Chirps from Center Ice

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

Category Archives: The AHL

2018 Western Conference Calder Cup Preview

Comments Off on 2018 Western Conference Calder Cup Preview Posted by on April 17, 2018

I just noticed that I didn’t do a Report Card this season for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. That frees up the week leading into the Calder Cup Playoffs where I can stretch things out into each day with new content and give each conference it’s own look. Today with the Western Conference and Wednesday with the Eastern Conference. My own series preview with the Penguins and Checkers will be here on Thursday before Game 1 Friday.

Much like last year, I give you how each team got here, how they match up and new this year, what each team needs to do to win. Finally, I offer a prediction.

But for Rockford, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee, the Penguins didn’t play any of these teams. Milwaukee is the only team Wilkes-Barre played that didn’t make playoffs. The Pens didn’t play any one in the Pacific Division so naturally, let’s start there. Here goes nothing…

   Tucson Roadrunners (P1) vs. San Jose Barracuda (P4)   

How the Roadrunners got here: Stayed consistent in a division that had comers and goers. Carter Camper came over in a midseason trade and helped solidify Tucson as contenders and a guy by the name of rookie Hunter Miska was 22-9 in net for the Roadrunners.

How the Barracuda got here: Used a miracle run in the final weeks of the season to overcome a 10 point deficit and won six straight while San Diego choked away the final spot to squeak in on the penultimate day of the regular season.

How they match up: 5-2-0-1 if you are a San Jose fan and 3-4-1-0 if you are a Tucson fan. So not a walk in the park by any means for the Western Conference Champion Roadrunners and a great matchup for the San Jose Barracuda who finished the season on a tear.

How Tucson wins: Keep doing what they have been doing. Seems easy, but these are the playoffs and the margin for error is razor thin.

How San Jose wins: The, “us against the world” mentality has to continue here. San Jose shouldn’t even be here, they know it, everyone knows it, yet here they are.

Prediction: Roadrunners survive the scare. Tucson in five.

–

   Texas Stars (P2) vs. Ontario Reign (P4)   

How the Stars got here: Lunchpail group led by veterans Travis Morin and Mike McKenna stayed above the teams that play eight fewer games in the division and managed to get the second seed in the Pacific. If Ontario (ended the season on a four game losing streak) and San Diego didn’t choke, maybe it’s a different story for the Stars but Morin and his group saw to it that this didn’t happen.

How the Reign got here: Same story really, San Diego choked it away, Stockton faded and Bakersfield and San Antonio stopped being contenders at the start of the New Year. Reign went on a late run that put them as high as second at one point, and that was enough, with all the tumultuous things going around for teams around them, that got them to the postseason.

How they match up: 3-1 if you are a Reign fan, 1-1-1-1 if you are a Stars fan. So naturally, this goes five games.

How Texas wins: Reliance on the veteran group of Morin and McKenna and production from role players, kind of what got Texas to the postseason.

How Ontario wins: Seven Reign skaters had 30 or more points and two others were only two points or less off that feat. The coming at you from all sides approach is going to be a major factor in Ontario’s success.

Prediction: Experience prevails. Texas in five.

–

   Chicago Wolves (C1) vs. Rockford IceHogs (C4)   

How the Wolves got here: Went on a tear in the final month of the season to push Manitoba out of the top spot in the Central, something that the Moose held for months.

How the IceHogs got here: Using the free fall that the Iowa Wild experienced and overcoming the inconsistant Milwaukee Admirals, Rockford rose above the best of the rest and claimed the final seed in the Central.

How they match up: 6-2-3-1 if you are a Wolves fan, 6-6 if you are an IceHogs fan.

How Chicago wins: The Wolves won arguably the most volatile division. They have to maintain focus and realize that the job is not done and not overlook the Rockford IceHogs.

How Rockford wins: Containing Teemu Pulkkinen. Pulkkinen led the Wolves in points and torched the IceHogs this season for 14 of those 65 points for the Wolves. No easy task, but in order to win, you need to do the things that are hard to do.

Prediction: Wolves make this look easy. Chicago in four.

–

   Grand Rapids Griffins (C2) vs. Manitoba Moose (C3)    

How the Griffins got here: Defending champs struggled mightily to start the season, but slowly warmed, caught up with the pack and flirted with the division championship before getting passed by the Wolves for the top spot. A 7-1-1-1 run to end the season was only bested by Chicago’s long term consistency.

