Saturday's Morning Skate 10/25

The Flyers came from behind on their rivalry night win over Pittsburgh Wednesday night. It was the Phantoms turn last night against Hershey.

There were only three games in the East Division last night, but the results of those three games created a three-way tie for first place between the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins through the first handful of games in the 2014-15 season.

This weekend is the the first 3-games-in-3-nights set for both the Phantoms and Penguins. Both look to separate themselves from the pack with all three of their games against divisional opponents.

East Division Standings (through 10/24's games)

1. Phantoms (3-1-0-0) - 6 points
2. Hershey (3-2-0-0) - 6 points
3. Penguins (3-3-0-0) - 6 points
4. Binghamton (2-2-1-0) - 5 points
5. Norfolk (2-3-0-0) - 4 points



Lehigh Valley Phantoms - 4, Hershey - 2

The Phantoms (3-1-0-0) gave the home crowd at the PPL Center another thrilling victory, scoring on three consecutive shots in a span of 1:53 in the final six minutes of regulation to flip the tables on Hershey and stun the Bears 4-2. Darroll Powe scored two goals, Taylor Leier started the third period rally with his first pro goal and Rob Zepp improved to the 3-0 on the season with 29 saves on 31 shots.

The Bears got goals from Casey Wellman and former Phantoms forward Kris Newbury, but squandered a third period lead despite out shooting the Phantoms 9-1 through the first 14 minutes of the third.

The Phantoms travel to Binghamton to take on the Senators tonight, while the Bears return home and look to bounce back against the Penguins.

Some quotes from last night's game between the Phantoms and Bears.

Darroll Powe on the late third period rally:

I think we just got to our game. We were trying to make too many plays at the blue line. Once we started getting pucks deep and grinding it out and getting pucks to the net, things started going well for us. That's something to draw from in the future.

Rob Zepp on his early success this season:

I came in three weeks early and skated with the Flyers. I worked a lot with [Flyers goaltending coach] Jeff Reese on certain things I would have to adjust to. I think we made the right adjustments so far. The style of play is a little bit different. There's a lot more traffic. Pucks get thrown to the net from all different angles. I had to re-adjust my positioning and depth. We worked a ton on that and I have to give Reese and [Neil Little] here in Allentown a lot of credit.

Taylor Leier on his first pro goal and how it started the rally:

It's awesome, especially at home. Scoring three goals like that was pretty cool. New family, new rink and all that kind of stuff. It's good for the city to get the fans behind us, they're excited for every game. It was a good feeling, but it was just good to chip in and get the win. 

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 5, Springfield - 0

The Penguins bounced back after a Tuesday night shutout loss to Albany with five goals and a shutout of their own last night against Brian Gibbons and the Falcons.

Bryan Rust continues to impress, recording a game-high three points (2G-1A) while Nick Drazenovic also added two goals for the Penguins in the win. In his second career AHL start - his first this season - rookie goaltender Matt Murray stopped 21 shots and recorded his first career pro shutout. Jean-Sebastien Dea also recorded a goal in the game, as the rookies continue to lead the way for the Penguins.

For Springfield, Oscar Dansk stopped 31 of the 36 shots he faced in the loss.

The Penguins travel to Hershey tonight to take on the Bears in the first meeting since the 220 penalty minutes handed out at during the last match up in the preseason.

Providence - 4, Norfolk - 0

In Providence, the Bruins shutout the Admirals behind a 39-save shutout from Jeremy Smith. Jordan Caron tallied two goals, while Brian Ferlin and Matt Linblad each added goals to pace Providence in the win.

For Norfolk, Jason LaBarbera stopped 28 of the 32 shots he faced. The Admirals will look to rebound tonight against another team coming off a shutout loss - the Springfield Falcons.

Other Eastern Conference Scores

Albany - 7, Hartford - 3
Manchester - 5, Portland - 2
Syracuse - 3, Worcester - 2

Saturday's Schedule

Hartford @ Albany at 5:00 p.m. ET
Bridgeport @ St. John's at 6:00 p.m. ET
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton @ Hershey at 7:00 p.m. ET
Providence @ Manchester at 7:00 p.m. ET
Syracuse @ Portland at 7:00 p.m. ET
Norfolk @ Springfield at 7:00 p.m. ET
Lehigh Valley @ Binghamton at 7:05 p.m. ET