Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Don’t Dubé Like That — Pens LOSE 6-5 (OT)

Leave a comment Posted by on April 9, 2026

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At one point in this contest, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins were up 5-2 in the third period.

But three unanswered goals by the Bridgeport Islanders with relentless pressure sees the team get to overtime where Pierrick Dubé scores with left to play to give the Islanders a 6-5 overtime win.

Ex-Hershey Bear in a Bear-ish market. Had fellow Islander Ethan Bear scored the overtime winner it would have been “Bear Market” as your headline. Let me explain…

Here’s how they lined up first though  – Bridgeport didn’t post lines.

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Lineup Notes: Wilkes-Barre recalled Maxim Pavlenko Thursday morning but neither he nor Taylor Gauthier appeared in the game as Pittsburgh sent Sergei Murashov back in time to start. As the graphic stated, Daniel Russell and Mikhaïl Ilyin both made their AHL debuts.

Aaron Huglen, fresh off his hat trick Sunday in Allentown, is week to week with a lower body injury. My spies advise me he’s in a walking boot. He joins Melvin Fernstrom and Tritan Broz in the week to week category, but Broz is practicing in red. Chase Pietila for Alex Alexeyev on defense.

First Period: Daylan Kuefler outmuscles Chase Pietila and scores just 92 seconds into the game and the Islanders were off and running.

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Penguins settled, held the Islanders without a shot for a bit and then Daniel Russell puts a shot on net that Finn Harding tips in for a goal at 6:22 and it’s a tie game.

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Second Period: Penguins net a weird goal from Tanner Howe. Howe rainbows a shot over 6’8 goaltender Henrik Tikkanen for the Islanders and it goes in.

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Indeed.

:59 later, Gabe Klassen scores on a nice tic tac goal from Ville Koivunen and it’s a 3-1 Penguins lead now.

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Guys like Klassen and Aidan McDonough are the parts that make this Penguins engine go.

But then the Islanders would respond with a goal. Marshall Warren throws a shot at the net and Victor Eklund scored his first AHL goal that brings Bridgeport back to within one.

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But then Harrison Brunicke scores his fist regular season pro goal (he had a playoff goal last year) while the teams were at 4-on-4 that re-establishes the two goal Penguins lead.

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Couple things, I’m bearish on the Penguins chances in the postseason because they went 0/3 on the power play to this point. In a close game like this and the power plays just rolling into you, they gotta make these count.

Third Period: Hot start for Wilkes-Barre as Atley Calvert scores less than two minutes in and it’s a 5-2 Penguins lead.

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But :35 later, Joey Larson. scores to make it 5-3.

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I’m not going to bury Harrison Brunicke because he scored a goal in the contest, but you are a hockey player and not a traffic cop. What’s with the pointing? Cover the guy in front!

Turning point of the game here as Boko Imama crushes Sean Day into the boards and is ejected from the contest and the Islanders are given a 5:00 major power play.

Liam Foudy scores a power play goal with :13 left in it to bring the Islanders to one.

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At this point it was a holding on for the Penguins as the Islanders had all the momentum a team could have, and it’s a mere formality at this point.

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Damn.

Overtime: Bridgeport had all the possession time and it’s Pierrick Dubé scoring the goal to give the Islanders a ninth straight home win.

(Islanders stopped short of posting a GIF here)

Double damn.

Three Stars: 3) Daylan Kuefer (goal, assist) 2) Gabe Klassen (goal, assist) 1) Pierrick Dubé (goal, assist)

The Good: They are getting painstakingly close to wrapping up the first round bye, but now need a win Saturday and help from Hershey to beat the Charlotte Checkers in order to do it. If not, it’s three cracks next week. As for tonight? They scored five goals and that’s usually enough to carry them to a win.

