IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MEDAL ROUND: FLYERS UPDATES
Two Flyers-affiliated players are finished at the 2015 IIHF World Championships in the Czech Republic, while five others remain as the tournament heads into the medal round quarterfinals. All four quarterfinal games will be held on Thursday.
Flyers forward Michael Raffl played a strong tournament for Austria, but did not get enough help around him to prevent his country's national team from being relegated back to Division 1 for next season. Raffl ranked third in faceoff percentage (82-for-126, 65.1 percent) among all players in the tournament during the preliminary round. He produced three points (one goal, two assists) in seven games, with his lone goal being the game-tier late in regulation of an upset shootout win over Switzerland in the opening game.
Phantoms defenseman Oliver Lauridsen routinely logged 18 to 21 minutes per game for Denmark, and the team accomplished its main objective by avoiding relegation (Slovenia got relegated) and beating arch-rival Norway along the way. Lauridsen chipped in one assist in seven games and only took two minor penalties (one of which was an offsetting cross-checking penalty when he tangled with Russia's Evgeni Malkin late in the third period of already-decided game). Lauridsen posted a minus-five at even strength for the tournament.
The five remaining Flyers players: Czech Republic team captain Jakub Voracek (7 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 PTS, 2 PPG, +1, 6 PIM, 25 SOG), Swiss team captain Mark Streit (7 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS, -3, 6 PIM, 16 SOG), and the Team Canada trio of Claude Giroux (7 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 7 PTS, 1 PPG, +8, 4 PIM, 19 SOG, 62.4 FO%), Sean Couturier (7 GP, 3 G, 2 A, 5 PTS, +9, 0 PIM, 13 SOG, 52.3 FO%), and Brayden Schenn (2 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT, +2, 0 PIM).
Thursday's schedule of games:
* Undefeated Group A winner Team Canada (7-0-0-0, 21 points) plays Group B fourth-place finisher Belarus (4-0-2-1, 14 points). Game time is 9:15 a.m. EDT.
* Group B winner Team USA (5-1-0-1, 17 points) plays Group A fourth-place team Switzerland (2-0-4-1, 10 points). Game time is 8:15 a.m. EDT. The game will be televised in the USA on NBC Sports Network.
* Group A second-place finisher Sweden (4-2-0-1, 16 points) opposes Group B third-place team Russia (4-1-1-1, 15 points). Game time is 12:15 p.m. EDT.
* Group B second-place team Finland (4-2-0-1, 16 points) takes on Group A third-place finisher Czech Republic (4-1-1-1, 15 points). Game time is 1:15 p.m. EDT.
* The quarterfinal winners will have a day off on Friday. The semifinals will take place on Saturday and the gold medal and bronze medal games will be on Sunday.
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QMJHL FINALS: GAME FOUR
The road team has won all four games to date in the QMJHL's President's Cup Final. On Wednesday night, the Rimouski Oceanic skated off with its second straight 4-2 win over the Quebec Remparts to knot the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
Flyers 2013 first-round pick Samuel Morin had one shot on goal and one credited hit in Game Four. He was not on the ice for any even strength goals -- for or against -- but was out on a Remparts power play goal in the first period when Quebec tallied its second man advantage goal to open up a short-lived 2-0 lead.
The scene shifts back to Rimouski on Friday for Game Five. Game time is 7:00 p.m. EDT.
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MAY 14: A STORIED DAY IN FLYERS HISTORY
The May 14th calendar date is chock full of memorable events in the history of the Flyers' franchise. The biggest ones:
1974: The Flyers move to the brink of championship glory, taking a three games to one lead in the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins with a 4-2 win at the Spectrum. The Flyers strike for early goals by Rick MacLeish and Dave "the Hammer" Schultz before the Bruins respond with two of their own. The action-packed and penalty-filled first period also sees three fights, with a bout between Schultz and Terry O'Reilly as the main event. After a scoreless second period and 14-plus scoreless minutes in the third period, Bill Barber puts the Flyers ahead to stay. Andre "Moose" Dupont adds some insurance to make it a 4-2 final. Victorious goalie Bernie Parent stops 28 of 30 Bruins' shots.
1985: The Flyers grab a three games to two lead in the Patrick Division Final against the Quebec Nordiques, putting themselves one win away from the fifth trip to the Stanley Cup Final in franchise history. Pelle Lindbergh plays brilliantly in net, stopping 30 of 31 shots to take first-star honors in a 2-1 road win in Game Six. Nevertheless, the Flyers trail, 1-0, after two periods before rallying for an early goal by callup player Joe Paterson and a late game-winner by Murray Craven. Mark Howe plays an outstanding game in 33 minutes of ice time and assists on Paterson's game-tying power play goal just one minute into the third period to take third-star honors.
1987: The Flyers earn their sixth trip to the Stanley Cup Final in franchise history, skating to a 4-3 regulation win over the Montreal Canadiens -- their third win at the hostile Forum in the series -- in Game Six. Emotions boil over even before the game starts. A brawl breaks out at the end of the pregame warmups and escalates with half-dressed players returning to the ice to do battle. Trailing 3-1 midway through the second period, the Flyers rally for goals by Illka Sinisalo and Scott Mellanby to tie the game. Rick Tocchet scores the game and series winner in the third period.
2010: In the final installment of their historic comeback from a three games to zero deficit against the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Flyers save the best for last. After trailing the host Boston Bruins by a 3-0 score late in the first period, the intrepid Flyers storm back to score four unanswered goals in regulation -- James van Riemsdyk at 17:12 of the first period, Scott Hartnell at 2:49 of the second period, Danny Briere with the tying goal at 8:39 of the second period and, finally, a Simon Gagne power play goal at 12:52 of the third period -- to win Game Seven and claim the series. After yielding three early goals, Michael Leighton (22 saves) settles down the rest of the way as Philly starts to take over the game.
FLYERS ALUMNI FANTASY HOCKEY CAMP
The Flyers Alumni will host a fantasy hockey camp from August 21-24 in Atlantic City, open to anyone age 21 and older. Instructors and Alumni participants will include Bernie Parent, Brian Propp, Ian Laperriere, Todd Fedoruk, Andre "Moose" Dupont, Dave "the Hammer" Schultz, Joe Watson and Bob "the Hound" Kelly.
The registration deadline is June 1. Participation costs $3,000 apiece but it is free to register a spot online. Over on the Flyers' Alumni website, there is more information on camp-related activities and on-ice schedules.