Chirps from Center Ice

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The Penguins advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs by defeating the Hershey Bears in five games. The St. John’s IceCaps advanced on in four games over the Syracuse Crunch.

The Penguins were 2-2 vs. the IceCaps this season, with both of those wins coming on the road, a place these post season Penguins have yet to win at so far. The IceCaps were 2-1-1-0 vs. the Penguins this season, with both of their wins coming on WBS ice this season.

In examining this series, it looks to be dead even. I mean really dead even. Start at goals for and goals against in the regular season. The Penguins scored 235 goals in the regular season. The IceCaps scored 240. The Penguins allowed 215 goals, the IceCaps allowed 216. Goaltender Brad Thiessen played 41 games and was 23-15-2-2 in the regular season, Eddie Pasquale played 38 games and went 23-12-1-4.

Here’s a more expanded look at things…

Defense

The IceCaps boast more offensive minded defensemen lead by Paul Postma who in 56 games this season went 13-31-44. Derek Meech just came off of a knee injury which handcuffed him all season long and in four games in the playoffs is 3-2-5. Ex-Penguin Jason DeSantis has found his niche on “The Rock” was 11-32-43 in 66 games. The Penguins don’t boast anyone that has that offensive flair, Alex Grant scored 10 goals in the regular season and assisted on 27 others for a team leading 37 points for defensemen.

Advantage: St. John’s, slightly. Goals are tougher to come by in playoffs. If called upon, the IceCaps blue liners could step up and score an even strength goal late in a game.

Offense

Ben Street and Bryan Lerg led the way for the Penguins this season with 57 and 53 points respectively. Spencer Mahacek led the IceCaps with 50 points. Again, it never has been about one go-to guy for the Penguins this season, it’s been a collective effort from all directions from the Penguins all season long. It appears to be the same way for the IceCaps, as well.

Advantage: Penguins, slightly. The IceCaps get help from their defensemen in the offensive category. Are those looking to score or shut down Ben Street, Bryan Lerg, Eric Tangradi, etc.? Can’t do both.

Goaltending

Much like the Penguins, the IceCaps used a 1-A, 1-B philosophy in net with David Aebischer playing 31 games and Eddie Pasquale playing 38 games. Pasquale was in net for all four games vs. the Crunch. But I am going with Brad Thiessen’s experience in playoff games. It could be argued that he singlehandedly won the series against the Bears in Game 5 with the flurry the Bears came with at times. You can say that Pasquale did the same in three one goal games against the Crunch in Round 1 as well.

Advantage: Penguins. Thiessen’s experience is going to prove to be too much. If he should falter, the even more experienced Scott Munroe will be there to step in if needed.

Intangibles

The IceCaps boast huge local support and have sold out every game in the regular season and every game in playoffs. The fans are rabid about their IceCaps and support them immensely. Mile One Centre is not going to be an easy venue to play in. Mohegan Sun, with the help from St. Gregory’s Academy has taken more of a soccer game mentality with noisemakers and chants. The IceCaps get the “home ice” advantage intangible.

The Penguins anemic regular season power play has sprung to life this postseason, ranking third in playoffs with a 24.1% success rate. Jason Williams and Cal O’Reilly have come to life and are filling up the scoresheets, finally. The IceCaps penalty killers have always been stout and will be looking to squelch the Penguins power play. St. John’s penalty kill at home this post season is perfect, as is the Penguins. It could come down to bounces for both teams. I see a push here.

Keith McCambridge and John Hynes are both very smart coaches in leading their clubs. If Norfolk didn’t go on the tear that they did, the IceCaps probably would have been the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and McCambridge the Coach of the Year instead of Norfolk’s Jon Cooper. John Hynes was the Coach of the Year last season. Neither one of these men is going to out coach the other or be out coached in the series. I see a push here too.

Coverage on Twitter

Penguins Official: @WBSPenguins
Radio: @MikeOBrienWBS / @TGracePens
Beat Writer: @CVBombulie
Fan Blog: @nafsnep

IceCaps Official: @IceCapsAHL
Radio: Brian Rogers (no Twitter for Mr. Rogers)
Beat Writers: @telybrendan
Fan Bloggers: At Large

This series may end in a sweep for one team or it could go seven games with five of the seven games being decided in overtime. The Penguins are going to have to win one on the road if they want to advance to the next round as Wilkes-Barre does not have home ice in the series. It is imperative that they return to Wilkes-Barre Township with the series split or, even better, up 2-0. The IceCaps affiliate Winnipeg Jets never made the playoffs and the Pittsburgh Penguins lost in six games last weekend to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins are as healthy as ever and have as good as a chance as the IceCaps to advance. The series is really going to come down to who is best in the moment. Much like the last series with Hershey, where the Penguins were the better team pretty much throughout, the better team is going to advance. I think the Penguins are going to ensure, with stifling defense, veteran goaltending, successful coaching and a rich forward corps that they are the better team in the moment.

Prediction: Penguins in seven.

Gameday for Game 1 will be up tomorrow at a special time, 2:00 p.m., as the puck drops in Newfoundland at 6:00 p.m. Wilkes-Barre time. St. John’s is an hour and a half ahead of us, so adjust your schedules accordingly.

Let’s Go Pens!