Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Flyers, Phantoms to play combined preseason contest

To celebrate the return of the Phantoms franchise to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to christen the brand-new PPL Center in downtown Allentown, the Flyers and Phantoms will square off in an exhibition contest on September 27.

But here's the twist, according to broadcaster Bob Rotruck: both teams will feature a mixture of Flyers and Phantoms, so it's not strictly a one-against-the-other proposition. This is a creative first. 

The last time the NHL club and farm team faced each other, it was October of 2008, and the Flyers were more concerned about honoring their 29 years inside the Spectrum than winning the game -- which was taken by the Phantoms with a 4-2 result.

Flyers-Phantoms crossovers were very much uncommon during the 13 years both teams existed mere parking lots away from each other.

The first such game occurred on September 21, 1999 with the Orange and Black decimating the Purple and Orange by a 10-2 count -- a contest which was added onto both clubs' exhibition slate in order to raise money to benefit the widow of late Flyers defenseman Dmitri Tertyshny.


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