Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Category Archives: The AHL

AHL Power Rankings: Week 21

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 21 Posted by on February 28, 2019

There are more than a few really important games this weekend for teams in and out of the playoff picture as we hit the stretch driver here in the beginning of March.

Bakersfield, winners of seventeen straight, host second place San Jose for a home and home.

Rochester and Syracuse, seemingly joined at the hip since the beginning of the season, face off in a home and home.

Colorado hosts fourth place Tucson. The Roadrunners and Eagles each have 56 points.

Wilkes-Barre, a team that has made the postseason for sixteen straight years, is in Providence this Friday.

As for this weeks top five, not much has changed but for Bridgeport moving up to the five spot. After the Sound Tigers, jump past if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up this week.

1

 Last Week: BAK 2 @ TUC 0, BAK 3 @ TUC 1
17 in a row for Bakersfield who are approaching rarefied air. It’s really a point now of how high the streak can go. Does it survive this weekend?

n/a

 This Week: vs. IA 3/1, vs. SJ 3/2, @ SJ 3/6
Record: 33-15-2-1

2

 Last Week: HER 4 @ WBS 2, RFD 2 @ HER 3 (SO), HER 1 @ BRI 5, HER 4 @ HFD 1
Point streak ended in Bridgeport Sunday and the Bears were in one late Wednesday in Hartford before rattling off four goals to beat the Wolf Pack. More tough games ahead this week.

n/a

 This Week: @ UTI 3/1, vs. BRI 3/2
Record: 32-21-0-3

3

 Last Week: BEL 5 @ BNG 3, BEL 5 @ RCH 3
This team keeps rolling. Fifteen game point streak. But, are they peaking at the wrong time?

+2

 This Week: vs. MTB 3/1, vs. MTB 3/2
Record: 29-23-2-4

4

 Last Week: TEX 3 @ GR 4 (SO), GR 2 @ CHI 3
Not a bad week. There are a lot of teams fighting to get in and stay in the Central race. The Griffins are soundly in, for now.

n/a

 This Week: @ RFD 3/1, vs. TEX 3/6
Record: 31-17-4-4

5

 Last Week: BRI 5 @ PRO 4 (OT), SPR 3 @ BRI 4 (SO), HER 1 @ BRI 5
That game against Hershey Sunday was a huge test that the Sound Tigers passed, remaining six points clear of the Bears for second. You can probably start buying the ink for the playoff tickets.

+1

 This Week: @ HER 3/2, @ LV 3/3
Record: 33-18-5-2

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Power Rankings

J-S Dea Traded; Teddy Blueger Re-Assigned on Trade Deadline

Comments Off on J-S Dea Traded; Teddy Blueger Re-Assigned on Trade Deadline Posted by on February 25, 2019

I’ll let the tweets speak for themselves.

Hart also noted that J.S. Dea leaves the Penguins with the fifth-most games played (288), fifth-most goals (72), sixth-most points (91) and second-most game winning goals in franchise history.

Also…

Looks like a straight up re-assignment.

And…

So expect that Tuesday.

Or Monday.

Jonathan reached out with some news I didn’t see anywhere…

I followed up and asked about Zach Aston-Reese who does not need waivers.

Also, Chris Wideman will report to Wilkes-Barre, per the AHL transaction page.

So that’s all for today.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

AHL Power Rankings: Week 20

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 20 Posted by on February 21, 2019

There are just two months remaining in the season and there are teams solidifying themselves as playoff contenders, teams making a push and teams that you can write off. We try to make sense of it all in this weeks version of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings.

The Troy Mann Effect is being felt. Three teams that once employed Mann are in the top five this week leading off with the Bakersfield Condors who are turning some heads and are trying to make a run at the 28 games that the Norfolk Admirals won in a row a few years back. Fifteen wins in a row now for Bakersfield. Is it a fluke? Is sixteen a real streak? It’s going to be interesting to see how far this group of characters can go.

The Hershey Bears are back, jack. Fifteen game point streak for the Bears heading into the Facebook Watch game of the week against Wilkes-Barre Friday.

We don’t do ties here, but if we did, Rochester and Syracuse would be locked at the hip.

Grand Rapids remains fourth and Belleville debuts this week in the top five. Go past the Senators to see where your favorite team ended up.

