AUG 19, 2022
One of the most eagerly anticipated events on the annual Flyers Alumni Association calendar is finally here: the 2022 Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp. After checking in at The Study (33rd and Chestnut St.) and relaxing for a while in our rooms — I used the opportunity to watch the Canada vs, Czechia game at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship — we gathered in the lobby to say our hellos. The players’ hockey equipment had already been taken over by the trainers to the Class of 1923 Arena (31st and Walnut St.).
The group walked from the Study over to AKA University City at 29th and Walnut St. for a private reception at the Level28 club, located some 400 feet above street level. The panoramic view of the city from the outdoor terrace was nothing sort of spectacular, especially at sunset! The players and coaches mingled and shared stories. Attendees have come from across North America, including from as far away as Alberta and Saskatchewan.
With the sun going down for the night, legendary Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan did the honors of formally introducing all the players and coaches, as well as noting that there are more than 20 first-time participants in this year’s camp along with the diehard contingent of regulars.
Team KLYR (White Jerseys)
5 D Alberto Maiocco St. Louis, MO
9 F Jim Grohol Havertown, PA
19 F James Liuzza Barrington, NJ
23 G Amit Patel Blue Bell, PA
25 D Scott Radman Perkasie, PA
28 F Zach Stahl Brockport, NY
37 D Dave Street Chalfont, PA
44 D Ron Quinn Danbury, CT
48 F Greg Stahl Brockport, NY
61 F Tom Gates Pipersville, PA
67 G Gary Shmyr Grande Prairie, AB
77 D Brad MacQuarrie Beaumont, AB
88 F Amish Patel Ambler, PA
93 F Anthony Del Vecchio Hollywood, FL
97 F Ronald Moore Danbury, CT
92 F Alex Monti Turnersville, NJ
Coaches: Bill Barber, Brad Marsh, and Dave Poulin
Team Toyota (Camo Jerseys)
1 G Dan Rieber New York, NY
6 D Matt Steinberg Fort Washington, PA
9 D Howard Jaffe Ambler, PA
10 F Tommy Neugebauer Sugar Land, TX
11 F Josh Schwartz Oregon City, OR
12 D/F Ed Doxer Oak Hill, VA 18
13 F Dave Rosenthal Missouri City, TX
15 F John Baumgartner Wanaque, NJ
20 F Mark Jaffe Cherry Hill, NJ
23 F Fran Walmsley Glen Mills, PA
27 F Jordan Yuter Plymouth Meeting, PA
29 D Fred Jaffe Philadelphia, PA
31 G Joe Brennan Bakersfield, CA
51 D Sean McGinnis Mount Joy, PA
72 F Jay Goodman Blue Bell, PA
90 F Matt Fasnacht Strasburg, PA
Coaches: Keith Jones, Mark Recchi and Joe Watson
Team River Rock Academy (Orange Jerseys)
2 D Marc Wiczkowski Lititz, PA
8 F Rick Gibson Lancaster, PA
13 F Michael Flanagan Lloyd Harbor, NY
16 F Ron DeBrigida Phoenix, AZ
17 D/F Paul Kelley Arlington, TN
18 D Brett Cole Lancaster, PA
20 D/F Lupo Dion Yamhill, OR
21 F Brian George Hanover Park, IL
22 F Steve Capoferri Lancaster, PA
26 F Olivier Pelletier Lititz, PA
32 G Brendan Flanagan Babylon, NY
33 D Matthew Klinger Marietta, PA
35 G Jim Flanagan Lloyd Harbor, NY
67 D Ryan Todd Lancaster, PA
68 F John Gavin Drexel Hill, PA
81 F John Donnelly Lancaster, PA
93 F John Romano Castle Rock, CO
Coaches: Mark Howe and Mike Knuble
Team Yuengling (Black Jerseys)
2 D/F Brian McElwain Surf City, NC
3 F Jim Valentine Willow Grove, PA
8 D/F Steven Olson Saskatoon, SK
9 F Mark Guensch Franktown, CO
11 D Lou Kuchler Collegeville, PA
12 F John Hewczuk Coatesville, PA
17 F John D’Arcy Philadelphia, PA
21 F John Hughes Kutztown, PA
22 F Mark McCormick Brooklyn, NY
25 D Nick Pidge Cinniminson, NJ
27 F Neil Crawley Flesherton, ON
28 F Bryan Hornung Medford, NJ
39 G Phil Brady King of Prussia, PA
56 G Chris Schultz Baltimore, MD
72 D Darren Musser Lancaster, PA
92 F Alex Monti Turnersville, NJ
Coaches: Danny Briere and Dave Brown
Camp Profile: Brad MacQuarrie
Each and every year, Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp participants come from across the United States and Canada to take part in the festivities. This year, there are attendees from as far away as Alberta and Saskatchewan including Team KLYR defenseman Brad MacQuarrie from Beaumont, Alberta. MacQuarrie, who formerly played Junior A hockey with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons (Alberta Junior Hockey League) is an experienced player. He is a Flyers fan.
