Chirps from Center Ice

vs.

7                                    5

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You score five goals, you are supposed to win the hockey game.

You score five goals against the best team in the AHL, you are supposed to win the hockey game.

You score five goals against the defending Calder Cup Champions, you are supposed to win the hockey game.

They did not win the hockey game.

Wilkes-Barre loses a fire fight with the defending champion Bears 7-5 Wednesday night. It was a combination of a lot of things, in my opinion.

First, a hot start. Two goals by a returning from injury Sam Houde in the games first five minutes and they are off and running. Sure, Hershey scores one back but they get the two goal lead right back less than a minute later and they look like they are on cruise control and world beaters.

Second, Hershey storms out of the gate in the second period to the tune of four unanswered goals and stun the Penguins and their fans and lead 5-3 after two periods.

Third, they replace goaltenders and Magnus Hellberg relieves starting goaltender Joel Blomqvist to start the third period and lets a puck bleed through him and then later the Bears hit an empty net, while the Penguins cut the deficit to one each time in the period.

Go back to the first. They get out to a hot start but Bears head coach Todd Nelson has a masterclass in coaching and gets his team to respond for four goals and completely change course on the hockey game. J.D. Forrest? Are we trying to protect the lead or play to extend it or are we fine with winning the games first twenty minutes? Hockey is a sixty minute affair, last I checked. Forrest was outclassed this game by his counterpart.

In the second, the Penguins, showed their ugly side and didn’t have a response at all for what was happening run front of them on the ice. You can criticize coaching all you want till you are blue in the face, you still have to go out and execute. They didn’t and let the Bears score four unanswered on them.

Ty Smith leads the team in points, had two assists Wednesday but was a -2. Going down the list, the only active player who has a positive in the +/- category is Xavier Ouellet at +1, but he was -3 Wednesday.

Consistent inconsistency. Score a lot of points. Get scored on a lot, too.

Say what you want about +/- against your fancy stats. No one understands your fancy stats. If they did, they would matter more and be featured where +/- is. They aren’t, so grab your soy latte and take a hike.

A total lack of execution top to bottom in the second period by the Penguins and the defending champion and best team in the AHL took advantage. It’s what great teams and championship caliber teams do. But if you have a two goal lead you have a head start. If you are prepared the way you are supposed to be, you should be in the advantage.

So the third and final point in the game was the coach made a change in goal and it seemed to help. Hellberg shut down the Bears when he needed to. But there was one goal that he would have liked to have back and he absolutely has to make a save on. Ivan Miroshnichenko throws a puck at the Penguins goaltender that bleeds through and trickles in to re-establish Hershey’s two goal lead. If he makes that save maybe, just maybe, it’s a different outcome and a complete reversal of fortunes for them in this one.

Gotta make that save. Gotta have a better response against the defending champions when you have your boot on their neck. You let off. You had them where you wanted them, let go and walked away. Meanwhile they come up from behind you and hit you over the head with a crowbar.

Consistently inconsistent.

I’m not going to hit you with all 12 goals because it’s a work / school night and I am not a madman. If you want them bad enough, they should be in the AHL’s VideoCenter.

Pens / Bears was the only game in town division wise, so you aren’t missing anything on that front.

Wilkes-Barre stays in fifth, on 20 points, with an all of a sudden really important home and home series inbound against the Springfield Thunderbirds, on 21 points.

A parting note on Hershey, who the Pens won’t see again until after Christmas…

12-time fixing to make it 13-time, and there’s not a damn thing you or anyone else can do about it.

More Friday. Talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!