Chirps from Center Ice

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Said at the beginning of the week that if they took 5 or 6 points that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins will have officially turned the corner.

As obvious as it has been for about a month or so now, the have officially turned the corner.

This game, a 2-1 overtime loss at the hands of the Providence Bruins, wasn’t so much about the result as much as it was about the way that they game was played.

They were competitive. They showed resolve. They didn’t cave.

Blitzkrieged by an 11-3 shot total in the first and a 10-5 shot total in the third, the Penguins gritted out a point against Providence who was the better team on the ice slightly. It’s a game that I think a month and a half ago they lose 6-1 or 7-3 or some crazy score like that.

Alex D’Orio opposed Jeremy Swayman. There were no lineup changes for the Penguins from last night but for who started in goal. Tommy Nappier from THEE Ohio State University backed up.

First Period: 11-3 shot disadvantage for the Penguins who also were on the penalty kill twice. No scoring. D’Orio performed well in the period.

Second Period: Roles reversed, the Penguins outshot the Bruins 15-5 in the period, had two power plays and scored at the expiration of one of them when Jonathan Gruden scored the only goal for the Penguins.

Third Period: P-Bruins opened with fire, got an early power play and Zach Senyshyn scored to tie the game at one early in the period.

(no GIF of the goal here, Providence does the bare minimum on social media)

Lots of back and forth. Take away the running total of shots and the teams looked to be dead even.

Overtime: Pens had a few good looks, then Providence, then the Pens for a minute but never could get set up. .It would be a Swayman save that set up Jesper Froden’s goal that thankfully the AHL tweeted in a video here:

They were scrambled eggs in their own end and the Bruins were laser focused. Ballgame.

The Good: You want a competitive game. If you expect them to win every game you are a maniac. They have been competitive. That’s all you can ask for. Carry this into Rochester next Wednesday.

The Bad: Providence comes to Wilkes-Barre on the skids and in front of the Penguins in the standings, seems like a golden opportunity to get all two points, clean, but it didn’t pan out.

Turning Point: Froden’s goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Hershey wins in Cleveland 4-1…Hartford gets four goals in the second to cruise to a 6-4 win against Lehigh Valley….Syracuse beats Charlotte 3-1 and Utica thumps Springfield 5-1.

Standings: Hartford .625 percentage points — Hershey .619 — Springfield .595 — Providence .583 — Charlotte .561 — Penguins .513 — Lehigh Valley .487 — Bridgeport .465

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose big to the Iowa Heartlanders 4-1.

Video Highlights:

Power Rankings Tuesday, Weekend Preview for Rochester (Wednesday) Belleville (Friday) and Lehigh Valley (Saturday) up on Wednesday morning as well.

Let’s Go Pens!