“I came to Fantasy Camp every year until the pandemic hit in 2020. With the border being closed between Canada and the U.S., that meant I wasn’t able to attend the camp again until this year. It’s great to be back,” MacQuarrie said during the opening reception at AKA University City.
“The Alumni do an awesome job with the Camp, and it’s always a great time and a lot of fun.”
Aug. 20, 2022
The four teams held practice sessions at the Class of 1923 rink: Team KLYR at 10:00 a.m. EDT, Team Yuengling at 11 a.m. EDT, Team Toyota at noon, and Team River Rock Academy at 1:00 p.m. EDT. That was followed by the first two games, as Team Yuengling (Danny Briere and Dave Brown) played Team KLYR (Bill Barber, Dave Poulin, Brad Marsh) and Team Toyota (Keith Jones, Mark Recchi, Joe Watson) took on Team River Rock (Mark Howe, Mike Knuble). Both games were very competitive, and the outcomes hung in the balance until late in the third period.
TEAM YUENGLING 3 – TEAM KLYR 1
The game initially seemed as if it might be a high-scoring contest, with Team KLYR’s John Hewczuk getting his team on the board in the game’s opening shift. Shortly thereafter, Team Yuengling’s Greg Stahl fired a shot upstairs to knot the score at 1-1. That’s where the score stayed until the 9:44 mark of the second period as Hewczuk assisted on a Darren Musser tally to put Team Yuengling ahead, 2-1. In the third period, Team Yuengling’s Alex Monti was denied on a breakaway attempt but converted his next scoring chance to give his team some insurance. Speedy and skilled Team Yuengling player Nick Pidge, a member of the Flyers Warriors hockey team, assisted on the first and third Team Yuengling tallies.
1st Period
KLYR (1-0) John Hewczuk (Nick Pidge)
Yuengling (1-1) Greg Stahl (Amish Patel)
Penalties: None
2nd Period
Yuengling (2-1) Darren Musser (John Hewczuk)
Penalties: Anthony Del Vecchio (hooking, 7:23), Yuengling bench (too many men on the ice, 12:43)
3rd Period
Yuengling (3-1) Alex Monti (Nick Pidge)
Penalties: None
TEAM TOYOTA 6 – TEAM RIVER ROCK ACADEMY 5
The day’s latter game was a see-saw contest that saw the winning side overcome an early 2-0 deficit and then score the next three goals to take a 3-2 edge into the first break between periods. The teams then traded off alternating goals through the first five minutes of the third period as the game moved to a 5-5 tie. Finally, with 2:30 left to play, Team Toyota went ahead to stay. John Romano notched a hat trick in a losing cause for Team River Rock while John Gavin tallied twice. For Team Toyota, Fran Wamsley had a four-point afternoon (2g, 2a), John Baumgartner scored two goals, Josh Schwartz scored the goal that made it 5-4 and Mark Jaffe notched what proved to be the game-winning goal for the camouflage-clad side.
1st Period
RR (1-0) John Romano (Ryan Todd) 1:21
RR (2-0) John Romano (Rick Gibson) 8:28
TT (2-1) Fran Wamsley (Matt Fasnacht) 9:23
TT (2-2) John Baumgartner (Fran Wamsley) 13:00
TT (2-3) John Baumgartner (Matt Fasnacht, Fran Wamsley) 14:11
Penalties: None
2nd Period
RR (3-3) John Gavin (Matthew Klinger) 10:24
TT (3-4) Fran Wamsley (Sean McGinnis, Matthew Steinberg) 12:56
Penalties: None
3rd Period
RR (4-4) John Gavin (Paul Kelley, Brian George) 2:54
TT (4-5) Josh Schwartz (Dave Rosenthal) 3:07
RR (5-5) John Romano (Ron DeBrigida) 4:26
TT (5-6) Mark Jaffe (Dave Rosenthal) 12:30
Penalties: None
Early in the evening, everyone gathered in the lobby of The Study and traveled by bus to Citizens Bank Park to take in the second game of the Phillies vs. Mets double-header from a party suite down the left field line. Several Phillies alumni — 1980 World Series championship team pitcher Dickie Noles, 1983 National League Championship Series MVP left fielder Gary Matthews, and 1993 National League pennant winning team starting second baseman Mickey Morandini –stopped by the suite to visit with the Fantasy Camp attendees along with their Flyers Alumni Association counterparts.
