@ 
4 1
–
Sweeping the Charlotte Checkers at home is hard to do, but the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins did just that this weekend, winning Friday night and again on Saturday, this time with a 4-1 result that gives the Penguins three wins in a row.
It’s also significant because the Checkers lead the Atlantic Division and are defending home ice in a place that is good to them. Are the Penguins turning a corner or have they been like this all along?
Something to discuss I think on the Weekend Preview which will be on you Tuesday, when the Penguins play again against the Utica Comets.
Here’s how they lined up:
–
Lineup Notes: Brayden Edwards for Lucas Ciona was the only lineup change.
First Period: Deja vu for the Penguins from Friday night, with Wilkes-Barre racking up shots, going on a power play, failing to score then seeing the Checkers score on their only opportunity on the power play in the period here with a goal from Gracyn Sawchyn at 8:06…
–
They went a long stretch without shots from either side then headed into the…
Second Period: You could see and feel the goals coming because the Penguins were playing freely with the puck in a good way but the breaks weren’t going.
Until Ryan Johnson broke through with his first of the season here…
–
The floodgates then opened with Finn Harding scoring at 6:56 and then Avery Hayes springing in for a breakaway right at the halfway point of the period to make it 3-1.
–
The Checkers had no answers and not a ton of shots, either as the Pens were up 21-9 in shots heading to the…
Third Period: Back and forth green flag hockey for the first half of the period. General feeling was that you didn’t want to see Charlotte get one here because if they did, who knows if they would get another.
They didn’t. In fact, Hugh McGing was the guy the added another for the visitors.
–
That water bottle had a family!
Three Stars: 3) Avery Hayes (goal) 2) Finn Harding (goal) 1) Hugh McGing (goal, assist)
The Good: Team effort, and I thought Joel Blomqvist was solid in net for the Penguins when he needed to be. Nice bounce back for Blomqvist who I think has lost the starters role to Taylor Gauthier but I don’t want to go to far down this road, let’s just leave it for the Weekend Preview on Tuesday.
The Bad: Owen Pickering was lost in the first period to injury and didn’t return. He walked off the ice on his own, so I am wondering if it is a head injury or some type like that. The Penguins played the remainder of the contest with five defensemen.
Turning Point: I think that the McGing goal that made it 4-1 in the third is a strong candidate here so let’s go with that. If you disagree the comments are there for you.
Around the Division: I will do my best here since they started an hour earlier then the standard 7 p.m. on a Saturday….Belleville leads Providence at second intermission with that box here….Hamilton leads Lehigh Valley at second intermission with that box here….Hershey trounced Springfield 6-1 and Hartford beats Syracuse in overtime 3-2.
Standings: Can’t update this cause there are teams in action at the time this goes up but look here Sunday morning or whenever to see where they all shake out. The Penguins are two points out of first with 15 points.
Florida Update: During one of the intermissions I swear it was sleeting on me, meanwhile it is 75 degrees in Estero, Florida which is home to the Everblades. The Blades are in Jacksonville and that box is here as that game is still ongoing at the time this recap is posted.
Jacksonville, meanwhile, is a chilly 66 degrees at this hour. The horror!
Video Highlights: Same like last night, the Checkers YouTube page is here and they had the highlights from last night’s game I left you hanging on so they will post the highlights if you are so inclined to see them at some point soon, I’m sure of it.
Utica drops in for an off the wall Tuesday game with an even more off the wall 6:35 p.m. start time. More Tuesday afternoon with the Weekend Preview. Chat then.
Let’s Go Pens!
WBS News