The Bad: Besides handing Providence the Atlantic Division Championship with the OT loss, they could have put the game away if they would have scored on one of the early power plays in the game and didn’t. I’m starting to gather data and look at trends of the teams that have qualified for the playoffs, including the Penguins, but I am very, very bearish on this Wilkes-Barre team. This win for Bridgeport solidifies them as a solid playoff favorite and could get them home ice in the First Round. It was a playoff like atmosphere in Bridgeport and the Penguins didn’t win the game and on top of that coughed up a three goal lead in the third period. That’s not a Calder Cup contending team by any stretch of the imagination.

Turning Point: The Imama 5:00 major started the snowball down the hill for the Islanders and the rest was history.

Around the Division: They all watched us. No really, there were no other AHL games anywhere.

Standings: Providence 104 – Penguins 95 – Charlotte 89 – Bridgeport 70 – Hershey 67 – Springfield 66 – Lehigh Valley 62 – Hartford 56

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

They are off Friday and back Saturday as they reincarnate into the Steamtown Gandy Dancers. Train puns? Sure, why not!

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

Weekend Preview – An Ode To Bridgeport

1 Comment Posted by on April 9, 2026

Officially made official about ten days ago, the Bridgeport Islanders are relocating to Hamilton, Ontario for the 2026-27 season. They will play in the North Division. The Penguins will be losing a divisional foe, but more than that, a city loses a team.

It seems nonsensical that you would move your AHL affiliate further from you and in a different country. But that is what the New York Islanders are doing, for some strange reason.

So next time you want to complain about anything related to the Penguins, think about Bridgeport, or any team really (Binghamton, Manchester, Worcester, Portland, Norfolk, Albany) that lost their team.

For me, I’ll miss Bridgeport incredibly.

Mike Fornabaio, who covered the team for years, is the teams defacto living encyclopedia. His writing style inspired me to start this blog. I already knew how to write and was good with a keyboard, etc., but it was still good to see how an actual professional did it and to mimic that in whatever mess this blog has been for the past 15 years. He’s an incredible follow on Twitter and a great human being.

My first media credential was signed out of Bridgeport. I think it was a booster club trip if I remember correctly. I think they had been to Hartford, then up to Springfield and then played a Sunday game in Bridgeport at the time. Suzanne, who ran game ops for the Sound Tigers at the time, messaged me to see if I was coming to the game and when I told her I was, she without hesitation wrote me out a press credential. It’s a good thing I packed a button-down shirt that day because it would have been weird wearing a hockey jersey on press row.

Actually I wasn’t on press row for that game, I was on an end. I didn’t want to be on press row because I would have bothered Fornabaio at his job and probably would have bothered him the whole game and watched in awe at the master at his craft. I didn’t know what I was doing then, and really like to treat hockey games as fun and a distraction from my regular 9 to 5 salaried job where I have to act like an adult and a professional and not make puns, cat jokes or other hijinks. That’s one of the reasons I stopped bothering the Penguins and really have no interest in media access. You have to act with some level of decorum. I consider this a hobby and don’t want to conform to someone else’s rules with said hobby.

Bridgeport has had some really great broadcasters. I remember Sound Tigers play by play man Phil Giubileo hosting the weekly Around the AHL show on AHL Live and would look forward to that like a kid at Christmas to learn about the other teams in the AHL that the Penguins never saw. When Giubileo moved on, Alan Fuehring stepped in. Fuerhing recently graduated to the NHL Islanders but was on the call for the AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford. That was the first televised AHL broadcast I watched of the festivities in years. Fuehring made it enjoyable and at the end I said to a few people that I would pay money to listen to that guy read the phone book. He’s good, really good at what he does.

The Sound Tigers / Islanders have given the Penguins fits over the years. I wasn’t around in 2006 for Konstantin Koltsov taking us to the promised land, but I was there sweating in my seat when the Sound Tigers were good enough to make playoffs and gave the Penguins some scares in the mid-2010’s.

I think I have prattled on long enough about this team, but I sure will miss them and sincerely thank them, from the bottom of my heart, for the memories.

