MONDAY ROUNDUP: FLYERS AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sunday's Results
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Wayne Simmonds broke his tournament-long scoring drought with a first period power play goal in Canada's 2-1 win over the Czech Republic. Jeff Skinner broke a 1-1 tie early in the third period with the game-winning goal. Flyers defenseman
Luke Schenn was ejected from the game on a checking from behind major and game misconduct when he boarded Czech forward Zbynek Irgl. None among
Jakub Voracek (17:25 TOI, 1 shot, -1, selected Best Player of Game on Czech side),
Claude Giroux (17:46 TOI, 2 shots),
Matt Read (13:33 TOI, 1 shot, -1) or Schenn (7:55 TOI) figured in any of the scoring.
* Team USA clinched its spot in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 shutout win over Germany. John Gibson made 30 saves in the victory, while Bobby Butler, Paul Stastny and Stephen Gionta notched goals for the Americans. Phantoms goaltender
Cal Heeter remained a healthy scratch but Phantoms winger
Marcel Noebels dressed for the third time in the tournament and received by far his most ice time (13:18) of any of the games in which he's played. Noebels' fourth-line combo with Patrick Hager and Daniel Pietta was one of the more effective German units in the game, so coach Pat Cortina rewarded them with additional ice time.
* Team Russia snapped its two-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Slovakia. Flyers goaltender
Ilya Bryzgalov made 23 saves for the win. The lone Slovakian goal was scored by former Flyers forward Branko Radivojevic on a breakaway. "Radio" froze Bryzgalov in a stationary position and snapped a shot home to the stick side. Russia's goals were scored by Alexander Radulov, Ilya Kovalchuk (7th of the tourney) and Denis Denisov.
Monday's games (Times in EDT)
10:15 A.M.: Flyers defenseman
Oliver Lauridsen (left hip flexor strain) will be a game-time decision today when Denmark (1-3-1) takes on Belarus (1-4-0). Denmark and Belarus both have three points in the tourney, two ahead of Slovenia (0-5-1). The winning side can assure they avoid any chance at relegation.
1:15 P.M.: Team Russia (4-2-0) takes on Austria (2-4-0). The Russians have rotated their three goalies throughout the tournament, so it's unlikely that Bryzgalov will play on back-to-back days.
2:15 P.M.: Canada (5-0-1) takes on Slovenia (0-5-1) in what figures to be a lopsided game if the Canadians take it seriously. There has already been a huge upset in the preliminary round when France shocked Russia, but the French have generally hung around even in the games they've lost. Slovenia has scored just nine goals in its six games to date, while yielding 23.
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Three Flyers Prospects Reached Respective CHL Finals
Three Flyers-affiliated prospects appeared in the championship round of the CHL playoffs, with one player apiece playing for the WHL, QMJHL and OHL titles.
Last night, Flyers wing prospect
Taylor Leier capped off a solid second season in the Western Hockey League by a scoring a late-game empty net goal in the Portland Winterhawks' Chynoweth Cup championship clinching 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Leier, a somewhat undersized but speedy and gritty left winger who has developed a reputation as a good two-way player, was part of the supporting cast on a deep Portland team that was a juggernaut both in the WHL regular season and postseason.
Despite missing the first month of the season with an abdominal muscle tear, Leier still managed to more than double his rookie goal-scoring output of 13 goals in 72 games. Taking advantage of increased ice time on scoring lines, Leier tallied 27 regular season goals. He also bumped up his overall production from 37 to 62 points. In the playoffs, Leier had nine goals and 16 points in 21 games.
If Leier is to have an NHL future, it will likely be in more of a defensive/energy type of role than a player regularly featured in the top six of the forward line rotation. It's a hopeful sign that he's already accustomed to a similar role in junior hockey and has managed to show two-way ability in the process.
Portland will now move on the Memorial Cup tournament. The WHL powerhouse will take on the QMJHL Presidents Cup champion Halifax Mooseheads on Saturday. Halifax, of course, features the likes of likely top-three 2013 Draft picks Nate MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin while projected top overall pick Seth Jones anchors the Winterhawks' blueline.
Halifax defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the QMJHL finals. Recently signed Flyers prospect
Petr Straka is a member of the Drakkar. He had a quiet final game after a dominant regular season (41 goals, 82 points in 55 games) and postseason (11 goals, 25 points in 19 games). The 20-year-old Straka will debut as a pro next season, more likely with the Phantoms than the Flyers.
The Ontario Hockey League championship has not been decided yet. Last night, the London Knights grabbed a 5-4 overtime victory over the Barrie Colts to force a seventh and deciding game of the Robertson Cup Finals. The Knights actually held a 4-0 lead going into the third period before the Colts pulled off an improbable four-goal comeback in the final stanza. London's Ryan Rupert scored 90 seconds into sudden death overtime.
Game seven of the OHL Finals will take place tonight in London, Ontario. There is no word as of yet on whether Flyers prospect
Anthony Stolarz or Jake Patterson will be in goal for the Knights. London coach Dale Hunter had been rolling with Stolarz down the stretch and in the playoffs but made the switch to Patterson for the last three games of the finals after Stolarz struggled mightily in the first two games of the series against the Colts, who are coached by former Flyers center Dale Hawerchuk. Patterson really hasn't fared much better than Stolarz despite London's comeback in the series.
Stolarz played very well for most of his 20 regular season OHL games after leaving University of Nebraska-Omaha earlier this season. He posted a 2.29 goals against average and .920 save percentage at the end of the OHL regular season. His overall playoff numbers are still good (2.53 GAA, .923 save percentage) but the native of Jackson, NJ, hit a wall against Barrie after looking nearly unbeatable at times earlier in the postseason.
Before giving way to Patterson, Stolarz allowed several questionable goals and struggled to come up with some non-routine but potentially makeable saves, looking a bit shaky with puck-tracking, rebound control and lateral movement. Falling out of rhythm can happen to any goalie, especially a 6-foot-6 rookie netminder. The bigger test will be to see how he handles his next start if he does get the nod for tonight.
Tonight's championship-deciding game will start at 7:05 PM. The winner of the OHL finals will advance to the Memorial Cup. The team will then travel to Saskatoon to take on the tournament host Saskatoon Blades on Friday.
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