Chirps from Center Ice

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins hit some turbulence Sunday and Tuesday of this week after two rough losses to the Charlotte Checkers, and now turn their attention to their first three in three weekend of the season beginning with a home and home with the Utica Comets and then a Hershey Bears drop in Sunday afternoon.

Music to Set the Mood…

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A Quote…

The measure of who we are is how we react if something doesn’t go our way.
— Usain Bolt

The Setup…

First three in three of the season with a trip to Utica, then a home game with the Devils and a Sunday home game against Hershey.

The Penguins blanked the Hartford Wolf Pack 3-0 with a 34 save performance from Sergei Murashov last Wednesday. They had Friday off then took Providence to overtime and a Valtteri Puustinen overtime goal gave the Penguins their first home win over the Bruins since 2019.

Then Charlotte. They laid an egg Sunday and lost 6-2 and on Tuesday were a bit more competitive but lost 2-1 to the Checkers.

The Comets lost to Hartford 2-1 last Friday, Springfield 3-2 Saturday and then beat Rochester 3-2 Wednesday.

Hershey lost 4-1 to Providence last Friday and then shutout the Charlotte Checkers 4-0 on Saturday. The Bears host Bridgeport Saturday and will take on a Penguins team playing its third game in three days Sunday.

Records…

Penguins still lead the Atlantic with a 19-7-1 record and 39 points.

Utica is last in the North with a 6-14-3-1 record and 16 points.

Hershey is 13-10-1 and have 27 points in fifth place in the Atlantic.

The Rest of those Rascals…

The biggest winner this week were the Providence Bruins. The Bruins have two games in hand on the Penguins and are tied in points with Wilkes-Barre with a 19-5-1 record. Providence was off this week and have one game, Saturday against Syracuse, this weekend. They will four games in hand on the Penguins after this weekend.

Charlotte looks like a team on the rise, sweeping the Penguins for a pair this past week. They are third in the division with a 14-8-2 record. You shouldn’t focus so much on the Phantoms and Bears and really should be concerned about the Checkers. The Grand Rapids Griffins are off to the best start in AHL history with just one regulation loss. That loss was dealt to them by the Charlotte Checkers. They are giant killers. They host Springfield Saturday and Sunday.

Lehigh Valley is fourth in the division with a 13-10-1-2 record and 29 points. The Phantoms lost in Syracuse last Friday, won in Rochester Saturday via shootout then lost to last place Springfield on Wednesday. They host Bridgeport and Hartford this weekend.

Hartford is 9-12-4 with 22 points and sixth in the Atlantic. They beat Utica last Friday then got smoked in Syracuse 7-2 last Saturday. They host the Crunch tonight then travel to Allentown Saturday.

Bridgeport is 10-12-1-1 with 22 points and seventh in the Atlantic. They beat Laval clean and then Belleville in overtime last weekend, and then lost 5-0 on Wednesday at home against Syracuse. Go figure. The Islanders are in Allentown tonight and Hershey tomorrow.

Springfield is 8-11-3-2 with 21 points and in last in the Atlantic but with the way they are playing won’t be for long. The Thunderbirds have points in four straight. They will be tested this weekend in Charlotte.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

David Breazeale was up and then back down to Wheeling without appearing in a game.

Matt Dumba cleared waivers and played his first AHL game in over a decade on Tuesday.

Sam Poulin was traded to Edmonton with Tristan Jarry.

Aaron Huglen is week to week with an upper body injury.

Sebastian Aho and Alex Alexeyev are also injured, but with Breazeale going back down maybe one of them are back this weekend.

I think that is everything.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

I mean they should get a start out of Sergei Murashov this weekend and would likely win that game. How much do they have left in the tank Sunday at home against Hershey playing their third game in a row when the Bears were home all weekend and just had Bridgeport in Saturday.

It would behoove them to win these games because Providence will have four games in hand and Charlotte is on the come.

Also, Alexeyev and Aho aren’t really the straws that stir the drink defensively, are they? Let’s hope we don’t have to answer this question and they are back this weekend at some point.

Who’s in Goal?

I’d like to see Filip Larsson get back in there against Utica and have them use all three goaltenders this weekend but that isn’t how it always works. Murashov – Blomqvist – Murashov would be the safe bet.

Nico Daws and Jakub Málek will see work for the Comets this weekend against the Penguins and then probably Mitch Gibson for the Bears Sunday.

Who’s Running the Show?

Jordan Deckard and Jared Cummins will adjudicate in Utica with T.J. Dockery and Jason Brown on the lines.

Deckard will drive I-90 West, then merge onto I-81 South in Syracuse, blitzkrieg past the home of the Crunch, blow past Binghamton and will meet up with Chad Ingalls on Saturday to work the rematch with Jud Ritter and John Rey on the lines.

New refs on Sunday. Ben Betker and Koletrane Wilson will work the matinee with the Bears with Dylan Blujus and J.P. Waleski on the lines.

Looking Ahead…

Merry Christmas. Saturday at home against the Bears on December 27 and then another Sunday game (this time on the road) against the Phantoms and then another Tuesday home game against the Charlotte Checkers.

Next week’s Weekend Preview will include that Tuesday game against Charlotte.

Give us a bold prediction…

They will win all three games with a power play goal in each and Sergei Murashov gets named AHL Player of the Week with only one game allowed on 60+ shots.