Chirps from Center Ice

Completely different game tonight as expected and as called by me in the Gameday post earlier. Despite the shot total (43-25 for WBS) a very tight checking game for both sides and a 3-2 Penguins win in a shootout.

Same goaltending matchup as last night, Brad Thiessen vs. Justin Pogge. Geoff Walker was scratched for Ben Street and Jason DeSantis was in for the injured Brian Strait. Radio stated that Strait took a forearm to the head last night.

First period: Pens flying everywhere. Charlotte iced the puck 4 times in a row and I wondered if it was rope a dope hockey. Ryan Craig opened the scoring at 19:01 then a Michal Jordan point shot fluttered onto the stick of Chris Terry who scored at 19:51. The shots on goal at that point were 17-8 for Wilkes-Barre. At this point the Charlotte goal was a fluke goal in my opinion and one that they could not allow to shake them.

Second period: Rough evening for Jason DeSantis, who was burned a few times on the back end but Thiessen up to the challenge. Later, Nicholas Blanchard would get whistled for interference. The Pens power play is downright anemic at this point. Jerome Samson would skate in shorthanded and score. Less than a minute later after the penalty expired, Carl Sneep fired a puck at the net which Chris Collins finds a stick on to even the score at 2. Jesse Boulerice and Jon Matsumoto would trade separate hook and slash calls respectively and the period would end in a 2-2 deadlock with the Pens outshooting the Checkers by a 24-15 margin.

Third period: Brett Sterling needs to learn how to shoot when he has the puck in 2 on 1 situations. He has scored a ton of goals at this level. I want to say that he is almost afraid to shoot. At halfway in the third period the shots were 31-18. Later, Jesse Boulerice would get a stick slashed out of his hands and argue with referee Francis Charron and Charron would assess a 10 minute game misconduct for abuse of officials. That was it as it was an uneventful third period. WBS would outshoot Charlotte 15-7 this period and overall 39-22 to this point.

Overtime: Dustin Jeffrey needs to shoot when he has the puck on a 2 on 1. He was in on one with Sterling and the game went to a shootout…

Shootout: Chris Terry would score first but then Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson and Brett Sterling would all score as Thiessen would deny Drayson Bowman, Jacob Micflikier and Riley Nash for the Pens to go undefeated in a shootout and win the game.

Three stars were Justin Pogge, Chris Collins and Jerome Samson.

Around the division: Adirondack continues its winning ways in a shootout win over Albany 3-2. That was it for the East Division.

Standings: WBS with an 11 point lead up on Charlotte, 56-45. Idle Norfolk is in third with 44 points. Hershey has 43 points in fourth. Binghamton has 36 points in fifth, Syracuse is in sixth with 32 points. The Albany Devils have 29 points in seventh and the Adirondack Phantoms are last but creeping up with 24 points.

Travel / off day tomorrow for the Pens as they settle in for two Atlantic Division opponents in the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Friday and the Providence Bruins Saturday. Outside of the East, WBS is undefeated.

Let’s Go Pens!