By Shannon Reardon

Monday, February 16, 2015

A sea of orange and black erupted as the Philadelphia Flyers (22-22-7) defeated the Winnipeg Jets (26-17-8) Jan. 29, at the Wells Fargo Center, with a score of 5-2.

Flyers players Chris VandeVelde, Wayne Simmonds, Nick Schultz, Brayden Schenn, and Sean Couturier scored goals for the Philadelphia team, while Jets player Mathieu Perreault scored both of Winnipeg’s goals.

“We had a very difficult time,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said in a post-game press conference. “I don’t know what they had us for at the end, a bunch of shots, but we had a tough time getting that second shot. I thought that was the big difference as far as pucks to the net, and we didn’t quite get them there. There were otherpieces to our game that weren’t quite there. We weren’t as quick as we need to be.”

The game started with both Philadelphia and Winnipeg scoring two goals in the first period. The first goal came seven minutes in from Philadelphia center Chris VandeVelde, with assists from center Brayden Schenn and defenseman Michael Del Zotto.

One minute later the Jets center Mathieu Perreault tied the game at 1-1 with an assist from right wing Michael Frolik.

The Flyers scored their second goal during a power play after Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian received a two minute penalty for interference. The Flyers goal was made by right wing Wayne Simmonds with assists from Schenn and right wing Jakub Voracek.

As the first period neared the end, Flyers’ defender Nick Schultz received a penalty for hooking, allowing the Jets to score a goal on a power play. Perreault once again made a goal and tied up the game, with assists from defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and center Mark Scheifele.

The game winning goal came three minutes into the second period as both teams were fighting for control of the puck in front of the Jets’ net. After two failed attempts at scoring by right wing Petr Straka and center Ryan White, Schultz scored his first goal since joining the Philadelphia team.

Entering into the third period, the Flyers were able to score two more goals against the Jets. Schenn scored the first goal with an assist by Simmonds. With two minutes remaining in the game, the Jets pulled their goalie Michael Hutchinson to put a sixth man on the ice.

Twenty seconds without a goalie for the Jets and Flyers’ center Sean Couturier scored an unassisted goal, bringing the game to its final score of 5-2.

Flyers fans were excited to see the team win, said season ticket holder Michelle Ky, 21, of Chichester, Pa.

“It was a good game,” said another Flyers fan, Shaun Jordan, 32, from Aston, Pa. “This is the 23rd game that I’ve gone to and I haven’t witnessed a loss yet!”