Friday is a jam-packed day and night of games involving current Flyers and Philadelphia prospects. There is no fewer than a dozen matches to choose from, including both of the Flyers' minor league affiliates in home action.

Tonight, the Trenton Titans are dedicating the game to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Fans who assist the drive by bringing a case of bottled water will receive a free ticket to the game. The team is also accepting a variety of other items for donation. See the game preview below for more details.

I will be covering the Titans-Royals game tonight in Trenton for HockeyBuzz. I'm very much looking forward to it. First of all, it will be the first regular season game I've covered in person anywhere this season. A live game will be a nice break from writing about games from webcasts, radio streams and highlight clips. Secondly, I've only ever been to one in-person ECHL game before and never in the press box. I've covered hundreds of Flyers games, a few dozen Phantoms games (when they were in Philadelphia) and a World Junior Champions in Sweden but not an ECHL game til now.

A special thank you goes out to Titans captain Ray DiLauro for taking time out of his day yesterday to talk to me about his colorful hockey career, which has come full circle for the Bensalem native. After four-plus seasons of traveling the world to play professionally in Germany, Austria, Italy and even Japan, he is now in his second season with a pro team located just a few minutes away from his hometown. A related article will appear on the International Ice Hockey Federation's official site (IIHF.com) in the weeks to come.

Here's a preview of the Friday hockey docket. All start times are in Eastern time:

FRIDAY GAMES: FLYERS FARM TEAMS

AHL: PHANTOMS (3-4-0) vs. Syracuse Crunch (4-1-1) -- 7:00 PM

The Adirondack Phantoms' three-game-in-three-day weekend last week was a near disaster. The club lost 5-1 in Albany on Friday, lost 6-2 at home to Rochester the following night and was on the brink of losing in Syracuse on Sunday.

The team was rescued by a pair of late-game 5-on-3 power plays. With goalie Cal Heeter pulled for an extra attacker,Brayden Schenn converted on the 6-on-3 attack to tie game with 1:08 remaining in regulation. Brandon Manning then scored on a 5-on-3 just 11 seconds into overtime, making 4-3 winners of the Phantoms.

Tonight, the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate and the Tampa Bay Lightning's top farm will rematch at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The Phantoms will look to get away from the slow starts that have plagued them in the majority of their games thus far this season. They also need to considerably tighten things up defensively, get the power play going, and play with a little more discipline. Head coach Terry Murray has already done a lot of juggling of line combinations and personnel.

Based on the reported practice combinations from the week, the Phantoms lineup tonight should look something like this:

McGinn - Schenn - Ford
Rinaldo- Couturier - Harper
Wellwood - Johnston - Testwuide
Zolniercyk - Bordson - Holmstrom

Manning - Syvret
Bourdon - Gustafsson
Konan - Lauridsen/FitzGerald

Heeter
Munroe

Injuries and potential scratches: Mangene (upper body, day to day), Brown (healthy), Roe (healthy), FitzGerald or Lauridsen (healthy).

PHANTOMS NOTABLES: Brayden Schenn (7GP, 4G, 5A, 9PTS), Sean Couturier (7 GP, 1G, 5A, 6PTS), Tye McGinn (7GP, 3G, 1A, 4 PTS, 17 PIM), Zac Rinaldo (7 GP, 2G, 1A, 3PTS, 11 PIM), Erik Gustafsson (7GP, 0G, 3A, 3PTS, -5), Marc-Andre Bourdon (5 GP, 0 PTS, -3, 17 PIM), Brandon Manning (7GP, 2G, 0A, 2PTS, -4, 8PIM), Cal Heeter (3GP, 1-2-0, 4.00 GAA, .859 SV%),Scott Munroe (4GP, 2-2-0, 3.28 GAA, .909 SV%).

CRUNCH NOTABLES: Brett Connolly (7GP, 3G, 4A, 7 PTS), Vladislav Namestnikov (5 GP, 0G, 2A, 2 PTS). Cory Conacher (7 GP, 5G, 6 A, 11 PTS), Tyler Johnson (7 GP, 5 G, 3 A, 8 PTS), Richard Panik (7 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS), Dustin Tokarski (5 GP, 3-1-1, 2.37 GAA, .904 SV%), Riku Helenius (2 GP, 1-0-1, 4.81 GAA, .824 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 (5-2-0) vs. Reading Royals (1-5-0) --7:05 PM

The influx of players from the Phantoms roster due to the NHL lockout has been a boon thus far for the Flyers' ECHL affiliate. The club is off to a strong start, despite stumbling in its last game.

