Every Monday, starting today, GNGHockey will have a weekly recap dedicated to showing what happened in the previous week for the Philadelphia Flyers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Hershey Bears. For more inside info on these teams, you can select their category by hovering over “The Inside Edge”.
Philadelphia Flyers
Wednesday, October 4, 2017 – @ San Jose Sharks (5-3 win)
For the Flyers’ first game of the season, they started a three-game California trip in San Jose. In the 1st period, the Flyers jumped out to an early 2-goal lead, thanks to Claude Giroux and Jordan Weal. The Sharks would come right back late in the period, as Kevin Lebanc scored twice in rapid succession. In the 2nd period, Wayne Simmonds scored late on the power play to put the Flyers back in the lead. That lead was evaporated when Logan Couture started the 3rd period with a power play goal. Simmonds tacked on another power play goal midway through the final period to put the Flyers back up, 4-3, then finished the Sharks off with an empty-netter.
Wayne Simmonds scored a hat trick, and both Shayne Gostisbehere and Jake Voracek recorded 3 assists.
Thursday, October 5, 2017 – @ Los Angeles Kings (2-0 loss)
Michael Neuvirth started this game instead of Brian Elliott who started against San Jose. This was also the first game of defenseman Travis Sanheim’s career. The game’s first goal came during the 2nd period, when the Kings capitalized on a turnover by Scott Laughton; Nick Shore passed to Trevor Lewis, who caught Sanheim out of position, and scored over a sprawling Neuvirth to put the Kings up 1-0. Late in the 3rd, Tyler Toffoli sealed the game for the Kings with a goal on a 2-on-1.
Johnathan Quick had 35 saves compared to Neuvirth’s 25. Travis Sanheim was on the ice for both L.A. goals.
Saturday, October 6, 2017 – @ Anaheim Ducks (3-2 OT win)
Ivan Provorov opened the scoring 12 minutes into the final game of the Flyers’ west coast trip, putting the team up 1-0. Nolan Patrick, the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, recorded his first NHL point with an assist on the goal. Just a few moments after that, Antoine Vermette scored for the Ducks to tie the game at 1. In the 2nd, Sean Couturier scored his first goal of the season off of a beautiful behind-the-back pass by Jake Voracek. The Ducks’ Cam Fowler tied it early in the 3rd, and it stayed that way until Wayne Simmonds scored in overtime to win the game for the Flyers.
The Flyers had 37 shots in the game compared to the Ducks’ 23.
Notes
Travis Sanheim debuted on Thursday, and he has presumably beaten out Samuel Morin for the final defenseman spot.
The Flyers traded for goaltender Dustin Tokarski from the Ducks for future considerations. This was after their AHL teams made a similar trade with now ex-Phantoms goaltender Leland Irving. The reason Irving and Tokarski weren’t traded for each other was that Tokarski is on an NHL contract, but Irving is only on an AHL contract, and trades cannot be made with AHL-contracted players and NHL-contracted players.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Saturday, October 6, 2017 – VS Hershey Bears (7-2 win)
The Phantoms started out their season at home against the Bears in what looked like a close game throughout the first two periods. However, five unanswered goals by the Phantoms led to a 7-2 thrashing of the Bears.
The Phantoms scored early in the 1st when Danick Martel scored two minutes into the game. In the 2nd, Chandler Stephenson of the Bears tied the game at 1, but Martel scored just a couple minutes later to once again put the Phantoms in the lead. John Albert scored for the Bears with just under three minutes left in the 2nd, but Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored for the Phantoms just over a minute later to take the lead once again. In the 3rd, the box score was all Lehigh Valley, with goals by Phil Varone, Greg Carey, Reece Willcox, and Martel to win 7-2.
Danick Martel recorded a hat trick. Alex Lyon had 29 saves.
Sunday, October 7, 2017 – @ Hartford Wolf Pack (2-1 SO loss)
The Phantoms traveled to Hartford the next day to take on the Wolf Pack in what would be a goaltending duel. Early in the 1st, the Wolf Pack’s Adam Tambellini scored to put Hartford up 1-0. Later in the period, Danick Martel scored to tie it. Martel, two games into the season, has scored 4 goals. No goals were to be scored again until the shootout, where Tambellini became the only successful shooter to win the game, 2-1, in the shootout for the Wolf Pack.
Alex Lyon had 35 saves on 36 shots. Mike Vecchione assisted on Martel’s goal. Corban Knight, Oskar Lindblom and Phil varone were unsuccessful in the shootout.
Notes
The Phantoms traded goaltender Leland Irving to the San Diego Gulls, the Anaheim Ducks’ minor league team, for future considerations. Irving had never played a game for the Phantoms before being traded. The Flyers traded with the Ducks later that day and acquired goaltender Dustin Tokarski. He was immediately loaned to the Phantoms. The reason Irving and Tokarski weren’t traded for each other was that Tokarski is on an NHL contract, but Irving is only on an AHL contract, and trades cannot be made with AHL-contracted players and NHL-contracted players.
Hershey Bears
Saturday, October 6, 2017 – @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms (7-2 Loss)
Starting the season on the road, the Bears made the short trek to the PPL Center in Allentown to take on the Phantoms. A close game turned ugly fast for Hershey, as a 2-2 tie in the 2nd turned into a 7-2 loss.
The Phantoms scored early in the 1st when Danick Martel scored two minutes into the game. In the 2nd, the Bears’ Chandler Stephenson tied the game at 1, but Martel scored just a couple minutes later to once again put the Phantoms in the lead. Bears newcomer John Albert scored with just under three minutes left in the 2nd, but Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored for the Phantoms just over a minute later to take the lead once again. In the 3rd, the box score was all Lehigh Valley, with goals by Phil Varone, Greg Carey, Reece Willcox, and Martel to win 7-2.
Colby Williams assisted on both Bears goals. Parker Milner started for Hershey and gave up 6 goals on 30 shots; Willcox’s goals was on an empty net.
Notes
Former Bears forward Nathan Walker made history last week, becoming Australian to ever play in an NHL game when he played against the New Jersey Devils with the Washington Capitals. He also scored in that game.
Upcoming games
Philadelphia Flyers – Tuesday, 10/10 @ Nashville Predators; Saturday, 10/14 VS Washington Capitals
Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Friday, 10/13 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins; Saturday, 10/14 VS Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins; Sunday, 10/15 @ Hershey Bears
Hershey Bears – Saturday, 10/14 VS Belleville Senators; Sunday, 10/15 VS Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Originally published on GNGHockey.com