Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

We left for Philadelphia right after the game in New Jersey. It was about an hour drive so we were in Philly before we knew it. We actually stayed in the south of New Jersey near the Flyer's practice facility. They practice right across the Pennsylvania border in Voorhees, New Jersey. Graham once again attended the practice and I got to have a much needed sleep in at the hotel. I am wearing down on this part of the tour and am not getting enough sleep. We drove into Philadelphia the next day and found the Wachovia Center. This is their new rink and like many others, it is a beautiful facility. The Flyer's organization treated us great. Upon our arrival, Graham did a pre-taped TV interview and then we were given sport bags and hats for ourselves. Very nice. Despite the tough times for the team, there was a good crowd and they were very, very loud and boisterous. I think the horn they blew when the Flyers scored is the loudest one I have heard in the entire league so far. It was ear drum shattering loud. Unfortunately, it didn't get to sound very often and the Flyers lost to the New York Islanders. In the first period we were honoured to be presented with a Simon Gagne autographed jersey and stick by Bob Kelly and Gary Doernhoffer who are ambassadors for the Philly organization. The presentation was live on the jumbotron and the fans were very supportive. These items will also be part of our online auction at the end of the tour. Here it is the 23rd stop on our tour, giving us 7 more stops. Our win record is now 14 and 9. On to Washington.

Graham's Game Report

Jan 18, 2007
Wachovia Center
New York Islanders vs. Philadelphia Flyers



We caught the Flyers at their best in November when they posted back to back wins on the road over Anaheim and Los Angeles. Tonight we saw a team who have lost all confidence. The game was tied after two periods at deuces with Randy Jones and Simon Gagne tallying for the Flyers. The Isles took over the game in the third period when in a stretch of less than eighty seconds the Islanders popped two goals and the Flyers visibly wilted. The effort seemed to be there but these Flyers looked as if they were waiting for bad things to happen and eventually they did. On paper the Flyers look to be a highly competitive team with veterans like Kuble, Gagne, Zhitnik and Forsberg complementing youngsters like Richards, Carter and Umberger. The results however have not been coming this year as Philly fans suffer through their first losing season in many years. I'm sure with the quality of the organization that things will turn around eventually but for now both fans and the team are learning lessons in humility and patience.

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