By Matt Robinson/Valencia Flyers Junior A Hockey 2/3/2014 1430 EST
The Flyers picked up 4 huge points in the standing as the push for the playoffs in the WSHL’s Pacific Division heats up. Valencia now sits 4 points behind Ontario for 2nd place in the Pacific Division. They also took another step in solidifying their chances of making the playoffs for the 3rd straight season in franchise history, moving 15 points ahead of 5th place Long Beach.
The Flyers started out the weekend on the right note, coming away with a big 3-2 victory despite being without the services of Captain Austin Ehrlich and line mate Aharon Lara. Texas would jump out to a 1-0 lead after the first period of play, but Flyers defenceman Nik Giers would even the score partway through the second on a huge slap shot from the top of the left circle, blowing past the goaltender on the low blocker side, evening the game at 1-1.
The Flyers would take the lead less than a minute into the third period when the rebound off a Jakob Kranabetter shot was picked up by Blake Aguliar and put in the back of the net past the scrambling Texas goaltender.
Texas would even it 2-2 6:30 into the period but the Flyers would retake the lead for good when Wil Barnett was able to find the back of the net after a nice setup by Zach Paxman and Jakob Kranabetter, giving the Flyers a3-2 lead and eventual victory.
Mark Becica was strong in net stopping 26 of 28 shots in the game, picking up his 16th victory of the season.
Saturday night was a completely different story as the Flyers controlled play most of the game, but could not seem to find the back of the net, losing 4-1 to Texas. Barnett had the only goal for the Flyers in the loss which also saw the Flyers lose leading goal scorer Zach Paxman due to injury for the rest of the weekend.
Sunday would prove to be a tough test for the young Flyers squad as their entire top line of Austin Ehrlich, Zach Paxman, and Aharon Lara were not expected to play due to injuries. Austin Ehrlich actually suited up for the game in what was thought to be a bench support role, but would ultimately be a factor in the game.
The Flyers started out hot, scoring two goals 3:30 into the game when Barnett scored his 4th goal in as many games and Dawson Keay beat the Texas goaltender on a deflected shot.
The Flyers 2-0 lead would only last for 17 minutes as Texas scored three goals in less than two minutes before the close of the first to take a 3-2 lead before the close of the period.
A scary incident occurred before the end of the period as Flyers defenseman Bas Assaf had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher after Texas forward Cole Rose hit Assaf head first into the boards, causing a laceration to Assaf’s head. Thankfully Assaf was released from the hospital before the end of the game with only minor injuries including one staple in his head to close the laceration suffered on the hit. Rose received a Major and Game Misconduct for the hit.
The second period started with the Flyers on the major power play, but they were not able to convert and the score remained 3-2 in favor of Texas. Blake Aguilar would eventually even the game with just under five minutes remaining in the second, making the score 3-3.
The game would remain tied through the third period and the game would go to overtime. The Flyers would take a power play into the overtime and would be able to capitalize. After setting up the power play, Captain Austin Ehrlich, who ended up seeing time in the game on the power play in the game to try and spark some offense, set up a one-time bid for Nik Giers, who made no mistake, beating the goaltender over the glove hand, giving the Flyers a 4-3 overtime victory.
The Flyers next head out on the road for 6 straight games, three this upcoming weekend against the Pacific Division leading Fresno Monsters and then three the next weekend against the Midwest Division leading El Paso Rhinos.
Notes: Wil Barnett has scored a goal in his last 4 games. He now has 9 goals on the season. Jakob Kranabetter had his 10 gam point streak snapped on Saturday night, ending a streak of 14 points in 10 games.
Matt Robinson is the Play-by-Play Voice of the Valencia Flyers. In addition, Matt also handles the Valencia Flyers Social Media accounts, produces stories and content for valenciaflyers.net and does Play-by-Play for College of the Canyons Ice Hockey.
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