Flyers' rookies whip Capitals, 3-0
Defensemen Travis Sanheim and Shayne Gostisbehere showed exceptional poise with the puck. Sam Morin, another defenseman, threw his weight around and decisively won a fight, and goalie Anthony Stolarz, in his first game since off-season hip surgery, was solid in the net.
That, and goals by Petr Straka and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, highlighted the Flyers' 3-0 win over the Washington Capitals in a rookie game at the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Tuesday.
With a standing-room-only crowd of over 1,000 watching, rookie camp ended on a positive note for the Flyers.
Center Kevin Goumas added an empty-net goal with 63 seconds left.
Center Scott Laughton, selected 20th overall in the 2012 draft, set up the second goal and was among the standouts for the Flyers.
Straka, a 22-year-old winger who is long shot to make the big team, scored nine goals for the Phantoms last season. He intercepted a pass, went in alone, and scored on a backhander to snap a scoreless tie with 4 minutes, 50 seconds left in the second period.
Forty-five seconds later, Laughton tried a wraparound and the puck went into the net off Aube-Kubel's skate.
The rookies will now join the veterans when the big-league camp opens Friday in Voorhees at 10:15 a.m. The season starts Oct. 8 in Boston.
Holmgren honored. Flyers president Paul Holmgren and NHL executive Bill Daly were named recipients of the 2014 Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
The award, one of the most prestigious in hockey, honors the memory of Lester Patrick, who spent 50 years in hockey as a player, coach and general manager and was a pioneer in the sport's development.
"Obviously I'm honored and humbled by it," Holmgren, a Minnesota native, said before watching the Flyers' rookie win over Washington. "It's pretty cool."
The recipients will be honored as part of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony and dinner Dec. 4 in Minneapolis.
Holmgren played 10 seasons for the Flyers and the Minnesota North Stars. He scored three goals in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in 1980 _ the first time a U.S.-born player scored a hat trick in a Cup Final game. He was also a 1981 NHL all-star. He went on to serve as assistant coach, head coach, assistant general manager, and general manger of the Flyers before assuming his current position this summer.
Holmgren has been widely involved in furthering the sport throughout his career in various roles for USA Hockey. He has served on the U.S. Men's National Team advisory group since 2009, and was the assistant general manager of the 2006 U.S. Olympic men's team. In addition, he served as the general manager of the 2006 U.S. men's national team and was an assistant coach for Team USA at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Breakaways. Stolarz and Martin Ouellette divided the shutout…..The refs waved off an apparent late goal by Goumas before his empty-netter….Flyers' single-game tickets will go on sale Thursday; about 2,000 tickets are available for each home game.
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter@BroadStBull.