Chirps from Center Ice
A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins
GAMEDAY: @ Lehigh Valley 4/7
@ 
–
–
Away Game: 35
AHL Game: 1043
Who: Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Where: PPL Center
When: 7:05 p.m.
Last Game: Sunday at home against Utica, the Penguins lost their first shootout of the year 3-2. Oskar Sundqvist’s power play goal with under a minute left in regulation ensured that the Penguins got at least the point necessary to force overtime. For Lehigh Valley, the Phantoms hosted the Hershey Bears on Wednesday and lost 3-2 in overtime. Taylor Leier and Colin McDonald scored for the Phantoms in the loss.
Last Meeting: April 1 in Wilkes-Barre, the Penguins shutout Lehigh Valley 3-0. It was the first regulation professional shutout for Casey DeSmith, who stopped all 26 shots sent his way.
Record: For WBS: 47-19-3-1 (98 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division) — For LV: 44-22-5-0 (93 pts., 2nd place Atlantic Division)
Why you should care: It’s a logjam from second place on back in the Atlantic Division between four teams. It’s an extremely important weekend for the Phantoms who are being chased by the Bruins, Sound Tigers and Bears. Lehigh Valley needs a win here to keep the heat on the Penguins for the first spot in the Atlantic and to further cement their own playoff status as the Penguins were the only Eastern Conference team who was guaranteed a berth in the playoffs.
Referee(s): David Banfield / Stephen Thomson
Linesmen: Tim Lyons / Bill Lyons
Twitter: @WBSPenguins and @WBSGameDay / @LVPhantoms
Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins / /LehighValleyPhantoms
Instagram: wbspenguins / lehighvalleyphantoms
Beat Writers: @CVSethLakso and @TomVenesky / @SteveGrossMCall
Broadcasters: WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS and @_NickHart / For Lehigh Valley: Bob Rotruck @BobRotruck
Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep / @KRAM209
Radio: For WBS: WILK Newsradio / For Lehigh Valley: Fox 1470
Television: AHL Live
Other Game to Watch: Bridgeport visits Providence in a battle of the number three and four teams in the Atlantic Division.
Next Five Games: @ HFD 4/8, @ PRO 4/9, LV 4/12, HER 4/14, BRI 4/15
I remember Dave Gove. He was one of the more popular players and deservedly so. Saddened to learn of his untimely passing.