Chirps from Center Ice

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I owe Tyler a soda for this blog headline.

Check the timestamp on that one. If Tyler doesn’t make it in the newspaper business, he would make a hell of a soothsayer.

Don’t really know what to make of this one, a 3-0 Penguins shutout loss to the hands of the Rockford IceHogs and goaltender Colin Delia, a 34 save shutout. Rockford has speed, but you can match that if you are good enough. Wilkes-Barre got jumped early in the first when Teddy Blueger took a shot that knocked the wind out of him and again win the third, just ten seconds in when the IceHogs doubled what was going to end up being an insurmountable lead.

Scoreboard around the AHL’s Atlantic Division is of no help tonight as well, but we can get to that in a minute.

Etienne Marcoux opposed the aforementioned Colin Delia.

Lines were…

Adam Johnson – J-S Dea – Christian Thomas
Garrett Wilson – Gage Quinney – Tom Kostopoulos
Tom Sestito – Josh Jooris – Joseph Cramarossa
Thomas Di Pauli – Teddy Blueger – Daniel Sprong

Chris Summers – Ethan Prow
Kevin Schulze – Kevin Czuczman
Jeff Taylor – Jarred Tinordi

Etienne Marcoux – Anthony Peters

Lineup Notes: Only change was Marcoux for Peters, so out goes my theory that Micheal Leighton is anywhere close to returning to the lineup this weekend.

First Period: Anthony Louis redirected a pass of the wall about midway through to give the IceHogs a 1-0 lead…\

Pens had a double minor power play to play with that was snuffed out when Garrett Wilson took a penalty on the back end of the double minor.

Second Period: Colin Delia was dialed in and the story of the game through two periods was his play and Wilkes-Barre’s inability to score on Rockford’s league worst penalty kill.

Third Period: 10 seconds in, and Andreas Martinsen just powers through Kevin Czuczman and flips a one hand shot at Marcoux that finds its way in.

J-S Dea tried to spark his side with a fight with 6’9 behemoth Viktor Svedberg…

…but the Penguins couldn’t find anything that clicked, taking penalty after penalty. Garrett Wilson, Tom Sestito took three minors, Joseph Cramarossa took two. There were twelve total penalties assessed tonight by referees Shaun Davis and Jesse Gour. Six a side.

With Marcoux pulled for an extra attacker for Wilkes-Barre, Martinsen found the empty net for a 3-0 Rockford lead.

Three Stars: 3) Anthony Louis (goal, +1) 2) Andreas Martinsen (two goals, +2) 1) Colin Delia (34 save shutout)

Around the Division: Like I said at the top, a bad night for the Penguins on the scoreboard and elsewhere. Providence beats Hartford 6-2…Bridgeport beats Belleville 4-2…Hershey shuts out Utica 3-0…Lehigh Valley shuts out Binghamton 4-0…Charlotte clips Springfield 3-2 in overtime.

Standings: Lehigh Valley (.686 percentage points) — Penguins (.645) — Providence (.640) — Charlotte (.568) — Bridgeport (.552) — Hartford (.500) — Springfield (.483) — Hershey (.475)

Wheeling Update: Nailers lost in Worcester again tonight, but this time in a shootout, 3-2. Freddie Tiffels had a goal.

Video Highlights: 

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Pens will bus up to Milwaukee for a 6 pm Wilkes-Barre start Sunday. Gameday setup hits the blog here Sunday at 2.

Let’s Go Pens!