The Penguins make their final regular season trip to Bridgeport, Connecticut on Thursday.

Let’s abridge the usual, and get through this in under 1500 words maybe? I’m at 671 right here.*

Hold Me Closer Gandy Dancer….

After the Thursday meeting in Bridgeport, the Penguins have a Friday off and then host Cleveland in the AHL Game of the Week when they transition into the Steamtown Gandy Dancers.

Steamtown, affiliated with Scranton, which is in Lackawanna County, presented to you by Visit Luzerne County.

Make it Make Sense!

Last Week / Records

Bridgeport had one game, a 4-2 win at home against Hartford. This solidified the Islanders playoff hopes, as one of either Hershey or Lehigh Valley along with Hartford isn’t making playoffs out of the Atlantic. The Islanders are 30-28-3-5 and have 68 points, good for fourth in the Atlantic. After hosting the Pens Thursday, they are in Allentown Saturday then home against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Cleveland swept the visiting Milwaukee Admirals last weekend and then lost to the Rochester Americans in a shootout on Monday. The Monsters have a 35-25-6-2 record with 78 points and sit third in the North Division and have locked up a playoff spot.

Magic Numbers and Rascals that Matter…

Providence’s magic number for the division is 1. They beat Syracuse and lost to Rochester in overtime last weekend. They have Hartford Friday. If the Penguins lose in any form or fashion against Bridgeport later, the division is theirs.

Wilkes-Barre’s magic number for a first round bye is four points. They presently have 94 points and Charlotte can only max at 97. The Penguins have a game in hand on the Checkers. If the Pens win tonight they will have 96 and then the magic number will be 1. Any points lost by the Checkers who host Hershey for a pair of pivotal games for the Bears this weekend, will also give the Penguins the first round bye, thus avoiding a three game series to open the Playoffs.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Up: Avery Hayes and Sergei Murashov went back up this week. Murashov because Stuart Skinner took a puck to the face while sitting on the bench. I think Pittsburgh is crazy if they carry three goaltenders. Skinner is their number one, Murashov is their number one in Wilkes-Barre. Don’t overthink it, don’t stunt the kids development by having him backup Skinner in playoffs. As result of all of this, Taylor Gauthier was reassigned from Wheeling to Wilkes-Barre.

Down: Nolan Renwick and Zach Urdahl went to Wheeling on Easter Sunday.

Out: Tristan Broz and Melvin Fernstrom are week to week with upper body injuries.

привет товарищ

A big addition to Wilkes-Barre came Wednesday when Forward Mikhail Ilyin was reassigned from Severstal in the KHL to Coal Street. He was at practice Wednesday so he’s in town getting acclimated. I would expect to see him make his debut in North America in a mere few hours. Pittsburgh is high on the kid.

ATO Szn…

Forward Tiernan Shoudy from Sparty (Michigan State) signed to an AHL Contract for 26-27 but joins the team now as Coal Street continues to amass B1G talent. Shoudy was sent to Wheeling, who also signed Penguins draft pick goaltender Gabriel D’Aigle.

Ryan Miller and Quinn Beauchesne are actual ATO signings. Fifth round picks from Pittsburgh this year, join Wilkes-Barre for the remainder of the season. Don’t get used to these kids yet, they are too young for full time AHL work next season as Miller is only 18 and is committed to the University of Denver for the fall semester.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Don’t shed a tear about Murashov going up. Taylor Gauthier is long overdue for an AHL recall and owns just about every record a Wheeling Nailers goaltender can have. We will probably see Gauthier in one of the two games if Murashov isn’t sent back.

The Penguins still have work to do, but it’s like a four day work week. It’s Thursday morning (literally as this post goes up) and you want to get all of your work done today plus whatever leftover stuff you let sit for the week before 5 o’clock for the long weekend. Trust me, I know, I’ve been in a 9-5 job with the same company for 25 years. I have been there.