How the Moose got here: The Moose didn’t win the Central. So what? They have coach of the year in Pascal Vincent, rookie of the year in Mason Appleton and defenseman of the year in Sami Niku. Considering where they were last year (7th in an 8 team Central) this is a major improvement for a Moose team that many didn’t expect to be here, with all these accolades.

How they match up: 6-2 for Grand Rapids over Manitoba; 2-5-1-0 for the Moose over the Griffins.

How Grand Rapids wins: They have been here before, having won two Calder Cups in recent memory. Using that experience for remaining players and the run that they were on to end the year carries the Griffins past the Moose.

How Manitoba wins: They have the best coach, the best rookie and the best defenseman. They had a hiccup at the end of the season but rivaled Toronto for the best overall record in the AHL. Getting back to that approach and quickly pushes the Moose across the line over the defensing champions.

Prediction: The decline of Manitoba proves too hard to reverse. Defending champions advance here. Grand Rapids in four.

–

That’s how I see the West shaking out. Check back tomorrow for the Eastern Conference Previews.

The AHL

AHL Power Rankings: Week 28

1 Comment Posted by on April 16, 2018

Welcome to the final Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings entry for the 2017-18 season! Thanks for reading this project of mine going on five years here on the blog.

Here’s how we do the final entry of the season in the Power Rankings. The regular season champion is number one, followed by the conference champion that wasn’t the regular season champion. Then, the division winners fill out the top four, usually the hottest team after that fills out the top five. All 16 teams that qualified for the postseason are 1 though 16.

I’ll have to remember or go back and look to see if I did this in prior seasons, but the last place teams in each division finish 26 through 30 in this years iteration.

Toronto is your number one team and the regular season champion. They are followed by the dangerously consistent Western Conference Champion Tucson Roadrunners. Teams like Manitoba, Grand Rapids and Chicago stole the headlines throughout the season, yet the Roadrunners continued to plod through their season and stayed at the top of the Pacific Division and are the best team in the West.

Lehigh Valley and Chicago were the second best teams in their conferences, so they are third and fourth followed by Charlotte, who ended the season on a tear.

Click past the Checkers to see the rest of the order and thanks for reading again this year!

1

 Last Week: TOR 4 @ LAV 1, LAV 4 @ TOR 6, BEL 3 @ TOR 4
Should be interesting to see how easy (or how hard) it is for Toronto to just run through the field of 16 like grass through a goose. The Marlies are your obvious choice to win it all.

n/a

 Playoffs?: Yes, vs. Utica
Record: 54-18-2-2

2

 Last Week: TUC 4 @ SD 0, SD 2 @ TUC 3, SD 3 @ TUC 6
Tucson is best in the West. Don’t underestimate the Roadrunners at all. They need to be careful, though, with the white hot San Jose Barracuda in a no room for error five game series.

+1

 Playoffs?: Yes, vs. San Jose
Record: 42-20-5-1

3

 Last Week: BRI 2 @ LV 5, WBS 1 @ LV 2 (SO)
104 points and an Atlantic Division Championship. Atlantic has four very good teams, so it will be interesting to see if the Phantoms are the last team standing here in a month or so.

-1

 Playoffs?: Yes, vs. Providence
Record: 47-19-5-5

4

 Last Week: CHI 4 @ MIL 3 (SO), CHI 6 @ RFD 4, RFD 4 @ CHI 5, MTB 3 @ CHI 1
Should be a fun series for the Wolves with Rockford, who came on strong at the end to edge into the playoffs. Same could be said about the Wolves who came on strong to capture the Central Division Championship.

+3

 Playoffs?: Yes, vs. Rockford
Record: 42-23-7-4

5

 Last Week: CHA 5 @ PRO 3, CHA 4 @ BRI 1
Meet the Penguins in Round One. Are probably the hottest team coming into the Calder Cup Playoffs.

-1

 Playoffs?: Yes, vs. Wilkes-Barre
Record: 45-26-1-3

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

Power Rankings

The Caravan is Here

Comments Off on The Caravan is Here Posted by on April 11, 2018

With the Wheeling Nailers season ending last weekend, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins recalled seven players from their ECHL affiliate.

They are forwards Reid Gardiner, Troy Josephs and Cody Wydo, and defensemen Kevin Spinozzi and Dylan Zink. Cam Brown, a forward and defenseman Kevin Schulze were signed to professional tryout agreements.

Also, Anthony Angello, who Pittsburgh signed last week out of Cornell University, was signed to an amateur tryout contract.

