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7:30 A.M. EDT
TODAY'S GAMES (WITH LINKS, LISTED BY ORDER OF START TIME)
* DEL: Claude Giroux and Danny Briere will make their DEL debuts today for Eisbären Berlin when the Polar Bears host Kölner Haie (Cologne Sharks). The game starts at 1:25 PM eastern U.S./Canada time. A free streaming webcast is available via Laola1 TV.
* Bundesliga: Wayne Simmonds and Eispiraten Crimmitschau are back in action today, playing a road game against the Schwenniger Wild Wings. Game time is 2:00 PM eastern. Shortly after the game, a full box score will be posted here.
* NCAA: Sophomore defenseman Nick Luukko and his University of Vermont teammates travel today to take on UMass Lowell. Game time is 6:30 PM eastern. A free radio stream is available.
* NCAA: Sophomore defenseman Shayne Gostibehere and Union College will look to bounce back from a rough opening game when they visit Bowling Green for games tonight and tomorrow.Game time tonight is 7:00 PM eastern. A free radio stream is available and the game can also be followed via live stat updates.
* ECHL: The Trenton Titans, the Flyers ECHL affiliate, open their regular season tonight with a home game against the Greenville Warriors. Game time is 7:05 p.m. eastern. The Titans opening night lineup includes rookie goalie Niko Hovinen and offensively talented forward Jason Akeson, While the caliber of play in the ECHL is nothing spectacular, the level should be bumped up a bit with an influx of AHL-caliber players due to the trickle-down effect of the NHL lockout on American Hockey League rosters. Also, the tickets are affordable for families. Tickets to a Titans home game start at $13 (children's ticket price) and $15 (adult price, upper level), while even the most expensive gold circle seats are $30 apiece and a good lower-level view near center ice is $23.
* OHL: Scott Laughton and Colin Suellentrop return to the ice today for the Oshawa Generals when their club plays host to the Barrie Colts. Game time is 7:35 p.m. eastern. Unfortunately, there is no free radio stream for this game. However, a webcast stream can be purchased for $6.99.
* NCAA/USHL exhibition: Michael Parks and his North Dakota team have an exhibition game today against the Team USA National Development Program's Under-18 squad. The game from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks starts at 8:35 p.m. eastern time. The game will be broadcast on some DirectTV packages that carry Fox College Sports.
* WHL: Taylor Leier and the Portland Winterhawks are in action tonight, playing on the road against the Prince Albert Raiders. Game time is 9 p.m. eastern. A free radio stream is available (Portland broadcast) or a webcast stream can be purchased for $6.99.
* NCAA: Freshman goalie Anthony Stolarz has his first regular season college hockey game tonight for University of Nebraska-Omaha when his club takes on Army at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. The match will be the second half of back-to-back college hockey games broadcast tonight on NBC Sports Network. Start time is slated for 10 p.m. eastern. I do not think Stolarz will play tonight. Senior goaltender John Faulkner and junior Dayn Belfour (son of Eddie "the Eagle" Belfour) are also available for the Mavericks. Stolarz saw one period of action in the Mavericks' 4-1 exhibition game win over Lethbridge on Monday, stopping five of six shots in the third period. Each goalie got one period of play.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Today, we should have been dissecting the Flyers' regular season opener against the Boston Bruins from last night and talking about adjustments for tomorrow's visit to Uniondale to play the New York Islanders. Instead, we're stuck wondering if the NHL and the NHLPA leadership discussed "core economic issues" by way of inching toward progress in the negotiations to end the lockout.
At any rate, here's what happened in Flyers-related games that actually did get played yesterday:
* KHL: Ruslan Fedotenko recorded an assist in a losing effort last night, as his HC Donbass Donetsk club fell short in a comeback bid against Dinamo Minsk. Donbass trailed by a 5-1 score after two periods but rallied for three goals in the third period to trim the deficit to 5-4 with 5:55 left in the game. That's as close as Donbass got, however, as no further goals were scored. Fedotenko, who appeared to get slashed on the hand in the second period but did not miss a shift, skated 23 shifts for 17:12 of ice time. He dominated on faceoffs, winning 13 of 21 (61.9 percent, best of any player in the game).
