Chirps from Center Ice

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Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins captain Taylor Fedun, playing in his 400th game, sealed the win for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins Sunday afternoon. The Penguins started the third period up 2-0, only to see that lead evaporate and they all of a sudden were trailing. After a Valtteri Puustinen power play goal which tied it late for the Penguins, it was the captain, Fedun, who scored to give the Penguins 7 out of a possible 8 points this week to widen the gap to 7th place Lehigh Valley. Pens win 4-3 in overtime.

The Penguins are, by my estimation, not a team that many want to play right now. That’s a good thing, just have to maintain that playoff seeding.

Alex D’Orio opposed Hugo Alnefelt.

Here’s how they lined up:

No lineup changes from last night.

First Period: Radim Zohorna rebound goal and the Pens were off to the races early.

Pens killed the only penalty of the period, an early trip called against the aforementioned Zohorna.

Second Period: Drew O’Connor tap in for a goal and the Penguins doubled their lead.

Pretty quiet period, which I don’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Third Period: The Crunch blitzkrieged. Gage Goncalves just :49 in, and the Crunch were on the board:

Then, about five minutes later….

Put in by Gabriel Fortier.

Then, a seemingly harmless shot by Remi Elie beats D’Orio and the Crunch, down 2-0 to start the period, led with under eight minutes to play.

So the Pens were down one. They headed to a power play late. They pulled D’Orio for the extra attacker and a two man advantage.

Valtteri Puustinen, on the spot.

(no GIF here, it’s in the highlights below)

Overtime: Drew O’Connor with a costly turnover which led to a Grade A Crunch chance, but D’Orio stopped it. Rush the other way, and…

Ballgame.

Three Stars: 3) Drew O’Connor (goal, two assists) 2) Radim Zohorna (goal, assist) 1) Taylor Fedun (game winning overtime goal)

The Good: Nice way to pick themselves off the mat after getting stunned with three goals in the third period.

The Bad: Great teams, the ones that win Calder Cups, find ways to go up three in the third like Syracuse did and stay there. Pens have a lot of holes yet, but 7 of 8 points are nothing to sneeze at.

Turning Point: The Puustinen goal that got us there, but the Fedun goal that won it.

Around the Division: Utica beats Hershey 3-1. Bridgeport beats Charlotte 5-3. Providence triples up Hartford 6-3.

Standings: Pens solidly in sixth with .520. Charlotte in with at .550. Idle Lehigh Valley with .479.

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

Power Rankings likely Tuesday. Weekend Setup Friday.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Bolstered by a hat trick from Filip Hallander, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins survived a scare from a pesky Bridgeport Islanders team on Saturday night and win 5-3.

Without Hallander’s offense output tonight, I’m not so sure that the Penguins win the game tonight.

Drew O’Connor and Anthony Angello added goals for the Penguins. Tommy Nappier stopped 28 of 31 saves.

So far, 5 of 6 points for the Penguins, one off what I said I would be comfortable with back on Monday when I set up the week with the Weekend Preview. Syracuse in Sunday afternoon, but let’s recap Saturday’s game below:

Tommy Nappier opposed Jakub Skarek. Here’s how the Penguins lined up:

Bridgeport didn’t post lines.

Lineup Notes: P.O. Joseph and Mark Freidman were recalled Thursday. Friedman’s conditioning stint lasted two games. Joseph went up because Mike Matheson is week to week. Joseph didn’t play Saturday afternoon against the New York Rangers but may get a look Sunday afternoon. Alex Nylander missed the game with a non-COVID illness. Felix Robert took his place. Will Reilly and Cam Lee were back in on defense for Wilkes-Barre.

First Period: Pens came out blazing, jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Drew O’Connor took a feed from a pinching Mitch Reinke for a 1-0 lead, then Filip Hallander took a rebound off of Skarek and flipped one past him on the backhand for a 2-0 lead then the Penguins scored on the power play when Anthony Angello scored on a hell of shot high slot to make it 3-0. Here’s all three goals as they were scored.

But then Bridgeport started to muck it up, slow the game down, and it started to work for them.

Parker Wotherspoon pulled one back for the Islanders.

I didn’t particularly like the way the period ended for the Penguins. I realize that if you are being aggressed upon by an opponent you need to defend yourself, but everyone knows what the Islanders are trying to do here, just skate away because you are the one with a 3-0 lead.

Second Period: Things settled down and the Penguins extended their lead to three again with Hallander’s second goal of the night, giving the Penguins a 4-1 lead.

But six seconds into an Islander power play, a shot by Andy Andreoff goes in to cut Bridgeport’s deficit to two again.

The Islanders tenacity is something to behold.

