Chirps from Center Ice

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Penguins with a much needed 4-2 win in Hamilton tonight. Your best players need to be your best players. Andrew Ebbett is certainly one of them. His 2-1-3 tonight and Wilkes-Barre’s bend-but-not-break defense in the third period help the Pens skate out of the Canadian version of the Steel City on a Saturday night.

How about Peter Mannino? As the games go by the Wilkes-Barre goal crease looks firmer and firmer. Only three goals allowed on this road trip (I don’t think they count shootout goals scored in goals against average) and some stability returning to the crease.

Mannino opposed Robert Mayer. The Pens scratched Barry Goers for Nick D’Agostino and Anton Zlobin for Adam Payerl.

First Period: Balanced period for both teams. Shots were 10-9. One of those for Hamilton went in when born set-up man, Martin St. Pierre assisted on a Gabriel Dumont goal late in the third.

Second Period: Pens had a carryover power play from the first. They must have spent the entire first intermission talking about it and drawing up a play as Andrew Ebbett got his first of the night to tie the game at 1-1.

Then, a Marty St. Pierre hook at 2:18. Penguins power play. :03 later, on a face-off win from Ebbett, Tom Kostopoulos whips one home for a 2-1 Penguins lead.

Later, Denver Manderson stuffs in a puck on the post to put the Pens ahead 3-1.

Much needed shot of offense for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, who only had one goal to show for the road trip when stepping on the FirstOntario Centre ice for the second period.

Third Period: Mike Blunden scores on a power play and it was a 3-2 game. Penguins were on their heels all game long, being outshot in the period 11-5 and it felt like it.

But time became the canine’s enemy. With Mayer pulled, Tom Kostopoulos intercepts a pass at center ice and skates in and dishes to Ebbett who deposits the empty net goal, sending the Penguins to victory.

Three Stars: 3) Tom Kostopoulos (goal, assist, +1) 2) Gabriel Dumont (goal, assist, even) 1) Andrew Ebbett (two goals, assist, +1)

Around the Division: Binghamton yaks up a 5-2 lead to lose in a shootout to the Utica Comets 6-5….Norfolk wins a wild one at Scope over Hershey 3-1…and Syracuse loses 5-3 to Rochester at home.

Standings: Norfolk 72 — Binghamton 71 — Penguins 70 — Hershey 67 — Syracuse 53

Conference: 1) MCH (84) 2) SPR (76) 3) NOR (72) 4) STJ (76) 5) BNG (71) 6) WBS (70) 7) PRO 70 8) ALB (69)

SendToNews Highlights: Are here.

Wheeling Update: Nailers win in overtime up in Elmira, 3-2.

Pens travel to Toronto for a 3 p.m. start. Gameday will be up here 11 a.m.

Don’t forget to set your clocks forward.

Let’s Go Pens!!!