So you want to get all of the important stuff done today so you can come in fresh on Monday to essentially let your ATO’s and new kids clean up the three remaining home games you have left in your regular season next week and not have to worry about magic numbers.

The thought is that Kirk MacDonald has them primed to do just this, this weekend. The proof, as always, is in the pudding.

Who’s in Goal?

Joel Blomqvist tonight then depending on results, possible Taylor Gauthier on Saturday or Murashov deepening on what Pittsburgh does in the next 48/72 hours.

Henrik Tikkanen and Ivan Fedotov for the opposition.

Who’s Running the Show?

Liam Maaskant and Mike Dietrich have the assignment tonight in Bridgeport with Trevor Disbennett and Anthony Lapointe on the lines.

Saturday sees Dietrich again with Andrew Bell with Tommy George and Jud Ritter on the lines.

Looking Ahead…

Final week of the regular season and three home games. Hershey is in Wednesday, Bridgeport here Friday and Rochester makes their only visit of the season in the last game of the season.

Come on, City!

The Pigeons have their first real test of the season when they host the defending Western Conference Champion Vancouver Whitecaps this Saturday. I see a 2-2 draw.

It’s Bristol, Baby!

I remember when Elliott Sadler won the 2001 Food City 500. Some of you that read this blog probably weren’t around then. The Sadler victory was seen as an upset at the time. Do I see an upset this weekend at the Last Great Coliseum? No, I do not. Give me Ryan Blaney.

Give us a bold prediction…

Gabriel D’Aigle gets recalled next week, starts against Rochester as the Penguins play with house money after wrapping up a first round bye and pitches a 27 save shutout in his AHL debut.

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* – this little trick here I stole from, “Soundin’ Off” and the great Mike Fornabaio**
** – 1672 words

Weekend Preview

Hats for Huglen — Pens WIN 6-2

Leave a comment Posted by on April 4, 2026

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A natural hat trick for Aaron Huglen, Wilkes-Barre’s sixth win in a row and the most road wins in franchise history (back when they used to play 80 games a seas0n) and the Penguins rout the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 6-2.

A trio of goals for Huglen, a goal for Aidan McDonough and Rutger McGroarty and a power play goal for Atley Calvert. Joel Blomqvist made 22 saves. The Penguins magic number for a playoff bye is four points.

Here’s how they lined up….

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Lineup Notes: The lineup graphic above is not correct, they went 7 defensemen with Chase Pietila skating as the extra defenseman and Zach Gallant not in the lineup. Avery Hayes was held out of the lineup as a precautionary for Pittsburgh’s injury concerns.

First Period: Dream start for the road team, who scored three goals in the span of 1:46 for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton starting with Aidan McDonough, then :18 later it was Aaron Huglen and then Huglen scores again before the the game is four minutes old.

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The only blemish in the period is they took two penalties, but it was another okay if you like perfect period for the Penguins.

Second Period: Wilkes-Barre tacked on two more when Aaron Huglen netted a natural hat trick and then responded with a power play goal from Atley Calvert.

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But then Lehigh Valley mucked it up and the Penguins bit at this and Lane Pederson scored a power play goal that broke the shutout bid for Joel Blomqvist.

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This remains a troubling concern for the Penguins, who can 5v5 with any team in the league but get baited into way too many situations where they find themselves on a penalty kill.

Third Period: The trends continued. The Penguins scored in the period and took more stupid. post whistle penalties.

Rutger. McGroarty obliterates a puck and it’s 6-1.

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But then the Penguins continued to take stupid, post white penalties and this time Cole Knuble scored on a power play to make it 6-2 Penguins.

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(it was Star Wars (Trek?) night in Allentown)

The thing about AHL officiating is that they always referee the score when a team is getting blow out and this is always more prevalent when the team getting blown out is the home team.

Wilkes-Barre thinks that rules don’t apply to them when it comes to playing Lehigh Valley though, which I suppose. If you’re obliterating a common opponent 12 times a season and this is the last time you see them until the Fall, I guess it’s like the last day of school.

