Chirps from Center Ice

     @    

1                                        3

–

This is one of those games where I don’t mind the loss because the effort was there. The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins battled the Hershey Bears to a scoreless draw early in the third period when the scoring action finally heated up. The two teams finally started taking things out on each other in a penalty filled second, but it was the Bears who scored first, followed by the Penguins on a power play and then Hershey added one with under five to play and then an empty net goal with .3 seconds left to win 3-1 at home Saturday afternoon.

The two teams rematch Sunday evening in Wilkes-Barre.

Tyler had a bit of a foreshadowing tweet.

And wouldn’t you know it the Bears would score on a fluky goal that opened the scoring. Off a skate and in.

Penguins would head to a power play with a gotta have it chance to tie the game and they score when Drew O’Connor connects for a goal that leveled it.

Soon after, Jon Gruden was hauled down and he was awarded a penalty shot. He missed.

(no video here, he skated down the right side, cut across and tried to go five hole on Bears starting goaltender Zach Fucale.)

Alex Alexeyev scored on a dart with 3:30 left to give the Bears a 2-1 lead.

Brian Pinho would hit another empty net, his sixth I think this season, with .3 left to play to make it 3-1 Hershey.

Here is how they lined up. Sometimes I write these stories in reverse.

Three Stars: 3) Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (goal) 2) Alex Alexeyev (goal, assist) 1) Zach Fucale (31 saves)

The Good: It was a competitive game. A young, inexperienced team took one of the better teams in the AHL in Hershey to the edge and nearly won.

The Bad: I have a feelingI am going to be typing up “competitive” a lot here these next few seasons. The Penguins lack a true scorer, and one would have definitely come in handy today.

Turning Point: You can either go the save by Fucale on Gruden which kept it 1-1 or Alexeyev’s go ahead goal with minutes to spare.

They rematch Sunday afternoon in Wilkes-Barre. Different result or more of the same?

Let’s Go Pens!

Stay safe.

This tweet from Pens play by play man Nick Hart summed up tonight’s affair between Wilkes-Barre and Syracuse perfectly:

One step forward and two steps back tonight for the Penguins, who haven;t scored first in a dozen plus games. When you are constantly playing from behind and are a young group at the core, it makes for a long season.

Box here. Alex D’Orio got the start, played well, but there is only so much to do when the team in front of you is so porous.

Someone needs to put an APB out on Pierre Olivier-Joseph. Two penalties tonight, hasn’t really done much since his reassignment from Pittsburgh. The NHL hangover is still lingering with him.

That may be too harsh, they’ve all been poor, collectively.

Back at it next Saturday against Hershey.

A pair of goaltenders made their debuts tonight in Wilkes-Barre. Tommy Nappier from The Ohio State University for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins and Marek Mitens for tonight’s opponent, the Binghamton Devils.

Mitens would guide his team to victory tonight with 33 saves, only getting scored on twice by the opposition on the power play twice and once short handed.

Josh Currie (1-1-2) Drew O’Connor (2 assists) and P-O Joseph were bright spots for the Penguins in the loss.

Box here. If tonight’s recap feels mailed into you it was, my niece turned three today so we had a get together. I got her one of those toy cars that you sit in and drive. I never was to have one as a child. I was always too big (too tall) for anything like that. She enjoys it. More of the same tomorrow too, the “big party” is tomorrow.

Anyway, that’s it. One of my better pun headlines wasted for a bit of a mail in job but can you do?

Pens back in action Saturday in Syracuse.

     @    

0                                        2

–

In a season which really is meaningless, the rule book is also affected.

There was a sequence where the Penguins thought that they scored on a power play. They celebrated Jordy Bellerive’s would be goal, but referees Terry Koharski and Jordan Deckard never awarded the goal.

No penalties were given at the end of the sequence.

No announcement made as to WHY the goal wasn’t allowed.

The rule book DOES have video review.

Just not year.

COVID, and all.

So they half ass a rule book in a half ass attempt at a joke of a season with three teams not even playing, and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are shafted out of a goal and what likely would have been at least a point.

Eh, that’s meaningless too, there’s no playoff this year either.

Pens lose 2-0.Pens lose 2-0.

Here is how they lined up:

Lineup Changes: Zach Trotman was injured last night so Billy Sweezy went back in. Jan Drozg and Kyle Olson swapped things up front.

Also, the lineup above was not correct, Will Reilly was in for P-O Jospeh who was a healthy scratch.

First Period: Almost seemed at times that the Penguins sleptwalked through the first period, going over six minutes without a shot and Aliaksei Protos scored his first goal of his AHL career to give the Bears a 1-0 lead in the only scoring of the period.

Teams traded power plays but had no success.

Second Period: There was no scoring in the period and it seemed like a lazy, Sunday afternoon second period. Then this happened:

Second fight of the season for WBS and first of Kyle Olson’s pro career.

Kessey acting like he KO’d Dennis Bonnie or something.

Look, I get that the types of players like Kale Kessy are the last of a dying breed, but don’t go acting like you are Hercules pummeling a guy in his first pro fight (Olson had some scraps in the WHL) when you know that there isn’t anyone else in white that has the wherewithal to go with you properly.

Pens got a power play out of the whole thing but got sloppy and loose and found themselves on a two man disadvantage they navigated through perfectly.

Third Period: Gave it to ya in the lede. Pens had another power play after the one where they thought Bellerive scored. Then a miscommunication in between Lagace and the bench led to a too many men on the ice call. With Lagace legally pulled for a home run shot at a goal at 5-on-5, Brian Pinho scored an empty net goal.

Three Stars: 3) Max Lagace (20 saves) 2) Pheonix Copley (21 save shutout) 1) Aliakei Protas (goal)

The Good: Absent the on and off ice shenanigans and the meaningless empty netter, they held their opponent to one goal.

The Bad: 0-4 on the power play.

Turning Point: Could have been the Olson / Kessy fight, but the Bellerive no goal completely changed things. It should have been a goal. It could have been reviewed, under normal circumstances.

I’d add a later edit on the explanations given ex post facto, but if the AHL is going to half ass a season through, so am I.

Pens are back in action Friday with Lehigh Valley.

Let’s Go Pens!

Stay safe.