Chirps from Center Ice

          vs.          

2                                                3

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This game had everything.

Power play goals a plenty. Fights, comebacks, more fights, scrums, a penalty shot in overtime, even a deliberate offsides at one point.

But none of it mattered as Brendan Mikkelson and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins use another third period comeback and defeat the Hershey Bears 3-2 in overtime.

Nick Drazenovic had three assists and stepped up huge tonight. He and captain Tom Kostopoulous both had three points.

The fans will remember the goals, fights and the Deslauriers save in overtime on the Matt Watkins penalty shot. I’ll remember the Drazenovic three point night (0-3-3) as maybe his breakout game in a Penguins uniform.

Drazenovic was second in points last year for a loaded Springfield Falcons team. He is a very crafty hockey player. Hopefully this game snowballs things his way and I’m making silly headlines about him.

But tonight, was all about Mikkelsons heroics, set up by Jeff Deslauriers save on a Matt Watkins penalty shot.

Let me set this up, backwards to forwards. The Penguins were awarded a power play in overtime when Nicolas Deschamps ran into Deslauriers behind the net. Deslauriers helmet came off, so referee Brett Iverson had to call something.

Somehow, Watkins slips by the Penguins defense and is interfered with enough to be awarded a penalty shot. Iverson must have figured that if he called Hershey for interference in overtime, he would at least award them a penalty shot.

Watkins took the shot and at the last second, Deslauriers gets the pad over to deny him.

That was all the momentum the Penguins would need as 1:35 later, Mikkelson would send the 5,019 that attended tonights game home happy.

The teams traded power play goals in the first. Derek Whitmore on a rebound of his own shot as the Bears were on a 5-on-3, then Dominik Uher on a power play goal 4:01 later.

Hershey would get another goal in the second period on when the Pens were caught on a bad line change.

Wilkes-Barre returns fire in the third with a goal from Tom Kostopulous off a face-off win from Drazenovic.

There were fireworks in the game, as there nearly always is when these two teams step on the same 200′ sheet of ice together. Dane Byers hit Simon Despres with a thunderous check that set off a brawl of sorts in the third period. Byers would get a 5:00 charging call and get ejected from the game. Philip Samuelsson would also get thrown out for instigating in response to the Byers antics. Sameulsson was actually lucky that the penalties were levied when they were. Six seconds later and he would have been suspended a game for getting an instigator in the last five minutes.

These two teams get to do it all over again tomorrow night in Hershey.

Around the Division: Syracuse down at one point 4-1, come back to beat the Rochester Americans 5-4 in a shootout. It was a Russian party that led the comeback. It’s late and I don’t feel like spelling out the names of those who scored, so if you want to, click the link to see who scored for Syracuse…..Binghamton loses 3-1 to Adirondack in Glens Falls….John Gibson backstops the Norfolk Admirals to a 3-0 win in Albany tonight.

Standings: Penguins 15 — Norfolk 14 — Syracuse 13 — Binghamton 10 — Hershey 6

Conference: 1) MCH (17) 2) HFD (16) 3) WBS 15) 4) NOR (14) 5) SYR (13) 6) SPR (13) 7) ALB (11) 8) STJ (11)

Wheeling Update: In his pro debut tonight, G Eric Hartzell gives up 5 goals on 30 shots and the Wheeling Nailers fall to the defining Kelly Cup champion Reading Royals 6-2.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here.

Rematch tomorrow in Hershey. Gameday for this will be up at 3 pm Saturday.

Let’s Go Pens!