In dire need of a win after aces Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler had disappointing outings on Friday night (Nola) and the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader (Wheeler), the Phillies got an unexpectedly strong start from Bailey Falter in the nightcap. Falter earned his first win of the 2022 season while clutch hits from third baseman Alex Bohm and Rhys Hoskins drove in crucial runs in Philadelphia’s 4-1 victory.
Shortly after everyone returned to the Study for the night, Team Finland staged a third-period comeback from a 2-0 deficit against Team Canada in the gold medal game of the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Edmonton. The game went to 3-on-3 sudden death overtime and Canada escaped a 3-on-1 Finnish scoring chance that bounced on — but not over — the goal line before the Canadian side prevailed.
From a Flyers Fantasy Camp perspective, though, the MLB and WJC games were just a precursor to an extremely busy Sunday at the Class of 1923 rink featuring four games to complete the round-robin portion of camp: Team Yuengling vs. Team River Rock (10:00 a.m. EDT), Team Toyota vs. Team KLYR (11:30 a.m. EDT), Team River Rock vs. Team KLYR (3:30 p.m. EDT) and Team Toyota vs. Team Yuengling (5:00 p.m. EDT).
Camp Profile: Jack Diamond
A native of Bucks County and now a Florida resident, forward Jack Diamond has attended each of the eight Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camps to date. This year, however, he is unable to participate as a player due to needing rotator cuff surgery. Nonetheless, he remains a fixture at the games at the Class of 1923 rink as well as camp events such as the Phillies game outing on Saturday night.
“The Alumni guys are great; Hound, Marshy, Lou Nolan, everyone. The camp has always been a great time,” Diamond said during the Phillies game outing.
August 21, 2022: Round Robin Day 2
Sunday’s jam-packed schedule featured four games on the docket. The short straw of having to play in back-to-back games was drawn this year by Team KLYR, which played Team Toyota late Sunday morning and then faced off with Team River Rock Academy in the 3:30 p.m. EDT game. Here’s how the games played out.
TEAM RIVER ROCK 8 – TEAM YUENGLING 1
Three unanswered goals in the first period including two by defenseman Mark Wiczkowski put Team River Rock in the driver’s seat early and they subsequently went on to skate to an 8-1 victory. A pair of closely spaced goals by Rick Gibson in the third period turned this match into a blowout. Team Yuengling was able to avoid a shutout on a late rebound goal by Lou Kuchler. Before that, in the third period, Team River Rock goalie Jim Flanagan authored a three-save sequence to preserve the shutout bid for his team, and also robbed Mark McCormick. With 1:46 left in the game, Wiczkowski completed a hat trick.
1st period
RR (1-0) Mark Wiczkowski (unassisted) 2:30
RR (2-0) Ron DeBrigida (Brett Cole) 5:27
RR(3-0) Mark Wiczkowski (unassisted) 8:17
Penalties: None
2nd period
RR (4-0) Ryan Todd (Brett Cole) 14:10
Penalties: None
3rd period
RR (5-0) Paul Kelley (John Donnelly) 5:26
RR (6-0) Rick Gibson (Ron DeBrigida, John Romano) 10:53
RR (7-0) Rick Gibson (Ryan Todd, John Romano) 11:21
TY (7-1) Lou Kuchler (John D’Arcy, John Hughes) 12:24
RR (8-1) Mark Wiczkowski (John Gavin) 13:14
Penalties: None
TEAM TOYOTA 5 – TEAM KLYR 4
Team Toyota stormed out to a 5-1 lead before the game was halfway through, but Team KLYR made a strong comeback push that included two shorthanded goals. They drew back within 5-4 but were not able to find an equalizer. After posting a four-point game on Saturday, Fran Wamsley had a three-point morning (1g, 2a) in this game.John Baumgartner netted two goals and assisted on another for Team Toyota, two of the three Jaffe brothers (Mark and Howard) also tallied for the winning side For Team KLYR, a shorthanded goal and an assist by Brad MacQuarrie loomed big in the comeback bid, while Greg Stahl notched shprthanded and even strength goals plus an assist on MacQuarrie’s shorthander. James Liuzza brought Team KLYR back within 5-4.
