Chirps from Center Ice

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A complete flip of the script from Friday where the Penguins all pulled in the same direction sees the Checkers get revenge on Wilkes-Barre and win 5-1 on Saturday night.

It’s the first win for the home team in this series.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was recalled to Pittsburgh this afternoon as Bryan Rust is day to day. This meant that Brayden Edwards got back into the lineup for the Penguins up front. David Breazeale for Finn Harding on defense.

First Period: Seemed like a slow start for the Penguins and the Checkers took advantage.

Michael Benning crashes the net, the puck pops up in the air and Jack Devine was the last player to touch it which gave the Checkers a 1-0 lead.

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Later, on four on four, Nolan Foote ripped a shot past Blomqvist that made it 2-0 Checkers.

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Bit of a dreary start.

Second Period: Alex Steeves like he did Friday, scores from out of no where that makes it 3-0 Charlotte.

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The Penguins had a few power plays that looked really bad and were just awarded on here and you got the sense that they needed to get one here as this seemed like a turning point.

Enter Ryan Graves.

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But that turning point I was telling you about? Yeah, well not that turn, but this turn, a few seconds later where Jack Devine nets his second of the game, makes it 4-1 Charlotte and re-establishes the Checkers three goal lead.

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Collectively they were flat and to have a guy like Devine just. floating in the slot unmarked there for the goal is just bad.

Third Period: I am not going to talk about how bad and out to lunch the officials both on and off the ice were, the list of penalties in the second period should do that for you.

Nothing going for the Penguins and it’s always a sign of desperation when the head coach pulls the goalie for the extra man with about eight minutes to play. I mean you are a bad team on the man advantage to start with, why do that?

Nate Smith scored an empty netter that made it 5-1. I am not going to post a video of that.

Three Stars: 3) Kirill Gerasimyuk (23 saves) 2) Jack Devine (two goals) 1) Ben Steeves (goal, two assists)

The Good: Overall I thought Zach Urdahl and Brayden Edwards were probably the best players on the ice on both ends. Finished checks, played hard, et cetera.

The Bad: When I say a flip of the script, Dumba was a -2, Ryan Graves a -3 along with Valtteri Puustinen and Ville Koivunen. Tristan Broz was frustrated overall, taking 12 minutes in PIMs.

Turning Point: Gave it to you above, the second Devine goal.

Around the Division: I will probably jump in an edit these in later, but here’s the finals as this goes up around 8:45 on Saturday night…Bridgeport wins 4-2 against Utica…Lehigh Valley beats Springfield 3-2. Hershey beat Cleveland 3-2 and Hartford beat Providence 5-1.

Standings: Penguins and Bruins 49 — Lehigh Valley 42 – Charlotte 40 – Hershey 35 – Springfield 32 – Bridgeport and Hartford 29

Wheeling Update: Nailers hosted the Trois-Rivières Lions and shut them out 5-0. Max Pavlenko with 26 saves.

Video Highlights: Hard pass, thanks.

Big game to kick off the second half of the season coming Wednesday when they travel up to Providence. Weekend Preview will be out Wednesday afternoon. Stay warm.

Let’s Go Pens!