Just a couple of things to cover…

–> The AHL Outdoor Classic is days away. The process to build the rink is in its genesis. In that link you will also see jerseys that the Bears will use in warmups and in the actual game.

–> I have seen on social media and been asked what Wilkes-Barre is planning jersey wise. I don’t have a clue. I would assume that an announcement on that as well as the roster for the Alumni Game the day before the Classic will be made by Coal Street in the coming days.

–> Friday we play the Binghamton Senators, who are celebrating 40 Years of Hockey in Binghamton that night. I apologize in advance to the Binghamton contingent of the readers here at Chirps from Center Ice. The Penguins are going to ruin your party.

–> Oh, those Penguins. They were bag skated fitness tested yesterday, then practiced Thursday morning at 8 a.m. They seem to be saying all the right things, too. Actions speak louder than words.

–> Going back to my Saturday morning blog post regarding the terrible numbers that the Penguins put up in the stretch, I did not mention the numbers by the goaltenders. There’s a reason for that. If you have been following me long enough you know that I am terrible at math. Anyway, the braintrust in Springfield isn’t. The numbers are in for Thiessen / Zatkoff for the month of December:

– Jeff Zatkoff: 2-5, 3.13 GAA, 0.871 SV%.
– Brad Thiessen: 0-4-1, 3.55 GAA, 0.884 SV%.

I went back to November, when the Penguins were the hottest team in the AHL going 10-2. Jeff Zatkoff won Goalie of the Month with an 8-1 record, 1.21 GAA and a 0.955 SV% including three shutouts. Comparatively, Brad Thiessen was 2-1, 3.18 GAA, 0.890 SV% in the same month.

I just wanted to go back and get an idea of the goaltending situation in December to complete the thought from Saturday.

Elsewhere, the ECHL All-Star rosters were announced over the last two days. Two familiar names to Penguins fans made that list. They are Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Nick Petersen. Pierro-Zabotel was actually named starter. No Wheeling Nailers were named. The ECHL is pooling together all-stars from all over the league to play the host Colorado Eagles. But it’s strange to me that in an event which is supposed to showcase the league, that not every team is represented in the event. Just strange.

Alright, going back, this seems to be more of just a “tidbits” entry. Eh, when I get on a roll, I get on a roll. I’ll stop now.

Gameday for Binghamton will be up Friday afternoon at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!