1

 Last Week: BAK 7 @ ONT 6, ONT 1 @ BAK 2 (OT)
Fifteen straight wins for Bakersfield, tied for fourth longest winning streak of all time. Bakersfield is winning offensive road game explosions like Friday and tight home game contests like Saturday. Impressive.

n/a

 This Week: @ TUC 2/23, @ TUC 2/25
Record: 31-15-2-1

2

 Last Week: LV 2 @ HER 3 (SO), HER 4 @ LV 3
Impressive turnaround for the Bears, fifteen game point streak looking to continue that run in rival Wilkes-Barre Friday.

n/a

 This Week: @ WBS 2/22, vs. RFD 2/23, @ BRI 2/24, @ HFD 2/27
Record: 29-20-0-3

3

 Last Week: SYR 1 @ RCH 0, RCH 3 @ SYR 2 (SO), BNG 1 @ RCH 5, CLE 2 @ RCH 4
Rochester can’t shake Syracuse at all. Both clubs are 6-3-0-1 in their last ten. They split a home and home series this past week. Division play continues this week for your North Division leaders.

+2

 This Week: @ UTI 2/22, vs. BEL 2/23, @ UTI 2/27
Record: 32-16-3-2

4

 Last Week: SA 1 @ GR 5, SA 2 @ GR 3 (OT), RFD 3 @ GR 2 (OT)
Division leader got points out of every game this week. That’s just fine.

n/a

 This Week: vs. TEX 2/22, @ CHI 2/23
Record: 30-16-4-4

5

 Last Week: CLE 2 @ BEL 1 (SO), CLE 2 @ BEL 4, LAV 3 @ BEL 4 (OT)
13 game point streak for the Senators. Seems all of Troy Mann’s current and prior teams (Bakersfield and Hershey) are having success right about now.

+4

 This Week: @ BNG 2/22, @ RCH 2/23
Record: 27-23-2-4

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Power Rankings

AHL Power Rankings: Week 19

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 19 Posted by on February 14, 2019

Well, for the first time in some time, the Charlotte Checkers are no where to be located in this weeks edition of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings Top Five.

For that matter, the San Jose Barracuda are no where to be located as well.

That is because a trio of teams have usurped those two mainstays, with a few more teams just outside the top five in the top ten ready to join them.

Bakersfield, Hershey and Providence are the teams to beat right now. Good luck, cause no one has had any success in beating these teams of late.

Grand Rapids and Rochester lead their respective divisions and round out the top five, but are being hotly pursued for the spots.

After the Americans, jump in to see where everyone else ended up this week if you didn’t link in direct.

1

 Last Week: SJ 1 @ BAK 3, SD 1 @ BAK 7, STK 1 @ BAK 4
At this point it’s just not fair. 13 wins in a row for Bakersfield and they are winning these games in decisive fashion. No reason to think that the Condors slow down this week against Ontario.

+1

 This Week: @ ONT 2/15, vs. ONT 2/16
Record: 29-15-2-1

2

 Last Week: CHA 2 @ HER 3 (SO), CHA 1 @ HER 2, WBS 3 @ HER 4 (SO)
We seriously considered giving Hershey the number one spot, but Bakersfield ekes out the Bears for the number one spot. This week. Big series with Lehigh Valley.

+1

 This Week: vs. LV 2/16, @ LV 2/17
Record: 27-20-0-3

3

 Last Week: BRI 1 @ PRO 2, PRO 2 @ BRI 4, SYR 0 @ PRO 4
12 game point streak ended Saturday in Bridgeport, but Providence trounced a rested Syracuse team coming in Sunday. This Bruins team is for real.

+3

 This Week: vs. TOR 2/15, vs. CHA 2/16, vs. SPR 2/17
Record: 26-17-6-1

4

 Last Week: WBS 1 @ GR 4, CHI 4 @ GR 1
On winning and losing ends of 4-1 decisions this weekend. San Antonio drops in this weekend, no easy task.

+3

 This Week: vs. SA 2/15, vs. SA 2/16, vs. RFD 2/20
Record: 28-16-3-4

5

 Last Week: SPR 1 @ RCH 7, RCH 2 @ UTI 5, RCH 2 @ CLE 5
Is the lead that the Amerks have on the North Division starting to slip? Home and home with the Crunch are going to shed some light on the question.

n/a

 This Week: vs. SYR 2/15, @ SYR 2/16, vs. BNG 2/17, vs. CLE 2/20
Record: 29-15-3-2

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Power Rankings

Monday Notes 2/11

1 Comment Posted by on February 11, 2019

Bunch of stuff to get to today, so let’s get after it.

