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!