Chirps from Center Ice

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This headline is an all purpose one.

Since Phantoms are ghosts, and ghosts scare people, and you say “Boo!” to scare people, you have that angle.

When you don’t like something, you boo. I never like when the Penguins lose.

Wilkes-Barre lays an egg in Glens Falls, NY and lose 3-1 to the Adirondack Phantoms. The Phantoms bottled up the Penguins all night, especially in the second period onward, only allowing the Pens 12 shots on goal after the first period, where the Pens outshot the Phantoms 16-3.

Jeff Deslauriers vs. Yann Danis

Carter Rowney was the lone scratch for the Penguins. Peter Merth is day-to-day. Reid McNeill and Nick Drazenovic are week-to-week.

First Period: Penguins steamroll the Phantoms in the period, outshooting them 16-3. Phantoms won the game in this period by not going down multiple goals, as Danis was spectacular for Adirondack, only rearing one goal, on the power play to Tom Kostopoulos. Prior to, Brandon Manning had scored on the power play.

Second Period: The Pens played a great first five minutes then could not even muster a shot on goal, as it was noted in Adirondack that the Pens hadn’t registered a single shot on goal for the last three fourths of the period.

Some controversy with the second Adirondack goal scored by Petr Straka. Here, take a look:

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Sorry about the letter boxing. I never remember to put my iPhone on landscape mode when shooting video.

Didn’t look like, to me, that that goal should have counted. Referee Geno Binda was the ref you saw there waving it off at the last second but T.J. Luxmore was the high ref and overruled the call WITHOUT replay. You decide.

Chris VandeVelde later pounces on a puck in the slot while the teams were 4-on-4 to put the Phantoms up 3-1. It would turn out to be all the insurance Adirondack would need.

Third Period: Dominik Uher took a puck up high in the second period, left with a towel on his mouth with the trainer and didn’t return. Pens get two power plays in the period but do not cash on either and that’s your ballgame.

Three Stars: 3) ben Holmstrom (assist, +1) 2) Brandon Manning (goal, assist, +1) and 1) Yann Danis (27 saves on 28 shots)

Around the Division: Binghamton beats a decimated Crunch team 5-1. St. John’s beats Hershey 4-2 and Norfolk beats Charlotte 5-2.

Standings: Binghamton 28 — Penguins 26 — Norfolk 24 — Syracuse 20 — Hershey 16

Conference: 1) MCH (30) 2) BNG (28) 3) SPR (27) 4) WBS (26) 5) NOR (24) 6) ALB (23) 7) STJ (23) 8) SYR (20)

Wheeling Update: Nailers shutout Cincinnati 3-0. Reigning ECHL player of the week Zack Torquato had a goal and an assist and was named first star of the game.

SendToNews Highlights: Aren’t up yet. Nothing much to see other than what I gave you above, but for the sake of completeness I will check later and link if one comes out.

Penguins back at it Friday vs. Binghamton. Looking ahead to that one, starting goaltender Nathan Lawson left the game with an apparent injury and Andrew Hammond came on in relief to start the second period.

Blog wise, I’ll have my First Quarter Grades here sometime tomorrow. I’m shooting for noon but only have the forwards done, so who knows. But they will be up, so check back at some point tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving! Let’s Go Pens!!