Three Stars: 3) Cole Knuble (goal) 2) Rutger McGroarty (goal, two assists) 1) Aaron Huglen (hat trick, assist)

The Good: They put away a team that knocked them out of the playoffs for the past two seasons three straight times, essentially ending Lehigh Valley’s chances at a playoff berth. The Penguins may get knocked out of the playoffs again this season, but it’s not going to be the Phantoms showing them the door.

The Bad: Please for the love of god stop taking stupid post whistle penalties.

Turning Point: Game was essentially over before it was five minutes old. A three goal avalanche to start the program ends any Phantoms chance of a comeback or the opportunity to turn it into a competitive game.

Around the Division: No help from the Marlies, who lose 5-1 to the Charlotte Checkers…Rochester beats Providence 2-1 in overtime. The Bruins will have to wait another day to sew up the divisional crown….Herhsey obliterates Hartford 8-1…Springfield beats Syracuse 4-3 in as shootout.

Standings: Providence 104 – Penguins 94 – Charlotte 89 – Bridgeport 68 – Hershey 67 – Springfield 66 – Lehigh Valley 62 – Hartford 56

Wheeling Update: Nailers win 4-2 in Toledo. Ryan McAllister had a pair of goals.

Video Highlights: I gave you the gist of it above, here’s the YouTube page for the Phantoms if you are interested. (the highlights aren’t up at 10:10 p.m. on Saturday)

More this week for the Thursday road game in Bridgeport and this weekend.

Let’s go Pens!

Postgamer

Pack a Lunch – Pens WIN 3-1

Leave a comment Posted by on April 3, 2026

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A lunchpail type game for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins who outlast visiting Lehigh Valley 3-1 on Friday night. Avery Hayes factored into all three goals with a goal and two assists and Sergei Murashov was stellar in net, stopping 23 shots and picking up his first career assist. Gabe Klassen rose from the ashes with a goal and an assist as well as the Penguins took their lunchpail to the arena and were able to win.

Magic number for the bye in the first round is six points with the Checkers winning 3-2 in Toronto Friday as well. The Penguins have a game in hand on Charlotte and the tiebreaker here.

I’d forget about catching Providence, their magic number for the division is 2 and they don’t play anyone good the rest of the way. Congrats Bruins, see you in a few weeks?

Anyway here’s how they lined up…

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Lineup Notes: Zach Urdahl, Nolan Renwick and Zach Gallant out for Avery Hayes, Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen. Tanner Howe stayed on the top line (I was worried that would change with the influx of reinforcements) – Finn Harding for Scooter Brickey on defense.

First Period: Good thing they started on time tonight. Wilkes-Barre jumps out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Gabe Klassen and on the breakaway from Avery Hayes. Shots ended up 18-6 Penguins after the first. Here’s the goals.

https:/twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/2040211806971367663

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Second Period: I didn’t like the vibe. The Penguins were giving away power plays to the Phantoms left and right, Sergei Murashov was outstanding the period where there were no goals. Raivis Ansons had this fight here which was the highlight of the period.

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Good to see actually, a big (clean) hit that leads to a fight. That’s what the crowd wants to see.

Third Period: Game opened up for a bit with few stoppages but the Phantoms kept the pressure. They finally get one to go when Oliver Bonk tips in a Lane Pederson shot that spoils the Sergei Murashov shutout bid.

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But finally the Penguins would put the game away when Rafaël Harvey-Pinard scores on an empty net goal.

Three Stars: 3) Sergei Murashov (23 shots) 2) Gabe Klassen (goal, assist) 1) Avery Hayes (goal, two assists)

The Good: Picked up two more points against a rival and desperate opponent that may miss out on a playoff berth this season and this game may be the final nail.

The Bad: Didn’t like the vibe from the second period on. A higher caliber team takes advantage of that.

Turning Point: It was hold onto your butts until the Harvey-Pinard empty netter which gets it here.

