Chirps from Center Ice

         vs.        

4                             5

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Pretty fast. It’s a work night and the Penguins just beat the Hershey Bears in a five round shootout and won Wednesday night 5-4. This doesn’t pay my bills, so let’s move.

I don’t know who survived who in this game. Advantage Penguins I suppose but Hershey counterpunched at every opportunity, erasing a two goal deficit then coming back to tie it with each Penguins goal thereafter.

A pleasant out of town night on the scoreboard, deficit to Hershey’s lead is now four and the magic number to clinch a spot should be ten. Let’s dive right in.

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Lineup Notes: Joona Koppanen and Scooter Brickey for Matt Nieto and Sebastian Aho, who are recalled. The right call to go with Murashov against the Bears.

First Period: Wilkes-Barre jumps out to a 2-0 lead on a Ville Koivunen tip in front and a Rutger McGraorty power play goal and the Penguins were off to the races.

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I liked the start. Hershey came with jump but the Penguins responded with goals.

Dalton Smith was centered a pass by Matt Strome and the Bears responded for a late goal.

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Second Period: Owen Pickering with a dead giveaway and Hershey ties the game on an Ivan Miroshnichenko goal that ties the game just :57 in.

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They do some hard skating up and down the ice for a bit with each team getting a good chance on the other but it’s Mathias Laferriere snapping one past Stevenson for a 3-2 Penguins lead which was then matched about two and a half minutes later by Chase Priskie through a screen on Murashov.

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Third Period: In keeping with the theme of getting a goal in the first minute of the period, Avery Hayes dekes Stevenson for a goal that puts the Penguins ahead again 4-3.

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Bears bench was hot that the play should have been adjudged offside. St. Ivany’s body was definitely outside the blue line but it’s the puck that matters. Hard to tell there and it’s too late to analyze it frame by frame. Linesmen at this level rarely miss.

Penguins could not extend the lead on a power play. I thought the teams made for an easy night for refs Andrew Bell and Rob Hennessey. I didn’t see anything egregious, with the teams deciding things on their own at even strength.

Penguins sweated through a boneheaded Joona Koppanen post whistle scrum rough penalty but then a Andrew Perrott shot was tipped in by Alex Limoges that again tied the game for Hershey.

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A series of late stops by the man they call Mud (his name is Clay Stevenson) and it was off to…

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…(mud is a hell of a nickname by the way)….

Overtime: Penguins had a power play they brought with them here but couldn’t score on it. No one did and it was off to a….

Shootout: No one scored until Sam Poulin in the top of the fifth….

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And Sergei Murashov stopped Ethan Bear in the bottom of the fifth to win it.

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Three Stars: 3) Rutger McGroarty (goal, assist) 2) Ville Koivunen (goal, assist) 1) Sam Poulin (shootout winning goal)

The Good: They beat the best team in the division, hung in there, counterpunched and came out with a win.

The Bad: At times it seemed like they lacked an extra gear and were slow, especially in sequences where the Bears scored to tie.

Turning Point: In a game that chased it to the end, Poulin’s goal and Murashov’s save on Bear get it here.

Around the Division: Grand Rapids beats Hartford 2-1 in regulation. That, coupled with the Penguins getting two points should drop the magic number to clinch a playoff spot to 10….Bridgeport beats Laval 5-2…..Toronto beats Providence 4-2 and Charlotte wins 4-3 in Rochester.

Standings: Hershey 76 – Penguins 72 – Charlotte and Providence 70 – Springfield 66 – Lehigh Valley 65 – Hartford 55 – Bridgeport 33

Wheeling Update: Nailers played a kids day game against Trois-Rivières earlier in the day and were shutout 2-0.

Video Highlights:

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Onto to Allentown Friday. More then.

Let’s Go To Bed Go Pens!