Chirps from Center Ice

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5                            4

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A back and forth affair on Wednesday morning saw the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins outdo the Bridgeport Islanders 5-4 in a shootout in front of 8,577 people, most of them school aged children.

The kids got their monies worth as it was a see-saw affair that went to the very end.

Here’s how the Penguins lined up. The Islanders didn’t post lines:

Lineup Notes: So as I suspected, Filip Larsson was recalled to Pittsburgh to serve as the third goalie while the team is in Sweden for the weekend. No official recall was made.

As the graphic above indicated, Sebastian Aho made his return from injury. No other changes to the forward lines. Daniel Laatsch sat for Aho.

First Period: Islanders score on the first shot of the game at 1:16 as Cole McWard scored through a moving screen to give Bridgeport an early lead.

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Sam Poulin loves playing against the Islanders as he is their kryptonite. He scored his first of two in the morning with this rebound shot that tied the game for the Penguins.

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But then the Islanders would strike right back as an Adam Beckman shot found its way in when thePenguins failed to clear the zone.

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Wilkes-Barre put on a full court press and got themselves a goal late when Aaron Huglen scored his first AHL goal that tied it at two.

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Second Period: Both teams started on time with four goals but the second period saw no scoring. The most interesting thing that happened was Chase Pietila called for a roughing penalty where he removed his opponents helmet in a pushing and shoving match. Apparently, you can’t do that anymore.

Third Period: Alex Alexeyev had his second chance effort land in the net for a goal :39 into the period to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead.

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I didn’t like Bridgeport’s counterpunching in the game Because they answered right back to tie the game at three with this seemingly harmless shot that went in off the stick of Isiah George.

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Full disclosure, I have never stopped a hockey puck in my life, much less in a competitive game, so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

Sam Poulin would get his second of the contest with just over three minutes left to play in regulation and you thought that this would be enough to win the game…

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Well, you thought wrong.

With Marcus Högberg pulled for an extra attacker, Joey Larson would tip a shot past Pavlenko that would even the game at four a piece with :38 left.

(just trust me here as there is no GIF of the goal)

That meant detention for the kids in attendance the game went to…

Overtime: Solved nothing. Possession by both sides but both goaltenders were up to the challenges faced.

Shootout: Sam Poulin, Aaron Huglen, Valtteri Puustinen and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard scored, but Alex Jeffries in the bottom of the fifth couldn’t and the Pens skated away with the extra point.

Three Stars: 3) Sam Poulin (two goals) 2) Isiah George (goal, assist) 1) Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (shootout game winning goal)

The Good: They started on time and battled a scrappy team at an odd hour of the day and came away with two points.

The Bad: Seems like they are a step ahead of this Bridgeport team after seeing them four times so far this season but for some reason the Islanders always stay step for step and give them headaches. There are a lot of teams out there that are better than Bridgeport currently that play the Penguins.

Turning Point: The shootout goal from Harvey-Pinard gets it here I suppose.

Around the Division: A lot of games early today surprisingly. Springfield bests Laval 3-1 in the other game in the division this early Wednesday afternoon. Providence hosts Hartford later this evening.

Standings: The Penguins will go a point clear of Providence 21-20, but the P-Bruins have a chance to do something about that later Wednesday evening.

Wheeling Update: Surprisingly a lot of ECHL games going on Wednesday afternoon also, none involving the Nailers though who host Maine on Friday.

Video Highlights: VideoCenter will have them up soon I suppose.

These two teams rematch Friday at the more conventional time of 7:05 p.m. in Wilkes-Barre.

Let’s Go Pens!