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Monthly Archives: October 2013

GAMEDAY: vs. Hershey 10/12

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on October 12, 2013

vs.

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Home Game: 1

AHL Game: 41

Who: Hershey Bears

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Media Kit

Last Game: Last Saturday in Bridgeport, the Penguins won 5-2. Chris Conner and Harry Zolnierczyk both had two goals. For Hershey, last Saturday at home they lost to the Adirondack Phantoms in overtime 4-3. Micheal Latta had a goal, an assist and was named second star of the game.

Record: For WBS: 1-0-0-0 (2 pts., 2nd place East Division) For HER: 0-0-1-0 (1 pt., 5th place East Division)

Why you should care: It’s the home opener for Wilkes-Barre in its 15th season against their biggest rival that they play the most.

Referee(s): Nic Leduc

Linesmen: Leo Boylan / Jud Ritter

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @TheHersheyBears

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /TheHersheyBears

Instagram: wbspenguins / thehersheybears

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie / @timleone

Broadcasters: WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / HER: Scott Stuccio @ScottStuccio

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep / @SweetestHockey

Radio: For WBS: Sports Hub 102.3 / For Hershey: 1460 The Ticket

Television: AHL Live / WBRE-TV (local in Wilkes-Barre)

Promotion(s): Geisinger Health Systems Magnetic Schedule (first 5,000 fans)

Other Game to Watch: Binghamton is in Norfolk this weekend. The Admirals throttled the B-Sens last night 5-0 with all five goals coming in the first period. You can bet that Binghamton will be looking to avenge this loss tonight.

Next Five Games: @ SYR 10/13, ADK 10/18, @ WOR 10/19, @ MCH 10/20, @ BNG 10/25

Gameday

Who Changed These Questions?

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on October 10, 2013

Just when we thought we had the answers to the goaltending situation here in Wilkes-Barre, the questions change.

Reported yesterday by Jonathan that Eric Hartzell is day-to-day. Peter Mannino’s trip to Wheeling was a brief one.

Mannino stuck around and played in the Nailers exhibition game last night, playing two periods and stopping 21 of 22 shots, getting beat once shorthanded.

My guess is that Jeff Deslauriers starts Saturday for the home opener. If he does well and wins, he gets it again Sunday in Syracuse. If he loses, Peter Mannino makes his debut.

Of course I could be wrong and the roles could be reversed, or Deslauriers and Mannino split weekend games no matter what happens. We just have to wait and see.

Bombulie also reported today that Bobby Farnham is ready to go this weekend as well. This should make for a fun couple of days for fans as Farnham doesn’t know anything other than 110%. Check out the quote from Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond on Farnham.

Finally, the AHL announced it’s 2014 Hall of Fame class today. One of the names on the list is John Slaney, who is up for another Hall of Fame nomination here in Wilkes-Barre. I believe that Slaney will be the first player enshrined to the AHL Hall of Fame with Wilkes-Barre ties. A great honor for him and the City of Wilkes-Barre, no doubt.

Unless there is more newsworthy stuff Friday, the next update here won’t be until Saturday afternoon, which will be the Gameday setup for the home opener vs. Hershey.

Let’s Go Pens!

The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

Mannino to Wheeling

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on October 8, 2013

Announced today that G Peter Mannino was assigned to Wheeling of the ECHL.

Color me shocked that this transaction occurred. I would have never imagined this to come to fruition.

Jonathan had some quotes today from John Hynes on the goaltending competition.

It’s actually a good thing, really. If Jeff Deslauriers or Eric Hartzell falter in Wilkes-Barre and Mannino dominates in Wheeling (like I expect him to) then you have that option of a call-up and you can feel good about it. So we will see. When was the last time that anyone felt confident with a goaltender in Wheeling as a reliable call-up option?

With two games this weekend vs. Hershey Saturday and at Syracuse Sunday, expect Deslauriers and Hartzell both to get a game. Wheeling is in preseason right now.

Some Page Two’s….

— Out of the same Bombulie from today, Brian Dumoulin is practicing again. Dumoulin is also involved in a case of mistaken identity. (h/t, Russ Hryvnak)
— Carter Rowney was assigned to Wheeling Monday.