Due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, the Titans have been holding practice this week at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. Tonight, the club returns to the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton to take on the struggling Reading Royals. Trenton has already beaten Reading twice this season, capturing a pair of convincing victories by a combined 9-3 score. The Royals are a Washington Capitals and Hershey Bears affiliate.

Niko Hovinen, who backed up New Jersey Devils prospect Scott Wedgewood in a pair of games last weekend, is now recovered from a deep bruise near his right collarbone. He may get the nod in goal tonight for the Titans.

Sixteen different Titans players have scored at least one goal on the season to date. Most notably from a Flyers standpoint, rookie forward Marcel Noebels has recorded points in all seven regular season games to date. He will look to extend that streak tonight.

The Trenton blueline is anchored by its team captain, Bensalem native Ray DiLauro. The 33-year-old minor league and international hockey veteran has four points (2G, 2A) and a plus-four rating to date. The club has also received strong play thus far from Phantoms training camp tryout player Mitch Versteeg (5 PTS, 7 PIM< +6) and Flyers-affiliated prospect Blake Kessel.

NOTE: As part of the ongoing hurricane-related relief efforts in the Garden State, the Titans are asking fans to bring donations to the SNBC tonight. Anyone bringing a case of water to Gates A or C will be given a free ticket for that night’s game.

The Titans are also accepting other items for donation -- canned goods, gift cards, infant-to-adult clothing, over the counter medications, band-aids, and other necessities. Cash donations are also accepted. The team will take all donated items and deliver them on Saturday directly to those who have been impacted along the New Jersey coast.

TITANS NOTABLES (FLYERS/PHANTOMS PROSPECTS INDICATED IN BOLD): Andy Bombach (6 GP, 1 G, 9 A, 10 PTS), Marcel Noebels (7 GP, 2 G, 6 A, 8 PTS), Jason Akeson (7 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS), Blake Kessel (7 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS), Luke Pither (7 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS), Tyler Hostetter (7 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS, +3), Ian Slater (7 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS, 19 PTS), Scott Wedgewood (6 GP, 4-2-0, 2.86 GAA, .907 SV%), Niko Hovinen (2 GP, 1-0-0, .955 SV%).

ROYALS NOTABLES: Yannick Tifu (7 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS), Brett Fleming (7 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS, 21 PIM), Chris Langkow (6 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 PTS), Philipp Grubauer (3 GP, 0-3-0, 2.74 GAA, .893 SV%).

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

KHL: CSKA Moscow vs. Amur Khabarovsk -- 10:30 AM

Ilya Bryzgalov (5 GPI, 1-4-0, 3.38 GAA, .881 SV%) got tagged with the loss last game in third period relief of Ilya Proskuryakov. There is no word on whether Bryzgalov or Rastislav Stana will get the call in goal for CSKA in this game. CSKA (22 GP, 40 PTS) is in 4th place in the KHL's Western Conference, while Amur (24 GP, 23 PTS) is in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

CSKA notables: Pavel Datsyuk, Alexander Radulov, Mikhail Grabovski, Oleg Kvasha, Igor Radulov.

Amur notables; Jakub Petruzalek, Mika Pyörälä (ex-Flyer), Jukka-Pekka Hytonen, Alexander Osipov, Jan Lasak.

LINK: A free live webcast will be available here.


KHL: HC DONBASS DONETSK @ SKA ST. PETERSBURG -- 11:00 AM

Ruslan Fedotenko (15 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 PTS, 18:02 TOI) remains day-to-day with a lower body injury sustained in the first period of a game last weekend. He missed the team's last game in a road loss to Dynamo Moscow. The Ukrainian team is currently in 10th place in the Western Conference with 26 points in 22 games. Today, the club faces another tough challenge, going on the road to take on a power-packed SKA St. Petersburg club.

Donbass notables: Alexei Ponikarovsky, Fredrik Pettersson, Vaclav Nedorost, Evgeny Dadonov, Oskars Bartulis (ex-Flyer), Clay Wilson, Jaroslav Obsut, Karel Pilar, Anton Babchuk, Erik Ersberg (G).

SKA notables: Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrick Thoresen (ex-Flyer), Vladimir Tarasenko, Tony Mårtensson, Igor Makarov, Viktor Tikhonov, Petr Prucha, Fedor Fedorov, Maxim Afinogenov (injured), Kevin Dallman, Dmitri Kalinin, Sergei Bobrovsky (G, ex-Flyer).

