The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are off to a slow 2-4 start this season, but there are positives to take from the first couple weeks.

One of those positives was on display Sunday night when the Toronto Marlies jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over the Phantoms. The team battled back to make it a 2-1 game on a short-handed goal by Taylor Leier. Toronto added another first-period goal, but neither team was able to score again, as the Marlies left town with a 3-1 win."Toronto is a really skilled, fast team and they came out and took it to us in the first period, said goalie Anthony Stolarz . "When you give a team chances in the slot, they're going to come through. As the game wore on, we picked up our game and kind of recognized what they were doing and improved in the second and third.In that first period, the Phantoms gave up 14 shots on goal, many of which were from close range on Stolarz. The 21-year old didn't let the early barrage ruin his night, as he might have last season. Instead, he stood strong in goal and continued to fight off shots throughout the night, giving his team a chance to come back."The big thing for me is that I really didn't think about those three goals at all," said Stolarz. "They went in and I just kind of forgot about it and moved on from it and I think that helped the rest of the way."Last year's team would have likely also folded after the early tailspin, especially with the game being the third in three nights. Instead, this year's team is showing more fight and a willingness to play through 60 minutes of a hockey game rather than letting the score dictate their performance."I think that's going to be the blueprint of our team," said Stolarz. "We've got a ton of guys who work hard and a ton of vets who show by example and the younger guys see them working hard and they pick up their game. It's a good trait to have and I think it's going to help us going forward."Head coach Scott Gordon, who is in his first year with the Phantoms, has stressed to his players that he doesn't want to see heads hanging or have a team that's quick to provide excuses for why they lost."These guys realize that they put themselves in that position tonight and you play the game to win, which means you have to work even harder when you've dug a hole for yourself," said Gordon. "I know we were tired, I knew it was the third game in three nights, but that's what the schedule dictates and other teams face the same sort of situations, so you can't use that as an excuse."HOME SWEET HOME ... Providence and Lehigh Valley played back-to-back games, with the Bruins winning in Providence Friday night and the Phantoms picking up a 3-1 win Saturday night at home. The win evened the Phantoms home record at 1-1.GONE AGAIN ... At this rate, goalie Jason LaBarbera will be very familiar with the route between Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia. For the second time this season, LaBarbera was recalled by the Flyers. The domino effect once again brought Martin Ouellette back to Lehigh Valley from the Reading Royals.WHO'S THE NEW GUY? ... Forward Evan Rankin joined the Phantoms Saturday after opening the season with the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. Rankin, 29, has played 192 career AHL games.