That’s all for now. Take a look at the first ever AHL Power Rankings I put together yesterday. I’m hoping these become a regular thing every Monday.

The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

Week 1 AHL Power Rankings

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on October 7, 2013

So I have been kicking around the idea of an AHL Power Rankings feature for the blog for a while now. I figure that with the start of a new season, now is as good a time as ever to start a “power rankings” and see how it goes. Throw it at the wall and see if it sticks, etc.

This will probably be a fluid feature that runs on Mondays. I really have no idea how this is going to go. Let’s wing it.

In fairness, Portland, Milwaukee, Iowa, Worcester, Hamilton and Utica haven’t played yet so they cant be ranked yet. They all play next week.

Here goes nothing. Let me know what you think in the comments…

Catch a Tiger by his Toe — Pens WIN 5-2

2 Comments Posted by nafsnep on October 5, 2013

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After a deadlocked 40 minutes, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins score two goals in :11 and cruise to a 5-2 victory in Bridgeport and are on pace for a 76-0 record.

Alright, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Chris Conner and Harry Zolnierczyk both scored two goals a piece and are on pace to score 152 goals this season.

Okay, now I am just being silly.

Pens played a fundamentally sound game all night, caught the Sound Tigers napping for :11 in the third period, and won the hockey game. Jeff Deslauriers was sharp when he needed to be. Defense looked sharp. Promising start to the very young year.

The aforementioned Jeff Deslauriers vs. Anders Nilsson

Lines looked like this:

Kuhnhackl-Ebbett-Conner
Kostopoulos-Drazenovic-Thompson
Zolnierczyk-Gibbons-Megna
Leblond-Sill-Uher

Despres-Samuelsson
Harrington-Mikkelson
McNeill-D’Agostino

Deslauriers-Hartzell

Scratches were Peter Mannino, Peter Merth, Brian Dumoulin, Mike Carman, Anton Zlobin, Dustin Stevenson, Harrison Ruopp,, Bobby Farnham and Adam Payerl.

Payerl was an interesting scratch. After being arguably the best player for the Penguins in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs last season, he found himself a scratch in Game 1. Jonathan had some thoughts on this, indicating that Dom Uher essentially beat out Payerl for the spot.

First Period: Penguins jumped all over the Sound Tigers in the the opening twenty, they got an early power play but weren’t able to score. Unfazed by taking a penalty of their own, they continued to pressure Bridgeport. Then, Scott Harrington scored the first goal of the season then Tom Kostopoulos won a faceoff to Harrington’s left. Harrington jumped on the loose puck and had only the goaltender in front of him, shot and it went in.

Pierre Leblond fought Brett Gallant. Leblond was bloodied in the fight which was a draw.

First period was all Penguins really. Anything that the Sound Tigers threw at the Pens, Wilkes-Barre had an answer for.

Jeff Deslauriers had a heck of a save on a Ryan Stome shot when Simon Despres turned the puck over.

Second Period: Complete opposite of the first. All Sound Tigers. Anders Lee scored when Jeff Deslauriers was thinking poke check. Then, Kirill Kabanov finishes off a tic tac toe pass to him to push the Sound Tigers up 2-1 on a power play. Penguins go on a power play late, Brendan Mikkelson shoots from the top of the blue line and Chris Conner is right out in front to deflect the puck home to tie the score at two with 2.1 left in the period.

Third Period: Penguins didn’t register a shot 8:23 in the period in what I called at the time a winnable game for both sides at the time. Then, Chris Conner and Brian Gibbons work a 2-on-1 and Conner finishes off a pass from Gibbons to make it 3-2 Penguins. It’s going to be nice to see these two speedsters work together all season long.

Then, :11 later, Andrew Ebbett wheels around the Sound Tigers net, passes to Harry Zolnierczyk who scores to make it 4-2. Two quick bang-bang goals by the Penguins. Zolnierczyk then scored again when he looked off Tom Kuhnhackl on another 2-on-1 and shot it past Nilsson to make it 5-2 Penguins.

Three Stars: 3) Jeff Deslauriers (21 saves on 23 shots) 2) Harry Zolnierczyk (two goals, +2) and 1) Chris Conner (two goals, +1)

So a good win to start the year. A winnable game for both teams half way through the third period. Penguins step on the gas and blow it open. You want to see this trend continue.

