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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins set a franchise record tonight in winning their tenth straight game with a 3-1 win over the visiting Rochester Americans tonight. It’s important in many ways.

One, it’s a record that is broken. It isn’t often that a team at this level wins ten straight. The Penguins have been around for 15+ years and prior to tonight, it hasn’t happened.

Two, try and find a weakness on this team. There isn’t one. There is no reason to think that the streak ends tomorrow when the Pens face-off in Hartford against the Wolf Pack Sunday afternoon.

Three, the Penguins have let other teams dictate how they are going to play and then countered that. St. John’s wanted to play run and gun. That’s fine. Hershey is a disjointed team that is a rival that gets obliterated. Rochester allows the Penguins 42 shots on goal. Andrey Makarov stops 40 of them. Rochester coming in was last in the AHL in defense. The Penguins shut down Rochester, only allowing them 16 shots at starter Tristan Jarry.

It’s fun. Yeah, it’s November and we aren’t at the quarter pole yet of the season, but this is fun.

No lineup changes for the Penguins tonight. Tristan Jarry started and was opposed by Andrey Makarov.

First Period: 90% of the period was spent in the Penguins offensive zone. Shots were 16-4. The Penguins far and away controlled every aspect of the period but had nothing to show for it. They failed to cash on the only power play of the period.

Remember when the Penguins would have a game one night and go 0-for-7 on a power play and only have like 3 or 4 shots on goal? Not anymore. When Wilkes-Barre goes on a power play, they get chances, and they are several and all good quality.

Second Period: The Penguins dominate the second period, outscoring opponents 21-6 coming into tonight’s game. It came through again for them when J-S Dea collects a puck at his own blue line, walked through the neutral zone and fires a shot at Makarov that went in. It was the baseball equivalent of a change-up. Makarov was sitting dead red (fastball) and instead got the change. The Penguins finally had they goal they were searching for.

Shots at one point were 27-7 in favor of Wilkes-Barre.

Dave Warsofsky scored on a power play to double the Penguins lead to 2-0. The League’s top rated power play connects again.

Shots were 32-8 Penguins heading into the…

Third Period: Rochester came out with pop but the Penguins and Jarry closed off any would be chances. Wilkes-Barre had a couple of power play opportunities, didn’t score on them but had several good looks. Going back to what I said at the open, this is a very, very positive sign going forward.

Jarry loses his shutout bid with 18.7 left when Phil Varone got in behind the defense and caught Jarry on his heels and slipped it five hole to cut the deficit to one.

Amerks head coach Randy Cunneyworth used his timeout and pulled Makarov. Off the ensuing face-off, Oskar Sundqvist dived to break up a pass up the ice at center ice and the momentum of the block knocked the puck into the empty Rochester net just seven seconds after the Americans scored to make it a closer game than the score line would indicate.

So not only do you have all of those things I mentioned at the open keeping this streak going, you have karma. Bring it.

Three Stars: 3) Tristan Jarry (15 saves on 16 shots) 2) Dave Warsofsky (power play goal, +1) and 1) J-S Dea (goal, +1)

Here’s perspective on the streak in the form of a Coal Street Infographic…

[tweet https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/665724667890638848]

Around the Division: The Hershey Bears were shutout again tonight, this time 5-0 to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Bears have not scored in 165:07 and face Rochester tomorrow. You have two teams playing their third game in three days and between them, just two goals have been scored all weekend by both teams…Springfield continues to win, this time 4-3 over Binghamton…Lehigh Valley loses 2-1 in overtime to Albany…Hartford, Portland and Providence were off.

Standings: Penguins (.917 points percentage) — Bridgeport (.750) — Springfield (.542) — Hershey (.536) — Portland (.455) — Hartford (.433) — Lehigh Valley (.433) — Providence (.346)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers lost 2-1 to the Evansville IceMen tonight. Adam Krause had the only goal for Wheeling, Brian Foster took the overtime loss.

Here’s the video highlights…

[youtube https://youtu.be/JjE2E31OOEc]

Pens wrap up the weekend with a 4:05 game in Hartford Sunday afternoon. Gameday will hit the blog at noon.

Let’s Go Pens!!!

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0                                         7

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The fact that Matt Murray collected his second shutout of the season, his 14th overall in 50 total career games played is probably the fourth or fifth thing that the papers or other blogs are going to write about after this 7-0 obliteration of the Hershey Bears by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins Friday night.

– The power play connected three times tonight and still is tops in the AHL.
– Seven different Penguins contributed goals tonight. Only Will O’Neill, Kevin Porter, Dominik Uher, Tom Kostopoulos and Niclas Andersen failed to record a point tonight.
– The Penguins were 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
– Bears top line was held in check. Chris Bourque and Carter Camper can put up points at will and at a moments notice but didn’t tonight.
– Oh by the way, Matt Murray made 24 saves.

You would think with two NHL caliber goaltenders and guys like Bourque and Camper on your team that you would win a lot more than you lose and put up more of a battle against your biggest rival. I think that the Bears flaws were exposed tonight, in a big, bad way. Their defenders were a total combined -8 this evening.

It was Matt Murray against Dan Ellis.

