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Friday Games: Flyers Farm Teams
AHL: PHANTOMS (9-11-0-0) @ Rochester Americans (9-8-2-0) -- 7:05 PM
The Adirondack Phantoms begin a slate of three games in three days with a Friday night road game against the Rochester Americans. The Phantoms are coming off a six-game homestand in which they won the first three games but then dropped three in a row. The Amerks have also lost three in a row, as well as seven of their last 10 games.
Tonight's game marks the team's third meeting of the regular season with the Buffalo Sabres' AHL affiliate. On Oct. 27, the Amerks came to Glens Falls and pinned a 6-2 loss on the Phantoms. On November 9, Adirondack returned the favor with a 2-1 win in Rochester.
The first game was a chippy, penalty-filled affair. The Phantoms found themselves shorthanded 10 times, killing 8 of the penalties. Meanwhile, the Phantoms went 0-for-6 on the power play. Adirondack got goals from
Harry Zolnierczyk and
Mike Testwuide, while
Sean Couturier registered a pair of assists. Rick Schofield notched two goals for the Amerks, while Kevin Porter, Evan Rankin, Nick Crawford (ENG) and Nick Tarnasky scored once apiece.
The star of the second meeting was Phantoms rookie goaltender
Cal Heeter. Playing one of his strongest games of the season, Heeter turned back 24 of 25 shots. A second period power play goal by
Danny Syvret and a third period even strength goal by
Garrett Roe were just enough offense for the Phantoms to win on a night where Couturier was scratched due to the flu. The lone Amerks goal was notched by T.J. Brennan.
The Nov. 9 meeting was also marked by the resumption of a feud between the Phantoms'
Zac Rinaldo the Amerks' Marcus Foligno. The hostilities stretch back to an incident in junior hockey in which Rinaldo got a 12-game suspension for a blindside hit on Foligno. Their most recent clash was more of a case of in-game trash talking than anything else. Afterward, Foligno ripped Rinaldo to the
Democrat and Chronicle newspaper.
Of late, Zolnierczyk has been the Phantoms' hottest offensive player. He has tallied three goals in his last three games to bring his season totals to seven goals and eight points. Meanwhile,
Jason Akeson has seven assists in the six games since he recall from the ECHL.
Team leading scorer
Brayden Schenn enters tonight looking to snap a three-game pointless stretch. He is minus-six over that span.
The Phantoms are banged up on defense right now, missing two regular starters. Top pairing member
Marc-Andre Bourdon has been out for the last week with what is officially being called an illness. He did not play last Saturday, did not practice at all this week, did not accompany the team to Rochester and is definitely out for Saturday and Sunday. Head coach
Terry Murray said he hopes Bourdon will be able to return come next week.
In addition, fifth defenseman
Oliver Lauridsen is dealing with an upper body issue. He missed two days of practice this week, although he returned to practice yesterday. Even so, Lauridsen appears likely to miss tonight's game, after skating as the seventh defenseman in his first practice. He may be ready later in the weekend.
Defenseman
Jeff Dimmen is probably slated to get his fifth start of the season, after skating among the top six all week. The Phantoms have also recalled rookie defenseman
Matt Konan from the ECHL's Trenton Titans. He could be in the lineup tonight, or Murray may opt for tough-guy vet
Zack FitzGerald.
PROJECTED PHANTOMS LINEUP
Harry Zolnierczyk - Sean Couturier - Jason Akeson
Tye McGinn - Brayden Schenn - Eric Wellwood
Zac Rinaldo - Rob Bordson - Tyler Brown
Ben Holmstrom - Garrett Roe - Matt Ford
Erik Gustafsson - Danny Syvret
Brandon Manning - Jeff Dimmen
Matt Konan - Cullen Eddy
Cal Heeter/Scott Munroe
Injuries and potential scratches: Shane Harper (healthy), Mike Testwuide (healthy), Zack FitzGerald (healthy), Marc-Andre Bourdon (illness), Oliver Lauridsen (upper body).