I believe that the Penguins can lock up home ice over the Providence Bruins with a win in Springfield with a Bruins loss to the Charlotte Checkers. That would put Wilkes-Barre five points up on Providence with two games left to play for each team. Charlotte after Friday has one game left. All the Penguins would need to do would win one more game to get home ice in the first round because that would put them at 98 points. Charlotte can only max out at 96.

It’s still all up in the air and nothing is decided yet in the Atlantic but for the fact that Lehigh Valley is number one. Stay tuned, I guess and pick your poison for your first round opponent.

Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday. I do not believe that Pittsburgh will be sending any reinforcements. Dominik Simon would be the one name that I would watch for, but not yet.

I have the Penguins winning in five over the Flyers, by the way.

But for anything breaking, check me out again here on the blog Friday at 3 for the Springfield setup.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

AHL Power Rankings: Week 27

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 27 Posted by on April 9, 2018

It’s the penultimate week of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings and things are coming into focus for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

No change to the top three, Toronto, Lehigh Valley and Tucson are the top three teams. Rockford stays in fifth, needing just one point to clinch a playoff spot.

The Charlotte Checkers are fourth in the order, and are on a tear and a team you don’t want in the first round of the playoffs.

To check out the other 25 teams, click past the Rockford capsule and enjoy.

1

 Last Week: UTI 2 @ TOR 3 (OT), TOR 2 @ UTI 3 (SO), TOR 5 @ RCH 6 (OT)
Regular season champs should be odds on favorite to claim the Calder Cup, but were all know how that went last season with last years regular season champion Penguins.

n/a

 This Week: @ LAV 4/13, vs. LAV 4/14, vs. BEL 4/15
Record: 51-18-2-2

2

 Last Week: LV 1 @ CHA 3, LV 1 @ CHA 6, LV 2 @ HFD 3 (OT), LV 6 @ PRO 3
Wrapped up home ice in the first and second rounds this weekend. We will give them the advantage over a date with Providence. Charlotte? Not so much.

n/a

 This Week: vs. BRI 4/13, vs. WBS 4/14
Record: 45-19-5-5

3

 Last Week: GR 0 @ TUC 3, GR 4 @ TUC 1
Have proven it all season long, now look to prove it where it matters the most.

n/a

 This Week: @ SD 4/11, vs. SD 4/13, vs. SD 4/14
Record: 39-20-5-1

4

 Last Week: LV 1 @ CHA 3, LV 1 @ CHA 6, HER 3 @ CHA 7, HER 1 @ CHA 3
Five wins in a row and an eight game point streak. Checkers getting hot at the right time.

+4

 This Week: @ PRO 4/13, @ BRI 4/15
Record: 44-26-1-3

5

 Last Week: RFD 4 @ SA 2, RFD 3 @ TEX 2 (OT), RFD 3 @ TEX 4
IceHogs are a point away from clinching a spot. Barring a meltdown, should happen before Friday.

n/a

 This Week: @ IA 4/10, vs. CHI 4/13, @ CHI 4/14
Record: 39-26-4-4

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

Power Rankings

Daniel Sprong Named to All Rookie Team

Comments Off on Daniel Sprong Named to All Rookie Team Posted by on April 5, 2018

Lost in the Tom Kostopolus retirement news Wednesday was the announcement from the American Hockey League that Daniel Sprong was named to the All-Rookie team.

Announcement here. Sprong joins his buddy Dylan Strome from the Tucson Roadrunners at the forward position.

From the Coal Street release, Sprong became the eighth Penguin ever named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team, joining Casey DeSmith (2016-17), Jake Guentzel (2016-17), Matt Murray (2014-15), Alex Goligoski (2007-08), John Curry (2007-08), Michel Ouellet (2003-04) and Toby Petersen (2000-01).

Sprong leads all league rookies in goals, and he ranks second in points, shots (181), power play goals (10) and game-winning goals (6). His 57 points also place him ninth in the overall AHL scoring standings.

It’s a great accomplishment for Sprong and a credit to him as a professional and the coaching staff here in Wilkes-Barre to put Sprong in this position to succeed.

Does Sprong come close to these numbers in the NHL this season? No, not the way that the organization values so highly development. But that is what the American Hockey League is for, to have players like Sprong to thrive at this level, succeed and be awarded at seasons end.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

AHL Power Rankings: Week 26

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 26 Posted by on April 2, 2018

As the calendar turns to April, there are a ton of races to watch as the finish line is in sight.

Six teams have qualified. A handful more should punch their ticket this week. There is a bunch of playoff seed jockeying still going on in all the divisions.

We use the Week 26 version of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings to break it all down.

