Chirps from Center Ice

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So like I called it in my Weekend Preview, the Wilkes-Barre  / Scranton Penguins take 3 out of a possible 4 points away from the Hershey Bears with a 2-1 overtime loss Saturday night. The series is dead even at 4 games a side won by each team.

And the Penguins earned this one tonight because the Bears defense was smothering and Clay Stevenson was awesome when he needed to be. Hershey limited the Penguins to just 24 shots.

Hershey may be the best team in the AHL, but they have a  Penguins problem. Wilkes-Barre knows how to play this team.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Colin Swoyer for Ty Smith, who is down with the sickness (not COVID) He, Lukas Svejkovsky and  Filip Hållander are out with the sickness (not COVID) as well.

First Period: Penguins muster just three shots. Hershey had substantially more, and one of them went  in via Mike Sgarbossa.

Second Period: No flow in this period what with the 900 icings. It was the Clay Stevenson Show in the period and there was an announcement with about five minutes left to play that if the Penguins don’t score that the Teddy Bear Toss would happen at second intermission. That kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? The Penguins would need a big goal from someone known for scoring big goals against Hershey, wouldn’t they?

Alex Nylander.

A boffo turnover by Stevenson, one of his rare misses on the night, and the Penguins are tied with the Bears.

They played the remaining 1:12 after they cleaned the bears off the ice (the stuffed ones) and resurfaced it.

End of the Second, Third Period: No further scoring for the second period, goalies switched ends and they went four-on-four then 1:51 of four-on-four i n two different times during the period. No one scored. The Penguins flipped the tables on the Bears and outshot Hershey 10-4 in the period.

Overtime: Looked like they were destined for a shootout when Mike Sgarbossa went end to end and ended it.

Bummer.

Three Stars: 3) Clay Stevenson (23 saves) 2) Filip Lindberg (30 saves) 1) Mike Sgarbossa (two goals)

The Good: Three out of four points from Hershey is good, all things considered.

The Bad: Seems like the effort they put forth wasn’t the best? But that’s underselling a very good Hershey team that isn’t going away any time soon.

Turning Point: The Sgarbossa overtime winner gets it. An overtime game winning goal always gets it.

Around the Division: Providence comes back to beat Lehigh Valley 2-1 in overtime…Rochester blanks Charlotte 4-0…Syracuse beats Bridgeport 4-3…Utica thumps Springfield 7-3. Hartford loses 3-2 out in Rockford, Illinois.

Standings: Hershey 39 – Providence 38 – Bridgeport 33 – Penguins 30 – Charlotte 27 – Lehigh Valley 27 – Springfield 25 – Hartford 123

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 7-4 out in Fort Wayne Indiana. Matt Alfaro and Chris Ortiz with three assists each. Josh Maniscalco with a goal and assist.

Video Highlights: 

More Tuesday North of the Border.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Another, rejected, headline would have been Houde Like a Frasca?

Anyway, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins took down the top team in the AHL Friday night with a 3-1 win at home and yet another masterclass in goal by Dustin Tokarski.

The Pens jump out to a 2-0 lead before the game is nine minutes old and ride their veteran goalie through a choppy third period and makes up some much needed ground on the first place Bears and the teams ahead of them in the Atlantic Division standings.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Jamie Devane is still injured. He was the only one listed out as such. Jordan Frasca makes his AHL debut. Ty Glover returned from injury.

First Period: Deflections were the name of the game. Jonathan Gruden with a deflection of a Xavier Ouellet shot for a 1-0 lead then about four minutes after that Tyller Sikura with a deflection of a Mitch Reinke offering and it’s 2-0.

Here are the goals.

Hershey made a push with about seven minutes left to play in the period and this was foreshadowing for the…

Second Period: No scoring, but the Bears outshot the Penguins 11-3 and had three power plays but the Penguins penalty killing was perfect. Dustin Tokarski was really dialed in.

Third Period: Seconds in, Drake Caggiula hit a post off a breakaway off of the opening face-off.

But then Sam Houde scored this pretty goal that make it 3-0 Penguins.

Second assist to Taylor Fedun, that’s his first point of the season.

Later…

Gabriel Carlsson breaks up the Tokarski shutout bid with a shot which may have deflected off of Mitch Reinke to make it 3-1 with :49 to play but that was as close as the Bears would get in this one.

