Farm Teams Fly into Christmas Break
The Flyers' AHL and ECHL affiliates have heated up heading into the Christmas break. On Saturday night, the Adirondack Phantoms won for the third straight time, while the Trenton Titans won their fourth in a row and fifth in the last six games.
In Bridgeport, CT, the Phantoms built a 3-0 lead over the Sound Tigers and then barely held on for a 3-2 win.
Sean Couturier strapped the tiring club on his back, figuring in all three Adirondack goals.
At the 14:10 mark of the first period, Couturier opened the scoring with a sharp angle goal moments after the expiration of a Phantoms penalty. In the second period, Couturier set up a deflection goal by
Matt Ford, which was Ford's long-overdue first goal of the season after scoring 39 last season for Hershey and Adirondack. In the opening minute of the third period, Couturier earned the primary assist on an
Eric Wellwood goal.
Wellwood, who was placed on Couturier's line earlier this week in another round of line juggling by head coach
Terry Murray, has scored in two of the last three games. He had only scored once in his first 21 games.
Goaltender
Scott Munroe flirted with a shutout until the 13:39 mark of the third period, when a Jack Combs shot barely crossed the glove line before Munroe pulled it back. Twenty-seven seconds later, Johan Sundström trimmed the Sound Tigers' deficit to a single goal. Thereafter, the Phantoms didn't so much slam the door as hang on for dear life, but the Sound Tigers never found the equalizer. Munroe finished with 34 saves.
In Fort Wayne, IN, the suddenly red hot Titans rode a four-goal explosion in the second period to a 5-2 win over the Komets. Despite the comfortable final score, New Jersey Devils prospect Scott Wedgewood was frequently tested in net. The rookie made 39 saves, including a half-dozen or so of the difficult variety.
Rookie forward
Marcel Noebels and teammate Jake Drewiske led the way for the Titans. Noebels scored the game's first goal and later assisted on the second of Drewiske's two goals as well as a power play goal by Stephen Schultz. The German winger Noebels has points in 10 of the last 11 games (8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points) for Trenton. The Titans also got a goal from Devils prospect Phil DeSimone.
Titans defenseman
Blake Kessel was plus-two in the game. He has been plus or even in four of the last six games, and has brought his team-worst plus-minus rating below double-digits. Rookie forward
Matt Mangene saw a four-game point streak come to an end.
Adirondack (13-14-1-0) has risen to third place in the Northeast Division. The Eastern Conference is tightly packed. Athough the Phantoms are 13th in the 15-team conference, they are just three points behind the eighth-seeded Hershey Bears (with one fewer game played to date). On the flip side, the Phantoms are just two points ahead of the cellar-dwelling Albany Devils.
Trenton (13-11-2-2) is in second place in the Atlantic Division. However, their horrendous head-to-head record against the first-place Reading Royals has left the Titans with a 13-point gap to make up as they head to another three-game set with the Royals. The Titans are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference.
The Phantoms and Titans will now have several well-earned days off before the season resumes. The Phantoms host the Providence Bruins in Glens Falls on Friday. The Titans will host Reading at the Sun National Bank Center on Thursday. Thereafter, the teams will play in Reading on Friday and then return to Trenton for the rubber match.
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Flyers in Europe updates
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Danny Briere had one assist in Eisbären Berlin's 8-0 mauling of the Straubing Tigers.
*
Ilya Bryzgalov turned back 20 of 21 shots for CSKA Moscow in a 4-1 home win over Salavat Yulaev Ufa. After seeing just three shots and yielding a shorthanded goal to Alexei Glukhov in the first period, Bryzgalov was perfect the rest of the way. He made 18 saves in the second and third periods, including five in the early stages of the middle stanza. Eventually, his team settled in added to the 2-1 lead it took to the first intermission.
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Jakub Voracek and Lev Prague are in action today against Neftekhimik. The game was tied, 1-1, through two periods.
* Later today,
Ruslan Fedotenko and HC Donbass Donetsk are in action against Avangard Omsk.
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