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The Philadelphia Flyers Junior hockey team will finally have one more road weekend to play before they host their home opening weekend, as they travel this weekend to North Jersey for the NJ Hitmen Showcase at Ice Vault Arena.  The team will take on the South Shore Kings on Friday at 4:10pm, followed by a Saturday morning 10:40am tilt with the Okanagan Eagles.  The team wraps up their weekend on Sunday at 2:30pm in a rematch against the Springfield Pics, who they faced in the Jr. Bruins showcase two weeks ago.

 

Last weekend on Long Island, the Flyers dropped the first game of the weekend to the Islanders 5-2, but were able to bounce back for a crucial 3-2 win on Sunday, when Mario Tropea scored with just eight seconds left in the 3rd period to win the game.  JR Barone continued racking up his point totals last weekend, and despite not having a single goal this season, still has seven points, all on assists.  He and Nick Polsinelli are tied for the team lead in points.  Tyler Jahn had an impressive weekend, notching assists on both Flyer goals on Saturday, and earned a goal himself in Sunday’s game.  The game winner for Tropea on Sunday was his second goal of the season, bumping his season points total to three points.  Goaltender Bradley Stone earned his first win of the season, as he got the start on Sunday against the Islanders. 

 

This will be the first matchup against South Shore for the Flyers this season.  South Shore has jumped out to an impressive 5-2 record to start the season, to earn them a current tie for second place in the Premier division standings with the Hitmen.  The team finished 2015-16 with a

31-8-5 record, but were dispatched from the playoffs in the quarterfinals by Islanders HC.  Head Coach John Gurskis is new to the team this year, and seems to have done a fine job with the team in his first games behind the bench.  The team is led currently in points by defenseman Austin Rook, who is one of only two returning players to the Kings Premier team this season.  He has notched nine points so far on the season.  Brady Jones follows just behind with eight points. The team has several NCAA recruits on their roster, including defenseman Jake McCarthy (UMass) and Max Sauve (Vermont).

 

 

The Flyers will also face Okanagan for the first time this year. Okanagan is an Austrian Ice Hockey Federation Sanctioned team playing in the USPHL.  The team is comprised entirely of non-American players from 16 different countries playing out of Foxborough, Mass.  The team finished the 2015-16 season with a 4-36-4 record.  The Eagles have gotten off to a rough start this season with a 2-6 record.  Their only two wins they earned just last week, defeating the Islanders Hockey Club and Syracuse in back to back games.  The team lead in points is currently in a tie between Isac Nordstrom and Alec Boudin-Tourgas.   Nordstrom is new to Okanagan this year and is expected to continue to increase his point total.

 

This weekend will be the second matchup the Flyers have with Springfield.  The team is currently 2-6, with one of their two wins coming against the Flyers at the Jr. Bruins Showcase two weeks ago, a game that ended with a 5-4 final score.  Michal Stinil leads the team with nine points on the season.

 

 

Players to Watch:

 

For the Flyers, keep an eye on Jahn who has quickly jumped up in the stat categories for the team and has been a noticeable presence.  Ramage also has been a presence on the blue line.  Tropea no doubt will try to build on his final seconds, game winning goal from last weekend.

 

For the Kings, watch McCarthy and Rook on the blue line.  Both NCAA recruits plan to make their presence known on the back end, and Rook leads the team in points so far.  James Zegel is new to the team, but is expected to be a player to watch for scouts as he is eligible for NCAA recruiting.

 

For Okanagan, watch for Nordstrom and Boudin-Tourgas to continue battling for the lead in the points category.  Austrian defenseman Moritz Matzka is also a player to watch out for, and at just 18 years old is already a consideration for the Austrian U-20 National Team.  Paul Cerda also has national experience, playing for the Spanish National Team.

 

Springfield has already been touched on in our Jr Bruins Showcase preview, but watch Stinil who has already racked up nine points thus far on the season.  Hayden Smith isn’t far behind so keep an eye on him as well.