Chirps from Center Ice

More internet issues hounded me tonight. I will put a call into the ISP tomorrow to find out what’s up. Regardless, Pens are back to their winning ways after a 2-1 victory in Western New York this evening.

Bryan Lerg, Corey Potter and Keven Veilleux were the scratches. Geoff Walker replaced BeastMode in the lineup. Jacob Markstrom vs. Brad Thiessen in net tonight. Brett Sterling, Ryan Craig and Tim Wallace had the A’s.

First period: After a Tim Wallace slash and a Geoff Walker hook it was end to end action the rest of the period. Really nice tempo by the Pens as from what I could see, and what I heard it sounded like the Amerks chased the Pens all over the rink the first period. Tangradi had a chance really late. Appeared Wilkes-Barre wanted to shoot high on Markstrom because all the shots kept going up and over him.

Second period: Tons of observations from other people watching the game that Wilkes-Barre maintained the pace and tempo. The Pens let their guard down for a few moments then BANG! Dustin Jeffrey from a nice setup from The Ticket. I love Brett’s versatility. He can score and be the ideal setup man. The very next shift Michael Caruso tied it about :30 later. Later, Eric Selleck leveled Jesse Boulerice. Geoff Walker took offense and they scrapped, Walker ended up with a 4-minute roughing call. Then in the penalty kill, Chris Collins was caught slashing. Wilkes-Barre ended up having to kill a 5 on 3. There ended up being :39 of carryover time on the 5 on 3 in the third.

Third period: Pens killed away all the penalties assessed. Jesse Boulerice made it back to the ice. Joey Mormina and Eric Selleck fought. I never got a good look at it through all the buffering. Apparently, it limits me in live-streaming video only and not blogging or twittering. Finally, Markstrom was caught slashing (yes, the goaltender) and Wilkes-Barre got its first PP of the evening. Rochester only allowed 1 SOG the entire 2:00. Later, Michal Repik was caught hooking and WBS got another man advantage. We did not score on that power play but just as Michal was coming out of the box, Ryan Craig scored to make it 2-1. After an Amerk time-out and empty net, Rochester never got the equalizer and Wilkes-Barre won the hockey game to start a new winning streak.

Eric Selleck, Dustin Jeffrey and Brad Thiessen were the three stars.

Analysis wise, I will turn you over to Jonathan Bombulie. From what I heard on radio it sounded like we controlled the game. But it’s tough to judge these when you are playing the third game in under three nights.

Around the league, Hershey lost to Charlotte 4-2. The bigger news in that game was that Keith Aucoin left with an injury. I am sure that Bears beat writer Tim Leone will have more when the team returns on Wednesday (they still have one more game in Charlotte Tuesday night) – Binghamton beat Syracuse 5-0 and Albany lost 6-4 to Providence.

Points look like this: WBS has 20 points. Charlotte, yes, Charlotte has 15. Norfolk and Bingo have 14 apiece. Hershey and Syracuse 13, Albany 12 and Adirondack 5. Hershey could have been 3 points back with a win and an Americans victory. Should be a fun year.

Penguins will have a day off Monday. Perhaps I will do something fun this week on the blog because of the slow news week that comes of life in the minors. If there are AHL stories of interest I’ll have an entry. Until then, Go Pens.