Chirps from Center Ice

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins and Syracuse Crunch face-off for the first time this season when the Pens take the two and a half hour trip north straight up I-81 to take on the second place in the North Division Syracuse Crunch team.

Syracuse is 17-11-2-1 and have 37 points in second in the North Division and trail the Laval Rocket by four points.

Their recent body of work included a shootout loss and regulation loss to the Laval Rocket in Quebec this past weekend and then on New Years they lost in overtime against the Toronto Marlies in Canada.

The Penguins meanwhile, have seen a flux of players come in and players depart by way of trade.

Let’s get into their record first. They are 22-8-1-2 and sit atop the Atlantic Division with 47 points, four clear of the Providence Bruins who have five games in hand. They burned off the sixth one with a New Years Eve loss in Springfield.

We will get back to the Bruins and the Charlotte Checkers in a second.

The Penguins beat Hershey clean Saturday night at home, lost in a shootout to Lehigh Valley on Sunday and were stomped by the Checker on Tuesday.

You can blame it on a roster in flux. Forwards Brayden Edwards and Zach Urdahl were recalled on New Years. They let go forward William Dufour, who they signed to a PTO a few months ago on New Years Eve. Defensemen Tommy Budnick and Brent Johnson were sent back to Wheeling. Defenseman Ryan Graves and his albatross contract cleared waivers and was assigned to the Penguins on New Years Eve also. Forward Phil Tomasino was traded for Defenseman Egor Zamula from Philadelphia. Zamula is with the AHL team and Tomasino went to Allentown. Forward Max Graham was recalled on Tuesday and Forward Danton Heinen was traded to Columbus after clearing waivers.

That’s just the transactions. Here are the injuries, as best as I know them.

Forward Aaron Huglen returned after missing the last month and a half wearing a bubble. He probably had a fractured something in his mouth or face.

Forwards Gabe Klassen, Aidan McDonough did not play Tuesday. McDonough took a check to the head (uncalled, unsuspended) Sunday in Allentown.

Defensemen Daniel Laatsch (lower) Sebastian Aho, Finn Harding (upper) and forward Avery Hayes are week to week. Defenseman Alex Alexyev is day to day.

Defenseman Matt Dumba is healthy, but clearly does not want to be here and is completely useless.

There’s a bright spot, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was named AHL Player of the Week on Monday.

Let’s talk Providence and Charlotte.

The Bruins play tonight, in last place Hartford who are awful, so expect the Bruins to draw to two points behind the Penguins with four games in hand still. The Penguins will play Syracuse Saturday with Providence idle so the Bruins will burn off one of their five game in hand Sunday when they host the Springfield Thunderbirds again.

Charlotte may be the best team in the Division, though. The Checkers swept their way through Pennsylvania with wins against Hershey Sunday, Lehigh Valley Monday and the penguins on Tuesday. These were all on the road mind you after the Christmas break. Impressive. The Checkers are in Cleveland for a pair of games Saturday and Monday and will have at the end of Monday’s action three games in hand on the Penguins. The Checkers are nine points off the Penguins as it stands right now.

Looking ahead, the Penguins and Checkers meet up next weekend in North Carolina Friday and Saturday, then the Penguins have a midweek road game against the Providence Bruins next Wednesday.

Scheduled officials for Saturday’s contest in Syracuse are Chad Ingalls and Jared Cummins with Trevor Davis and Tory Carissimo on the lines.

More after Saturday’s contest.

Let’s Go Pens!