pre-season exhibition games. For the players it is an opportunity that most people only get to dream about. It’s a chance to possibly play in the most elite ice hockey league on the planet.
Jett Speed
Game two of the series had a bit of a different look to it due to line-up changes. The first line was a bit less dynamic with the absence of Michkov, but that should not be a surprise to anyone at this point. Over the course of the night the top slots were filled by Jett Luchanko centering Elliot Desnoyers and Samu Tuomaala.
Jett Luchanko almost always finds an option on the ice and can figure out a way to get the puck exactly where it needs to go. He seems to never run out of room or options no matter how close he is to being totally boxed in by the other team. He can work in very close quarters. The combination of him and Michkov on Friday night was just flat out fun to watch.
Strong start
Carson Bjarnason got his second start of the weekend and delivered a solid performance in the Flyers net. Challenged several times he kept the Rangers scoreless as they outshot the Flyers 14-9 in the 1st period. Matteo Mann drew first blood for the Flyers. Alexis Gendron stormed into the zone completing the pass to Mann who fired a wrist shot past Talyn Boyko. Sawyer Boulton scored the Flyers 2nd goal from in close after Zayde Wisdom made a strong break into the zone and dished the puck to Boulton in front.
The Flyers started the 2nd period with Sam Hillebrandt between the pipes. Matt Robertson put NYC on the board with a slapshot from the point on a power-play. The Rangers eventually took full advantage of a defensive breakdown during a Flyers powerplay. Adam Edstrom scored his 3rd goal of the two game series on a shorthanded breakaway to tie the game at two. Seconds later Hillebrandt came up with a huge save on another breakaway during the same Flyers power-play. The Flyers young rookie squad did not suffer too many missteps overall besides these two very dangerous situations that occurred one right after the other.
The final period was intense as both teams did their best to break the tie. Hillebrandt made a fine glove save as time ran out in regulation sending the game into overtime for the second night in a row. The Flyers netminder stopped 22 of 24 shots on the night.
Boom
The overtime period did not last long at all. In fact the Flyers got the job done on the very first shift. Luchanko to Emil Andrae to Samu Tuomaala for the win. So the Flyers young squad win the game, split the Rookie Series with the Rangers, and head back to Voorhees a bunch of happy campers.
Extra Credit: Spencer Gill has been making a habit of showing up defensively just when he is needed most.
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