Chirps from Center Ice

Penguins dressed a lineup of a lot of guys who will be shipped to Wheeling or flat out released tomorrow and actually play a much better game than the last two prior games. But again we are talking preseason games which mean diddly.

Brad Thiessen vs. Braden Holtby – both netminders played the whole game.

First Period: No goals this period. Very spirited back and forth. A name which stood out to me was Jayson Megna. Really was either creating chances or making chances for himself all game, really. Dominick Uher and Steve Oleksy fought and Uher dropped Oleksy after he switched hands. Teams traded a bunch of power play chances but neither was able to capitalize.

Second Period: Braden Holtby was in mid-season form denying good Penguin chances. Penguins and Bears were 4-on-4 when Brett Flemming was left unmarked in the slot and scored on Thiessen. To this point, the Bears had about five shots on goal this period.

Third Period: Two Bears goals in what seemed like a flash, Alex Berry corralled a rebound and scored and Jeff Taffe picked the pocket of Adam Payerl and scored shorthanded to make it 3-0. Penguins would tighten up, get a goal from jayson Megna off a 2-on-1 feed from Brian Gibbons but weren’t able to sneak anything past Holtby.

No three stars in Hershey for preseason, so I unofficially offer 3) Jayson Megna (goal) 2) Braden Holtby (27 saves on 28 shots) and 1) Alex Berry (game winning goal)

Now that’s out of the way. Cuts coming tomorrow at some point. Also, the much anticipated Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews begin at midnight tonight (yes, midnight) with the AHL South Division. At noon tomorrow, the Midwest Division as I wedge the two divisions the Penguins will not see into one day. The rest of the schedule looks like this:

Monday: South / Midwest Divisions
Tuesday: North Division
Wednesday: Atlantic Division
Thursday: Northeast Division
Friday: East Division

Every day, except for Monday, a new division is previewed at noon. Regular Penguins news will be wedged in between the previews as warranted.

If you are a night owl, check back here at midnight.

Let’s Go Pens!