An up and down roller coaster ride of a season for the Valencia Flyers came to an end Sunday morning at Ice Station Valencia; in the form of a 5-0 loss to the same team that eliminated them from the playoffs a year before. The Phoenix Polar Bears jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead and never looked back, taking the win in stride on their way to yet another post-season appearance.

 

 

The Polar Bears played the night prior just down the 405 Freeway in Lakewood against the Bombers but did not look like the road-weary team in an matinee affair. From the drop of the puck to the final buzzer, the Polar Bears carried play and kept the Flyers from gaining any kind of momentum.

 

Just 3:11 into the contest, leading-scorer John Marsters notched his 43^rd of the season to pace Phoenix to an early lead. Marsters was able to bang home a rebound off a shot by line-mate Jake Boese at even strength to set the tone for the morning. The third forward on Phoenix’ top line, Gavin Hohl, added the secondary assist on the games’ opening goal.

 

Phoenix continued to swarm the Flyers defense as Valencia struggled at times to get the puck out of their zone. The Polar Bears’ defense activated from the point nearly every chance they had and were able to wear down a tired-looking Flyers back-end.

 

Rookie defenseman Jake Ryan tried to get something going for his team by dropping the mitts half-way through the opening period. Ryan engaged WSHL penalty minute leader Brandon Bullett in a spirited bout just in front of the Phoenix bench and did well for himself against an opponent three years the elder.

 

The scrap, although appreciated by teammates, did not provide any form of offense as Phoenix kept the pressure up and would extend their lead to two, with 5:49 left before intermission.

 

With defenseman David Knowles off for slashing, Phoenix’ power play went to work in the Flyers’ end. The top line of Marsters, Hohl and Boese controlled the puck for a lengthy period of time and again drained the Valencia penalty kill with a near flawless cycle.

 

Alex Descheneaux made a nice play and stepped in front of Boese in the corner but his clearing attempt was gloved down by Marsters at the half-wall. Marsters was able to walk to the faceoff dot and beat Estep with a high wrist shot over the shoulder to make it 2-0 for the visitors.

 

Marsters’ second goal of the game and 44^th of the year came unassisted on the power play, 14:11 into the period.

 

Three minutes later, Marsters’ line-mate Gavin Hohl picked off an errant outlet pass off the stick off Todd Graham and quickly put a shot past Steven Estep to make it 3-0.

 

Hohl’s 24^th of the season at 2:43 was assisted by Marsters, who played so well he gained the assist without ever touching the puck.

 

The first period ended after what seemed like an eternity, as the Flyers were stumped over the first twenty minutes. The top line of Phoenix accounted for six points, as Marsters had a hand in every Polar Bears’ goal.

 

Phoenix tallied 20 first period shots to the Flyers’ six, while scoring chances were close, again in Phoenix’ favor however, 3-2. The difference in the opening period was the Polar Bears’ ability to capitalize on their chances. The Flyers again paced the hit game, leading 24-19. Phoenix tallied one power play marker on two chances, while the Flyers’ power play continued its struggles, by failing on one chance.

 

Phoenix backed off a bit on the pressure in the second period and began to roll the bottom two lines more generously. Again however, it was the top line of Phoenix that continued its tear on the Flyers.

 

With 14:03 left in the second period, John Marsters carried the puck over the Valencia line, two-on-one with winger Gavin Hohl. Marsters faked a shot and sent a nifty behind-the-back pass directly onto the tape of Hohl, who one-timed a wrist shot between the legs of Estep to make it 4-0. Hohl’s second of the game and 25^th of the season came from only Marsters, at even strength. The goal gave Hohl three points for the contest and Marsters four.

 

The Flyers picked up their hitting game for the majority of the period but were unable to notch chances on Phoenix goaltender Cody Stocker. The home team lacked the jump they had shown the night prior against Fresno and looked less confident with the puck.

 

The Flyers actually led in shots in the second period, 13-11, with only one coming from a scoring chance area. Phoenix notched three chances for the second consecutive period. The Flyers defense actually did a solid job of weathering the Phoenix fore-check and succeeded in clearing the puck at a much higher rate. But the influx of continuous pressure began to take its toll heading into the third. The Flyers had five power play chances in the second, notching only four shots. Phoenix was stumped on their lone chance with the man advantage for the period.

 

A quick goal to begin the period once more all but wrapped it up for Phoenix, who will head to Idaho to take on the Jr. Steelheads in the first round of the Western Division Playoffs next weekend.

 

Captain Nate Johnston’s long wrist shot beat Estep at 17:39 to give the Polar Bears’ the 5-0 lead they would win by. Marcus Mitchell and Luke Burgstahler notched assists on the final regular season goal of the season.

 

The Flyers did not give up and lay down even though they had to be a bit demoralized after not being able to do much all morning. They again led in hits, 29-12 for the period and 80-44 for the game, proving they were not going to be pushed around.

 

Phoenix notched 13 third period shots and only two chances. Meanwhile, the Flyers had eight shots in the period, with six of them coming from scoring areas. Another blank on the power play, this time 0-6 for the game, means Valencia failed to score on 23 power play chances over the three-game weekend. Phoenix lit-the-lamp once, over three man advantages for the late-morning/ early-afternoon.

 

Cody Stocker got the shutout win for the Polar Bears, as his regular season record concludes without a loss; 8-0-1.

 

Steven Estep, who carried much of the load for the Flyers this season, took the loss and finishes his first season of junior hockey with a record of 14-15-2.

 

Although the Flyers did not end the way they wanted to, they showed lots of poise throughout the year and played tough every night. The 2009-2010 squad will be remembered as one of the best group of guys anywhere.

 

The Flyers organization wishes all the players aging-out the best of luck wherever they may go and look forward to seeing the eligible skaters back in blue and white next season.

 

We thank the friends, family and fans for their support all season as many changes are planned for the fall. Stick with us on valenciaflyers.net over the summer and into the 2010-2011 season, as a bevy of new features will be added.