PHANTOMS NOTABLES:
Brayden Schenn (20 GP, 9 G, 13 A, 22 PTS),
Sean Couturier (18 GP, 6 G, 11 A, 17 PTS),
Erik Gustafsson (20 GP, 3 G, 9 A, 12 PTS, -4),
Harry Zolnierczyk (20 GP, 7 G, 1 G, 8 PTS, 25 PIM),
Tye McGinn (17 GP, 6 G, 1 A, 7 PTS, 39 PIM),
Jason Akeson (6 GP, 0 G, 7 A, 7 PTS),
Zac Rinaldo (19 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS, 62 PIM),
Eric Wellwood (16 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 PTS),
Marc-Andre Bourdon (17 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS, -5, 59 PIM),
Brandon Manning (19 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS, -12, 25 PIM),
Cal Heeter (9 GP, 3-6-0, 3.29 GAA, .889 SV%),
Scott Munroe (13 GP, 6-5-0, 2.49 GAA, 1 SO, .919 SV%).
AMERICANS NOTABLES: Marcus Foligno (19 GP, 6 G, 13 A, 19 PTS, 20 PIM), T.J. Brennan (19 GP, 9 G, 9 A, 18 PTS, 20 PIM, -3), Brian Flynn (18 GP, 8 G, 8 A, 16 PTS), Evan Rankin (18 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 12 PTS), Kevin Porter (19 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 12 PTS), Brayden McNabb (19 GP, 2 G, 9 A, 11 PTS, 15 PIM, +4), Cody Hodgson (9 GP, 1 G, 9 A, 10 PTS), Mark Pysyk (19 GP, 1 G, 6 A, 7 PTS, 10 PIM, +2), Luke Adam (16 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 12 PIM), Zemgus Girgenson (16 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS, 10 PIM), David Leggio (17 GP, 9-8-0, 2.92 GAA, .909 SV%), Connor Knapp (2 GP, 0-2-0, 3.57 GAA, .873 SV%).
BROADCAST LINKS: The game broadcast is available for free via the
streaming Phantoms radio broadcast or you can purchase a streaming video webcast via
AHL Live. A single-game webcast costs $6.99, with a variety of multi-game purchase options.
ECHL: TITANS (8-10-0-1) @ South Carolina Stingrays (10-12-0-2) -- 7:05 PM
The Trenton Titans have been in a tailspin since the start of the November. In an effort to get the team on the right track, head coach Vince Williams has juggled lines repeatedly and the club has made a host of roster moves. Earlier this week, the club released team captain Ray DiLauro and also received
Matt Mangene on loan from the Phantoms.
Tonight, the Titans are in Charleston to take on a South Carolina team that is riding a three-game winning streak heading into the game.
The brightest news of late has been the play of rookie forward
Marcel Noebels. The forward, who opened the season with points in each of his first eight games and then went nine in a row without a point, busted out of his drought in a big way last weekend. He tallied his first professional hat trick last Saturday and then scored again on Sunday.
Conversely, rookie goaltender
Niko Hovinen is struggling. Last weekend, he was pulled from a game after the first period and was criticized in the press by Williams for not competing harder on two of the three goals he yielded.
New Jersey Devils prospect Scott Wedgewood has been getting the majority of the playing time in goal so far this season. However it should also be noted that Hovinen missed several games early to due an upper body injury and was a late scratch from a scheduled start two weeks ago due to the flu.
Mangene, who suffered an injury last month while with Adirondack, has been sent down by the Phantoms to get some playing time. It is not expected to be a long-term demotion. Fellow rookie Flyers prospect
Andrew Johnston (upper-body injury) is eligible to come off IR.
