Chirps from Center Ice

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They couldn’t get out of second gear tonight and, more importantly failed to score on eight power play tries. Facing off against an opponent they have seen three times prior who has yet to win yet, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins lose 4-0 in Allentown to snap their five game point streak. Felix Sandstrom stops all 25 shots faced.

He opposed Louis Domingue.

Here is how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin are in COVID protocol in Pittsburgh because it’s another week and another round of Pittsburgh and the sloppy shop that they have up there having COVID run rampant there and in the locker room. Sure, there are other teams that have COVID absences, but not to this level. Sloppy shops are sloppy.

Anyway, Matt Alfaro and Michael Chaput (back from his one game absence) were win for Radim Zohorna and Filip Hallander up front. On defense, Mitch Reinke made his WBS debut for P.O. Joseph.

Injury details are as follows:

Devane’s injury is lower body. Angello is listed as day to day, but I wholly reject that assertion. The season is 3 1/2 weeks old and he hasn’t played a game yet. Don’t play me like a fool.

First Period: The Penguins were bad at even strength but didn’t spend lots of time there because they gave the Phantoms four penalties in the period. After Maxim Sushko fired home a one timer to put Lehigh Valley on the board early on, Tyson Foerster connected on a 5-on-3 goal to give the desperate Phantoms a 2-0 lead.

Pens had a shot to get a goal back late on a power play but they — you guessed it, took a penalty and lost whatever momentum they were building to that point.

Second Period: Penguins have four opportunities on a power play as they evened up from the first period and weren’t able to score. I can’t remember anything of substance in the man advantages.

Louis Domingue stopped German Rubtsov on a penalty shot with under two minutes to play in the period. If a comeback was to be had in the third period, that save loomed large.

Third Period: They opened with a power play on fresh ice and didn’t score. Later they had a 4:00 power play and didn’t score either. Whatever they did put up shot wise Sandstrom was stopping anyway.

Hayden Hodgson scored at the 4:27 mark and you got the sense that the game was a little too far out of reach at that point. Proved to be right.

Gerry Mayhew scored on an empty net when the Penguins got a little too aggressive and didn’t do anything with an extra attacker on.

Three Stars: 3) Tyson Foerster (goal) 2) Max Sushko (goal) 1) Felix Sandstrom (25 saves)

The Good: You can’t get anything good out of a performance where you get shutout on the road and your power play goes 0/8.

The Bad: You were shutout on the road and your power play went 0/8.

Turning Point: Boy, there seemed like there were a lot of them. Every time they Penguins didn’t score on a penalty which could have or would have cut it to one when it was 2-0 seemed large, with the way that the Phantoms had previously coughed up big leads prior to Wednesday. Let’s give it to Hayden Hodgson. His goal basically ended any hope of the Pens hope of a winning comeback.

Around the Division: They all watched us. Odd for a Wednesday.

Standings: Pens will lose a few percentage points. I’m not doing math on a work night.

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off as well.

Back at it Friday at home against Providence. What’s this, a new opponent?!?

Let’s Go Pens!