Around the Division: Gave you the Charlotte result above. Hershey is in danger of missing out on a playoff berth as well after a 4-2 setback in Springfield. Providence wins 4-2 in Syracuse, Bridgeport wins 4-2 at home against Hartford.

Standings: Providence 103 – Penguins 92 – Charlotte 87 – Bridgeport 68 – Hershey 65 – Springfield 64 – Lehigh Valley 62 – Hartford 56

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

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Back at it for the final time in Allentown Saturday. More then.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

Weekend Preview – Full Strength

Leave a comment Posted by on April 3, 2026

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are already a shoo-in for the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs and will look to solidify themselves as one of the two teams in the Atlantic Division that gets a First Round Bye.

Music to Set the Mood…

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A Quote…

Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.
— Winston Churchill

The Setup

Paying off the series with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms with a home and home, starting tonight in Wilkes-Barre and concluding tomorrow in Allentown.

Last week the Penguins hosted the Laval Rocket and won 3-1 and these Phantoms on Sunday and won 5-1. Quietly, the Penguins have won four games in a row.

The Phantoms beat the reeling Hershey Bears the Saturday night before traveling up to Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

Hope this isn’t some kind of weird foreshadowing, but the Penguins have not lost in regulation to the Phantoms yet this season.

Records

The Penguins are second in the division with 90 points and a 41-16-6-2 record.

Lehigh Valley is presently seventh with a 28-31-3-3 record with 62 points.

The Rest of those Rascals…

Providence’s magic number to win the division is 4. They have feasted on terrible teams of late, beating Bridgeport, losing to Springfield and needing a shootout to beat Utica. They are in Syracuse Friday and Rochester on Saturday. They have a 50-14-1 record and 101 points.

Charlotte swept Hartford in Hartford last weekend but needed overtime and a shootout to do it. They beat Rochester on Wednesday. They are in Toronto for a pair this weekend. The Checkers have a 40-21-5 record and 85 points.

Bridgeport is on a tear and is up to fourth in the division. They beat Laval in a shootout last Friday, lost to Providence Saturday and then beat Hershey Wednesday. They host Hartford Friday then have the weekend off. The Islanders have a 29-28-3-5 record and 66 points.

Hershey has gone cold at the wrong time of the season. They beat Syracuse last Friday which is something the Penguins can’t seem to do, but then were dropped by Lehigh Valley and Bridgeport. They are in Springfield and Hartford this weekend. They have a 28-28-6-3 record and 65 points.

Springfield holds the final playoff spot heading into this weekend with a 27-29-6-2 record with 62 points and beat Lehigh Valley and Providence last weekend. They host Hershey for a pivotal game Friday and then host Syracuse Saturday.

Gave you Lehigh Valley’s body of work above.

Hartford lost 2-1 in overtime and 2-1 in a shootout to Charlotte last weekend at home. They are in Bridgeport Friday and host Hershey Saturday. They have a 24-32-5-3 record and have 56 points.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Up: No one. Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty and Avery Hayes were all up with Pittsburgh but were returned Thursday (McGroarty, Koivunen) and Friday (Hayes) – this would mean that Wilkes-Barre is at full strength (or as full as full can be) with no recalls to Pittsburgh.

Down: Emil Pieniniemi was assigned to Wheeling Tuesday. Raivis Ansons remains up.

Out: Tristan Broz and Melvin Fernstrom remain out with injury.

ATO Season

Wilkes-Barre signed defenseman Broten Sabo from The Ohio State University and forward Daniel Russell from Sparty (Michigan State) this week. Their contracts will kick in next season, but they join the team on ATO’s now.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Do they take a weekend off against a desperate opponent or hammer down and bury the Phantoms this weekend and their playoff chances and solidify themselves as a two seed and lock up the bye?

One would hope. All signs would point to it but they play the games to be absolutely sure.

Having McGroarty, Koivnen and Hayes back help, but please don’t rest on these laurels. Bury these fools.

