Chirps from Center Ice

The Penguins wrapped up their preseason slate in Hershey with an afternoon game with the Bears and won 3-2. Wilkes-Barre goes 3-0 on the preseason and now set their sights on setting a lineup, maybe naming a captain, and the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Here were a look at the lines:

Ryan Horvat / Cam Brown / Kevin Lynch
Renars Krastenbergs / Nick Saracino / Yushi Hirano
Troy Josephs / Cedric Lacroix / Patrick McGrath
Tyler Bird / Tobias Lindberg /

Matt Abt / Jeff Taylor
Kevin Spinozzi / Dane Birks
Johnny Austin / Tim Erixon
Dan Fick was the seventh defenseman.

Anthony Peters got the start, Johnny Muse backed him up. Penguins went 7 defensemen and 11 forwards.

In the first, Nick Saracino scored a power play goal to give the Pens a 1-0 lead. Logan Pyatt tried a clear, it ricocheted off of Bears starting goalie Ilya Samsonov’s skate and Saracino pounced on it and scored.

Later, a name that you are going to get familiar with and grow to hate if you are an opponent of the Bears.

That’s Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and that was a hell of a shot.

Penguins almost scored after the face-off that followed, but Tobias Lindberg wasn’t able to push it though.

In the second, the Pens had to kill off a carryover 5-on-3 power play and did so successfully. Later, Shane Gersich hacked and whacked at a loose puck in the crease to give the Bears a lead.

Off the face-off, the Penguins scored on a goal by Troy Josephs set up by nice pass by Tobias Lindberg.

In the third, Pens played bend but not break with penalties against, withstood the storm and got a goal with 7:31 to play from Renars Krastenbergs. Penguins maintained offensive zone time ad Krastenbergs was there to put the puck in and give the Penguins a lead.

Wilkes-Barre’s penalty kill went 8-for-8 and they scored a power play goal. Not a bad way to end the preseason, 3-0, and leading or tied for all but about a minute for all three games.

Highlights…..

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But it all starts for real beginning Saturday at home against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Coaching staff will have some decisions to make Monday with who to send to Wheeling and who to cut. I’ll have stuff on Twitter once the announcements are made.

Schedule for this week going up on the blog is as follows:

Monday: Pacific Division Preview.
Tuesday: Central Division Preview.
Wednesday: North Division Preview.
Thursday: Atlantic Division Preview.

The previews will hit each day at noon. There is a drop down menu at the top of the blog to navigate from anywhere on the blog to get there once they debut.

I’ll drop in other news and notes as they come in. Gameday setup for Springfield will hit the blog Saturday at 3. Power Rankings will be back also, but on a new day. That day will be Thursday. I haven’t settled on a time just yet. I’ll let you know sometime next week.

Should be another fun year. Let’s Go Pens!