Early in the third period, Team KLYR’s had a half-open net staring at him on a MacQuarrie rebound but chipped it wide.Greg Shmyr made a couple of crucial saves in the third period. Greg Stahl was denied on a shorthanded backhander. Earlier, Josh Schwartz had a breakaway opportunity for Team Toyota.
1st period
TT (1-0) Mark Jaffe (Matt Steinberg) 0:50
KL (1-1) Greg Stahl (Tom Gates) 3:06
TT (2-1) Fran Wamsley (John Baumgartner) 12:25
Penalties: None
2nd period
TT (3-1) John Baumgartner (Matt Fasnacht) 3:12
TT (4-1) Howard Jaffe (Fran Wamsley, Matt Fasnacht) 3:26
TT (5-1) John Baumgartner (Fran Wamsley) 6:45
KL (5-2) Brad MacQuarrie (Greg Stahl, Zach Stahl) 14:17 SHG
Penalties: Amish Patel (KL, hooking, 9:27), Tom Gates (KL, tripping, 13:23).
3rd period
KL (5-3) Greg Stahl (unassisted) 4:46 SHG
KL (5-4) James Liuzza (Brad MacQuarrie) 11:12
Penalties: Brad MacQuarrie (KL, tripping, 3:12), Alberto Maiocco (KL, tripping, 5:46).
TEAM RIVER ROCK 7 VS. TEAM KLYR 2
Team River Rock found itself trailing 2-0 after the first period despite a 15-6 shot on goal advantage. The floodgates finally opened in the second period as the River Rock side notched five unanswered goals including a buzzer beater by John Romano off an offensive zone faceoff. The River Rock side added two more tallies in the third period to win the game, 7-2, and own a final 41-28 shot edge. Offensive defenseman Mark Wiczkowski notched two more goals in this game for River Rock, as did John Gavin. On the Team KLYR side, James Liuzza and Zach Staal scored in the first period.
1st period
KLYR (1-0) James Liuzza (unassisted) 5:58 PPG
KLYR (2-0) Zach Stahl (Greg Stahl) 10:03
Penalties: Luca Dion (RR, hooking, 5:06), Dave Street (KLYR, hooking, 12:04)
2nd period
RR (1-2) Rick Gibson (John Romano, Michael Flanagan) 7:40 PPG
RR (2-2) John Gavin (unassisted) 8:01
RR (3-2) Michael Flanagan (Matthew Klinger) 10:51
RR (4-2) Mark Wiczkowski (Ron DeBrigida) 13:06
RR (5-2) John Romano (unassisted) 14:59
Penalties: Alberto Maiocco (KLYR, roughing, 6:51)
3rd period
RR (6-2) John Gavin (Ron DeBrigida, Olivier Pelletier) 7:36
RR (7-2) Mark Wiczkowski (Ron DeBrigida) 10:09
TEAM TOYOTA 7 – TEAM YUENGLING 4
Team Toyota remained the only undefeated team in the round-robin portion of the Fantasy Cup tournament. This game was up for grabs until the latter part of the third period before Team Toyota finally pulled away. It was another big game for Team Toyota’s Fran Wamsley (hat trick, three assists) and Matt Fasnacht (one goal, two assists). Nick Pidge scored twice for Team Yuengling including a goal in which he dangled with the puck around the offensive zone, finally found a lane to cut into and elevated a shot into the net. Bryan Hornung (1g, 1a) also scored for Team Yuengling. A 5-on-3 power play for Team Yuengling produced the game’s first goal but Team Toyota responded with a shorthanded goal on the back half of the remaining 5-on-4. The final tally by Team Toyota was an empty netter.
1st period
TY (1-0) John Hewczuk (Bryan Hornung) 11:15 PPG
TT (1-1) John Baumgartner (unassisted) 12:02 SHG
Penalties: Tommy Neugebauer (TT, tripping, 5:34), Fred Jaffe (TT, cross-checking, 9:57), Fred Wamsley (TT, tripping, 10:41).
