Chirps from Center Ice

I don’t normally do pregame setups for preseason games because they are for large parts meaningless. So if you are looking for one Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. in advance of the first preseason game against Lehigh Valley, consider this it.

That said, Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan filled out his preseason lineup in advance of Wednesday’s matchup with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at 7:05 at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza:

[tweet https://twitter.com/TLTomVenesky/status/648900281917440002]

Tom was later told by Sullivan that goaltender Brian Foster will start and play two periods and that backup Casey DeSmith will play the third period. It should be an interesting thing to watch. This could be your Wheeling tandem or one could potentially be backing up Matt Murry with Tristan Jarry starting in Wheeling. I think this is the most obvious position battle that you, if you wanted to come to tomorrow’s game and watch for battles, should focus on.

Tom also learned from Sullivan that Tom Kostopoulos will return as Penguins captain for the third straight season. That’s as obvious as the sunrise and sunset.

Carter Rowney is not included above but has been partaking in full practices. Rowney is going to be a key element for the Penguins going forward, so why risk injury.

I’ll have a stripped down version of a postgame recap Wednesday night.