Chirps from Center Ice

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This game can be summarized in two halves.

In the first half, the Norfolk Admirals capitalize on a power play and a weird circumstance and find themselves up 2-0 after the first period.

Then, something that will be talked about for a while, Jeff Deslauriers and John Gibson got into a fight at center ice about six minutes into the first period.

It started when Deslauriers misplays a puck that is rimmed in along the wall. Agitator Zack Stortini takes a few whacks at the puck after a whistle which draws the ire of the Wilkes-Barre net minder. Deslauriers then shoves Stortini, striking him with his blocker. Understandably a scrum ensues but nothing comes of it.

Then, skating back to the benches in the time out, John Gibson takes a whack at Deslauriers as the two were criss crossing one another.

Then, this happened. Then this.

Out of it, Deslauriers was tossed and Gibson was allowed to stay in.

The Penguins recover with a goal from Zach Sill in his first game back with the Penguins off of his recall to Pittsburgh, but that was all they could muster as John Gibson and the Norfolk Admirals win this one by a score of 4-1.

Take away the ooh’s and ahh’s of a goalie fight and here is really what happened:

1) The Penguins found themselves down after the first period to a team and a goaltender that have owned them this season. Gibson, in two prior appearances for Norfolk, is 2-0 and has only allowed one goal per game.

2) Jeff Deslauriers is slumping if you ask me, having been pulled last Friday in Providence and not being heard from or seen again all last weekend. He got beat by an Alex Grant bomb from the blue like that Devante Smith-Pelly gets a stick on for a 1-0 Norfolk lead then later gives up a rebound to John Kurtz that is redirected in via Kurtz’s skate with no distinct kicking motion.

3) Wilkes-Barre comes out with vim and vigor to start the second, really knocking on the door and ready to breakthrough when Stortini, he of is 184 PIMs, is a bit aggressive. This sends Deslauriers off the deep end and after Stortini. They are separated. Gibson throws a “what the hell man” whack at Deslauriers and then Deslauriers jumps him and is tossed. At the time, a good thing for Wilkes-Barre as they were tilting the ice in their favor.

But we forget about the Achilles heel on this team. It’s the power play, ranked 27th in the AHL and what cost the Pens the game tonight, in my opinion.

4) In the first 6:18 of the third period, the Penguins had THREE straight power plays given to them by referee Steve Patafie. I mean, literally, one after the other after the other. They could not score or muster a single good scoring chance to tie the game. I don’t care what team you are, on any level of pro hockey or otherwise, but you are not going to win many games when you are trailing by a goal in the third period and are unable to score a power play goal when you basically get three of them in a row.

It showed too, because John Hynes put Bobby Farnham out there for one.

5) Norfolk scores on their only power play of the period. Smith-Pelly slams home a goal off of nice tic-tac-toe passing to seal it for the Admirals. Dave Steckel scores a meaningless empty netter to make the score 4-1 late.

The two teams rematch tomorrow at Scope Arena at 7:15. If you are John Hynes you roll with Eric Hartzell in net. If I am Norfolk coach Trent Yawney, am I placing ex-Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen out there in what could be the biggest game of the season for both teams, with the Admirals now trailing the Penguins by a single point in the division for second?

Time, always tells.

Personnel wise, two lineup changes for the Pens from Sunday. Obviously, Zach Sill was back in the lineup. So too, was Tom Kuhnhackl. Out was Denver Manderson and Carter Rowney. Harrison Ruopp took warmups but was scratched.

Divisionally, Binghamton won their game at home 5-2 against Albany. Hershey won theirs 4-1 in Syracuse. Binghamton leads the East with 55 points, Wilkes-Barre has 52, Norfolk 51, Hershey 46 and Syracuse 40.

With the Devils loss to Binghamton, the Penguins remain fourth in the Conference with 52 points.

Wheeling beat Toledo 4-1. Cody Sylvester had two goals.

Here is the SendToNews highlight package.

Rematch tomorrow at 7:15 from Scope. Gird your loins….

Let’s Go Pens!

* – Bert Sugar was a legendary boxing writer who died in 2012.