2nd period
TY (2-1) Nick Pidge (unassisted) 6:39
TT (2-2) Fran Wamsley (unassisted) 7:31
TT (3-2) John Baumgartner (Fran Wamsley, Matt Fasnacht) 8:57
TT (4-2) Fran Wamsley (John Baumgartner) 10:14
TY (4-3) Nick Pidge (John D’Arcy) 10:43
TT (5-3) Matt Fasnacht (Fran Wamsley) 14:26 PPG
Penalties: John Hughes (TY, hooking, 11:46), Brian McElwain (TY, roughing, 14:14)
3rd period
TY (5-4) Bryan Hornung (John Hewczuk) 1:39
TT (6-4) Fran Wamsley (Sean McGinnis) 9:01
TT (7-4) Matt Fasnacht (Fran Wamsley) 13:52 ENG
Penalties: Howard Jaffe (TT, tripping, 10:14)
ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
1. Team Toyota (3-0)
2. Team River Rock (2-1)
3. Team Yuengling (1-2)
4. Team KLYR (0-3)
Farewell Dinner (6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.)
Almost immediately following the conclusion of Sunday’s four round-robin games, all camp attendees attended the annual Farewell dinner. This year’s dinner was held onsite on the upper level of the Class of 1923 rink. After dinner, Steve Coates emceed Q&A sessions with Mike Knuble, Keith Jones and Dave Poulin. There was also a silent auction and prize giveaways.
Camp Profile: James Liuzza
A longtime Flyers fan and the chef and owner of Haddon Culinary (741 Haddon Ave.) in Collingswood, NJ, Team KLYR forward James Liuzza is attending his first Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp in 2022. It was a chance encounter with Brad Marsh that started the ball rolling for the Barrington, NJ, resident to attend.
“The store is near my house and I’ve gone in there to buy steaks. Last year, shortly after the Flyers Alumni played the Hall of Fame game at the Wells Fargo Center as part of the celebration for Rick Tocchet and Paul Holmgren going in the Flyers Hall of Fame, Jim recognized me in the market. He called over to me, ‘Hey, Marshy! Nice goal in the Alumni game!’ So, we got to talking, and he told me that he plays hockey, is a big Flyers and whatnot. I told him that if he plays, maybe he’d be interested in coming to Fantasy Camp. It’s worked out that he’s on Team KLYR, which I’m coaching with Billy Barber and Dave Poulin. Kind of funny how it went down like that,” Marsh said.
Aug. 22, 2022: Final Day of Camp — Consolation and Championship Games
On the final day of camp — fortunately, the Study permitted late checkout for all camp attendees — it was time for the consolation and championship games of the 2022 Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp. All teams had already been through three games in two days plus a practice session.
“I told the boys on Day 1, lookit, there are some good teams and players here but we’re as good as anyone. We can win this thing,” said Team Toyota co-coach Joe Watson. “I don’t think we had our best game in the one against the black (Team Yuengling) team but it was just good enough to win. Everyone is here to have fun but we’re also here to win. That’s why we play. Anyone can lose but not anyone can win. We’ve got a good opponent in the orange (Team River Rock) in the last game. But I like our chances.”
CONSOLATION GAME: TEAM YUENGLING 7 VS. TEAM KLYR 3
The Consolation Game was tied at 3-3 midway through the second period before Team Yuengling went ahead to stay and then pulled away in the third period. Team KLYR’s Zach Stahl opened the scoring just 11 seconds after the opening faceoff before Team Yuengling’s Nick Pidge found the net on a long-range bouncer from center ice. After a deflected goal by Steve Olson gave Team Yuengling a 2-1 lead less than five minutes into the first period, Team KLYR’s Amish Patel knotted the score at 2-2.
As the game progressed, John Hewczuk tallied twice for Team Yuengling and Bryan Horning notched what proved to be game winning goal. Mark McCormick had a three-point game (1g, 2a) for Yuengling in the finale. Although Team KLYR finished 0-4, three of their four games were by close final scores or were winnable entering the third period.