* OHL: The Windsor Spitfires burned the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds regularly last night, tagging a 7-4 loss on the Soo. Flyers prospect Nick Cousins had two assists, bringing his season totals to 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) in 14 games played. Cousins was minus-two in the game at even strength. Both assists came on the power play.
* OHL: The Peterborough Petes dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Kingston Frontenacs last night. Derek Mathers did not get on the scoresheet and, for the second straight game, was not whistled off for any penalties.
TOMORROW'S GAMES
* Allsvenskan: Flyers forward Matt Read and Södertälje SK will return to the ice, hosting the Malmö Redhawks. Game time is 10 a.m. eastern.
* KHL: Ilya Bryzgalov may or may not be in goal tomorrow for CSKA Moscow when the club takes on Neftekhimik. Bryzalov has had his problems in two starts to date while regular starter Rastislav Stana is off to a tremendous start. Game time is 10 a.m. eastern.
* MHL: Valeri Vasiliev and MHK Spartak travel from Russia to Hungary to take on Patriot Budapest. Game time is 11:30 a.m. eastern.
* EIHL: Tom Sestito makes his debut for the Sheffield Steelers, in a road game in Fife. Game time is 5:15 p.m. eastern. See next section for more information.
* AHL: The Adirondack Phantoms, featuring Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, Erik Gustafsson, Marc-Andre Bourdon, Eric Wellwood and Zac Rinaldo, will play their regular season opener. The Flyers' top farm team takes on the Portland Pirates at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Game time is 7:00 p.m. eastern. I will preview the game in tomorrow's blog.
*ECHL: After their opening night game tonight, the Titans head to Pennsylvania tomorrow to take on the Reading Royals. Game time is 7:05 p.m. eastern.
*NCAA: Gostisbehere and Union College have another 7 PM game on tap in Bowling Green.
* OHL: Cousins and the Soo Greyhounds visit the Plymouth Whalers. Opening faceoff is the slated for 7:05 p.m. eastern.
* OHL: Laughton, Suellentrop and the rest of the Oshawa Generals are in action for the second straight night, playing a road tilt against the Belleville Bulls. Game time is 7:35 p.m. eastern.
* WHL: Leier and the Portland Winterhawks wrap up their lengthy road trip with a game against the Swift Current Broncos. Game time is 9 p.m. eastern.
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Sestito Arrives in U.K.
Young tough guy forward Tom Sestito arrived in England yesterday to join the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) during the lockout. Within 90 minutes of his arrival in Sheffield, he was already on the ice, practicing with teammates.
Considering that Sestito is not a famous player in the NHL and the EIHL generally receives scant mainstream sports media coverage, there has been quite a bit of media attention paid to the signing. Yesterday, the Yorkshire Post did an interview with Sestito (video embedded below). BBC Look North was also on hand to film the practice. Today, ITV is dong a segment on Sestito and the NHL lockout.
Sheffield plays on the road tomorrow, and oddly enough the first team Sestito will play against is called the Flyers. The Steelers oppose the Fife Flyers. On Sunday, Sestito has his first home game, as the Steelers host the Belfast Giants.
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Longtime Flyers enforcer and current Director of Player Personnel Dave Brown turns 50 today. In my opinion, "Brownie" was the best fighter in club history. During his first stint with the team, he was one of the most feared players in the NHL. He may not have always played to the time, place and score in the early days, but he was legitimately intimidating to many opposition players. He played mean and could throw left-handed bombs like no one's business.
During his second stint in orange and black, Brown fought less often but that was partially because a lot of guys around the league simply didn't want to fight him anymore. Only the top heavyweights dared to tangled with Brown. By that point of his career, Brownie had also come to execute his role as intelligently as any enforcer I have ever seen.
For instance, during the 1991-92 season, Brown had a busy fight card, with 14 fighting majors (for 70 penalty minutes). But he had just 81 total penalty minutes for the season, because he had learned by that point to avoid the extra penalties -- the tacked on minors, non-fighting majors, and various miscoducts -- that can hurt a team. When Brown fought by that point, it was for good reason, and he rarely left the Flyers shorthanded afterwards.
A few years ago, I wrote a career retrospective on Brown for the Flyers' official Web site. The lengthy article was divided in half: Part I focuses on his early days, while Part II covers his prime, latter career and post-retirement scouting and front office work.
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