Three Stars: 3) Jordan Frasca (10 PIM) 2) Sam Houde (goal) 1) Dustin Tokarski (29 saves)

The Good: The penalty kill and the goaltender. The Penguins make have had no business winning the game the way they did without that unit and that goaltender.

The Bad: Three straight penalties when you are getting steamrolled in the second period by a hungry, very good visiting team.

Turning Point: Going to go with all three penalty kills Wilkes-Barre managed to get out of free and clear in the second. One power play goal for and it’s a one goal lead and a totally new ballgame. Thankfully they never got there.

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley goes 3-0 against Providence with a 5-4 overtime win…Utica thumps Bridgeport 5-2…Syracuse beats Springfield 4-2…Hartford beats Grand Rapids 6-4 and Rochester beats Charlotte 4-2. Good out of town scoreboard night.

Standings: Hershey 37 – Providence 36 – Bridgeport 33 – Penguins 29 – Charlotte 27 – Lehigh Valley 26 – Springfield 25 – Hartford 23

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were defeated 6-3 by the Indy Fuel. All three Nailers goals come on the power play.

Video Highlights: 

These teams rematch Saturday at 6:05. More after.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Drew O’Connor must hate Wilkes-Barre.

Two goals and three assists for the Penguins forward and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins obliterate the four goal a game scoring, top power play in the AHL Cleveland Monsters 8-1 Friday night. O’Connor had four points in the second period (2-2) when the Penguins exploded for five goals in the second.

They are getting a lot of goals in bunches and in the second period. They had a bunch in the second period Sunday in Hershey. Hey, you take them.

Filip Lindberg opposed Danill Tarasov

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Interesting that Lindberg got the start. I thought they would go back to Tokarski but I think we have a bit of a goalie battle developing. It’s a good thing.

Filip Hållander was ill. Jordan Frasca was assigned to Wheeling.

First Period: Looked like it was going to be a tight contest. Penguins score with five seconds left when Nathan Legare slams one home to get the Penguins on the board first.

Penguins were playing with fire a bit, giving Cleveland and their top rated power play on the ice a few times in the first but they got out of it clean.

Second Period: The Drew O’Connor Show, plain and simple.

:50 into the period and it’s 2-0.

Cleveland responds less than a minute later when Jack St. Ivanny misplays a puck and Justin Richards, son of ex-Penguins head coach Todd, scores to cut it to 2-1.

Drew O’Connor responds for his second goal off the period on probably one of the prettier goals you will see all season with a roof job goal.

Corey Andonovski scores on a snipe (O’Connor not involved with this one) and it’s starting to turn into a runaway.

Cleveland calls time out. I think that Trent Vogelhuber should have put backup Jet Greaves in here, but he didn’t.

A Valtteri Puustinen interference call cooled off the Pens a bit and this could have been a turning point, but Cleveland didn’t score.

Drake Caggiula finally chases Tarasov with a nice goal through the five hole that makes it 5-1.

Jet Greaves couldn’t stop the onslaught. Alex Nylander gets himself a goal and it’s 6-1 Penguins heading to the third.

Here’s the goals in the period. Cleveland didn’t post theirs.

Watch that again. It’s a hell of a goal.

That was nice too.

Third Period: Two more for the Pens. Jonathan Gruden scores five seconds into a Billy Sweezey trip and it’s 7-1.

Puustinen in a pileup and it’s 8-1 Wilkes-Barre.

Whew, I am wiped.

Three Stars: 3) Alexander Nylander (goal, two assists) 2) Drake Caggiula (goal, two assists) 1) Drew O’Connor (two goals, three assists)

If O’Connor isn’t the number one star in the AHL’s “Three Stars of the Night” Saturday morning, I’m driving to Springfield, Mass. and burning down One Monarch Place.

The Good: Only game of the weekend and the week ahead and they made it count. Good on them. They also scored the allotment of goals you would normally see them score throughout a busy weekend.

The Good 2: Cleveland’s top rated power play was 0/5. The Penguins were 2/5 on the power play.

The Bad: Nitpicking that St. Ivany mistake, otherwise it’s a shutout for Lindberg.

Turning Point: Going back to what I said a few paragraphs up, that kill of that Puustinen interference call was big. If the Monsters score it’s 4-2 and a brand new game. They didn’t and it turned into a blowout.