BROADCAST LINK: There will be a free webcast of the game.


Extraliga: HC Bili Tygri Liberec vs. HC Plzen -- 12:30 PM

Wayne Simmonds (4 GP, 3G, 1A, 4 PTS, 16 PIM) scored two goals, including the game-winner, for win-starved Liberec in its last game. Today, the 13th-place Tigers play host to the first-place team from Plzen.

Liberec notables: Petr Nedved (ex-Flyer), Chris Stewart, Michal Bulir, Ladislav Smid, Ondrej Pavelec (G).

Plzen notables: Martin Straka, Tomas Vlasak, Vaclav Pletka (ex-Flyer), Jan Kovar, Milan Gulas, Tuukka Rask (G).

BROADCAST LINK: A live webcast will be available here.


DEL: Eisbären Berlin vs. Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg -- 1:30 PM

In Eisbären's last game, Claude Giroux (6 GP, 3 G, 10 A, 13 PTS) kept alive his streak of recording points in each game since his arrival in Berlin. Danny Briere ( 6 GP, 3 G, 9 A, 12 PTS) saw his point streak come to an end. Eisbären defeated the Hannover Scorpions in overtime, 4-3.

The two-time defending champion Polar Bears currently sit in 4th-place in the DEL with 25 points in 15 games played. Today, they take on 14th-place (last place) Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg, who have 14 points in 15 games.

Eisbären notables: T.J. Mulock, Andre Rankel, Matt Foy, Florian Busch, Barry Tallackson, Julian Talbot, Mark Katic, Frank Hördler, Rob Zepp (G).

Wolfsburg notables: Niko Dimitrakos (ex-Flyer),Norman Milley, Kai Hospelt, Aaron Brocklehurst, Sebastian Vogl (G), Daniar Dshunussow (G).

BROADCAST LINK: Live game updates with be available here.There is no webcast for the game, because Laola1 TV is showing the Iserlohn-Mannheim game instead.


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FRIDAY GAMES: FLYERS JUNIOR PROSPECTS

* J20 SuperElit: Brynäs vs. Modo -- 11:30 AM: Defense prospect Fredric Larsson returned to the Brynäs lineup on Wednesday after a two-game absence.

BROADCAST LINKS: Today's game will be webcasted for free on the Brynäs Bambuser channel and live updates in English will be available here.

* OHL: Oshawa Generals @ Guelph Storm -- 7:05 PM: Center prospect Scott Laughton will serve the fourth game of his 10-game OHL suspension tonight, but defenseman Colin Suellentrop remains in the Oshawa lineup. Last night, Suellentrop did not record a point but was plus-two in the Generals' 5-0 romp over the Plymouth Whalers. Tonight, the Generals (1st place in East Division, 10-5-0-2 record) are right back in action to take on the Guelph Storm (2nd place in Midwest Division, 10-4-01 record) in a nationally televised game.

BROADCAST LINKS: Tonight's game will be broadcasted live on NHL Network. Alternatively, if you don't have NHL Network, a free radio stream (Guelph broadcast) is available here.

* OHL: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. Ottawa 67's -- 7:05 PM: Center prospect Nick Cousins (16 GP, 7 G, 17 A, 24 PTS, 30 PIM) enters tonight leading the Ontario Hockey League scoring charts. Tonight, the Greyhounds (2nd place in West Division, 9-7-0-0) return to action to host Ottawa (5th place in East Division, 4-8-0-2).

BROADCAST LINKS: A free radio stream of the Soo broadcast is available or you can purchase a live webcast for $6.99.

* OHL: Peterborough Petes @ Mississauga Steelheads -- 7:05 PM: Peterborough got pummeled by Oshawa last night, getting outscored 5-0 and outshot 53-29. With the game out of reach in the third period, Derek Mathers took a roughing/unsportsmanlike conduct double minor that led to the final Generals goal. Tonight, the Petes (4th place in the East Division, 4-8-2-1 record) will give it another go as they travel to Mississauga to take on the Steelheads (3rd place in Central Division, 9-4-0-1 record).

BROADCAST LINKS: A free radio stream of the Petes' broadcast is available or you can purchase a live webcast for $6.99.

