The Lehigh Valley Phantoms sent seven players to the Reading Royals on Monday, trimming the Phantoms' AHL roster to 22 to start the season, which begins in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday when the Phantoms visit the Penguins for a 7:05 p.m. game.

Phantoms coach Terry Murray named veteran Rob Zepp, sent down from the parent club Philadelphia Flyers late last week, as the team's No. 1 goalie ahead of rookie Anthony Stolarz because of his veteran presence and a young defense corps.

"As of today, Zepp is No. and Stolarz is the backup," Murray said following practice on Monday at the PPL Center. Zepp played well in the 2-1 loss to the Albany Devils at the PPL Center last Saturday in the final game of the preseason.

The roster includes 13 forwards and two goalies, with top goalie prospect Anthony Stolarz the No. 2 heading into the season.

The forwards include Brandon Alderson, Nick Cousins, Austin Fyten, Andrew Gordon, Kevin Goumas, Brett Hextall, Scott Laughton, Taylor Leier, Darroll Powe, Jay Rosehill, Zack Stortini, Petr Straka and Chris VandeVelde.

The defensemen include Mark Alt, Steven Delisle, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, Oliver Lauridsen, Brandon Manning and Jesper Pettersson.

"We've got our team set and now we've got a full week of practice together," Phantoms center Nick Cousins said. "There's a little bit of anticipation and a little bit of excitement as well, not only for me, but the boys and the coaching staff as well."

Murray said that some of the cuts, which included goalies Martin Ouellette, Connor Knapp, forwards Andrew Johnston, Matt Hatch, Marcel Noebels, Derek Mathers and defenseman Maxim Lamarche, were difficult choices because of the way they performed during training camp.

"At the end of the day, you have to make decisions," Murray said, "and clearly we feel we come out of it with 22 players that are ready to get going for the start of the year next Saturday."

Zepp receiving the starting nod seems to make sense. While Stolarz, 20, is the top goalie prospect for the Flyers, the 33-year-old Zepp is in his 14th season as a pro and has played in Germany for the Berlin Polar Bears for the past seven seasons.

A Newmarket, Ontario native, the 6-foot-1 Zepp was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 1999 draft by Atlanta, and again by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth round of 2001. He has seven career AHL games under his belt, five with the Lowell Lock Monsters in 2002-03 and two more with that team in 2004-04 for a career AHL record of 1-4-1.

"You've got a veteran goalie and a young goalie coming out of junior that's learning the trade," Murray said. "I think Zepp is a very good mentor for Stolarz. Today, he's the starting goaltender. Through the year … I don't want [Stolarz] to sit for long periods of time."

Murray also pointed to a young set of defensemen, which will be led by veterans Manning (24) and Lauridsen (25).

"On the back end, we've got speed, we've got skill, but we've got some players here who are going to push the envelope really quickly as we go through the year here to get to the NHL," Murray said.

Overall, he's happy with the roster heading into Saturday's game in Wilkes-Barre.

"We've got good balance with our forward lines," he said. "We've got natural centermen now with all the lines, which I think is what you need."

The Phantoms open their home season 7:05 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17 against the Adirondack Flames, the team that replaced them when the left Glens Fall, N.Y. at the end of last season.

Single game tickets are on sale at the PPL Center Box Office, located at the Tim Hortons Gate (7th & Hamilton) of PPL Center, by calling 610-347-TIXX (8499), or online at http://www.pplcenter.com.

gary.blockus@mcall.com

Twitter @gblockus

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