The Flyers’ goalie woes continued, but the Orange and Black displayed an impressive never-say-die attitude last week in picking up four out of a possible six points (see Weekly Observations).
Before this week begins, it's time for our weekly check-in on the Flyers’ prospects playing in the AHL, overseas and at the junior and college levels. This week, the CHL Canada-Russia Series, which features four Flyers prospects, begins Monday.
In this edition, we highlight the Phantoms’ goalie competition, check on the health of two defensive prospects and take a quick glimpse at the Four Nations U20 Tournament.
Anthony Stolarz, G, 6-6/210, Lehigh Valley (AHL)
Stolarz appears to have taken a stranglehold as Lehigh Valley’s No. 1 goalie. The Phantoms’ netminder started all three games last week, all three of which were wins. Stolarz pitched a 33-save shutout, his first of the season, in the Phantoms’ 4-0 win over Hartford on Wednesday, and followed it up with a solid 27-save effort in a 4-2 win over Providence. On Saturday vs. Springfield, he surrendered four goals but settled down and allowed the Phantoms to storm back for a 6-4 win. He faced 44 shots in that game, stopping 40 of them. Still intriguing to see how Alex Lyon fares after a rough start to his pro career, but the early signs point to Stolarz nailing down the starting gig at Lehigh Valley.
Terrance Amorosa, D, 6-1/185, Clarkson (NCAA)
The Flyers’ 2013 fifth-round pick returned from injury to make his season debut Saturday in a 4-2 win over Princeton. Amorosa assisted on Clarkson’s first two goals, helping the Golden Knights erase a first-period 1-0 deficit and win their fourth game of the season. The Flyers knew when they drafted the blueliner out of prep school in 2013 his development would take time, and it has. Amorosa spent one year in the USHL before beginning his collegiate career at Clarkson in 2014-15. Now a junior, he’s coming along, but with a loaded system on the blue line, he could be lost in the shuffle down the road.
Robert Hagg, D, 6-1/191, Lehigh Valley (AHL)
Scary moment for Hagg on Saturday night, when a puck clipped him under his visor in the third period of the Phantoms’ 6-4 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds. Hagg skated immediately to Lehigh Valley’s locker room with a bloody face, which caused a stoppage in play. He returned the bench, but didn’t take a shift after the incident, and there was no update on Hagg after the game, per Highland Park Hockey’s Tony Androckitis. Hagg began the season paired with first-year pro Travis Sanheim, but has since moved to a pair with AHL veteran Will O’Neil. The 21-year-old did pick up his first point of the season last week, assisting Nicolas Aube-Kubel’s second goal of the season in Lehigh Valley’s 4-2 win over Providence on Friday.
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Quick hits
• Sanheim had a two-assist game against the Thunderbirds on Saturday, and now has six assists in his first nine professional games with the Phantoms.
• As for Aube-Kubel, he’s starting to pick up some offense lately. The winger had a goal and an assist in three games last week and has three points in his last four games.
• German Rubtsov, the Flyers’ 2016 first-round pick, was named to Team Russia for the Canada-Russia Series beginning Monday.
• Rouyn-Noranda defenseman Philippe Myers returned from a concussion Saturday in the Huskies’ 4-3 loss to Gatineau, finishing with two penalty minutes and a minus-1. Now healthy, he is expected to play for Team QMJHL in the Canada-Russia Series.
• Victoriaville’s Pascal Laberge remains sidelined with a concussion. He is on Team QMJHL, too, but is unlikely to play.
• It was a productive week for Saint John’s Samuel Dove-McFalls, who racked up three assists in three games, with a two-apple night against Acadie-Bathurst. Dove-McFalls now has seven assists and 10 points in 16 games for the Sea Dogs.
• Connor Bunnaman, who was dropped to Kitchener’s third line Saturday against Erie, picked up two assists in three games last week, but has gone six games without a goal.
• Another point-filled week for Sarnia’s Anthony Salinitri, as the pivot had a shorthanded goal and an assist in three games. He’s third on the Sting with 19 points, and has gone just three games this season without recording at least one point.
• Calgary’s Carsen Twarynski had a two-goal game Swift Current on Friday but was held pointless Saturday. Twarynski, a 2016 third-round pick by the Flyers, has six goals on the season and is currently on pace for 39 points, six fewer than he had last season.
• Everett had just one game last week, but Carter Hart did not start or play in it. Hart will play for Team WHL in the Canada-Russia Series.
• Tanner Laczynski, who’s playing on No. 11 Ohio State’s top line, picked up an assist in two games last week. He now has 12 points in nine games in his freshman campaign.
• Western Michigan freshman Wade Allison snapped a three-game pointless streak with his fourth career goal Saturday night in WMU’s 5-2 win over Miami (Ohio).
• In back-to-back games against Colgate, Harvard goalie Merrick Madsen stopped 30 of 34 shots faced as the Crimson tied Colgate on Friday and then won Saturday night.
Four Nations U20 Tournament
• Team Russia: Center Mikhail Vorobyov had one assist in three games.
• Team Sweden: defenseman Linus Högberg finished the tournament with one goal and assist; defenseman David Bernhardt had no points in three games; and goalie Felix Sandstrom won two games and finished with a .898 save percentage.
• Team Czech Republic: Right winger David Kase, who has seven points in 15 games for Piráti Chomutov, picked up a goal and two assists for the Czechs.
