Chirps from Center Ice

         vs.        

4                               3

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Just like their NHL counterparts on Monday, against the same Toronto franchise, a Penguin team had a 3-0 lead heading into the third period and did not win that game.

This time though, the AHL affiliate scraped out a point but lost 4-3 in overtime.

Overtime seemed like a microcosm of how the game went.

Penguins had most of the possession time in the period only to have Toronto end it with a quick rush up ice and a Travis Boyd overtime goal that ended it for the Marlies.

Travis Boyd and overtime are a bad elixir when it comes to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. Game 7. Overtime. Hershey. Anyone remember that?

Anyway Kirk MacDonald saw the writing on the wall 3:31 into the third period where he used his time out.

The Penguins had just been scored on when Borya Valis scored at 1:57 to make it 3-1. There was something that MacDonald didn’t like and he let the team know about it.

The message didn’t get through, because the Penguins mustered just four shots to Toronto’s ten and two of those ten went in.

Logan Shaw breaking in the zone to snipe one over the glove of Filip Larsson to make it 3-2 and then Bo Groulx on a backhander that beat him that tied the game.

Wilkes-Barre somehow managed to get the game to overtime to secure a point, held possession for stretches but it was Travis Boyd’s shot that put the capstone on what really was a great effort by the Marlies, who never said die and came back and won the game.

Also, Marlies Artur Akhtyamov deserved credit too. The first shot of the game he sees at :16 off the stick of Trisan Broz goes in, later in the second period Atley Calvert crashed the net and followed a rebound for a goal and then Boko Imama of all people has a shot deflect off of a Marlie in front that made it 3-0.

Akhtyamov also made this save on Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to preserve the 3-3 deadlock in overtime.

https://twittter.com/TorontoMarlies/status/1986261056256159891

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Here’s the rest of the goals in order of which they were scored.

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They practice Thursday before boarding a bus for Rochester later that day. If I am MacDonald I have some of them start walking now.

Too much standing around and too much cycling of the puck waiting for the perfect shot, especially in overtime. They were world beaters, smothering Toronto 12-5 in shots in the first. The Marlies tried to counterpunch in the second but only went down two more goals. They managed just seven shots (four in the third, three in overtime) after and see a team get one over on them that had no business doing so.

An 8-1, 8-2 record is great and yeah the points count all the same, but you can’t rest on what got you that record for the rest of the season. They are facing adversity now for the first time all season with a lot of guys up and now Avery Hayes hurt, so role guys and tweeners need to step up and step in or get stepped on and shipped out.

For posterity (it’s late and I have work in the morning) here’s how they both lined up:

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Sucks that Marc Johnstone was injured and couldn’t play. Other lineup notes were no Danton Heinen, Ryan Graves or Sergei Murashov (recall) Alex Gallant and Gabe Klassen for Heinen and Avery Hayes, who mentioned earlier was injured (upper, day to day). Owen Pickering back in on defense with Finn Harding also. Harding had a fine game with two assists. No Scooter Brickey, Valtteri Puustinen, Sebastian Aho or Taylor Gauthier due to injury.

They better figure bleep out and quick because Rochester is a hell of a lot better then Toronto is structurally.

Out the door, Wilkes-Barre leads the division by one over Providence. Lehigh Valley beat Bridgeport in the division’s only other action 6-2.

Highlights, because the front office works hard on them and I appreciate them doing so on a work night for them as well, and we will talk Friday.

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Let’s Go Pens!