Chirps from Center Ice

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2                                         6

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You will look at this scoreline only and think, “Fire Donatelli!”

Nope.

Okay, then. You look at this scoreline and think, “Foster, right?”

Nope. Try again.

Out of ideas? Okay. I will help you.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins fire a meek 14 shots at the net tended by Hershey starting goaltender Dan Ellis and get blown away by the Bears by a score of 6-2. Carter Camper had a goal and two assists, Nathan Walker scored twice. Dustin Gazley had a goal and an assist. I couldn’t work Garrett Mitchell’s name into the blog headline for some reason. I will try and do better the next time.

The Bears also connected three times on the power play. Just the second time this season the Bears have done that.

Tristan Jarry started the game and was opposed by Dan Ellis. Both goaltenders started least night, so expect Justin Peters for Hershey and Brian Foster for the Penguins tomorrow.

Jump through to see all my amateurish videos of the goals and read the game story…

Lines were….

Kael Mouillierat – Dustin Jeffrey – Dominik Simon
Mattias Plachta – Carter Rowney – Tom Kostopoulos
Anton Zlobin – J-S Dea – Ty Loney
Derek Army – Jarrett Burton – Patrick McGrath

Reid McNeill – Niclas Andersen
Tim Erixon – Steve Oleksy
Will O’Neill – Ryan Parent

Tristan Jarry – Brian Foster

Lineup Notes: Derek Army was in for Tom Sestito on the third line, Ryan Parent was in for Barry Goers, who hasn’t been cleared to play in back to back games.

First Period: No scoring in the period and the early storyline was the defense of the Bears on the Penguins. They limited Wilkes-Barre to just three shots on goal in the period, tying the Pens for a season low, and didn’t allow Wilkes-Barre a shot at Ellis until 3:46 left to play in the period. Pens didn’t do anything with an early and the period’s only power play.

Second Period: If you saw any of the first period you had the feeling like the Pens were just hanging on. In the second, the Bears broke through.

Nathan Walker with a step on defenseman Will O’Neill and through the five hole of Tristan Jarry that made it 1-0.

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Nothing Jarry could do there on that one.

Then the Pens, who hadn’t taken a penalty all game, take one at an inopportune time with a Steve Oleksy high stick.

Christian Djoos wasted no time in extending the Hershey lead to 2-0 on the power play.

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Pens overcommitted to one side, Djoos waited out Jarry for a split second, and fired it by him to make it 2-0.

Bears had another power play after that but Wilkes-Barre was able to kill that.

The entire period was played in the kitchen of Tristan Jarry. The Pens only had one shot on goal in the period, an early one timer by Dustin Jeffery set up by Dominik Simon on like the first play of the period. The Bears did an excellent job of bottling up the Pens in the period and continued to build on their lead.

Carter Camper completed his three point period with his goal while the teams were four-on-four:

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Camper had a goal and two assists ion the period.

The Pens would get one back late in the period as Dustin Jeffrey scored his first goal as a Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguin since January 26, 2011:

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Dominating period by the Hershey Bears. 79 goals scored by the Chocolate and White in the middle frames this period. A little of the air out of the balloon for Hershey though with the late Jeffrey goal heading into the…

Third Period: Pens needed a big period to make a game of it. They were able to manufacture shots at Ellis but they were all from the perimeter. Then they started taking penalties. They killed the first then Hershey connected on the second that made it 4-1 Bears.

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Dustin Gazley with a rebound goal on a shot by Aaron Ness. Ness had two assists in this game also.

Wilkes-Barre got one back via Mattias Plachta on a nice deflection of an initial shot by Steve Oleksy…

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So the Pens were right back in it right, they were going to score the next one, right? Wrong.

Old buddy Zach Sill scored to make it 5-2 Bears.

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Jarry mishandled an initial shot by Liam O’Brien that eventually cycled straight to Sill at the doorstep that he knocked home.

Nathan Walker didn’t fight Steve Oleksy earlier on in the period, jumped into the kitchen of Jarry after the Penguins netminder made a routine save and started to cause a ruckus, was raked across the eyes by Will O’Neill and the Bears were right back on the power play. Who else by Walker scored out to make it 6-2.

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I wonder how the Pens will respond to Walker’s shenanigans in the rematch Sunday. I mean, you are up 5-2 late and cruising to an easy victory and you do that. That cannot go unanswered if I am a Penguin.

Three Stars: 3) Dustin Gazley (goal, assist, even) 2) Nathan Walker (two goals, +1) and 1) Carter Camper (goal, two assists, +2)

Around the Division: Binghamton beats Lehigh Valley 3-1…Providence beats Portland 3-1…Utica beat Springfield 2-1. Hartford and Bridgeport were off.

Standings: Hershey (.661 percentage points) — Penguins (.629) — Providence (.588) — Portland (.580) — Bridgeport (.569) — Hartford (.526) — Lehigh Valley (.492) — Springfield (.430)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers defeated the Reading Royals by a score of 3-2. Clark Seymour had a pair of goals in that game.

Here are video highlights put out by Hershey:

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Here is the Coal Street infographic.

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Gameday setup for the rematch against the Bears will hit the blog Sunday at 12.

Let’s Go Pens!