Here is a recap of Sunday afternoon’s action…

Bridgeport beats Utica in overtime 5-4. Pens have two games in hand and see the Sound Tigers two more times.

Providence shuts out what was a rested Syracuse team 4-0. Pens and Bruins are even on games played with 50. They meet three more times.

Lehigh Valley beats Hartford 5-2. That’s a split with the Wolf Pack this weekend. Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley are on same games played and play six more times.

Hershey keeps winning, sweeping Charlotte with a 2-1 win Sunday. That is points in 12 straight for the Bears. Hershey has a game in hand on the Pens and these teams meet just three more times, with one of those games this Wednesday in Hershey.

Wilkes-Barre has three more games with Springfield and two more with Hartford.

Here is a look at the standings through Sunday night:

Charlotte 71
Bridgeport 62
Providence 59
Lehigh Valley 57
—–
Hershey 55
PENGUINS 53
Springfield 52
Hartford 46

So a lot of catching up to do but room to improve with six more matchups with Lehigh Valley. I have a feeling that just one Pennsylvania team is going to make playoffs. No one is going to catch Charlotte and even if they do, I can’t see them falling out of contention entirely. Bridgeport looks OK for now and Providence just had a twelve point run snapped on Saturday, they are good. So it’s really down to Wilkes-Barre, Hershey and Lehigh Valley for the final spot in the playoffs. I don’t see Springfield recovering and you can stick a fork in Hartford.

Monday, some news came out. Troy Josephs was released from his contract to head overseas. He’s the second such Penguins prospect (Freddie Tiffels at the beginning of the season) to bolt overseas. Josephs was more than a point a game player and one of the best players for the Wheeling Nailers.

Josephs had just three assists in 11 contests for the Pens this season. I think that he was long overdue a shot at AHL work given the fact that Wilkes-Barre has an unproductive veteran overage. Surely Josephs could produce at or better than some of the bottom six forwards that Clark Donatelli puts out on a nightly basis? Ask yourself this, Cam Brown has seemed to carve a nice niche here in Wilkes-Barre. No knock against him intended, but I were to ask you at the start of the season who would stick in the AHL between Brown and Josephs, most of you pick Josephs. Is is coachability? Attitude? Something else I am missing?

That, with Freddie Tiffels bolting before the season really got going, doesn’t set the best look.

I am not ready to have discussions over a debate about coaching vs. general manager yet. I will say this, there is a price that the Pittsburgh Penguins paid to win back to back Stanley Cups. It is starting to slowly erode and the first place it is felt is through the minor league system.

And there is nothing wrong with that per se, provided it pays off for you and it has mightily for the Penguins in the last three seasons.

One other piece of news for this Monday, in the form of a trade!

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired right handed defenseman Blake Siebenaler from the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday for a conditional seventh round pick. Siebenaler will report to Wilkes-Barre. He has 17 games played this season for the Cleveland Monsters with a goal and an assist and a -11 rating. Professionally, Siebenaler is a -31 in three seasons for Cleveland with a total of seven goals, seven assists, including this season. He’s been injured for the Monsters and Cleveland hasn’t been the best AHL team overall in the last three years since winning the Calder Cup in 2015-16, so maybe a change in scenery will do well for him.

Scouting reports based off of what I have seen on Twitter include the following:

I also saw on Twitter that Siebenaler was a fan favorite in Cleveland and a very passionate player. He has a very hard shot from the blue line also.

The condition on the pick? Siebenaler would have to play in 10 NHL games for Pittsburgh and Columbus would get a seventh round pick from Pittsburgh. That probably isn’t happening, so it’s a contract dump for Columbus and some help for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton, however I would be the first to admit that the Penguins biggest problem isn’t keeping pucks out of their net as much as it is depositing them into the nets of the opponents.

So there you have it. Back here on Wednesday with the Gameday setup against Hershey.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

AHL Power Rankings: Week 18

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 18 Posted by on February 7, 2019

Week 18 has come and gone and we are finally past that All-Star hangover. Things are beginning to take shape in the division and the finish should be fun.

There has been a shakeup to the top five this week. San Jose remains the top team. However, they are followed closely by the two hottest teams in the AHL, the Bakersfield Condors who have won ten straight games and the Hershey Bears who have a ten game point streak.

Charlotte hasn’t dropped out of the top five after a pair of overtime setbacks to the Providence Bruins this weekend and stay fourth and Rochester rounds out the top five, for now.

