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It’s been a busy week for me but an enjoyable one. On Thursday and Saturday, I did Flyers pregame coverage with Jason Myrtetus and Brian Smith. In between, I did play-by-play broadcast duties for the BKFC Ice Wars card at Amerant Bank Arena (Florida Panthers home rink). In terms of the NFL, the Eagles already played this week and the Minnesota Vikings are on bye. Therefore, I have a little more time to do a Take than I normally would on a Sunday.
Flyers take one of four points
Let’s be honest. This has a brutal week for Philly sports. We know what happened in Game 4 of the Phillies vs. Dodgers series. No need to discuss the Eagles vs. Giants mess. So let’s talk Flyers for a minute.
The Flyers return home now for Monday’s home opener against the Florida Panthers. I don’t know Tocc’s goalie plan for the game but I’d guess that Dan Vladar gets the start. Vladar played well in the opening 2-1 loss to Florida. He never saw Brad Marchand’s game winning goal in the third period. Florida more or less dominated the game, but Vladar game the Flyers a chance to win. That’s all you can ask from your goaltender.
Ditto Samuel Ersson. Want an encouraging sign from Saturday’s overtime loss to the Hurricanes? Ersson pretty much stole a point for the Flyers. Well, he had help from the Noah Cates line and the PK. Carolina dominated puck possession (as expected) and was the better 5-on-5 team by a mile. However, the Flyers won the special teams battle. That and clutch saves can steal you a point. Hell, it nearly stole the Flyers a win.
The Flyers need to get some other lines going. I don’t think any of defensemen outside Travis Sanheim have been good so far. Sanny, by necessity, is pulling down a ton of tough minutes. He hasn’t been perfect — some Game 1 turnovers, the goalie interference play in Saturday’s overtime — but he’s the least of the Flyers’ blueline concerns right now.
This worries me: The Flyers leaned almost as heavily on Jamie Drysdale in the first two games. He wasn’t bad, but he also didn’t make an impact to speak of except for starting Saturday’s power play goal sequence (no assist but a nice pass). Meanwhile, through two games, Drysdale has yet to put a shot on net. He hasn’t even attempted many (because the Flyers haven’t had the puck nearly enough). Cam York’s (hopeful) return this week can only help. But the Flyers are still very thin on the blueline, even with York. There’s no other way to put it. “Patchwork” is a way to put it kindly. “Major problem” is more accurate right now.
Up front, I’m a little less concerned. Even so, the Flyers need others beyond the Cates line to step up. That cannot be the Flyers’ best line over and over. The likes of Travis Konecny, Trevor Zegras, Owen Tippett and especially Matvei Michkov need to find their higher level. Meanwhile, it needs to happen sooner and not later. The Flyers can’t afford a slow start this season.
BKFC Ice Wars: Some Wrapup Thoughts
I had a good time broadcasting Ice Wars on Friday. I hope folks enjoyed it. Here are some random Takes from the event:
- With only a few exceptions, taller fighters with longer reach won their fights. Ditto the ones who come from hockey backgrounds and are good skaters.
- Give me natural ice over synthetic ice any time. Big improvement.
- The trade-off from MMA style gloves to bare knuckles (like hockey fights, but no hockey fights last for up to three minutes) meant the officials had to be extra cautious about when to stop fights. They erred on the side of caution a few times but that needs to be the case.
- I felt bad for Jordan “The Warden” Christie. He may have ultimately lost his fight, anyway (we’ll never know) but it’s tough to lose via TKO when an accidental poke in the eye causes your bout to be stopped. It was more technicality than technical knockout.
- The Laporte twins are a combined 5-0 now in Ice Wars. Will (3-0) dominated his fight against Anthony Mendoza: too big,too physically strong in cliches and too much reach for Menzona to adjust to the six-inch height gap and seven-inch wingspan disadvantage. Meanwhile, in the main event, Nick (2-0) had a more difficult time with LNAH veteran enforcer Sabastien Laferriere. Laporte gave up 50-plus pounds to the bear-like Laferriere. Nick easily won the first round and narrowly won the third but lost the second. Laporte had Laferriere fall on top of him several times. Ultimately, “Gorgeous” won a unanimous but close decision.
- The boxing-style headgear, worked better than the hockey-style helmets of past events. Only Laferriere had trouble keeping his head gear from falling off. Everyone else did fine wearing it for the duration.
- Fight of the night (easily): the middleweight fight between Steven Wolftail and Alex Marchisello. This was the most action-packed and evenly matched bout of the night.
- Ryan Krasowski got off to a good start against MMA veteran Charles Rosa. However, Rosa adjusted before too long and went on to knock out Krasowski with relative ease.
- The most brutal beatdowns of the night: the women’s match and the James Dalzell win. Christina Barry’s extensive martial arts background came up short against Valerie Ruley’s skating and balance from a lifetime of playing hockey (including against her brothers and other men’s players).Barry’s face was a mess by the end of her knockout loss. The two women, unlike most of the men, went toe-to-toe rather than clinches and grappling for close-range punches. In the Dalzell fight, the 5-foot-5 Mike Arcamone was beyond game. He took a vicious beating and kept coming back for more until the fight ended in a TKO. Tough dude, however.
In case you missed the event, you can watch the replay below.
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Phans of Philly: 2025-26 Flyers Fans Road Trips
Please welcome our newest content sponsor: Phans of Philly: the longest-established travel company for Philadelphia pro sports team fan road trips. Owner Joe DiBiaggio’s company has worked for years with the official Flyers Fan Club. Meanwhile, they offer road trip packages for fans of varying budgets. Here are their trips for the 2025 season.
- California road trip: Phans of Philly organized this trip in conjunction with Nasty Knuckles and the Fan Club. It’s a three-game road trip with tickets to see the Flyers play in Anaheim (March 18), Los Angeles (March 19) and San Jose (March 21). The trip includes three nights in Santa Monica Beach and two nights in San Francisco. For more info, click here.
- Michigan road trip: The Flyers have a road game against the Detroit Red Wings on March 28. The trip package (March 26-29) includes a hotel stay in walking distance to Little Caesars Arena and a pregame party (food and drink included) on game day. For more, click here.
- New Jersey bus trip: This November trip is perfect for Flyers fans on a budget who want to attend a road game. The fan bus departs from the South Philly stadium complex in the afternoon for the Prudential Center. Phans of Philly provides food and beverages for the 90-minute bus ride. Meanwhile, there’s a local sports bar takeover planned prior to the game. A $100 deposit secures a spot.
