I hope there isn’t a theme to be had here in that subject line. Pens shutout by one of the teams on the up and up with a ridiculous goaltender in Michael Leighton who, in 4 games, is 2-1 with a 1.16 GAA, .968 SV% and a shutout streak of 1:35:14. (thanks Tim)

One shot is all the Pens needed, but they could not find it and lost 1-0. Veilleux, Lerg and Walker all had chances.

Micheal Leighton vs. Brad Thiessen. No idea was Hynes is thinking going with Thiessen two nights in a row. I suppose you continue to ride the hot hand and give your team it’s best chance to win.

First Period: Pens were given an early power play but could not convert. Erik Gustafsson would score at 14:54 to put the Phantoms ahead. The Pens would have to kill off a Geoff Walker trip, then on the ensuing faceoff a Cach Sill trip to give the Phantoms 1:55 of 5 on 3 time. Then, while killing the 5 on 3, Robert Bortuzzo would get called for slashing. Then when the two trip penalties expired, the penlaty box attendant let the wrong guys out! It was mass chaos.

Second period: What was left of the Bortuzzo slash was killed off. What I liked about the 5 on 3 kill was it was a block party of shots. I would see tons of communicating back and forth between the guys which was good to see. Lots of big hits this period. Zach Sill would catch Denis Hamel in open ice and J.P. Testwuide would board Boulerice. Everyone was fine. Lerg would get a great chance on the backhand in close but couldn’t elevate the puck. Wilkes-Barre would throw the kitchen sink at Leighton but could not crack him this period.

Third period: Quick moving period. Dan Jancevski would get nailed for hooking and the Pens couldn’t do anything with it. That was the only penalty call all period. There would then be about 5 minutes of green flag hockey. Pens would pull Thiessen and with the empty net not manage maybe more than two shots on goal.

Final SOG were 28-18 WBS.

Thoughts: Maybe “not enough horses” isn’t the right term here. After all, Adirondack only had 18 shots on goal. Defense was stout. Just didn’t get that one goal to force overtime or a shootout.

Three Stars: Brad Thiessen (17 saves), Erik Gustafsson (game winning goal, +1), Michael Leighton (28 save shutout)

Around the Division: Oppurtunity lost for Wilkes-Barre as Hershey lost for the first time since 1986 it seems 4-3 to Binghamton. An angry Bears team is a dangerous Bears team, regardless if they will be tired from playing 5 in 7 or whatever it’s been. Albany beat Charlotte in overtime 4-3. Norfolk shuts out Syracuse on back to back nights, this time by a score of 4-0.

Standings: Nothing lost, nothing gained for WBS on Hershey. It’s still 78-70. Norfolk gets to 5 of the bears with 65 points. Charlotte loses a point in the OT loss and is now in fourth with 64 points. Binghamton now has 60 points in fifth. Syracuse / Albany / Adirondack are all withing three points of each other, 42 /41 /39 respectively.

Tomorrow: Only games that matters is Wilkes-Barre / Hershey. I want to see what this current team can do against a great team in Hershey. Albany and Charlotte rematch and Binghamton goes to Adirondack.

Let’s Go Pens!

With half our team playing in Long Island tonight, Brad Thiessen kept the Sound Tigers out of the net and earned his second shutout of the week as Wilkes-Barre defeated Bridgeport 2-0.

Take nothing away from this game as far as “we can win with half our team in Pittsburgh.” No. Bridgeport has now lost seven in a row, and only dressed 17 skaters tonight.

Brad Thiessen vs. Joel Martin.

First period: Pens had to kill a Bortuzzo hook early and then later Carl Sneep came down the slot to make it 1-0. Shots on goal thru the first were 13-6 for the Penguins.

Second period: Geoff Walker had an early chance that was snuffed out by the ageless Mark Wotton, then Ben Street would score to make it 2-0. Nice assist by Tim Wallace on that one. Second half of this period, the Sopund Tigers would come alive but Thiessen would deny all callers. Shots for the period would be 8-8, but Bridgeport would get more than half of them in the last two minutes it seemed.

Third period: Before AHL commissioner David Andrews, Robin Figren would get robbed by Thiessen in close. For about 15 minutes the Sound Tigers would get chance after chance, but Thiessen would say no. Bridgeport would outshoot us 8-6 this period, but the Pens would hold on and win 2-0, getting Thiessen a 22 save shutout.

Thoughts: Again, Bridgeport is a team totally headed in the wrong direction, you can’t take much away from this. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to get a win, let alone a shutout, but this game should hardly be a blueprint as to what to expect going forward. At least in my opinion.

Three Stars: Joel Martin (25 saves), Carl Sneep (game winning goal, +1), Brad Thiessen (22 saves, shutout)

Around the Division: Keith Aucoin a three point night, Jared DeMichiel his first win in net as the Bears keep rolling, defeating the Providence Bruins 4-3. Norfolk blanked Syracuse 3-0. Bingo did the same to Rochester, 3-0.

Standings: WBS 78, HER 70, CHA 63, NOR 63, BNG 58, SYR 42, ALB 39, ADK 37.

Tomorrow: We get Adirondack tomorrow at Mohegan. Albany is in Charlotte, Hershey hosts Binghamton and Norfolk and Syracuse rematch on Hampton Roads.

Let’s Go Pens!