Peek through if you didn’t link in direct to see where the rest of the teams ended up this week.

1

 Last Week: SJ 6 @ STK 4, STK 2 @ SJ 4, IA 4 @ SJ 2
Roy Sommer earned his 750th AHL win on Friday. Barracuda stay hot in a division which has been one of the best.

n/a

 This Week: @ BAK 2/8, @ ONT 2/10, vs. TUC 2/12
Record: 26-9-2-4

2

 Last Week: IA 2 @ BAK 5, BAK 6 @ ONT 2
Ten wins in a row for the Bakersfield Condors. Pulled themselves up from mediocrity and head into a huge matchup against the San Jose Barracuda this weekend.

+6

 This Week: vs. SJ 2/8, vs. SD 2/9, vs. STK 2/13
Record: 26-15-2-1

3

 Last Week: LV 1 @ HER 2, BEL 2 @ HER 3 (SO), HER 4 @ SPR 2
Ten straight games without a regulation loss for the Bears who are on fire. Huge tests this weekend against Charlotte followed by a midweek matchup against a pissed off Penguins team looking to continue their playoff streak.

+3

 This Week: vs. CHA 2/9, vs. CHA 2/10, vs. WBS 2/13
Record: 24-20-0-3

4

 Last Week: PRO 2 @ CHA 1 (OT), PRO 1 @ CHA 0 (OT), CLE 1 @ CHA 3, CLE 5 @ CHA 1
You could say that the Checkers are slipping, but with a 12 point lead on the division and a 9 point lead on overall best team in the AHL, does it really matter?

-2

 This Week: @ HER 2/9, @ HER 2/10
Record: 32-12-6-0

5

 Last Week: RCH 3 @ BNG 2, RCH 4 @ HFD 1, SYR 2 @ RCH 1 (SO)
Still hold the division lead, but for how long? Crunch are coming.

-2

 This Week: vs. SPR 2/8, @ UTI 2/9, @ CLE 2/12
Record: 28-13-3-2

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Power Rankings

AHL Power Rankings: Week 17

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 17 Posted by on January 30, 2019

We have hit the All-Star break here in the AHL and while the festivities from Springfield have wrapped up, it’s time to take a look at where things stand in the league and that’s where these weekly Power Rankings should help you out.

Two constants have been San Jose and Charlotte, who are 1-2 this week. 1a if you want to call them that have been Rochester and Grand Rapids, who are entrenched in playoff battles themselves for the pinnacle of the divisions they lead. The hottest team of recent has been San Diego, but there are other teams past the Gulls at the five spot who are equally on hot runs.

Pop past the Gulls if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up.

1

 Last Week: SJ 4 @ GR 0, SJ 2 @ GR 3 (SO)
San Jose has a new threat gunning for them in the form of the Bakersfield Condors. No one has got close yet so it should be interesting to watch.

+2

 This Week: @ STK 2/1, vs. STK 2/2, vs. IA 2/5
Record: 24-8-2-4

2

 Last Week: CHA 3 @ PRO 5, CHA 5 @ HFD 2
Snapped out of that three game losing streak with a good win Saturday in Hartford. The Atlantic is Charlotte’s to lose.

n/a

 This Week: vs. PRO 2/1, vs. PRO 2/2, vs. CLE 2/5, vs. CLE 2/6
Record: 31-11-4-0

3

 Last Week: UTI 2 @ RCH 3 (SO), RCH 3 @ SYR 4 (OT)
Amerks have a three point lead on Syracuse for tops in the North. Have been the class of the division for a good chunk of the season.

+2

 This Week: @ BNG 2/1, @ HFD 2/2, vs. SYR 2/6
Record: 26-13-3-1

4

 Last Week: SJ 4 @ GR 0, SJ 2 @ GR 3 (SO)
Griffins sit atop the Central at the All-Star break. Busy week against some hungry teams as the unofficial second half of the season begins in earnest Thursday.

+2

 This Week: @ TEX 1/31, @ SA 2/1, vs. MTB 2/6
Record: 25-14-3-4

5

 Last Week: SD 0 @ SA 4, SD 4 @ TEX 1
Good win in Cedar Park to slightly stop the slide that the Gulls have been on. Busy week this week with some winnable games.

-4

 This Week: vs. ONT 2/1, vs. IA 2/2, vs. ONT 2/6
Record: 22-13-2-3

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Power Rankings

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