For Anthony Stolarz, being in front of a goal in the Lehigh Valley area is nothing new. He's been in that position since he was a kid and traveled here from his parent's home in Jackson, New Jersey often to play in youth tournaments and leagues. Now, Stolarz is again playing goalie in the Lehigh Valley, but this time, it's for the home team Phantoms.

The Flyers drafted Stolarz in the second round of the 2012 Draft with the 45th overall pick and it suited him just fine. The Flyers stashed Stolarz in the Ontario Hockey League for two seasons before having him make his professional debut this season with Lehigh Valley. Officially, Stolarz is the backup to Rob Zepp, but he's starting to see more playing time as he begins to develop some consistency in the net and has gotten over the initial butterflies.Last Saturday, Stolarz turned away a career-high 45 shots against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and earned a 2-1 win after surviving a shootout that saw the Phantoms Nick Cousins use some classic moves to score the winning goal. The night could have turned horrible for Stolarz, who allowed the only Penguins goal of the night with just 2:08 left to play."For me, it's going to boost my confidence, and I think over the last couple of games I've been playing with a lot more confidence. When you start to play more games, you kind of get into a little bit of a roll and you just use that momentum to keep carrying you game to game," said the 20-year old goalie. "With two minutes left, that was kind of a heartbreaker, but the guys battled back in the third and in overtime and the shootout, so it was nice to see that we were able to overcome that."Stolarz believes that being from the area isn't just a nice little perk, it gives him a bit of an edge, because it gives him easy access to the Flyers resources during the off-season, especially since their training home is in Vorhees, New Jersey."It's amazing," said Stolarz of the opportunity. "You look at it even in the standpoint that in the summers, being able to train in Vorhees and being able to work with Jeff Reese [Flyers goaltending coach] and Ryan Podell [Flyers strength and conditioning coach], it gives me a little bit of an edge over anyone who's not local."Obviously, for my family and friends to be able to come out to games ... and it's only an hour-and-a-half drive, it's nice for me just to be able to have that comfort in knowing that they're going to be at games and that I can go home and see them."Stolarz actually had his parents and an ex-coach in attendance Saturday when he turned in his gem. The performance even outdid his first start at the PPL Center earlier this season when he blanked Worcester 4-0 for his first shutout as a pro, turning away 36 shots.Both the professional and personal opportunities that playing close to home hold for Stolarz are worth taking advantage of whether it's access to Flyers personnel in the off-season or having friends and family close enough to see his games during the season."I'm happy with the situation that I'm in," Stolarz said with a smile. "I'm all for getting them tickets and having them come out and support the team."PHANTOMS FACTS: The 2-1 win over WBS was a huge turnaround from a 5-1 loss to the Penguins on the road back on Dec. 5, a game that coach Terry Murray called the worst of the season for his team … The Stolarz win came in front of the Phantoms largest crowd of the season at the PPL Center. A total of 8,687 fans were in attendance as the Phantoms paid tribute to the Philadelphia Eagles, wearing special Eagles colored jerseys, which were auctioned off after the game to raise money for charity … The Phantoms are 0-2 in games at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall this season. The Albany Devils hosted two "home" games against Lehigh Valley in Atlantic City, an annual tradition for the team … The Phantoms are home Wednesday and Friday night before a two-game road trip to Hartford and Hershey.