Chirps from Center Ice

Back and marginally better than ever here in Year 14 of this silly little blog. Thanks to all the Day 1ers who have stuck with it since the inception and welcome all new readers. I’m just trying to capture the spirit of the thing.

A word about me and this weekends action. If you are seeing this on Friday afternoon when this posts, I am likely somewhere on I-81 South, thundering my camper to Gettysburg, PA for the last camping trip of the season. I have been everywhere man, from Dover, PA to Cape May, NJ and from Watkins Glen, NY to the Delaware shoreline.

That said, I won’t be in attendance for the first game of the season Saturday night when the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins light the rocket on Year 26 and host the Charlotte Checkers, whom they opened with last year at this time in North Carolina.

Provided I get good Wi-Fi, I’ll watch and recap both Saturday and Sunday’s games. These camping trips are scheduled months in advance and this trip is a rain check from last year. We were originally scheduled to be in Gettysburg last year when it rained and we had to postpone.

Anyway, don’t fret when you look to Section 104 and don’t see me. I will be back next Friday for Game Three against Lehigh Valley…

Music to Set the Mood…

I wanted a “Song of the Summer” vibe here and this, I think, ties in nicely. It was either that or one of my favorite Yacht Rock songs I play out by the pool.

I think it ties in nice, as we all love this team and wish them good luck.

The Setup

A home game against Charlotte and a Sunday road trip to Springfield.

A bit of a Preview, say…

Off the hop I don’t expect Hershey to three peat. Also, don’t get mad when you see me refer to them as the 13ears on social media, as I think it works with the 13 Calder Cups Hershey have amassed and the back to back run our friends to the south are riding.

No, I think it’s Providence’s turn to have a run at the top, and I think they jump out to a hot start and contend all season long. They were the 2 seed late last Spring and I think they are primed to pick up where they left off.

1 – Providence – see above.
2 – Hershey – I still think the Bears contend, don’t get me wrong.
3 – PENGUINS – If either one of the top two ursine named teams slip, yeah, I see an outside chance that Wilkes-Barre can have a few good weeks at the top of the division.
4 – Hartford – I think the Wolf Pack will be sneaky good. Underestimate them at your peril.
5 – Lehigh Valley – I think the Phantoms are primed to be better than people think, but I am not sold on Ian Laperriere as their head coach and have never been.
6 – Springfield – I don’t think the Thunderbirds miss playoffs like they did last year. I expect them to contend.
7 – Bridgeport – Could slightly be better. They finished last last season and the only way is up.
8 – Charlotte – Someone has to finish last. I could see it turning out just OK for the Checkers but could also see them as a non-contending team.

I am normally wrong, very wrong, with these, so please take these with a grain of salt.

Records

This is the first game for the Checkers and Penguins. The Thunderbirds open Saturday with Laval.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

I have dedicated a page that I will (try to) constantly update throughout the year. It’s pinned at the very top of the home page if you are viewing on your computer. If not, it is here. I’ll refer to it throughout the season provided I stay on top of it, which I should, because it would be just moving names around.

Anyway, the lineup is missing Joel Blomqvist who is up in Pittsburgh for the injured Alex Nedeljkovic. Vasily Ponomarev is also injured up in Pittsburgh. Those are the only two players you could see again in Wilkes-Barre this season.

But that’s OK because Filip Larsson and Sergei Musharov are good goaltenders and they are about as strong as they will be at forward and on defense. It’s a good club, one that should contend, but don’t get your hopes too high. It is October, after all.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

New coaching, something about a renewed sense of optimism with the organization running good prospects through the pipeline. But it all can fall apart in an instant. Pittsburgh is old and not expected to contend, but they still have a guy named Crosby on their team and can upset a few apple carts along the way but they are a cold start away from upending it all and blowing it all up for a future in a few years. How does that affect the farm team on Coal Street is anyone’s guess.

I think the Penguins are favored to beat the Checkers and the Thunderbirds this weekend and a 2-0 start is within the margins of error for the Kirk MacDonald Era. Where does it go from there? What if they are down 3-0 against the Checkers at the end of the first on Saturday night?

Who knows. You bought the ticket. Now it’s time to take the ride. Strap in.

Who’s in Goal? 

Toss a coin regarding Larsson and Musharov. Musharov saw a ton of preseason minutes but Larsson played the whole game Sunday against the Phantoms. I think it may be Larsson Saturday and then Musharov Sunday.

For the Checkers, expect Chris Driedger and Colten Ellis for Springfield on Sunday.

Who’s Running the Show?

Veteran ref Jim Curtin and Andrew Bell get the duties on Saturday with J.P. Waleski and Devon Gale on the lines.

Sunday in Springfield sees Beau Halkidis and Mathieu Menniti in the arm bands with Dylan Blujus and Nick Briganti on the lines.

Looking Ahead…

Home and home with Lehigh Valley, who the Penguins didn’t see till January last season. Pens are home next Friday against the Phantoms then are in Allentown for the 7:05 7:15ish start on Saturday.

Give us a bold prediction…

They get a shutout, and score a pair of power play goals in each game and start the season gangbusters.