Around the Division: Hershey beats Bridgeport up in Connecticut 4-2…Milwaukee (yes, the Admirals) shutout the Hartford Wolf Pack 2-0…Lehigh Valley slips past Charlotte 2-1…Grand Rapids (yep, the Griffins!) beat Springfield 2-1 in overtime.

Standings: Hershey 34 — Providence 33 — Bridgeport 30 — Penguins and Checkers 27 — Lehigh Valley 22 — Springfield 21 — Hartford 17

Wheeling Update: Frasca didn’t feature in the 3-2 Nailers loss in Cincinnati. Sean Josling had a goal.

Video Highlights: 

Enjoy the time off, see you back here next Friday for two at home against Hershey.

Let’s Go Pens!

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No, you read the headline and score right. The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins laid seven goals on the Hershey Bears Sunday afternoon, beating the Bears 7-3.

Hershey had a five game win streak coming into the game Sunday, in those seven games the Bears allowed just seven goals by the opposition. After looking lost Saturday against the Bridgeport Islanders, the Penguins come to Hershey and wallop the Bears with a seven spot.

Hockey is a funny game.

It wasn’t all rainbows and roses for the Penguins. They lost Alex Nylander and Sam Poulin to injury.

Filip Lindberg opposed Zach Fucale.

Pens didn’t post any lines. Alex Nylander was back after a “maintenance day” from Saturday. Jack St. Ivany was out for Mitch Reinke on defense.

Hershey lined up this way:

First Period: Two of the best defensive teams in the AHL so of course there was an explosion of goals for both sides.

Hershey gets the scoring started with Sam Anas playing a give and go for a goal to put the Bears on top 1-0.

Filip Hållander nearly scored a goal while killing apenlaty but at the expiration of the penalty he stays on and scores to tie the game at 1.

But, as the theme of the period will reveal itself, the Bears respond to the adversity that the Penguins throw at them.

On a 5-on-3 power play, Hendrix Lapierre scores to make it 2-1.

But then Alex Nylander plays some give and go of his own to tie the game at two.

So at this point you think that they will stay in lockstep with the Bears. But then Mike Vecchione picks off a Penguin player and then goes up top on Lindberg to make it 3-2.

Boffo turnover but a shot that should have been stopped in my opinion.

Shots were 15-6 Penguins. Bears score three goals on six shots. 😬

Second Period: I mean I am going to give you all the goals as they came in this period.

Valtteri Puustinen seconds into a power play and it’s a tie game.

Mitch Reinke pinches for his second point of the contest and scores to make it 4-3 Penguins.

Drew O’Connor on a two-on-one and the Pens started pouring it on and it’s 5-3.

Jonathan Gruden and it’s 6-3. A little stare down with some of the Hershey faithful after the goal.

Tyler Sikura adds the extra point and chases Zach Fucale and it’s 7-3.

Bears signed Justin Kapelmater to a PTO as a backup goaltender as Hunter Shepard was unavailable for the game. He seemed to settle things down for the Bears because the onslaught of Penguins goals stopped.

One note from the period, Sam Poulin was missing with what was probably a knock picked up in the first period as Nick Hart didn’t see him take his regular shift early on in the second period.

Third Period: No scoring. Pens lost Alex Nylander to injury this period and Sam Poulin didn’t return.

Three Stars: 3) Alex Nylander (goal, assist) 2) Mitch Reinke (goal, assist) 1) Drew O’Connor (goal, three assists)

The Good: Not many teams beat Hershey in Hershey and fewer put seven past their goaltender. Credit the Penguins for sticking to the game plan, which was clearly working despite the deficit at the end of the first period, and never giving in and turning the game into a runaway.

The Bad: I didn’t like that Vecchione goal. But the Penguins put seven in Hershey, so it doesn’t really matter in the end.

Turning Point: Mitch Reinke pinching in and getting himself a goal that gave the Penguins the lead for good gets the nod here.

Around the Division: Providence beats Hartford 3-1….Springfield beats Bridgeport 3-1.

Standings: Providence 33 — Hershey and Bridgeport 30 — Charlotte 27 — Penguins 25 — Lehigh Valley 20 — Springfield 20 — Hartford 15

Wheeling Update: Nailers in action at home against Toledo. They started later. Here’s the box.

Video Highlights: 

Also, O’Connor got some recognition from the League with his offensive display Sunday.

Off until a Friday game at home with Cleveland, the Penguins only action of the weekend.

Let’s Go Pens!