Third Period: That tenacity was on full display in the opening sequences of the period as Bridgeport draws one back when Arnaud Durandeau scored to cut the Penguins lead to one.

Hardly ideal.

Late, the Islanders hit the post with two shots from two different shooters all within about five seconds of one another. Paul LaDue from one angle, then Robin Salo immediately after.

But Filip Hallander had seen enough and scored his hat trick to salt the game away.

Three Stars: Andy Andreoff (goal) 2) Juuso Riikola (two assists) 1) Filip Hallander (three goals)

The Good: Thank goodness for Hallander, right? Puustinen, O’Connor, Riikola and Joseph sometimes carry the mail for the Pens, but Hallander stepped up in a big way here and you want to see that momentum keep going.

The Bad: I don’t want to say that there was a lack of discipline, but I didn’t like the way that played overall in front of Nappier. Hallander’s three takes a lot of the stink out of the room, but the fast and loose type of play doesn’t work for a team that lacks a pure goal scorer. You almost have to play regimented and they lacked that tonight but were lucky enough to get out with two clean points.

Turning Point: Hallander’s third goal gets it here. Game was full of them too.

Around the Division: Cleveland beats Lehigh Valley 2-1…Hartford thumps Providence 5-2…Springfield doubles up Charlotte 4-2. Hershey was off.

Standings: Pens with a gap now to seventh Lehigh Valley. They have .510 percentage points in sixth and the Phantoms have .479. Charlotte, in fifth, is still a ways a way with a .561 percentage. Springfield has a healthy lead at the top of the division over Hartford, .630 to .609.

Wheeling Update: Nailers blast the Kalamazoo Wings 8-2. Patrick Watling two goals, three assists. Sam Houde had a goal and two helpers. Only three Nailers skaters didn’t register a point.

Video Highlights: Pens will have them. You are probably on your own for those. I’m not likely to get an edit in.

More Sunday after the matinee with the Crunch.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Penguins raced out to a 2-0 lead and then, well that was it.

Lehigh Valley ran right back into the contest and it took them almost all 40 minutes to get there, after going down 2-0 to the Penguins after the first.

They call a two goal lead the worst lead in hockey and you say it on full display tonight. The Penguins were a great first period team, then a not so great second and third period team. Lehigh Valley wins 3-2 in a shootout.

Alex D’Orio deserved a better fate, especially with some of the saves he was making for his team.

He opposed Kirill Ustimenko.

Here’s how they lined up. No lineup changes but for a shuffle here and there for the Penguins.

First Period: P. O. Joseph with a shot that may or may not have been tipped by Jonathan Gruden for a 1-0 Penguins lead.

Pens would go up 2-0 on a nice feed from the aforementioned Joseph setting up Filip Hallander for a power play goal.

Second Period: The period opens with Alex D’Orio with the save of the season, stopping a shot by Garrett Wilson. Here it is in all its wonderful glory:

So the Penguins were up 2-0, their goalie was dialed in, and the team was rolling in the second period and beyond.

[Jazz music stops]

I don’t want to say that the goaltender making the save for your team is the turning point of a game, but in this instance I think it may have. Reason being is I couldn’t remember a single positive thing the Penguins did after the D’Orio save.

Lehigh Valley would connect when Adam Clendening found Max Sushko for a wide open shot for a goal that would put the Phantoms on the board.

(Lehigh Valley didn’t GIF the goal nor tweet the game at all)

Third Period: Remember in the Weekend Preview setup I mentioned that the Penguins don’t want to get jobbed out of a point for a silly puck over glass delay of game call? Well, it wasn’t that in the third period but three consecutive soft, and I mean soft, calls which would give the Phantoms a power play. Lehigh Valley finally connects :06 into their third consecutive power plays when Hayden Hodgson scores to make it a 2-2 tie.

Anthony Angello board, Taylor Fedun slash and an Anthony Angello trip were the penalties assessed in that sequence by referees Alex Ross and Jack Young.

Overtime: Nothing of substance, I thought the Pens overthought the sequence.

Shootout: Adam Clendening scores in the bottom of the first and Kirill Ustimenko turns away Alex Nylander, Valtteri Puustinen and Drew O’Connor in that order for the win.

The Good: I liked the start. Didn’t like the finish.

The Bad: Two third period penalties taken by a veteran on the team in Angello isn’t good by any means, no matter how ticky-tack the calls may have  been from Ross and Young.

Turning Point: Hate to say it, but the subtle but flashy at the time save D’Orio made on Garrett Wilson just made the Phantoms mad, and they pressed and pressed form there until they got what they wanted.

Around the Division: Bridgeport loses in Springfield 5-3.

Standings: Pens remain at .500 in sixth. Hershey above at the five with .571, so a decent cushion. Lehigh Valley in seventh with .489 and Bridgeport in last at .459.

