Chirps from Center Ice

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Nick Drazenovic hadn’t scored since March 9 when his goals up in Toronto helped the Penguins get by the Marlies in a shootout that Sunday afternoon.

A lot happened since then. A Wilkes-Barre resurgence. Peter Mannino. Chuck Kobasew. A veteran issue.

Tonight, Drazenovic made people remember who he was.

A 60-minute stalemate between the Albany Devils and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins ended at 1:02 of overtime when Tom Kostopoulos capitalized on a Devils turnover and passed to Drazenovic who collected his own rebound and backhanded one over the shoulder of starting goaltender Keith Kincaid to give the Penguins the 1-0 win and vault them to sole possession of first place in the division after a Binghamton loss tonight, which I will get to.

And Penguins starting goaltender Peter Mannino? A 25 save shutout again. A streak of 136:05, 10-3-1 record, with 4 shutouts.

Some changes to the lineup tonight. Conor Sheary made his pro debut tonight skating in place of Josh Archibald. He didn’t look overwhelmed in an April game which meant so much to both teams. Carter Rowney was in for Adam Payerl also and Harrison Ruopp for Nick D’Agostino. Eric Hartzell backed up Mannino tonight.

Not much in the way of a recap here. Pens controlled opening fifteen minutes. They had a goal waved off when Harry Zolnierczyk kicked the puck in the net. Long first period with a lot of whistles.

Second didn’t offer much either, other than the fact that the roles were reversed and the Devils were taking it to the Penguins. I recall a sequence of about three minutes where the Devils did pretty much whatever they wanted and kept the Pens hemmed in and not able to make a change. I think turn of events sealed the deal for the Pens because if they get scored on, it’s chase time against a Devils team that plays defense, defense and more defense.

Third had a big Penguins penalty kill in it and a Kincaid pad save on a shot ticketed for the back of the net.

Felt like both teams played like they deserved a point. Enter Drazenovic, who ended it on his nice backhand shot.

Three stars were Keith Kincaid with 17 saves on 18 shots, Nick Drazenovic with the overtime game winning goal and Peter Mannino with his 25 save shutout.

Around the Division: Norfolk beats Binghamton 6-3. The Pens are now in sole possession of first place in the East. Binghamton still has a game in hand. Hershey needs overtime to get by Worcester 3-2 and Syracuse gets three goals in less than 1:39 to play in the third to defeat Utica 6-5 in overtime at home.

Other Games that Matter: St. John’s beats Springfield 3-1. IceCaps will remain in fourth in the Conference. Hartford beats Providence in a shootout 2-1. P-Bruins just two back of now the Binghamton Senators for the fifth spot.

Standings: Penguins 88 — Binghamton 86 — Norfolk 81 — Hershey 80 — Syracuse 69

Conference: 1) MCH (96) 2) SPR (94) 3) WBS (88) 4) STJ (90) 5) BNG (86) 6) PRO (84) 7) ALB (83) 8) NOR (81)

Don’t be surprised if the Pens look gassed in the second half of tomorrow’s game. I’d also look for the guys that were scratched tonight to play tomorrow.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers could have punched a ticket to the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a win over the Orlando Solar Bears. They did not, rather losing 3-1.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here.

Gameday for the Penguins game up in Binghamton will be at 11:00 a.m. for the 3:05 start.

Let’s Go Pens!!

* – recycled headlines are considered poor form. Example. Hey, you try coming up with goofy headlines 76 times a year!