Chirps from Center Ice

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The weird thing about an away game in the morning is that you never know what you are going to get.

But the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins played a structured game and go into Toronto and win 6-1 on Wednesday early afternoon. The game was hairy at times, but a strong third period by the Penguins is enough to get them a clean two points against an out of division rival and will keep them ahead of Hartford in fourth place who still have five games in hand on the Penguins and will inch them closer to second place Providence. Nothing more you really could ask for in a road game,

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Raivis Ansons was back up from Wheeling and replaced Matt Filipe up front. Filipe was added to the injury report and is considered week to week. No status changes on the other players. Jack St. Ivany returned from injury and replaced Taylor Fedun.

First Period: Breezy start, few whistles. Penguins carried offensive play and finally got a goal with a nice give and go between Jonathan Gruden and Joona Koppanen. It was on one of those, “oh no, what are you doing why don’t you shoot the — oh! I see what you are doing! Yess they scored!!” moments….

Pretty quick period by standards. No penalties, few offsides.

Second Period: Not the best start for the Penguins as an innocuous shot is blocked but then put gun by Dylan Gambrell to tie the game at one just 65 seconds into the period:

Penguins had a five on three man advantage for over 90 seconds but a giveaway leads to a breakaway for the aforementioned Dylan Gambrell and Joel Blomqvist comes out of his crease near the far face-off dot for a poke check. The Pens managed just one or two shots on goal up two men and didn’t score.

Here’s that Blomqvist sequence…

Wilkes-Barre reestablishes its lead when Jack St. Ivany steps into a shot off of a face-off win that beats Keith Petruzzelli off the glove and in.

Feeling in the game was that the Penguins controlled it in parts and the parts they didn’t was a puff out your cheeks moment on every Marlies chance.

Third Period: I will never complain when the Penguins get scoring from their fourth line.

Corey Andonovski, with friends and family in attendance for the game, scores at 3:37 to make it a two goal Penguins lead.

Penguins continued to pile on when Peter Abbandonato stuck to a puck like white on rice along the boards and shuffled a pass to Jack Rathbone who found Alex Nylander across the ice. Nylander had time and space and scored to make it at three goal lead for the visitors.

Really nifty, team setup on that one.

Then Toronto pulls Petruzzelli in a home run attempt to get some goals and Radim Zohorna scores on the empty net to ice the game away essentially and made it 5-1. But then rubbing salt in the wound, with Petruzzelli re-established firmly in net, Jack St. Ivany rips another for a goal that made it 6-1. Here are each of the goals.

Three Stars: 3) Corey Andonovski (goal) 2) Alex Nylander (goal) 1) Jack St. Ivany (two goals)

The Good: They bottled up Toronto and were the better team at even strength and came away with a very business like two points.

The Bad: Game in the balance, you gotta get a goal on th two man advantage. I heard play by play man Nick Hart say that Petruzzelli had given up something like 20 goals in his last five starts, you have to find a way to put pucks at him to force him to stop it no matter how bad your look is. The power play is slowly starting to be one of the weaker points with this team and the lack of success is going to cost them the further we go into this 25th season.

Turning Point: So many to pick from, but Corey Andonovski’s goal in the opening moments of the third period gave the Penguins the momentum to coast down the hill and into a cool two points and out of Toronto with a blowout win.

Around the Division: Weird that on a Wednesday in the AHL that no other Atlantic Division team was in action.

Standings: Hershey 76 – Providence 63 – Penguins 57 – Hartford 53 – Charlotte 50 – Springfield 49 – Lehigh Valley 47 – Bridgeport 32

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

They are back Friday in Rochester. More then.

Let’s Go Pens!