Three days of getting away and getting to know one another in a different setting. Three days of drills designed to get the team to act as a unit instead of individuals.

The opportunity to mingle with the cadets gave a different perspective on life. "We all know what's going on with the war, and you have a chance to meet some great people," Simon Gagne said.

In addition to two practices at Army's rink, the Flyers will be doing team-building exercises. Yesterday, they listened to Nate Zinsser, a sports psychologist from West Point.

"We talked through some things about our team [with Zinsser], and went outside and put it to the test with some challenges and interactive activities," coach John Stevens said.

Over the years, the Flyers have had similar bonding trips. They were at West Point in 2005 and the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 2006. Last year, they had a team-building trip in Whistler, British Columbia.

Veteran right winger Mike Knuble said the trip to West Point three years ago remains etched in his mind. "The captain [of Army's hockey team] was killed in Afghanistan two weeks prior to us getting there," Knuble recalled. "That sticks out the most."

The Flyers learned recently that Ben Stafford, 29, a former member of their AHL farm team, the Phantoms, was being deployed to Iraq. Stafford, who attended Yale, retired from the Phantoms after the 2005 season and went to medical school in Philadelphia before joining the Marines.

"I talked to Ben a few days ago. He still has a lot of close friends here and keeps in touch with them," Stevens said. Stafford scored the decisive goal in the 2005 game when the Phantoms won the Calder Cup. Flyers captain Mike Richards was a teammate of Stafford's during the AHL playoffs that season.

"He was a good hockey player and a great guy," said Richards, whose team will play the Phantoms at the Spectrum tomorrow. "It's amazing what he's gone through."