Flyers Beat Stars 7-4

by C. Scott Holland

Both the visiting St. Thomas Stars and home team Flyers got a good sense of each other's strengths and weaknesses in last Thursday night's first meeting of the season here.

The St. Thomas Stars won the West Division playoff title last season and have roughly the same number of veterans back as the Flyers. But when the final horn sounded, it was the Flyers who had claimed a 7-4 victory.

Some of the credit can be given to Cheyne Matheson, who had celebrated his birthday just a few days prior to the game.

Matheson sparked the Flyers' offense by netting the team's first goal and adding three assists.

For much of the first 40 minutes the game was a see-saw affair. Colin Greeley got stung for two early Stars goals and the Flyers fell behind 2-0.

Brad Kraus opened the scoring with a shot that bounded in at 3:32 and Davis Boyer's tally at 6:39 hit Greeley before finding its target.

Michael Roefs, the Stars new goalie started and fared well until Nicholas Nicodemo and Alex Seguin exchanged passes with Matheson, who fired the team's first marker and halved the lead.

Brett Babkirk and Austin Mattson initiated a play early in the second which ended with Eric Leardi netting the tying goal.

A minute later, Tyler Quigley setup newcomer Jakob Henrickson's blast that catapulted the Flyers into the lead.

Babkirk and Jared Dennis laid the ground work for Matt Ogden's shorthanded tally at 15:33 and made it a 4-2 game.

But in the final minute of the second frame, the Stars inched closer with their third goal.

What may have been the game's turning point came near the 4:30 mark of the third.

A St. Thomas shot about a minute earlier had appeared to go into the net, but there was no red light or stoppage of play. When play halted, the officials decided that indeed the Stars had scored the tying goal. The clock was reset to a point close to when the goal was apparently scored and play resumed.

The sudden change of fate jolted the Flyers. They had dominated much of the contest and from that point onward took complete control of the contest.

Between 7:42 and 10:58, they pounded Roefs with an assault that resulted in three goals and a comfortable lead.

Strong defensive work during the remaining 12 minutes was a key factor as well. Matheson assisted on tallies by Ogden and Tony Spidalieri.

Spidalieri's came on a powerplaay advantage and Nicodemo banked the final marker after taking the groundwork laid by Dakota Olvin and Matheson.

The Flyers went two-for-six on the powerplay while St. Thomas was blanked in five attempts.

Greeley finished the game with 24 saves while Roefs made 36 stops, many of those coming on quality shots by the Flyers. Despite the outcome, both teams know that it is along season and many changes are yet to come.  To read more go to www.leamingtonpostandshopper.com.