Over the weekend, the Phantoms lost two goalies — one to injury, and one to an NHL call-up. The Flyers' ECHL affiliate also expanded their winning streak to 11 games — matching a franchise record — while claiming first place in the process.
Juniors:
Travis Sanheim and Radel Fazleev took the road this weekend with the Calgary Hitmen, visiting Prince Albert on Friday and Saskatoon on Saturday. Sanheim recorded an assist against the Raiders, while both players were held off the board against the Blades.
Samuel Morin recorded two assists on Saturday, as his Rimousiki Oceanic fell 3-2 to Cape Breton.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel's Val-d'Or Foreurs split a pair of back-to-back games this weekend, beating Rouyn-Noranda 5-3 on Friday and losing 4-3 to Charlottetown on Saturday. Aube-Kubel recorded two assists on Friday as his Foreurs came back from a 3-0 deficit, and scored his 26th of the season against the Islanders.
American League:
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms split a pair of games this weekend, losing 4-1 to ex-Flyer Luke Richardson's Binghamton Senators on Saturday and beating Hershey 5-4 in overtime on Sunday. Jason Akeson scored the lone goal against the Sens, with Andrew Gordon and Taylor Leier recording the assists. Rob Zepp made 23 saves on 25 shots before leaving with an injury, sustained in a collision with Matt Puempel. Anthony Stolarz made five saves in relief.
Stolarz was tested heavily the next day against the Bears, making 36 saves on 40 shots. Jay Rosehill scored twice, while Nick Cousins, Akeson and Kevin Goumas each recorded tallies as well — with Goumas' tally coming at the 2:40 mark of the extra period.
With injuries to Steve Mason and Zepp, Stolarz was recalled to the Flyers for the first time in his career on Sunday night. As Flyerdelphia's Kevin Durso has pointed out, he may not make his NHL debut, but the Flyers don't have much options as far as contracts are concerned.
Currently, the Phantoms (22-20-4-1) stand in third place in the East Division with 49 points — eight behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and 12 behind the Bears.
ECHL:
The Reading Royals tied their franchise record for longest winning streak at 11 games, after a back-to-back sweep of Florida this weekend. They beat the Everblades 5-3 on Saturday, and 3-2 in a shootout on Sunday — a game that saw coach Randy Courville earn a game misconduct as time expired.
Matt Hatch, Jordan Heywood, David Marshall, Olivier Labelle and Sean Wiles all scored on Saturday, while Ryan Cruthers and Marshall lit the lamp on Sunday. Additionally, Cruthers and Andrew Johnston scored in Sunday's nine-round shootout.
Connor Knapp and Martin Ouellette were each called up to the Phantoms, with Knapp being recalled for a one-game stint.
With their sweep of the Everblades this weekend, the Royals (32-13-1-1) now own sole possession of first place in the East Division, with a two point lead. Their 66 points are also sufficient for first place in the Eastern Conference, with a one-point lead over Fort Wayne.
Follow Rob Riches on Twitter @Riches61
