Chirps from Center Ice

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I don’t think they are a very good team on the road.

A 6-1 pasting Sunday afternoon by the Hershey Bears. They give up the first two shots faced, and it was all really downhill from there.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: It was the WBS debut for Libor Hajek as the Penguins went 11 forwards, 7 defensemen. Avery Hayes drew the short stick.

First Period: Disaster start for the Penguins and Garrett Sparks in general.

Hershey scores twice before Sparks records a save. Ethen Frank scores twice, starting at 1:11 into the contest, and this was the first goal allowed in the first period by the Penguins.

Then the Bears strike on a power play and Frank notches his second.

Couple things here. First, Sparks needs to be better here, especially on the second goal by Frank. There’s time and space and a goaltender as experienced as Sparks has to make that save.

Jack Rathbone continues to really unimpress me, being on the ice for the first of Frank’s goals here. Be better.

Speaking of, just what in the sam hill is this disaster?

A 2-on-0? Really?

The Penguins as a whole, were out to lunch that period and the defending champion Bears punished them rightly for being so unprepared.

Second Period: Penguins have a would be Corey Andonovski power play goal swiped off the board when referees Alex Lepkowski and Patrick Hanrahan adjudge that the puck was deflected in on a high stick. It is not a reviewable call (it should be) but on the few replays I did see, it looked borderline.

Later, Sam Poulin scores a legal power play goal the traditional way with a hack and whack slam dunk.

But Hershey would respond in kind when Joe Snively scores his second goal of the game on a power play goal left unmarked on the far post.

Third Period: Joel Blomqvist came in for relief of Garrett Sparks and it mattered little.

A loose puck put in by Jimmy Huntingdon made it 5-1.

Later, Bogdan Trineyev scores his first AHL goal on the trot.

Seriously, the guy never loses a step and just charges at the net where Nic Aube-Kubel sets him up for a goal that makes it 6-1.

Three Stars: 3) Ethen Frank (two goals) 2) Jimmy Huntingdon (goals, two assists) 1) Joe Snively (two goals, assist)

The Good: Somehow Valtteri Puustinen, Xavier Ouellet and Taylor Fedun ended the day even.

The Bad: Jack Rathbone was a -3. Gotta tighten up there buddy.

Turning Point: The second shot of the game for Hershey gave the Bears all the momentum necessary for what turned into a blowout win for the 12 time league champions.

Around the Division: Springfield beats Providence in overtime 3-2 and sweeps the weekend….Hartford salvages theirs with a 4-1 win in Allentown.

Standings: Hershey extends their lead over the Penguins by four points at the top of the division. Bears have 12 points, Hartford 10, Charlotte, Penguins and Springfield have 8, Lehigh Valley 6, Providence and Bridgeport 5.

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights:

Back at it Wednesday at home against Providence. Weekend Preview will be up Wednesday morning.

Let’s Go Pens!

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In Memoriam: There was news last night that was devastating to learn regarding ex-Penguin Adam Johnson, who tragically passed away during a hockey game overseas. Johnson played the bulk of his AHL time in Wilkes-barre but also had stints in Lehigh Valley and Ontario. The Hershey Bears held a moment of silence for Johnson before the start of the Sunday afternoon game against the Pens.