Wheeling Update: Nailers get pumped by the Reading Royals 4-1. Patrick Watling the lone Nailers goal scorer.

Video Highlights: If they go up and I can work the edit in, I will.

Off day Friday, Bridgeport Saturday. More then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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First Penguins win in Hershey since December 28, 2019.

It’s been a while, yes, but I wasn’t going to use the obvious “Miracle” headline on the anniversary of the US beating the USSR in Lake Placid 42 years ago.

I mean I should have, but Kyle Olson’s pair of goals stated otherwise.

I don’t want to call it a statement win because of what the Penguins didn’t do in Charlotte last week and what Hershey did last weekend (they lost two in Providence) but it’s good to finally win in Hershey after two plus years.

Penguins win 3-1. Tommy Nappier stole the show and deserved his first career shutout, but a busted stick on a shot by Alex Alexeyev thwarted that wish.

Nappier opposed Hunter Shepard, who by his own right played a good game and has thwarted Wilkes-Barre before in the past.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Forwards Radim Zohorna and Drew O’Connor and defenseman Mark Friedman were all in. Forwards Felix Robert (listed as injured, he’s banged up), Kasper Bjorkqvist and defenseman Will Reilly all came out.

First Period: Bears blocked a ton of shots. Pens had a 4:00 power play they did bupkis with early on. Bears had a power play too and didn’t score on theirs either. Seemed like a feeling out period between two teams that are very familiar with one another.

Second Period: Kyle Olson bangs home his first of the night when he swept in an initial shot from Jordy Bellerive from the point past Shepard to put the Penguins on the board first.

Third Period: Penguins held on to the lead. Tommy Nappier was dialed into 10 with some really nice saves. The Penguins finally caught up to the Bears in the shot board. Both teams traded power plays with crucial chances to extend the lead if you are the Penguins or tie the game if you were the Bears. No dice.

Finally, with time dwindling, Bears head coach Scott Allen calls his time out and pulls Shepard. Well, Kyle Olson takes a puck to center and flips a back hand shot into the empty net for a 2-0 Pens lead.

But then Alex Alexeyev snaps his stick on a world be shot which turned into a pass to Brian Pinho who put one past Nappier breaking up the shutout bid with about a minute left to make it 2-1.

Allen pulled Shepard again and this time it was Jonathan Gruden who scored into an empty net at center ice that iced the game away for the Penguins.

Three Stars: Hunter Shepard (22 saves) 2) Tommy Nappier (26 saves) 1) Kyle Olson (two goals)

The Good: Great to see the Penguins finally get a win in Hershey for the first time in over two years.

The Bad: Would love to see Nappier get the shutout but it was not to be.

Turning Point: Seemed innocent at the time, but the Olson goal in the second really put the pressure on a Hershey side which has hit a cold snap. The Penguins rode as dialed in Nappier and the rest of the clock to victory.

Around the Division: They all watched us.

Standings: Pens are back to .500, still in sixth place. Charlotte is in fifth with .585 percentage points, Hershey .571, the Pens then Lehigh Valley at .478.

Wheeling Update: Nailers win in overtime on a Patrick Watling goal. Wheeling wins 4-3.

Video Highlights: 

Phantoms Wednesday. More then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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It was Military Appreciation Night at the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins game Saturday and they stopped during a break in play to acknowledge members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines.

No love at all for the Space Force.

I don’t know what if anything that had to do with the Penguins beating the Springfield Thunderbirds 3-2 in a shootout Saturday, but that’s another story.

The Penguins raced out to a 2-0 lead in the second period and held the Thunderbirds to just three shots. Then Springfield turned the tables and tied the game back up with a relentless attack in the third period like you saw in Charlotte Tuesday and Wednesday.

Styles make fights, and the Penguins have the number of the division leading Springfield Thunderbirds. It’s something to keep in mind if these two teams ever meet in the playoffs later this season.

Tommy Nappier opposed Joel Hofer. Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: I’m the dummy for not plugging in the MacBook since last Wednesday. Will Reilly for Cam Lee.

First Period: Thunderbirds go on a power play and the Penguins keep them out. No power plays for the Penguins till  the third period.

Second Period: Alex Nylander scores in the first minute of the period.

Mitch Reinke through traffic makes it a double for the Penguins.

Seeing eye shot.

Conceivably, this is the same team that got smoked in Charlotte. Running the division leaders on Saturday at home? Yeah, I don’t know either.

Third Period: Sometimes I get a sense sitting down for a period against a team that is really good like Springfield that the Penguins are up on, that really would have no business being up on that the period will go south in a hurry.

I got that same sense tonight.