Lines were…

Scott Wilson – Kael Mouillierat – Conor Sheary
Kevin Porter – Carter Rowney – Dominik Simon
Dominik Uher – Oskar Sundqvist – Tom Kostopoulos
Tom Kuhnhackl – J-S Dea – Josh Archibald

Derrick Pouliot – Steve Oleksy
Niclas Andersen – David Warsofsky
Tim Erixon – Will O’Neill

Matt Murray – Tristan Jarry

Scratches were Matia Marcantuoni, Tom Sestito and Barry Goers, all hurt. Marcantuoni and Sestito could be back next week, Goers is shelved three months after having hip surgery. Healthy scratches were Reid McNeill and Tyler Biggs.

First Period: The Penguins went up 1-0 on a power play goal when Conor Sheary centered to Kael Mouillierat in the slot. It wasn’t until 10:50 of the first period that Hershey recorded a shot and were down 7-0 in the category at the time.

Bears started to wake up though but Matt Murray made the save of the night when he slid across to stop a shot that caromed out front to Paul Carey but Dave Warsofsky was in the right place at the right time to keep it out of the net. Bears quickly caught up with the Penguins in the shot category.

Second Period: But as we have seen time and time again in the second period, that is when the Penguins come out determined and accelerate past their opponent. It didn’t take long.

:19 in, Dominik Simon picks a corner in close on Ellis for a 2-0 Penguins lead. I am trying to remember the last Penguin that had a set of hands on him that came close to Simon’s. He has lethal hands on him.

Later, Conor Sheary powered past Bears defenseman Madison Bowey and roofed shot over Ellis for a 3-0 Penguin lead. It was a bad goal to give up for the Bears at the time because the last thing that you wanted to do was chase the game even more against a team like the Penguins.

The second power play goal of the game came when Scott Wilson fired a shot at the net that deflected off of Aaron Ness’ stick and in for a 4-0 Wilkes-Barre lead. That goal chased Dan Ellis and Justin Peters came in relief. I was actually surprised that Peters didn’t get the start in net for Hershey because he has the better numbers.

Peters would stop Dea on a breakaway. Murray would stop a Nathan Walker chance. The Bears settled a bit but the task ahead was steep.

Third Period: The Penguins would break it open when J-S Dea steals a puck in the neutral zone, wheeled around ex-Penguin Zach Sill and go bare down on Peters for a filthy goal and a 5-0 Penguin lead. I had the sense that if Hershey had scored to open the period that the floodgates would open and the game would be closer.

It wasn’t. Oskar Sundqvist would score a late power play goal to make it 6-0. Want to know how good the power play unit is? Sullivan sent out what I thought was the “C” unit for the power play that consisted of Tim Erixon, Dominik Uher, Steve Oleksy, Sundqvist and Dominik Simon.

At 6-0, there was a feeling after the face-off that the Penguins wanted seven. They got it when Tom Kuhnhackl scored at 18:46.

Three Stars: 3) Kael Mouillierat (goal, assist, even) 2) Conor Sheary (goal, three assists, +2) and 1) Matt Murray (24 save shutout)

Some reaction from around the AHL in the form of tweets on this game:

[tweet https://twitter.com/pwilliamsahl/status/665357083236171776]

Patrick Williams is one of my idols and covers every angle of this league.

[tweet https://twitter.com/_NickHart/status/665357516130250752]

[tweet https://twitter.com/_NickHart/status/665377608381526016]

Facts are fun, and color man Nick Hart drops them often.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ChocHockey/status/665359117456965632]

It isn’t often that you see the Hershey Bears get smacked around like this. In fact,

[tweet https://twitter.com/ChocHockey/status/665362258567000064]

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Look, I don’t get too high when it comes to this franchise. It’s early. It’s November. But I am going to tell you. I cannot find a single weakness with this team right now. Every opponent be it Hartford who was once looking like a solid team or a hated rival like Hershey that comes in and always gives the Penguins fits and always spoils the party is water off of a ducks back. Wilkes-Barre will find your weakness and surgically tear you apart from the inside out. It may not be fun if you are an opponent, but as a Penguin fan that I am, this is fun to watch.

[tweet https://twitter.com/TLTomVenesky/status/665372345104773120]

Scary.

[tweet https://twitter.com/kyle_mace/status/665381682640482304]

I threw that last one in for fun.

Video highlights…

[youtube https://youtu.be/7wlibG6IZ_E]

Around the Division: Portland beat Hartford 3-2…Springfield continues to put up a ton of goals as they beat Utica 6-3…Lehigh Valley scored seven goals tonight as well as they punched Rochester in the mouth and won 7-1. The Amerks are in Saturday to face the Penguins…Albany beat Providence 4-2.

Standings: Penguins (.909 points percentage) — Bridgeport (.703) — Hershey (.577) — Springfield (.500) — Portland (.455) — Hartford (.433) — Lehigh Valley (.429) — Providence (.346)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers beat Reading 6-1 at home tonight Patrick McGrath took home first star honors with two goals.

The Pens finish out the home stand against the Rochester Americans Saturday at 7. Gameday for that will be up at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!