Chirps from Center Ice

Pens get three shorthanded goals in this game including a penalty shot from Ben Street to win this back and forth game 6-4.

Peter Merth and Ryan Schnell are the extras. Nick Petersen is home. I erroneously identified Petersen as missing in the game tweets. He is technically “day to day” with an ailment. Joey Mormina returned from injury.

Brad Thiessen vs. David Aebischer

First Period: IceCaps would strike first after a failed clear by the Penguins and a turnover from Kendall McArdle to put the IceCaps up 1-0. Right after, Arturs Kulda took a penalty off the faceoff for a high stick. On the ensuing power play, Bryan Lerg scored off a nice cross ice pass from Paul Thompson to even things at 1-1. A nice answer goal by the Pens.

Second Period: Zach Sill digs a puck away from an IceCap behind Aebischer’s net and shovels it to Ryan Craig who scores on the open net. Then it would be the IceCaps to score right back when Brett Festerling was in the right place at the right time when Jason King took a puck off of a Penguin and fired it at Thiessen, who was unsuspecting to what was going on. He actually was standing up when the puck went in. Just a realy fluky goal by the Pens. Then, with the Pens killing off of a Matt Rust hook, Ben Street would get hauled down on a breakaway. He would be awarded a penalty shot and would score on it. Only the third time in WBS history that the Pens would score on a penalty shot (Rico Fata in Binghamon in January 2006, Dustin Jeffrey against Manitoba in Winnipeg in October 2009). Jonathan Bombulie had this gem of a tweet:

Third Period: Philip Samuelsson hauls down Carl Klingberg on a breakaway and Klingberg would get a penalty shot. Thiessen would make a kick save to keep things 3-2. Ben Maxwell would score right after to even things at three. Then, Cody Chupp would get whistled for boarding and the Pens would score two shorthanded goals on a Ben Street pickoff in the St. John’s offensive zone and would rush in with Bryan Lerg who scored backhanded. Then, on the same penalty kill :21 later, Mormina would score on a drop pass from Lerg to make it 5-3. Jason Gregoire would score with 5:26 left to bring St. John’s back withing one but that would be the closest they would get as with Aebischer pulled, Ryan Craig would score an empty net goal.

Big win, Big, big win for the Pens. They rematch tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Wilkes-Barre time.

Three Stars: 3) Spencer Machacek (assist, -1) 2) Jason Gregoire (goal, assist, -1) and 1) Bryan Lerg (two goals, assist, -1)

Around the Division: Hershey scores four unanswered goals in the third period to comeback and win 6-4 in Binghamton. Norfolk breaks a 2-2 deadlock in the third vs. Connecticut to win 4-2 in Hampton Roads and Syracuse wins 3-2 in a shootout in Albany.

Standings: Bears are overall AHL leaders with 55 points. Norfolk has 49 points in second, Penguins with 47 points in third. Pesky Syracuse now is nine back with 38 points and Binghamton has 34 points.

Conference: 1-HER (55) 2-StJ (49) 3-CT (44) 4-NOR (49) 5-WBS (47) 6-MCH (44) 7-WOR (43) 8- ADK (42)

Let’s Go Pens!