Around the Division: Norfolk wins 3-2 up in Hartford in a shootout. Binghamton, down 3-1 at home vs. Syracuse, rally and win 4-3 in overtime. Hershey loses in overtime to the Adirondack Phantoms 4-3.

Standings: With points for every team tonight, it’s WBS / NOR and BNG with 2 points and SYR and HER with 1 point.

Conference: Will not recap a bunch of 2’s and 1’s and 0’s until the first team in the conference reaches 10 points.

SendToNews Highlights: Will throw a late edit up Sunday if they go up.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are in preseason. They lost 5-4 to the Elmira Jackals. Wilkes-Barre native Patrick McGrath had a goal and a fight in the loss.

Pens get a week off to rest and ready for their home opener next Saturday vs. Hershey.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: @ Bridgeport 10/5

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on October 5, 2013

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Away Game: 1

AHL Game: 7

Who: Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Where: Webster Bank Arena

When: 7:00 p.m.

Media Kit

Record: This is the first game for both clubs.

Why you should care: The Pens open up the 2013-14 season on the road up in Bridgeport with a few large questions yet to be answered. How will they be in goal? Defense? Scoring? Special teams? We may not know for weeks or months, but tonight is going to provide some insight against a decent Bridgeport Sound Tigers team.

Referee(s): Mark Lemelin / T.J. Luxmore

Linesmen: Jim Briggs / Derek Wahl

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @TheSoundTigers

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /soundtigers

Instagram: wbspenguins / thesoundtigers

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie / @fornabaioctp

Broadcasters: For WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / For BRI: Phil Giubileo @philgpbp

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep

Radio: For WBS: Sports Hub 102.3 / For BRI: I don’t think Sound Tigers games are on radio.

Television: AHL Live

Other Game to Watch: It’s going to be a recurring theme this year, but I’m going to keep tabs on the Hershey Bears tonight as they open at home vs. the Adirondack Phantoms. The Bears are re-tooled from top to bottom, so it’s going to be an interesting season for the Chocolate and White.

Next Five Games: HER 10/12, @ SYR 10/13, ADK 10/18, @ WOR 10/19, @ MCH 10/20

Gameday

East Division Preview

Comments Off Posted by nafsnep on October 4, 2013

Welcome to the final day of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews. You can check out the five divisions discussed previously via handy drop down menu at the the top of the blog.

Yes, the East Division! Where the big boys play. For example, just yesterday the Northeast Division was previewed. That division sent one team, the division winner Springfield Falcons, to the Calder Cup Playoffs. The East Division sent FOUR, and very possibly could have sent all five. This is the best division in the American Hockey League.

The Penguins play everyone in this division multiple times (obviously) with all home games listed in bold.

Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators)

Last Year: 44-24-1-7 (96 pts., 2nd place East Division)

Playoffs: 4 seed — Lost in three games to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in the East Division Quarterfinals.

Head Coach: Luke Richardson

Arena: Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Elmira Jackals

Offseason Moves: Haven’t found any.

The case for: No one did more with less last year than this team on the Southern Tier of New York. Luke Richardson gets a lot out of his players night in and night out.

The case against: Someone forgot to tell the Sens that it’s OK to sign players in the offseason. That inactivity will doom this team in this division.

Media Coverage: Press & Sun-Bulletin — Matt Weinstein and Matt Verderame (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: Don Reiber for examiner.com (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @BSens_Hockey

Facebook: /binghamtonsenators

Instagram: bsens_hockey

Broadcaster: Grady Whittenburg (twitter)

vs. WBS: @ 10/25, 11/29, 1/5, @ 2/14, 2/19, @ 4/6, 4/12, @4/18

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Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals)

Last Year: 36-31-3-6 (81 pts., 4th place East Division)

Playoffs: 8 seed — Lost in five games to the Providence Bruins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

Head Coach: Mike Haviland

Arena: Giant Center

ECHL Affiliation: Reading Royals

Offseason Moves: Jamie Johnson, Derek Whitmore, Josh Brittain, David Leggio, David Kolomatis, Brandon Segal

The case for: A new age in Hershey. A new coach that wins. A new captain to be named in the Fall. Watch out for the Bears this year.

