Chirps from Center Ice

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Man, what a game.

A 2-1 Wilkes-Barre win in overtime over the visiting Providence Bruins which snaps a Bruins 13 game win streak at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. First win for the Penguins over the Bruins since December 2019.

It’s a, “fight forever” feel between these two teams because they are so evenly matched and equally talented. The fact that they play in the same division and only play four times a season is a joke. Trim some off the Lehigh Valley’s for us and the Hartford and Springfield’s for the Bruins and let’s get after it.

Here’s how they lined up…

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Lineup Notes: Sam Poulin was traded to Edmonton with Tristan Jarry. As a result, Sergei Murashov went up while Stuart Skinner figured out his immigration. Matt Dumba cleared waivers and was assigned to the AHL.

Rafäel Harvey-Pinard and Alex Alexeyev are injured.

Alex Gallant and William Dufour went in for Harvey-Pinard and Nolan Renwick, Daniel Laatsch, who was recalled from Wheeling was in for Alexeyev.

First Period: No scoring. Colin Felix fought Boki Imama, John Farinacci took a puck off the back of the head from his teammate Ty Gallagher and starting goaltender Michael DiPietro took himself out of the game favoring a leg ailment. Enter Simon Zajicek who stopped 28 of 29 the night before in Hershey. In a stark contrast to Wednesday in Hartford, it was the Penguins who put up 20 shots in the period.

Second Period: Avery Hayes finally let loose the teddy bears that the patrons were clutching in angst watching these two Goliaths. skate up and and down the ice.

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But Providence returned fire in kind about two minutes later when Riley Tufte scored a power play goal that tied it up at one.

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The Penguins found themselves in penalty trouble and it nearly came back to bite them on more then one occasion.

Third Period: The Bruins has thought they had scored but referee Riley Brace was emphatic that they did not due to interference on Joel Blomqvist. Joey Abate made contact with Blomqvist that negated the Bruins goal.

A few close calls but then it was off to…

Overtime: Bruins possessed the puck for 90 seconds, Penguins get it back and immediately score. Phil Tomasino set up Valtteri Puustinen streaking off the bench for the game winner.

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Three Stars: 3) Simon Zajicek (34 saves) 2) Vatteri Puustinen (overtime game winner) 1) Joel Blomqvist (24 saves)

The Good: 50 shots against a really good team like Providence is great, shows that they are aggressive. Great teams manage to get those shots to go in and luck was on the Penguins side Saturday.

The Bad: The Bruins have a two headed monster in goal in DiPietro and Zajicek. One is as good or better than the other and you don’t want to see DiPietro out long term. Beat these idiots at their best.

Anyway, the bad – they were gangbusters in the first period, Zajicek comes in cold and they can’t get anything off on him.

Turning Point: Great game that chased it all night but it’s Puustinen’s goal that gets the distinction.

Around the Division: Bridgeport beats Laval in Quebec 2-1…Springfield beats Utica 3-2….Hershey shuts out Charlotte 4-0…Syracuse thumps Hartford 7-2…Lehigh Valley needs a shootout to beat Rochester 2-1 in a shootout.

Standings: Penguins and Bruins 39 – Lehigh Valley 29 – Herhsey 27 – Charlotte 26 – Hartford 22 – Bridgeport 20 – Springfield 19

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 3-1 up in Glens Falls to the Adirondack Thunder 3-1.

Video Highlights: 

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More tomorrow after Charlotte. It’s my birthday tomorrow, so the game story will likely be delayed because after I am going to eat my age in sushi. Have I mentioned how much I detest Sunday home games?

Let’s Go Pens!