1st period
KLYR (1-0) Zach Stahl (Brad MacQuarrie) 0:11
TY (1-1) Nick Pidge (unassisted) 3:18
TY (2-1) Steve Olson (unassisted) 4:52
KLYR (2-2) Amish Patel (Scott Radman) 7:53
TY (3-2) John Hewczuk (John Hughes) 12:46
Penalties: None
2nd period
KLYR (3-3) Alberto Maicco (Greg Stahl, Jim Grohol) 6:49
TY (4-3) Bryan Hornung (Mark McCormick) 13:55
Penalties: None
3rd period
TY (5-3) Neil Crawley (John D’Arcy) 0:51
TY (6-3) John Hewczuk (Mark McCormick) 7:17
TY (7-3) Mark McCormick (unassisted) 8:59 PPG
Penalties: Alberto Maiocco (KLYR, roughing) 8:01
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: TEAM TOYOTA 3 VS. TEAM RIVER ROCK ACADEMY 8
Team Toyota came into the championship game with an undefeated 3-0 mark, but Team River Rock was the strongest team on days two and three of the tourney and were the deserving champions. River Rock roared out to a 3-0 lead within the first five minutes of the game and never looked back. Much of the game was the “John Romano Show” as the Team River Rock forward racked up five points (3g, 2a) within the game’s first two periods. In a losing cause, Mark Jaffe scored twice for Team Toyota, while defenseman Matt Steinberg pinched in and scored on a rising shot that cut the gap to 4-2 in the first period. Team Toyota goalies Dan Rieber and Joe Brennan kept the score within reach until tallies by Ron DeBrigida and Romano in the middle stages of the second period put a stranglehold on the game for Team River Rock.
Team River Rock forward Brian George holds the distinction of having played in the championship game in all eight years of tournament history. The 2022 tourney marked his fifth championship. The first to hoist the Fantasy Cup trophy this year was Team River Rock leader Steve “Cappy” Capoferri.
Due to time constraints related an injury suffered by Team River Rock’s Olivier Pelletier at 8:46 of the first period (see update below), the second and third periods of the championship game were shortened from 15 to 10 minutes and the last few minutes of the final period were played with a running clock. This did not have bearing on the outcome. Congratulations, Team River Rock!
1st period
RR (1-0) John Romano (unassisted) 0:20
RR (2-0) Rick Gibson (John Romano) 4:21
RR (3-0) John Romano (Rick Gibson) 4:51
TT (3-1) Mark Jaffe (Josh Schwartz) 6:17
RR (4-1) Ron DeBrigida (John Romano) 9:44
TT (4-2) Matt Steinberg (unassisted) 9:51
Penalties: None
2nd Period
RR (5-2) John Romano (unassisted) 5:01
RR (6-2) Michael Flanagan (John Romano) 7:39
Penalties: None
3rd period
RR (7-2) Paul Kelley (Ron DeBrigida) 2:16
TT (7-3) Mark Jaffe (Howard Jaffe) 7:39
RR (8-3) John Romano (unassisted) 9:30 ENG
Penalties: None
Olivier Pelletier Update
At 8:46 of the first period in the Fantasy Cup championship game between Team River Rock and Team Toyota, River Rock’s Olivier Pelletier was injured on a play along the half boards. The game was halted, as medical assistance was needed. He was tended to on the ice but was alert and talking, as he was carefully immobilized, placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. Thankfully, he will be fine.
A few hours later, Olivier posted the following message to Facebook: “Thank you all for the support and good wishes. All scans negative at hospital I’m home. Very sore but feeling fine. Great weekend as always with quality people!”
All of our best wishes go out to Olivier for a speedy full recovery and return to the ice.
Camp Profile: The Flanagans, Stahls, Patels and Jaffes
Over the years, there has become a strong brotherhood (and sibilinghood in general, such as with past attendee Heather Meister) of sorts among the attendees at Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp. However, one of the most special elements of camp has been bonafide family participation of players related by blood. We wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge camp teammates who are direct relatives and thank them all on behalf of the entire Flyers Alumni Association.
On Fantasy Cup tournament champion Team River Rock Academy, goalie Jim Flanagan (No. 35) of Lloyd Harbor, NY, is the brother of fellow netminder Brendan Flanagan (No. 32) and father of forward Michael Flanagan (No. 32). Special congratulations go out to Michael, who just got engaged to be married but made it to Class of 1923 Rink to score a goal in the championship game.
Members of tournament runner up Team Toyota, the Jaffe brothers are long-time tourney regulars. Forward Mark Jaffe (No. 20) of Cherry Hill, NJ, is the brother of defenseman Howard Jaffe (No. 9) of Ambler, PA, and fellow blueliner Dr. Fred Jaffe (No. 29) of Philadelphia.
Two of the top players on Team KLYR were the father-son duo of the Stahls, hailing from Brockport, NY. Much of the offensive punch supplied to the team came from forwards Greg Stahl (No. 48) and Zach Stahl (No. 28). Team KLYR also featured the Patel brothers: goalie Amit Patel (No. 23) of Blue Bell, PA, and forward Amish Patel (No. 88) of Ambler. Amish collected a goal and an assist during the Fantasy Cup tourney.
Last but not least, Steve Capoferri and John Romano of Team River Rock Academy are cousins.