The case against: No one is afraid of the Bears anymore. The moves they made this offseason you can say only caught them up to the competition.

Media Coverage: Tim Leone for PennLive.com (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: Sweetest Hockey on Earth (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @TheHersheyBears

Facebook: /TheHersheyBears

Instagram: thehersheybears

Broadcaster: Scott Stuccio (twitter)

vs. WBS: 10/12, 11/1, @ 11/2, 11/16, @ 11/30, 12/13, @ 12/28, @ 1/26, @ 2/9, @ 2/15, 2/16, 2/25

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Norfolk Admirals (Anaheim Ducks)

Last Year: 37-34-4-1 (79 pts., 5th place East Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify

Head Coach: Trent Yawney

Arena: Norfolk Scope

ECHL Affiliation: Utah Grizzlies

Offseason Moves: Alex Grant, Stefan Noesen, Jakob Silfverberg, Zack Stortini, Nolan Yonkman

The case for: The Admirals were a lot like the B-Sens last year in that they did a lot with less. The results weren’t there in the win column. I have the Admirals as a playoff team this season.

The case against: Just like the Western Conference team with the same name, it can’t be that hard to name eight teams better than Norfolk in this Conference.

Media Coverage: Virginia Pilot

Fan Blog: I don’t think there is another team out there that has so many fans blogging them up. You have Shawn Dulin for AdsAftermath (twitter / blog), Ken Peacock for Vultures Row (twitter / blog), and Beneath the Scope (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @NorfolkAdmirals

Facebook: /NorfolkAdmirals

Instagram: norfolkadmirals

Broadcaster: Pete Michaud (twitter)

vs. WBS: 10/26, 12/27, @ 1/24, @ 1/25, 1/31, 3/15, @ 3/28, @ 3/29

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Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Last Year: 43-22-6-5 (97 pts., 1st place East Division)

Playoffs: 3 seed — Lost in six games to the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Calder Cup Finals.

Head Coach: Rob Zettler

Arena: Onondaga County War Memorial Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Florida Everblades and the Brampton Beast of the Central Hockey League.

Offseason Moves: Geoff Walker, Joey Mormina, Evan Rankin

The case for: The Crunch can repeat as division winners.

The case against: They will have serious company this year. Hershey and Wilkes-Barre aren’t going to play the roles of an overachieving Binghamton team like last year.

Media Coverage: The Post-Standard — Lindsay Kramer (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: Chairman How’s Glorious Army (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @SyracuseCrunch

Facebook: /syracusecrunch

Instagram: officialsyracusecrunch

Broadcaster: Dan D’Uva (twitter)

vs. WBS: @ 10/13, 11/6, @ 11/15, 12/21, 12/31, 1/8, 1/29, @ 2/28, @ 3/21, @ 4/11

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Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Last Year: 42-30-2-2 (88 pts., 3rd place East Division)

Playoffs: 5 seed — Lost in five games to the Syracuse Crunch in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Head Coach: John Hynes

Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

ECHL Affiliation: Wheeling Nailers

Offseason Moves: Tom Kostopoulos, Peter Mannino, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Chris Conner, Andrew Ebbett, Nick Drazenovic, Brendan Mikkelson

The case for: Instead of signing flashy, household AHL names in seasons past, the Pens went out and signed more veteran guys who know how to win.

The case against: Goaltending. The Penguins may have the fifth best goaltending duo…..in the division. If Tomas Vokoun’s injury is more long term and Jeff Zatkoff stays up, the Pens could be in deep trouble in goal this season.

Media Coverage: The Citizens’ Voice — Jonathan Bombulie (twitter / blog) and The Times Leader — Tom Venesky

Fan Blog: I’m not bragging, but I don’t know anyone that does it any better. (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @WBSPenguins

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins

Instagram: wbspenguins

Broadcaster: Mike O’Brien (twitter)

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So there you have it. If you have a team that’s playing tonight in the AHL opener, Happy New Year and good luck this season. The Penguins kick off Season Fifteen tomorrow night in Bridgeport. The Gameday setup will be up on the blog at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

The AHL

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