TITANS NOTABLES (FLYERS/PHANTOMS PROSPECTS INDICATED IN BOLD): Andy Bohmbach (19 GP, 9 G, 10 A, 19 PTS),
Marcel Noebels (19 GP, 6 G, 8 A, 14 PTS), Stephen Schultz (15 GP, 6 G, 6 A, 12 PTS),
Blake Kessel (19 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS, -7),
Andrew Johnston (2 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT),
Matt Mangene (0 GP),
Tyler Hostetter (14 GP, 0 G, 6 A, 6 PTS, +1),
Ian Slater (19 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 1 PTS, 39 PIM), Scott Wedgewood (13 GP, 6-6-0, 2.93 GAA, .902 SV%),
Niko Hovinen (9 GP, 2-4-1, 3.25 GAA, .885 SV%).
STINGRAYS NOTABLES: Todd Robinson (16 GP, 1 G, 15 A, 16 PTS, -16), Josh Beaulieu (17 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 12 PTS, -7), Patrick Kennedy (16 GP, 4 G, 6 A, 10 PTS), Nathan Moon (10 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 PTS, 25 PIM), Rob Madore (10 GP, 3-6-0, 3.23 GAA, .899 SV%), Paul Karpowich (8 GP, 2-5-1, 3.51 GAA, .883 SV%, 1 SO).
BROADCAST LINKS: Tonight's game is available via a
free radio stream. Alternatively, a webcast can be
purchased here for $8.
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Friday Games: Flyers in Europe (Times in EST)
*
KHL: Donbass Donetsk 2 @ Metallurg Magitogorsk 1 (Final):
Ruslan Fedotenko did not record a point but did a masterful defensive job, holding Evgeni Malkin to one shot on goal and zero points in a head-to-head matchup. Fedotenko skated 20:21 of ice time in the game. The one area where Malkin had his way with the veteran Ukrainian forward in the game was in the faceoff circle. Fedotenko won just 7 of 23 draws in the game while Malkin went 14 for 22. This was Donbass' final game before the KHL's December schedule break, which runs from next Monday until Dec. 19.
*
KHL: CSKA Moscow 4 vs. Dynamo Moscow 6 (Final):
Ilya Bryzgalov was scratched as the third goaltender for the second straight game, despite solid wins in each of his last two starts. Usual CSKA starter Rastislav Stana got the nod in this game and was victimized by loose play in the game in addition to having something less than his own A-game. This was CSKA's final game before the schedule break.
*
SM-liiga: Ilves Tampere 1@ KalPa Kuopio 2 (Final, SO): The Finnish team owned in majority by former Flyer Sami Kapanen and in minority by current Flyers
Kimmo Timonen and
Scott Hartnell avoided embarrassment by pulling out a shootout win over last-place Ilves.
Max Talbot did not record a point but had six shots on goal in 20:54 of ice time for Ilves. Kapanen, who is dealing with an injury, was not in the KalPa lineup today.
*
DEL: Eisbären Berlin 3 @ Iserlohn Roosters 4 (Final, OT):
Danny Briere recorded one assist in the game. Eisbären trailed 2-0 after the first period but battled back for three unanswered goals. Briere helped to set up T.J. Mulock for the go-ahead goal at 5:54 of the third period. But Eisbären has had problems of late closing out games in the third period and today was no exception. This time, the Roosters tied the game on a shorthanded goal with just 29 seconds left in the third period, and then won it on an overtime power play goal.
*
Bundesliga: Heilbronn Falkon @ Eispiraten Crimmitschau (Started 2:00 PM):
Bruno Gervais and the Falcons held a 1-0 lead after the first period of this road match. Live in-game updates are
available here.
Thursday results: Flyers in Europe
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Allsvenskan: Södertälje SK 3 vs. IK Oskarshamn 4 (SO):
Matt Read played his final home game for SSK before his planned return to North America. He tallied a pair of assists as SSK rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead. However, SSK was unable to hold the lead amidst several third-period penalties and ultimately lost in a shootout. Read, the final shooter, was unable to convert his attempt to prolong the game. He will play a road game in Stockholm on Saturday against Djurgården as his final match for Södertälje.
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FORTHCOMING-- FLYERS JUNIOR AND COLLEGIATE PROSPECTS
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