Chirps from Center Ice

         vs.        

1                               2

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It was MageBoySA on Twitter (or X, whatever you call it) that had the summation of the way the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins navigated past the Hartford Wolf Pack 2-1 on Saturday night.

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Very good observation, considering the Penguins were out shot 12-6 in the first period and 26-16 through two periods.

Shots ended at an even 31 a side.

Coaching? Maybe. Regardless, it’s two points in early November.

Here’s how they lined up.

Hartford didn’t post lines.

Lineup Notes: Vasily Ponomarev was sent back to Wilkes-Barre from Pittsburgh on Thursday and replaced Marc Johnstone. No other changes from Wednesday.

First Period: Went by in a flash, little stoppages, both teams 0/1 on the power play and Corey Andonovski hit a post late.

Second Period: Isaac Belliveau scores his first professional goal just :33 in.

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Good stuff there.

A delayed call on the Wolf Pack saw Ville Koivunen score and beat old pal Louie Domingue to the short side to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead.

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What a pass by Bemström there.

But then, Dylan Roobroeck scored here on a goofy little play.

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I think it was more the lead pass from Blade Jenkins that set the thing up for Roobroeck to tap in. Also, is it fun to spell Roobroek or not?

Third Period: Uneventful for scoring, the Penguins outshot the Wolf Pack 15-5 and to MageBoy’s point in the open, played like they were behind and managed to win.

(they also didn’t score, but that may me overanalyzing)

Three Stars: 3) Tristan Jarry (30 saves) 2) Isaac Belliveau (goal) 1) Ville Koivunen (goal, assist)

The Good: Managed to get two points clean off a good Hartford club who are well structured.

The Bad: Is Jarry ever going to get a shutout?

Turning Point: That third period was something else, more I think of it. They stayed on the Wolf Pack and never let off.

Also, tip of the cap to refs Graedy Hamilton and Mason Riley, who stayed out of the way and let them play. There was a sequence where Domingue covered a puck, there was no whistle and Corey Andonovski took a couple jabs at it. Hartford didn’t like that and knocked Andonovski over. I think it was Hamilton who declined to penalize Hartford for the extracurricular because Andonovski knew what he was doing and knew what was coming. That’s good refereeing.

Around the Division: Laval is 8-1 and navigated past Providence 6-3…Charlotte beats Hershey 4-2…Lehigh Valley beats Springfield 5-2.

Standings: Hershey 13 – Charlotte and the Penguins 12 – Hartford 10 – Lehigh Valley 8 – Springfield, Providence and Bridgeport 6.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers had their home opener Saturday and beat the ECHL’s newest team the Bloomington Bison 2-1. The Bison happen to to be the ECHL affiliate of the Hartford Wolf Pack.. Jaxson Castor had the start and stopped 24. Atley Calvert had a goal.

Video Highlights: 

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Back here Monday for the AHL Power Rankings then Wednesday afternoon setting up a Wednesday home game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Let’s Go Pens!