WJC PRE-TOURNAMENT: CANADA OUTGUNS SWEDEN, 7-6
Withstanding a five-goal outburst in the third period by Team Sweden that turned leads of 5-1 and 6-3 into a 6-6 tie, Team Canada prevailed by a 7-6 count in a wild pre-tournament World Junior Championship preparatory game in Helsinki, Finland on Wednesday. Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mitch Marner scored the game-winner with 3:40 remaining in regulation.
Flyers 2014 fifth-round pick Oskar Lindblom netted the Junior Crowns' lone goal through the opening 40 minutes and had a very strong game in general. He won the majority of his battles on the walls, created a power play opportunity for Sweden, was hard to move from in front of the net on Swedish power plays, got robbed by goalie Mason McDonald on an early scoring chance, nearly scored yet another goal in a netfront scramble and created two good scoring chances for teammates. Lindblom's power play goal was scored with a quick release from inside the hash marks.
Flyers 2015 first-round selection Travis Konecny assisted on Canada's fifth goal, which was scored by Carolina Hurricanes defense prospect Haydn Fleury. On the play, Konecny gained the puck and made a tape-to-tape pass across the ice to Fleury. Several minutes earlier, Konecny nearly scored a goal himself as he beat a defender and cut in front of the net but couldn't get off a shot. Sweden regained the puck and promptly turned it over in their own zone to Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Mitchell Stephens, who took the puck to the net and scored.
Flyers 2014 first-round pick Travis Sanheim was played very sparingly by Team Canada coach Dave Lowry. In his brief ice time, Sanheim did manage to snap off a point shot on goal during a delayed penalty call on Sweden (Calgary Flames defense prospect Adam Ollas-Mattsson). Earlier, Sanheim broke up a scoring chance for LA Kings prospect Adrian Kempe in front of the net on a scoring chance set up by Lindblom.
Flyers 2015 third-round pick Felix Sandström did not play in the game. New York Islanders prospect Linus Söderström started in goal for Sweden, stopping 20 of 25 shots before giving way to Arizona Coyotes prospect Erik Kà¤llgren following Fleury's goal. Kà¤llgren went the rest of the way, stopping five of seven shots and being charged with the loss. McDonald went the distance for Canada, stopping 26 of 32 shots.
FLYERS ALUMNI IN 7TH ANNUAL JEFF BURD MEMORIAL GAME: DEC. 27
The seventh annual Jeff Burd Memorial Game fundraising benefit between the Flyers Alumni and Cherokee Chiefs Alumni teams will take place at the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Dec. 27 from 4:05 p.m to 5:35 p.m. ET.
Last year, the younger legs of the Chiefs Alumni players carried them to a surprise comeback win over the Flyers Alumni team. More important, the 2014 game and after-party grossed $37,263. After direct expenses were paid, every penny of the proceeds went to the Jeff Burd Memorial Scholarship Fund, the National Meningitis Association, USA Wounded Warriors and Wings of Steel Sled Hockey.
The Jeff Burd Memorial Scholarship Fund is an educational fund co-created by the Burd family in remembrance of the 16-year-old standout student and Chorokee Chiefs player who passed seven years ago after a bout with meningitis. Each year, donations and matching funds for college are awarded to the Cherokee Chiefs player with the highest academic performance in school.
This year, in honor of the recovery of Flyers Hall of Fame left winger Brian Propp, the Neuro-Rehabilitation Center for stroke patients at Magee Hospital has been added as a fifth beneficiary of proceeds from the game.
Apart from Propp, who is a longtime close friend of Chief's coach and event organizer Scott McKay, a host of Flyers, Phantoms and Hershey Bears Alumni will be participating in the event, including Flyers Hall of Fame defenseman Joe Watson, Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Brad Marsh, Ray Allison, Frank "the Animal" Bialowas and Mitch Lamoureaux.
Longtime NHL referee and South Jersey resident Kerry Fraser will officiate the game. Legendary Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan will be behind the SkateZone mic.
The after-party with the Flyers Alumni will be held at the Victory Lane Bar and Grill in West Berlin, NJ (795 Route 73) from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. with food and drink. Tickets to the game are $20, and admission to both the game and the after-party is a $45 donation.
For more details on tickets, sponsorships or making donations in lieu of attending the event, please contact Scott McKay by phone at (609) 377-6866 or via email at RowdyMAX@aol.com.
Bringing the Decades Together: Flyers Alumni to Play in Reading
In celebration of nearly a half-century of Flyers hockey, the Flyers Alumni Association is bringing together players representing every decade of franchise history for a special Orange vs. Black intrasquad Alumni game on Feb. 5, 2016 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be held at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA, home of the Philadelphia Flyers' ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals.
Confirmed participants to date include the legendary Bob Clarke, Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen, Flyers Hall of Fame inductees Brian Propp and Joe Watson, Bill Clement, Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Paul Holmgren, Dave Poulin, Brad Marsh and Joe Watson. Full rosters of the Alumni will be announced at a later date.
Tickets for the Alumni game start at $12 and are on sale now. For more information on the game, click here.
Flyers Night Before Christmas 1984
For many years, it was a tradition during Flyers TV broadcasts to air an intermission segment on the final broadcast before Christmas in which that season's players, coaches and other club personnel read "'Twas Night Before Christmas." It was actually via Gene Hart in the 1970s that I first learned the famous poem was written by a man named Clement Clarke Moore ("How apropos to the Broad Street Bullies!" said Hart).
The only version to be found on Youtube is the 1984 edition. Fortunately, it's one of the best. Another one I got a big kick out of was the 1996 version, in which Trent Klatt got to read the line, "When out the lawn, there arose such a clatter." Rookie defenseman Janne Niinimaa had the task of spouting off the reindeers' names in his heavy Finnish accent; the same part read by countryman Ilkka Sinisalo twelve years earlier.
On a much lighter note, how about that stylin' sweater Bob Clarke is wearing?