It may have taken a while, but it appears the Valencia Flyers are finally playing the kind of hockey that Head Coach Jocelyn Langlois envisioned when he put this team together back in early September.

After a dreadfully slow start to the season, the Flyers have turned things around as of late, picking up at least a point in 9 of their last 12 outings, including a few big wins over divisional foes.

Last weekend the Flyers traveled to Peoria, Arizona for their first look at the much-improved Arizona Red Hawks. Both teams came into the weekend fighting each other for third place in the division, so every game was of the “must-win” variety, even this early in the season.

J.P. Bouchard scored twice and Kris Guitard added another, as the Flyers took the first game of the series by a final score of 3-1. Goaltender Stephen Palmer turned in another stellar effort, stopping 36 of 37 Arizona shots.

The Red Hawks played much tougher in game two and quickly got the jump on the Flyers and rookie goaltender Donny Snediker, taking a 3-0 lead, not even ten minutes into regulation. The Flyers would fight back behind a hat-trick from leading scorer Eddie Keshishian but it was not enough, as Arizona held on for the 6-3 victory after an empty net goal was added.

In the finale, the Flyers played with the sense of urgency needed in hard-fought divisional games and twice took the lead in the opening period, only to be answered twice by Arizona goals.

Sam Khongmuk, who ended up with five big points on the weekend, scored early in the second period and Keshishian added another late to give the visitors the 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

Again, Arizona showed some resiliency and fought back to tie it the game at four a-piece. In a situation where some teams would fold under the pressure, the Flyers responded yet again, as Khongmuk tallied his second of the game and Keshishian added an empty netter, completing his second hat-trick in as many nights, giving the Flyers the 6-4 win and an important series victory.

The Flyers’ record currently sits at 7-7-4, good enough for third place in the airtight Western Division standings. Part of the reason for the recent surge in the standings has been the red-hot offense, led by veteran forward Eddie Keshishian and his 32 points, which ties him for second overall in the entire league. Goaltender Stephen Palmer meanwhile, has provided a calming influence in net, getting the win in six of the seven Flyers’ victories and sporting a stingy 2.85 goals against average and .916 save percentage.

With Arizona, Long Beach and Phoenix all nipping at the Flyers’ heels, they must keep the momentum going into a big game this weekend with their long-time rivals, the San Diego Gulls. Last year, in seven meetings with the Gulls, the Flyers went 2-5-0.