Springfield runs the table on the Penguins and ties the game at two.

First, James Neal on a power play.

Then Josh Wesley from a terrible angle beats Nappier for a goal.

Springfield let off there I felt. They could have kept going but the Penguins picked themselves off from the mat and started pushing back.

They had their first power play of the game, overthought things and didn’t score. They got it to the end of regulation tied.

Overtime: Fun, but no scoring.

Shootout: Alex Nylander scores in the top of the second. Tommy Nappier denies Sam Anas, Jim Neal and Hugh McGing in that order for the win.

Three Stars: 3) Mitch Reinke (goal) 2) Tommy Nappier (30 saves) 1) Alex Nylander (goal in regulation and in shootout)

The Good: Pick yourself up off the mat game for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton. Ride that momentum into a place you struggle at in Hershey Tuesday.

The Bad: It wasn’t a matter of if, but a matter of when the Thunderbirds were going to make their push. When they started, they ran downhill till they got what they wanted.

Turning Point: Nappier’s save on James Neal, he of close to 300 NHL goals, in the bottom of the second in the shootout was a big moment, Springfield follows with their hammer Hugh McGing, and if Neal scored there McGing may have after. Big save from Big Time Tommy Nappier from THEE Ohio State University.

Around the Division: Computer is at under 9% – gotta hurry. Not gonna link to each box, here’s the boxes for February 19. Utica beat Lehigh Valley 3-2 in a shootout, Charlotte beat Cleveland 4-2, Hershey beats Bridgeport 4-2, Providence beats Hartford 3-1.

Standings: Pens should get sixth back with .489 percentage points. Lehigh Valley has two games in hand on the Penguins though.

Wheeling Update: Wheeling beats Reading 5-3. Patrick Watling had a goal and two assists.

Video Highlights: My guess is that the Pens will have these up later, and if I can get an edit in I will.

Pens are back at it Tuesday in Hershey. Weekend Preview will be there Tuesday. Maybe I get Power Rankings Monday. Gotta charge the laptop first.

Let’s Go Pens!

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They needed to get something out of this trip.

All they got was frequent flyer miles and slightly warmer weather.

A short end of the stick run and gun affair Tuesday was met with a feckless effort Wednesday and the Charlotte Checkers sweep the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins with a 4-1 win.

What have we learned about the Penguins? There’s a divide in the division. The Penguins are on the wrong side. It’s a team that is going to hover at the cut line (the six seed in the Atlantic) and really won’t be able to push up the standings unless they go on a tear. At present, the team isn’t built like one that can go on a tear. Even if the Penguins swept the Checkers clean this week, they still would be sixth, but closer on percentage points to the Checkers. Now, the divide widens.

Sometimes, it is what it is.

Alex D’Orio opposed Joey Daccord.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Hallander back, replaced Sam Houde; Cam Lee also, replacing Will Reilly.

First Period: Furious rush for the Checkers to start and Zac Dalpe shoots, follows his own rebound and scores for a 1-0 Checkers lead.

Things settled down from there and the Penguins had the only power play of the period but still trailed one after the end of the period.

Second Period: The Penguins were building a crescendo towards tying up the game but Carsen Twarynski scores on a slow developing 2-on-1 that gives the Checkers a 2-0 lead.

Thought at the time was that that goal there was a momentum buster for the Penguins. It’s like you have a tuba you are playing in high school band and you accidentally sit on it on the school bus the way to the performance and ruin everything.

Connor Carrick scores on a power play to make it 3-0. The Penguins were hot about an interference call made by one of the referees far away from the play and then a more blatant call that went unwhistled.

Here’s both goals for you.

Third Period: Something about Charlotte and scoring early goals, Henry Bowlby takes a feed from Cole Schwindt and scores to make it a 4-0 lead.

Pens break up the Daccord shutout bid with this Nathan Lagare goal.

But they wouldn’t get any closer.

Three Stars: 3) Joey Daccord (22 saves) 2) Serron Noel (two assists) 1) Connor Carrick (goal)

The Good: Hard to find something out of this wreckage. They needed at least two points here in this series, and get zero.

The Bad: 1/5 on the power play, slow starts, overall disjointed. The team is what it is, and that’s a .500 at best team which will hover at the cut line for the remainder of the season.

Turning Point: The Twarynski goal that made it 2-0 was a real back breaker.

Around the Division: They all watched us.

Standings: Springfield .622 percentage points – Hartford .619 – Hershey .600 – Providence .579 – Charlotte .578 — Lehigh Valley .488 — Penguins .478 – Bridgeport .467

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: I don’t think anyone wants to watch highlights of this but if I see them I will work the edit in.

Springfield Saturday. Enjoy the Friday night off.

Let’s Go Pens!