GIROUX UPDATE
Flyers center
Claude Giroux is officially on day-to-day status after sustaining a minor neck injury in Eisbären Berlin's 4-3 overtime loss to the Krefeld Pinguine on Friday. He will miss today's game against Kölner Haie, but the team is hopeful he will be able to play next Friday when the team has a road match against the Hamburg Freezers.
The play in question happened late in the second period of Friday's game. Giroux caught an elbow up high from Krefeld's Boris Blank. His head was jarred, and play continued with no penalty called. Giroux left the ice under his own power but was in discomfort. He tried to stretch his neck out but the symptoms did not relieve themselves.
Giroux, who did not register a point in the game for the first time since joining Berlin, did not return to the game. He was briefly taken to the hospital as a precaution, where it was diagnosed that he had overextended his neck and felt a "stinger".
There were no concussion-like symptoms reported, nor spinal cord damage. The player will be cleared to practice as soon as the neck discomfort sufficiently subsides.
Danny Briere also failed to record a point in the game, but registered a game-high seven shots on goal. It was just the second time as a member of the Polar Bears that Briere was blanked on the scoresheet. He will be in the lineup today.
Today's game against Cologne is considered a potential playoff preview. The Sharks are in first place in the DEL. Eisbären, the league champion each of the last seasons, is currently in fourth place. Berlin is six points off the pace.
The game will be nationally televised in Germany. It was also be available on the Internet via free webcast from Servus TV. Game time is 11:45 AM eastern U.S./Canada time. To access the webcast,
click here.
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PHANTOMS ROAD TRIP ENDS BADLY
The Adirondack Phantoms entered the weekend with high hopes of finishing their five-game road trip with a flourish. Instead, the club finished the trip 2-3-0. On Friday, the Phantoms stumbled to a 5-2 loss in Binghamton. Last night, they lost by an identical score to the Syracuse Crunch.
Brayden Schenn and
Erik Gustafsson scored for the Phantoms last night. The club reverted to bad defensive habits after it seemed to be on the right track in winning three of four heading into the weekend. The penalty killing, which had been a roll, came up a bit short last night as Syracuse generated a pair of goals on the man advantage.
The Phantoms' goaltending also let down at times in both games this weekend. Last night,
Cal Heeter was chased from the net after getting beaten for the fifth time on 22 shots. He exited the game at the 11:50 mark of the second period.
Scott Munroe, who was unable to stop the bleeding as the starter in Friday's game, did not a goal in relief of Heeter last night.
In Friday's game,
Sean Couturier and
Ben Holmstrom tallied the Phantoms goals. Both players were held off the scoresheet last night.
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TITANS LOSE UGLY
The Trenton Titans split a pair of weekend road games with the Elmira Jackals. The Titans prevailed, 2-1, on Friday night. Last night, Elmira gained a measure of revenge with a 5-1 pasting of Trenton. The Titans have lost seven of their last eight games.
On Friday,
Niko Hovinen turned back 20 of 21 shots. Last night was a different story. He stopped just 24 of 29 shots, and was buried under a four-goal avalanche in the middle period.
Marcel Noebels failed to record a point last night. He is now pointless in his last six games after opening the season with points in each of the first matches. The lone Flyers-affiliated Titan to record a point last night was
Jason Akeson, who earned an assist on Andy Bohmback's third-period power play goal that broke up Maxime Clement's shutout bid.
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READ AND GROSSMANN'S TEAM CONTINUES TO ROLL
Södertälje SK is the hottest team in Allsvenskan, and possibly all of Sweden, right now. Yesterday, SSK steamrolled Asplöven HC by a 6-0 score. The win was SSK's 11th in its last 12 games. The team, which had stumbled out of the gates prior to an influx of NHL talent, is now in 4th place, four points behind league-leading Leksand.
Yesterday's win was accomplished without
Matt Read contributing any points. Meanwhile,
Nicklas Grossmann made the first of his four games with SSK count. Paired with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, Grossmann registered an assist, blocked several shots and was plus-three in the game.
Södertälje returns to action on Wednesday. The club has a road game against Tingsryds AIF.
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FLYERS PLAYERS TO PARTICIPATE IN SANDY RELIEF FUNDRAISER IN AC
Flyers forward
Scott Hartnell will be one of the team captains in the Operation Hat Trick charity game at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, Nov. 24. Game time will be 7 p.m.
New York Rangers center Brad Richards will captain the opposing side. Other participants slated to play in the game include current Flyers
Kimmo Timonen,
Braydon Coburn and
Jody Shelley, as well as former Flyers Simon Gagne, James van Riemsdyk, Ville Leino, Justin Williams, Dan Carcillo and Steve Eminger.
Cherry Hill native Bobby Ryan is also confirmed to play, along with NHL players such as the Pittsburgh Penguins' James Neal and east coast native Jeff Halpern.
Tickets range from $20 to $100. All proceeds from the match will go to benefit the ongoing relief efforts for Hurricane Sandy, which ravaged the east coast three weeks ago. For more ticket information,
click here.
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Coming tomorrow: Updates on Flyers' junior and collegiate prospects as well as Flyers' players in Europe.
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