Who’s in Goal?

Interesting conundrum. Both Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist played well last weekend, who starts Friday? I’d go Murashov and Blomqvist Saturday in Allentown.

Aleksei Kolosov should get the start Friday and Yaniv Perets, who the Phantoms called up from ECHL Reading might get the start Saturday, but the Phantoms did start Kolosov in back to backs last weekend.

Who’s Running the Show?

Graedy Hamilton and Austin Rook are here Friday with Tommy George and John Rey on the lines.

Saturday it’s Rook again with Patrick Hanrahan with Rey again on the lines with Jud Ritter.

Looking Ahead…

A Thursday trip to Bridgeport, a Friday off and then a Saturday home game against Cleveland.

Come on, City!

I don’t think New York City Football Club has any trouble with visiting St. Louis, and will win 3-1.

NASCAR Picks…

Cup is off but Truck and O’Reilly are in Rockingham. Give me Carson Hocevar in Trucks and Justin Allgaier in O’Reilly at The Rock this weekend.

Give us a bold prediction…

One of our goaltenders gets a shutout this weekend. Penguins win both games.

Weekend Preview

That’s Howe You Do It — Pens WIN 5-1

Leave a comment Posted by on March 29, 2026

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From yesterday’s Bold Prediction that ran in Saturday morning’s Weekend Preview…

Nail biter and win against Laval Saturday and then a blow out win against a tired Lehigh Valley on Sunday. Come Monday there’s a line out the door at Abide for free coffees before the Monday morning workday begins.

A dominating performance by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins who dispatch of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms with a 5-1 win on Sunday afternoon on a goal and three assists from Tanner Howe, who jumped onto the top line with Joona Koppanen and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who also scored goals in a laugher of a hockey game that the Penguins were in control of from the drop.

A 7-1 Phantoms shot disparity to start the game? Didn’t matter.

Five penalties against? Killed them all.

Howe had a goal and two assists by the first intermission as the Penguins were in command 3-0. Joel Blomqvist had his shutout bid broken up with under two minutes to play in the third period when an Adam Ginning shot was tipped in by Zayde Wisdom. Blomqvist would make 30 saves.

Here’s how they lined up…

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Lineup Notes: Apparently Avery Hayes was not an injury scratch, so read into that however you may. Zach Gallant replaced him. Scooter Brickey for Finn Harding on defense was the other change.

First Period: Gave some of the action away in the paragraphs above, so let’s roll from there.

Phantoms had the first two power plays of the game killed.

Joona Koppanen opens the scoring with a nice feed from Tanner Howe, then Chase Pietila answers after a gong show performance in goal from Carson Bjarnason, then Howe is rewarded with a goal via tap in and Wilkes-Barre was off to the races…

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Second Period: Aidan McDonough scores his fourth goal in as many games at least, this time on the power play and it’s a 4-0 lead…

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Enjoy that free coffee at Abide tomorrow, tell them Donzo sent you.

Lehigh Valley was getting frustrated with the officiating, trying to rope in the Penguins, but cooler heads prevailed on the side of the home team.

Third Period: Howe would secondarily assist on a Harvey-Pinard tap in goal as he and Joona Koppanen continued to produce and it’s 5-0 Penguins…

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Only question as time dwindled would be would the Phantoms be shutout and Zayde Wisdom ensured that answer would be no.

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The hand / eye coordination to tip a shot zipping at you with your stick in traffic, on ice on skates is something I will always be in awe of.

Three Stars: 3) Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (goal, two assists) 2) Joona Koppanen (goal, two assists) 1) Tanner Howe (goal, three assists)

The Good: Do not, under any circumstances, break up that line if you are Kirk MacDonald. He found money here.

The Bad: Blomqvist was robbed a star of the game because his team let one in on him. It’s nitpicking.

Turning Point: The Howe goal in the first gets it here because maybe you can chip away at a 2-0 lead. The Phantoms were doing all they could to beat Blomqvist, the Penguins would just transition the other way and score. You wish they were all this easy.