Toronto jumps back into the top spot this week after breaking the AHL record for wins on the road, followed closely by Lehigh Valley who are going to wrap up the Atlantic Division fairly soon.

Tucson is back to third after punching their ticket to the postseason followed by your new Central Division leaders in Chicago, who overtook the stale Moose for first in the division this week.

The top five is rounded out with a white hot Rockford side who are surging.

Pop past the IceHogs to see where your favorite team ended up this week.

1

 Last Week: LAV 1 @ TOR 5, TOR 3 @ MTB 2, TOR 5 @ MTB 4
Marlies continue to roll. Set an AHL records for most road wins this past weekend. There is still another two weeks left in the season, by the way.

+1

 This Week: vs. UTI 4/5, @ UTI 4/6, @ RCH 4/7
Record: 50-18-1-1

2

 Last Week: PRO 0 @ LV 2, BEL 2 @ LV 4
Lehigh Valley are firing on all cylinders and should be close to wrapping up the division title this week. First round playoff preview this week with Charlotte most likely.

-1

 This Week: @ CHA 4/3, @ CHA 4/4, @ HFD 4/7, @ PRO 4/8
Record: 44-17-4-5

3

 Last Week: TUC 6 @ IA 4, TUC 4 @ IA 3
Roadrunners punch a ticket to the Calder Cup Playoffs, the first Western Conference team to do so. Tucson has flown under the radar for a bit here and are ready to shine in the postseason.

+1

 This Week: vs. GR 4/6, vs. GR 4/7
Record: 38-19-5-1

4

 Last Week: IA 1 @ CHI 3, TEX 2 @ CHI 1 (SO)
Took over first in the Central after Manitoba’s free fall. Tough opponents coming up this week for the new Central leaders.

+2

 This Week: vs. MIL 4/3, @ IA 4/6, vs. MIL 4/7
Record: 38-21-7-3

5

 Last Week: RFD 4 @ MTB 2, RFD 4 @ MTB 3, SJ 3 @ RFD 5
IceHogs are 8-1-1-0 in their last ten and on a roll which is what you need when you storm into playoffs. You want a dark horse team? Look no further.

+2

 This Week: @ SA 4/4, @ TEX 4/6, @ TEX 4/7
Record: 37-25-4-4

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

Power Rankings

AHL Power Rankings: Week 25

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 25 Posted by on March 26, 2018

Things are decided in the North Division. The four teams (Toronto, Syracuse, Rochester and Utica) are set to tangle in less than a month in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

The rest of the divisions remain in flux.

Just a quick shuffle in the top five this week with Syracuse and Tucson swapping spots. After fifth place Providence, pop past the jump if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up. Let’s dive right in…

1

 Last Week: LV 4 @ PRO 5 (OT), LV 1 @ PRO 6
Wrapped up a spot in the playoffs this weekend, will probably sew up the division as well. Forget about that 6-1 thumping that Providence put on Lehigh Valley and move on.

n/a

 This Week: vs. PRO 3/30, vs. BEL 3/31
Record: 42-17-4-5

2

 Last Week: WBS 3 @ TOR 4 (OT), TOR 4 @ BEL 2, BEL 4 @ TOR 2, SPR 2 @ TOR 0
Possible Calder Cup Final preview this week in Winnipeg or nah?

n/a

 This Week: vs. LAV 3/28, @ MTB 3/30, @ MTB 3/31
Record: 47-18-1-1

3

 Last Week: BRI 1 @ SYR 4, UTI 0 @ SYR 2
Crunch are jockeying for home ice. Given the schedule this week, will probably cement that status.

+1

 This Week: vs. BNG 3/28, vs. BEL 3/30, vs. CHA 3/31
Record: 41-19-3-4

4

 Last Week: SJ 0 @ TUC 4, SJ 4 @ TUC 3 (OT), TUC 2 @ BAK 1, TUC 2 @ SJ 3
5 of 8 points this week for Tucson who continue to sit atop the Pacific. Two this week with a stone cold Iowa side.

-1

 This Week: @ IA 3/30, @ IA 3/31
Record: 36-19-5-1

5

 Last Week: LV 4 @ PRO 5 (OT), LV 1 @ PRO 6
Bruins getting previews of possible playoff opponents. Home ice with Wilkes-Barre not decided yet, will probably come down to final weekend. Two this week with their likely first round opponent.

n/a

 This Week: @ WBS 3/28, @ LV 3/30, @ WBS 3/31
Record: 40-21-3-2

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

Power Rankings

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