Chirps from Center Ice

          vs.          

3                               2

–

It was a tale of two halves for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins Friday. After racing out to a 2-0 lead, the visiting Charlotte Checkers gnaw away at the deficit and use a very big third period to tie the game then win it in overtime and skate away with a 3-2 overtime win.

Earlier in the day the Penguins made some trades. Bennett MacArthur, an NHL contracted forward playing in ECHL Wheeling was traded to Buffalo for Colton Poolman and in a separate transaction Jagger Joshua was traded to the Sabres AHL affiliate the Rochester Americans for Future Considerations.

They must know something we don’t on the defensive front as Poolman is a defender. Small sample size, just a handful of games for him so it looks like a change of scenery for both players.

Here’s how they lined up…

–

Lineup Notes: Sam Poulin returned from injury. Boko Imama slotted in also for the departed Joshua and the ill Tristan Broz. Broz’s absence was huge for the Penguins. Nate Clurman and Mac Hollowell were in for Justin Lee and Filip Kral.

First Period: Ville Koivunen scored with seconds remaining in the period off of a deflection and the Penguins took a 1-0 lead into intermission.

–

Second Period: Nate Clurman scored his second goal of the season off a nice feed from Avery Hayes and the Penguins were off and running.

–

Or so it would seem. Here’s where Charlotte went to work on the comeback.

Will Lockwood roofs a shot over a prone on the ice Joel Blomqvist to put the Checkers on the board about halfway through the period and it was a 2-1 game all of a sudden.

–

Third Period: Penguins held to just five shots. They took two penalties and on the latter one, with under five minutes to play, Ben Steeves scored on a tip of a setup from John Leonard and it was a tie game.

–

If you were at the game or listened, you didn’t need me to tell you that all of the momentum resided on the Checkers side. I know I knocked those, “happy for a point” people last week, but somehow the flaming wreckage of a third period made it to…

Overtime: Penguins had a great opportunity to end the game but then John Leonard works a two on one with Trevor Carrick and well…

–

Three Stars: 3) Nate Clurman (goal) 2) Ben Steeves (goal) 1) John Leonard (game winning overtime goal, assist)

The Good: I guess you can be happy with the point, because the second half of the game was not good at all. They were stuck in the mud and exposed, scored on three times and were lucky to get a point that they probably didn’t deserve if you watched that third period.

The Bad: The problem is that the division is ultra competitive. You need to be a really good team to be in the lead. The Penguins aren’t really good and the second half of the game proved why.

Turning Point: Since it was the second half that cost the Penguins the two points it’s the goal by Will Lockwood at 10:03 of the second, or three seconds into the second half of the game, that gets it here. Everything was downhill for the team in white Friday after that.

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley beats Utica 4-2 and Rochester beats Springfield 5-2.

Standings: Charlotte and Hershey 41 – Providence and the Penguins 37 – Lehigh Valley 33 – Hartford 31 – Springfield 29 – Bridgeport 18

Wheeling Update: Sam Houde returns from injury, passes out three assists, Sergei Musharov wins his 13th for the Nailers who beat the Norfolk Admirals down at The Scope 5-4.

Video Highlights: 

–

Back at it Saturday at 6:05 against Hartford.

Let’s Go Pens!