Porter Martone is playing in his first and last Rookie Series game.
Ahead of the second Philadelphia Flyers Rookie Series game against the New York Rangers on Sunday evening, we're giving the live blog thing a try! Stop by, leave a comment, say hello, and keep up with the game.
Before puck drops, here are the projected Flyers lines for the night:
Denver Barkey - Jett Luchanko - Porter Martone
Alex Ciernik - Matthew Gard - Noah Powell
Ilya Pautov - Riley Thompson - Nathan Quinn
Brady Berard - Owen McLaughlin - K.J. Sauer
Maksim Sokolovskii - Oliver Bonk
Brek Liske - Luke Vlooswyk
Riley Steen - Spencer Gill
Martin Psohlavec starts, Marek Sklenicka is the backup goalie
GAME STARTS
A tentative start to this one, and we get our first stoppage via a Rangers offside at 17:40. Not much doing so far.
A slick rush from Barkey, Martone, and Luchanko ends in a scoring chance fought off by the Rangers with Luchanko alertly crashing the net. What's more encouraging, Sokolovskii got involved offensively, preserving possession in the offensive zone and using his long reach to shield the puck.
He set up Oliver Bonk for a one-timer, but his shot was blocked by a Rangers defender.
A scoring chance for Gill was fought off by the Rangers' netminder following some strong cycle work from, you guessed it, Barkey, Martone, and Luchanko.
Another scoring chance for the Flyers, this time with Pautov flying in by a defender. Danai Shaikov has had a strong showing for the Rangers in net thus far, keeping the Flyers at bay.
Luchanko shows off the wheels on a solo rush, gaining the zone before doing a drop pass for Barkey for a dangerous scoring chance. Shaikov standing tall, though.
Psohlavec makes his first real save of the night with Sokolovskii left stranded defending a 2-on-1. Sokolovskii did well to stop the first player, but the other Rangers forward in close proximity was able to corral the loose puck for a shot. Still no score.
GOAL! Denver Barkey cuts from left to right, going forehand to backhand on the feed from Oliver Bonk on the 2-on-1. Tidy work from Jett Luchanko on the wall to free the puck for Bonk to rush into the zone. Flyers lead 1-0.
Bonk and Sokolovskii continuing to make stuff happen in the offensive zone. Sokolovskii went to glove down an airborne puck and shouldered down a Rangers defender with relative ease. Didn't even look like he tried, just happened that way. Period 1 ends.
PERIOD 2 STARTS
We're kicking off the second period with a scoring chance and scramble for the Flyers, followed by Porter Martone mixing it up with a Rangers defender behind the cage.
Flyers power play upcoming with Evan Passmore going to the box for holding.
Top power play unit includes Bonk in the bumper, Barkey, Martone, Luchanko, and Brek Liske.
Dylan Roobroeck with a few unsporting moves this period, first trying to provoke Sokolovskii by knocking his stick away during a stoppage, then hitting Barkey somewhat high and late, drawing the ire and a few slashes from Martone. Something to monitor.
Goalie change for the Flyers, with Marek Sklenicka relieving Martin Psohlavec with 9:02 left in the period. No injury, just a planned rotation.
Noah Powell drops the gloves with Jackson Dorrington for our first fight of the weekend and lands a few decent shots. Dorrington got the takedown with Powell slipping up and also having the back of his jersey ripped. Powell was throwing lots of hits and instigating, and the Rangers finally obliged.
Rangers even the score at 1-1 on a Martone turnover. Martone actually made a strong defensive play at his own blueline but tried to peel back instead of advancing the puck, and as he did, two Rangers converged and forced the turnover.
Quinn sneaks in alone on goal, but Shaikov alertly makes the poke check to snuff out the Flyers' scoring chance.
Another mad scramble for the Flyers in the offensive zone with Martone, Vlooswyk, and Barkey taking shots and hacking at a loose puck. Not sure how it didn't go for the Flyers, but we remain tied at 1-1.
GOAL! Brek Liske restores the Flyers' one-goal lead on a rebound from a Spencer Gill shot. Porter Martone was the one orchestrating the cycle and atones for his earlier mistake. Great finish from Liske to make it 2-1. Period 2 ends.
PERIOD 3 STARTS
Five minutes into the period, Sokolovskii heads to the bench holding his mouth. Looks as though the refs may have missed a high-stick.
Luchanko storms in on a 2-on-1 with Barkey and takes the shot, but pulls it wide left trying to shoot low blocker.
Spencer Gill finishes a hit after a whistle and drops the gloves, though he wrestled his man to the ice instead of throwing hands. Defense partner Riley Steen also got tied up in the pile.
Steen, Gill, and Sauer are all in the penalty box for the Flyers, and Luchanko, Barkey, Sokolovskii, and Bonk are out to kill the penalty for the Flyers.
Luchanko with an excellent play to hound the Rangers in their own zone on the forecheck, then draws a penalty himself to end the opposing power play. 4-on-4 for eight seconds, then Flyers power play.
Power play chance for the Flyers with Luchanko speeding down the right side and feeding Bonk, whose one-timer is narrowly caught in the glove of Shaikov despite moving the other way.
Another chance for the Flyers, this time Martone's one-timer from Luchanko gloved down by Shaikov.
With 3:35 left, Sklenicka shuts the door on a partial 2-on-1 for the Rangers.
At the other end, Shaikov stops what would have been a dagger one-timer from Martone. Luchanko had the setup again there.
Rangers pull Shaikov for the extra attacker with two minutes left.
GOAL! Noah Powell, with the No. 69 jersey replacing his ripped No. 50, scores the empty-netter for the Flyers. They lead 3-1 with 1:53 left.
GOAL! Denver Barkey unselfishly passes to Porter Martone for another empty netter, making it 4-1. Martone and Roobroeck converge on each other afterwards and exchange gloved punches. Vlooswyk and Greentree are jabbing at each other, and Sokolovskii pulled a man from the pile with one arm, too.
With five seconds left, Sklenicka bends the knees to make an impressive glove save with the Flyers on a 5-on-3 penalty kill from the extracurriculars.
FINAL: Flyers win 4-1 and sweep the Rookie Series.
