Chirps from Center Ice

Lots of people will write epitaphs on this season. Lots of opinions on where the Pens season went to the dogs after losing 4-3 tonight to the Charlotte Checkers.

You’ll have one side that will say that the season went to the dogs when Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson and Eric Tangradi were lost to either recall or injury.

You’ll have the other that will say that nothing matters in the regular season, it simply was a lack of execution by the Pens standards in not scoring enough goals in Charlotte.

If you ask me, the season went to hell late in the third period of tonight’s game. Up 3-0 late in the third, the Checkers stormed back ferociously and before you know it, it was a tie game. Then even before you could come to grips with reality that it was a 3-3 game Zac Dalpe scores late and makes it 4-3.

I had a thought in my mind with about 12:00 left in the third period that if the Pens were to have the bottom fall out of the season and lose the game, that the bitterness of such a collapse would be and extremely difficult taste to wash out of the mouths of fans who so passionately support hockey in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

A lot of people see me as the voice of reason whenever turmoil strikes on the ice during a game or a series. For that, I appreciate the kind words. I look at it in perspective. I don’t bet on the games. If the Pens go 80-0 or 0-80 it doesn’t affect me one way or another. My season tickets are paid for months beforehand. I don’t have a job in hockey. Nothing that happens on the ice affects me personally. The sun always comes up the next day.

But this collapse was inexcusable. Up 3-0 late in the third, the Pens looked like they went into cruise control. After Chris Terry put the puck where only a postage stamp could fit through, the Pens got a power play after Brian Strait and Ben Street (who returned from injury) came in on a 2 on 1 and Bryan Rodney knocked the net off. Pens did nothing with the power play. As soon as the Checkers killed it the Pens would see Brett Sutter score. Before it even sank in, the Checkers on the very next shift would score again to even the game at three when a Michel Jordan shot would deflect to Chris Terry again. Then, five minutes later, Zac Dalpe took a feed from Brett Sutter to seal the series for the Checkers.

Pens got second period goals from Ryan Craig at even strength and Corey Potter on the power play. The Craig goal was set up by a Ben Street shot that Murphy made a pad save on where Craig pounced on the rebound and cashed. The Potter goal was an NHL style slapper from the point which I thought deflected but apparently was clean. Joe Vitale scores the last goal of the 2010-2011 season for the Penguins shorthanded in the third period, which was an NHL caliber snipe.

58-21-0-1. 117 points, good for first place in the East Division and first place overall. Regular season was a success. The team in August was built for regular season success. Due to callups and injury in the regular season, Wilkes-Barre / Scranton went a lukewarm 6-6 in the postseason and bowed out in the East Division Finals to the Charlotte Checkers in 6 games.

I’m struggling for words now. So I will end this now.

Thank you Penguins for another great season.

Thank you to all who I have met because of the blog or the work I do on the Twitter side. Several points this season I had people come up to me at a game and say, “I really enjoy your work with your blog and stuff.” That means a lot to me, because I don’t consider this work.

Thanks to the people follow me for the in-game updates and for insightful analysis I provide them.

Thanks to the other AHL teams who follow me and the people who work for them and the beat writers and AHL insiders who follow and provide banter on the Twitter side. I must know what I am talking about having the likes of Patrick Williams, Jonathan Bombulie, Joy Lindsay, Chris Roy, Tim McManus, Bill Cain, John Walton, Cam Tucker, Keith Wozniak, Bob Howard and Shawn Rine in Wheeling all following me on Twitter and providing banter back and forth during the course of the year. Hopefully someday I can add the likes of Tim Leone, Michael Fornabaio, Lindsay Kramer, Dan Hickling, Pete Dougherty (if he ever decides to tweet) and maybe someday the League itself to follow along on the Twitter side.

Most importantly though, thanks to you guys who read this blog and recommend me to your friends.

Season wrap will be this week, as long as I come up with stuff to wrap. I may run a few things during the summer once the Calder Cup Finals are complete.

The sun is coming up tomorrow. Going out like this sucks. It really does. We were destined for a Calder Cup this year and it just was not to be.

Lets Go Pens!