NHL Hockey came to the Lehigh Valley for the first time ever Monday night in the form of the Flyers and rival New York Islanders facing off in a preseason match-up. The game was the first of the preseason for both teams and was a split squad, with the two teams also facing off at the Barclay's Center in New York.

There were some faces familiar to fans of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on the squad that picked up a 5-3 win over the Islanders at the PPL Center in Allentown. Brandon Manning, Ryan White, Jay Rosehill, Martin Ouellette, Cole Bardreau and Chris VandeVelde all spent varying periods of time with the Phantoms in their first season in the Lehigh Valley.Cole Bardreau came to the Phantoms late last season, immediately after his senior season at Cornell was finished. The Flyers signed Bardreau to an entry level contract last March and he played in 15 games with Lehigh Valley."The biggest advantage for me was getting those games in with Lehigh at the end of the season," Bardreau admitted. "Now, when you come in, you know some of the guys, know some of the coaching staff, know some of the upper management and it's a lot easier to feel comfortable and feel confident out there."Bardreau has a lot of learning to do and he has already been schooled early on in camp with the Flyers. He's taking in all that he can about how professional players prepare for games and the long season ahead of them. The 22-year-old admitted that when he reported to camp, it took a little while for him to get his feet back on the ground."I was a little star-struck out there with some of these guys, because I grew up watching them play, but it's something you always dream about, to play in the NHL. This wasn't a regular season game, but just to get a touch like this and play with those guys is awesome," said Bardreau.Martin Ouellette traveled Route 222 a few times last season, bouncing back-and-forth between the Phantoms and Reading Royals. The 23-year-old goalie prospect signed an AHL deal a year ago and is hoping for a spot with the Phantoms this season, but the signing of veteran Jason LaBarbera could mean a trip back to Reading for Ouellette.New Flyers coach Dave Hakstol elected to have another free agent signee, Michal Neuvirth, play all three periods against the Islanders, leaving Ouellette on the bench."It's nice to come back here and it was obviously an honor to put that jersey on tonight for the first time, especially coming in here," said Ouellette. "I would have liked to get some time in tonight, but I'm just using everything I can learn here with these guys as a tool to get better."A crowd of 7,981 fans cheered on the Flyers and offered spirited jeering of the Islanders players throughout the game. While many of the younger players are familiar with the facilities, the veterans came away impressed with the PPL Center and the enthusiasm of the fans, as well. First-year coach Hakstol, coaching in his first professional game, also came away impressed with the building and the reception that his team received."When you're going through something new, I guess everything is a new experience," joked Hakstol. "I was excited to be out there, but it becomes business pretty quickly when the puck drops."I thought the atmosphere here was pretty good. What a great building, first class from top to bottom."