Chirps from Center Ice

          vs.          

1                                                3

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Yep. This one felt like a playoff game.

But it’s only both teams second game of a 76 game journey.

Not to mention the first of a dozen meetings.

Penguins get yet another third period push and skate past the Hershey Bears tonight by a score of 3-1.

Two old faces are really making an impact on this team. They are Jeff Deslauriers, who was stellar in goal tonight for the Penguins, robbing the Bears of  many chances and Chris Conner, who just makes players like Jayson Megna and Brian Gibbons that much better on the ice. Conner buried a drop pass from Gibbons on a breakaway to push the Penguins up 2-1 late in the third. Gibbons finished a cross ice pass from Megna in the second while shorthanded to tie the game for the Pens.

Zach Sill buried any chances of a Bears comeback late when Dominik Uher wheeled around the Hershey net and fed Sill who picked a corner.

Jeff Deslauriers vs. David Leggio.

Lineup notes: Bobby Farnham took warmups, but with Joel Rechlicz scratched on the other side, did not play. Paul Thompson did not dress either.

After a scoreless first filled with a lot of back and forth and a few near misses for both sides, Penguin Killer Tomas Kundratek scored for the Bears early in the second.

Tom Kostopoulos took a penalty, and the Bears right here could have buried the Penguins. Instead Jayson Megna and Brian Gibbons work shorthanded magic and Gibbons finishes off a pass from Megna to tie the score at one a side.

Real high intensity, end to end hockey between the two clubs after forty minutes of play.

Jeff Deslauriers and David Leggio were stealing the show, both making stunning saves for their respective clubs. Leggio on Chris Conner on a mini breakaway and Deslauriers time after time for the Penguins. Deslauriers was the reason the Penguins were in the game this late on into the third period.

As always between these two teams, things boiled over. Game had a powder keg feel to it at the time, like one shot or one kit would blow things up in favor of the team that shot or the team that threw the big hit.

Brian Gibbons steals a Hershey D-to-D pass, skates in, drops to a trailing Chris Conner, who buries it to push the Pens up 2-1.

1:25 later, Zach Sill picks a corner off a feed from Dominik Uher to seal it for the Penguins late. It seemed to me that the Pens kept pushing after the goal because you knew Hershey was going to make it interesting but instead they stalled out and the Penguins took advantage.

Three Stars: 3) Jeff Deslauriers (18 saves on 19 shots) 2) Brian Gibbons (goal, assist, +2) and 1) Chris Conner (game winning goal, +1)

Around the Division: Binghamton avenges a 5-0 whooping the night before by the Norfolk Admirals and win 4-1. Syracuse thumps Rochester 5-1.

Standings: Norfolk 5 — Penguins 4 — Binghamton 4 — Syracuse 3 — Hershey 1

Conference: Hartford and Manchester have 7, Norfolk and Providence 5, Penguins, Springfield, Binghamton 4, Syracuse 3 are your Top 8.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are still in preseason. They lose 6-2 to the Fort Wayne Komets in Indiana. Local product Patrick McGrath with 9 PIMs, including a fight.

Pens back at it Sunday afternoon in Syracuse at 5 p.m. for another huge test against a division rival. Gameday for that will be up at 1 p.m. here on the blog.

Let’s Go Pens!