Around the Division: Providence loses 4-2 to Springfield….Charlotte needs a shootout to beat Hartford 2-1.

Standings: Providence 99 – Penguins 90 – Charlotte 83 – Hershey 65 – Bridgeport 64 – Springfield 62 – Lehigh Valley 62 – Hartford 56

Wheeling Update: Nailers win again over Worcester and are playoff bound. 4-1 win there.

Video Highlights: 

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Have a great week. I will be back here Friday morning with the Weekend Preview setting up the home and home with these very Phantoms starting Friday in Wilkes-Barre.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

Lordy, Lordy — Pens WIN 3-1

Leave a comment Posted by on March 28, 2026

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It’s the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins 40th win of the season, second time that Kirk MacDonald has achieved same as the Penguins outlast the Laval Rocket 3-1 on Saturday night.

I think that Avery Hayes is the straw that stirs the drink and it’s no coincidence that they are winning again with Hayes in the lineup.

But the bigger story is where would the team be without Aidan McDonough? More on that in a minute.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Next time I am putting the Weekend Preview out five minutes before puck drop because Avery Hayes and Joona Koppanen were sent back to Wilkes-Barre and it was Rutger McGroarty that went up. Melvin Fernstrom (injured), Ville Koivunen and McGroarty (recall) out, Zack Urdahl, Nolan Renwick and Raivis Ansons in. No changes on defense.

First Period: Wilkes-Barre held Laval without a shot till 13:56, outshooting the Rocket 8-0 at that time but it squared up after that.

An Avery Hayes shorthanded goal made it 1-0 Penguins.

Hayes scored on Hunter Shepard, and you’ll never convince me that he doesn’t look like Groucho Marx.

Also, no one under 50 gets the reference but let’s move on….

Second Period: Laval fired 17 shots on Sergei Murashov and he kept the Penguins in it and the Rocket out of the net.

But then the Penguins started running into problems with the officiating, Jack Young in particular who awarded the Rocket three consecutive power plays. He called a tacky tack hook call on Atley Calvert like it was a 5-0 whitewashing and this further incensed the Penguins when Alex Belzile scored.

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Wilkes-Barre will see Young again Sunday, just so you know.

Remember when I was saying about Aidan McDonough?

14 seconds later…

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Easily the MVP of the team min my opinion. Where would the Penguins be if not for Aidan McDonough? Time and time again he has come through in the clutch for this team.

Third Period: An excellent defensive play by Finn Harding in his own zone and outlet pass to Avery Hayes sees Hayes score his second of the game and give the Penguins a 3-1 lead that Laval would never be able to overcome.

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Late, a yeoman like shift turned in by Alex Alexeyev who, without a skate blade, manages to block a couple shots and keep Laval from scoring with Shepard pulled.

Three Stars: 3) Aidan McDonough (goal) 2) Sergei Murashove (33 saves) 1) Avery Hayes (two goals, assist)

The Good: Playoff like atmosphere and playoff like intensity from two teams who have already punched their ticket. Last regular season meeting between these two teams, perhaps they meet up again in about two months?

The Bad: I don’t want to whine about officiating in a 3-1 win so I won’t, but it was questionable at best at times.

Turning Point: That McDonough goal gets it here and I get a sense it may be bigger then just a turning point in this game, but a turning point in the season.

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley beats Hershey 4-2…Charlotte beats Hartford 2-1 in overtime..Providence beats Bridgeport 6-4.

Standings: Providence 99 – Penguins 88 – Charlotte 81 – Hershey 65 – Bridgeport 64 – Lehigh Valley 62 – Springfield 62 – Hartford 55

Wheeling Update: Nailers lead the Worcester Railers 2-1 late in the third when this goes up at about 9:50 p.m. on the blog. Box here.

Video Highlights:

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More Sunday after the Phantoms drop in.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

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