Chirps from Center Ice

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2                                                4

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Some numbers for you.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins went 107:31 in between goals by Anthony Angello.

They go 243:07 since the last time a player not named Anthony Angello scored a goal for them of any kind since Thomas DiPauli’s empty net goal December 14 in Cleveland when Jake Lucchini scored a shorthanded goal in the third period.

Anthony Angello scored three goals for the Penguins tonight, the third being on an empty net and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins roll the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4-2 on Friday night.

Stefan Noesen was the straw that stirred the Penguins drink for the firs two months of the season. He’s gone now and someone, anyone, has to pick up the slack.

It’s Anthony Angello, who now after his three goal night, leads the Penguins in goals.

Coming into the season Angello was kind of at a crossroads. I felt he hit a wall last year and was just a body. Well now, he’s become an invaluable piece for a team which has lost a lot of offense due to call-ups or defections.

The other story on the night was the status of Casey DeSmith. He became ill during the game and was replaced by Dustin Tokarski to start the third period. The scuttlebutt was that he was throwing up in the locker room. No, he wasn’t traded, no he’s not injured.

DeSmith opposed Alex Lyon.

Lines were….

Lineup Notes: 

First Period: :31 in and the Phantoms were on the board. Gerry Fitzgerald pounced on a rebound and scored to make it 1-0 Phantoms.

(WBS social only tweeted Angello’s first goal and were out to lunch on his other, non-empty net goal and the Lucchini shorthander, so in the interest of consistency, no GIFs of the goals in tonights recap)

Alex Lyon had a good save on Chase Berger going post to post to deny the Penguins forward. Later, the Penguins thought they scored when Sam Miletic drove to the net and appeared to have scored, but parallax is a funny thing. After a video review, referees Patrick Hanhrahan and Reid Anderson confirmed the initial call on the ice of no goal.

Second Period: Anthony Angello (who else at this point) ended the Penguins goalless drought at 107:31 when he wired a shot over Lyon’s shoulder to tie the game at one.

(I know I said I wasn’t going to do it but I did)

Third Period: To the shock of many, Dustin Tokarski replaced DeSmith in net.

This is when the game really took off for both teams because no one held back anything.

Angello connected on the expiration of a Penguins power play to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Later, P-O Joseph led a shorthanded charge up ice and put a shot on that Jake Lucchini was there for the rebound to get past Lyon to extend the lead to 3-1.

Matt Strome connected for a goal as an expiration of a Phantoms power play had just expired to make it 3-2. The puck deflected off of a skate and in past Tokarski.

Tokarski would get some help from his teammates as Kevin Roy would sweep a puck off of the line to preserve the Penguins one goal lead.

The Phantoms, with time running out and the deficit still to one, pulled Lyon in the hopes of a game tying goal. Tokarski had a great stop with his pads on one attempt and finally the puck was cleared out to Andrew Agozzino who was off on a two on one with Angello. Angello collected the pass from his teammate and scored the hat trick into the empty net.

Three Stars: 3) Andrew Agozzino (three assists) 2) Jake Lucchini (goal) 1) Anthony Angello (three goals)

The Good: Angello is stepping up and scoring big goals when needed. The team overall isn’t playing bad, but the object of the game is to ultimately score, Angello just has been the only one doing it.

The Bad: Casey DeSmith leaving the game with sickness all but rules him out for Saturday in Hershey. The Penguins have Emil Larmi back on the roster and the thought is with the Penguins only having two games this weekend is to split the starts between DeSmith and Tokarski so it was always going to be Tokarski’s game Saturday regardless, but you hate to see a guy lost to sickness.

Turning Point: On a night where we have typed his name a lot, it isn’t Anthony Angello who get the rub here, it’s Jake Lucchini’s shorthanded goal that extended the Penguins lead to two that kind of put the game out of reach for the Phantoms to a point where you knew they weren’t going to be able to come back from it.

Around the Division: Hershey survives a scare in Utica to win their ninth straight, 5-4 in overtime. The Bears were leading 4-2 at one point….Bridgeport, who has been on the upswing, beats Hartford 5-1….Providence edges Springfield 4-3. Charlotte was off.

Standings: Providence 43 — Hartford 41 — Hershey 39 — Penguins 36 — Springfield 34 — Charlotte 31 — Bridgeport 30 — Lehigh Valley 29

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 2-1 out in Toledo, Ohio. Cam Brown had the goal for Wheeling in the loss.

Video Highlights: 

Pens hit the road to Hershey Saturday. Bears have won nine straight and are on fire. Gameday setup hits the blog here Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!