* WHL: Portland Winterhawks vs. Victoria Royals -- 10:05 PM: Coming off strong back-to-back performances, left wing prospect Taylor Leier (8 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 7 PTS) and the rest of the Portland team will look to keep on rolling up the victories. The Winterhawks (2nd place in the U.S. Division, 10-3-1-0 record) can take over first place in their division tonight with a win over Victoria (3rd place in the British Columbia Division, 9-6-0-0 record).

BROADCAST LINKS: A free radio stream is available (Portland broadcast) or a webcast stream can be purchased for $6.99.


FRIDAY GAMES: FLYERS COLLEGIATE PROSPECTS

* Union College @ RPI -- 7:05 PM: Sophomore defense prospect Shayne Gostisbehere (5 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS) is questionable tonight after having to leave Union's last game early with a lower-body injury. He missed consecutive days of practice this week. Tonight's game is the front end of a home-and-home. After facing off tonight in Troy, NY, the scene shifts tomorrow night to Union's home ice in Schenectady.

BROADCAST LINKS: There will be a free audio stream available and a webcast is available for $7.50 purchase from the same site.

* Cornell University @ Colgate -- 7:00 PM: Cornell is off to a good start this season, and freshman defenseman Reece Willcox has been a promising addition to the blueline. Tonight, the team opens an ECAC home-and-home set with Cornell; tonight's game is in Hamilton, NY, tomorrow is on Cornell home ice in Ithaca.

BROADCAST LINK: There will be an audio stream available for tonight's game.

* University of Nebraska- Omaha @ Michigan Tech -- 7:05 PM: Freshman goaltending prospect Anthony Stolarz (3 GP, 0-3-0, .871 SV%) has struggled a bit with nerves and positioning in the early going of his first collegiate season. He was pulled after two periods last game. It seems more likely that senior John Faulkner (4 GP, 2-0-1.76 GAA, .903 SV%) will get the start tonight.

BROADCAST LINKS: There will be a free audio stream available plus an webcast available for $8 purchase.

* Harvard University vs. Brown University -- 7:05 PM: Sophomore winger Petr Placek had six shots on goal but no points in Harvard's regular season opening win last weekend. Tonight the team hosts Brown.

BROADCAST LINK: There will be a free audio stream available for tonight's game.

* University of Vermont vs. Providence -- 7:05 PM: Sophomore defense prospect Nick Luukko scored a goal for Vermont in the team's last game. Tonight, they embark on the first of consecutive-night home games against Providence.

BROADCAST LINK: Tonight's game has a webcast available for free on CatamounTV.

* University of North Dakota vs. Boston University -- 8:35 PM: Sophomore forward prospect Michael Parks has yet to play in the regular season, due to a lower-body injury sustained in an Oct. 6 exhibition game. Last I heard, I he was still a couple weeks from being ready to return.

BROADCAST LINK: The game will be televised on some networks that carry Fox College Sports (DirecTV 608/623/626). Additionally, there is an audio stream available.

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THURSDAY RESULTS ROUNDUP

* Allsvenskan: Matt Read (10 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 PTS, +13) played a major part in lifting Södertälje SK to its eighth win in the last nine games, playing an outstanding game without the services of linemate Carl Hagelin (day-to-day, bruised shoulder) in the lineup. Read generated a primary assist on a power play goal and later used a burst of speed to steal a puck and speed away on a breakaway from an empty net tap-in goal to seal a 3-1 win over Karlskoga. SSK now boasts a gaudy 8-2-0 mark on home ice. Read has already become a major fan favorite in Södertälje, and fans yesterday showed their appreciation by displaying a big banner reading "Heart and Speed -- Matthew Read".

HIGHLIGHT CLIPS: Video highlights are available here. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

NEXT GAME: SSK faces a huge challenge on Sunday. They will look for just their third road win on the season when they travel to central Sweden to take on a powerhouse Leksands IF team (12-2-4) that some have already labeled as a strong candidate for promotion the Elite League next season. The job will be even tougher if Hagelin isn't ready to return.


* KHL: Jakub Voracek (7 GP, 1 G, 6A, 7 PTS) is now on day-to-day status in his return from a knee injury. He remained out of the lineup yesterday in a 5-3 home loss to Sibir Novosibirsk. With a nearly two-week leaguewide schedule break coming up after the weekend -- Lev has one more game and then is off until Nov. 14 -- the team may simply opt to wait until after the break to get Voracek back in the lineup.

NEXT GAME: Tomorrow will see a battle between teams from the former Czechoslovakia, as Lev hosts Slovan Bratislava. Thereafter, Lev is on an 11-day break.


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