Chirps from Center Ice

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

Category Archives: The AHL

Mish Mash Too Cold to Take a Bath

2 Comments Posted by on November 26, 2013

Tons of stuff to catch up on here Tuesday afternoon…

— Brian Gibbons is back. Re-assigned this morning.

— Up top, Beau Bennett is out 8-10 weeks with a broken wrist. Tanner Glass is out with a broken hand. That’s why the demotion of Gibbons is head scratching to me.

— Here’s some nice words from Pittsburgh on Andrew Ebbett. In that, you’ll also find that Paul Martin is out with a lower body injury.

So where does that leave Wilkes-Barre?

— Carter Rowney was recalled from Wheeling today.

— Peter Merth and Pierre Leblond practiced today, from the Tuesday Bombulie update.

Jonathan really has things covered in his offering today. He mentions that a forward could still go back up tomorrow as well as Simon Despres because of Paul Martin’s injury and that Despres uses his right frame of mind.*

Oh, and Matt D’Agostini is on waivers. If no one claims him, he could end up on the ice with the Penguins tomorrow in Glens Falls, NY.

—

Three other things before I wrap it up. Remember the big hit in Saturday’s game Tom Kuhnhackl took by J.C. Lipon of St. John’s? Lipon was suspended two games as a result by the AHL today….Zack Torquato was named ECHL Player of the Week for the Wheeling Nailers. Torquato is on an ECHL only deal, meaning he can sign with any AHL team. He was in Wilkes-Barre camp last season if I remember correctly…..There is a new ECHL team which will take the ice for the 2014-2015 season. They are the Indy Fuel. They’ll probably face Wheeling a few times next season.

Depending if there is a call up to Pittsburgh tomorrow and the time it happens, I might have a few words on it. If not, Gameday for tomorrow’s game in Glens Falls vs. the Phantoms will be up at 3 p.m.

* – alright, it’s a terrible joke. Left handed people use the right side of their brain. Righties use their left side. So you’ll hear the joke from left handed people that they are always “in the right frame of mind”… I’ll be here all week. Try the veal….

Not AHL, Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

Week 8 AHL Power Rankings

2 Comments Posted by on November 25, 2013

I apologize to the Steel City.

No, not the American version. The one in Hamilton, Ontario. I criminally underrated their Bulldogs in last weeks rankings and erroneously stated that they lost two in a row. The Bulldogs sit atop the North Division at the quarter pole in the AHL season. I have atoned for my ineptness, the Bulldogs are your biggest gainer this week, up 18 spots this week.

Five teams didn’t move at all this week.

The Abbotsford Heat, winners of 13 of their last 14, overtake the Binghamton Senators in Week 8. The B-Sens step down one spot to second.

To see where your favorite team ranks, check out the rest of the rankings below. Click through the jump if you didn’t link in from somewhere else.

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Power Rankings

Zach’s Weekend in Wilkes-Barre

Comments Off on Zach’s Weekend in Wilkes-Barre Posted by on November 24, 2013

Kinda knew when I saw the reports from Pittsburgh about Beau Bennett’s injury that at least one Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguin would get the call.

Turns out it was two.

Pittsburgh recalled Zach Sill and Andrew Ebbett Sunday evening. For Sill, the thinking is that the Pittsburgh brass didn’t get enough of a look at him last time he was up appearing in just one game. For Ebbett, Pittsburgh clearly sending a message that they want to evaluate what they have depth-wise as Jayson Megna could be argued as a more worthy call-up.

Depth wise here in Wilkes-Barre, it all depends on the health and wellness of Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond and Nick Drazenovic. If either one of those two can play Wednesday night on Glens Falls, then the Penguins won’t need to make another recall from Wheeling. Denver Manderson and Cody Sylvester were the healthy forward scratches Saturday night vs. St. John’s.

I suppose we find out early, as usually it’s custom to let the call-up get a practice in with the team before throwing them into a game situation.

Think that’s bad? The Syracuse Crunch have been demolished lately with recalls and injuries of their own. My blog pals at Chairman How’s Glorious Army have it all covered if you want to peek across the fence to see the state of affairs of a divisional rival.

If there’s a recall from the Wheel, I’ll have something to write about Monday. If not, check out my Week 8 AHL Power Rankings Monday afternoon at 4.

Let’s Go Pens!!

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

Puppies! Kittens! Rainbows!

Comments Off on Puppies! Kittens! Rainbows! Posted by on November 19, 2013

I opted for this headline because the alternative one I had in mind, “Mannino, Farnham Suspended” seemed to grim to me.

But it’s true. Bobby Farnham was suspended one game by the AHL today and will miss tomorrows road game at Rochester for an illegal check to the head Friday in Syracuse. No penalty was called. In fact, Farnham played the game without being penalized.

But, a part of Rule 28.1 of the AHL Rulebook reads as follows…

If an investigation is requested by a Club, it must be initiated within
twenty-four (24) hours following the completion of the game in which
the incident occurred. In addition, teams are required to fill out a
request for supplemental discipline form along with a two hundred fifty
dollar ($250) deposit refundable if further action is taken by the
League.

So it’s safe to assume that the Syracuse Crunch sent tape to the League Office in Springfield and asked them to review it.

EDIT: Yep, they did, as reported by Lindsay Kramer who covers the Syracuse Crunch.

The other news of the day was that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have suspended G Peter Mannino for apparently not reporting to the Wheeling Nailers. Jonathan Bombulie had more on this…

In between all of this, there was news that Brad Thiessen was released by HIFK in Finland. Normally, when this happens, the player wants to be released. It could mean that the player has another deal lined up in another league in another country, possibly North America.

Great! Thiessen is coming back to Wilkes-Barre, right?

Wrong…

–

We’ll have to see what happens with Mannino and monitor where Thiessen ends up.

Barring anymore breaking news, the Gameday setup for tomorrow’s game in Rochester will be up at 3 p.m.

Not AHL, WBS

Week 7 AHL Power Rankings

3 Comments Posted by on November 18, 2013

NOTE: News of the day from Coal Street included Brian Gibbons’ recall and four recalls from Wheeling. Read about it here.

More bad than good in Week 7 of the AHL Power Rankings. That’s why teams like the Chicago Wolves are up 13 spots in 9th this week after winning five in a row.

It also seems like the team that gets to number one, can’t stay there. Last week it was the Grand Rapids Griffins. They lost two this week to divisional foes and are down seven spots in eighth.

If the Abbotsford Heat won ten in a row, they’d be number one. Ilya Bryzgalov made sure that didn’t happen Saturday in Oklahoma City so the Binghamton Senators are your new number one. Can they stay there? They have one this week with Adirondack, whom they are 1-2 against and two this weekend with the Hershey Bears, the only team this week not to go anywhere in the rankings this week.

Biggest fall this week belongs to your Syracuse Crunch, down eleven to thirteenth.

If you didn’t link in from somewhere else, click through to see where everyone else filed in.

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Power Rankings

This Isn’t a Potpourri Factory

Comments Off on This Isn’t a Potpourri Factory Posted by on November 14, 2013

Well, maybe it is.

Here’s a catch-you-up from the week that was….

— Steven Stamkos was hurt Monday playing in Boston. As a result, JT Brown and Dmitry Korobov were called up from Syracuse to help fill the void. Brown has always killed Wilkes-Barre in one way or another, so we will see what his absence does for the Crunch heading into the weekend and beyond.

— Ex-Penguin Keven Veilleux was loaned to the Elmira Jackals by the Portland Pirates. The Pirates’ ECHL affiliate is the Gwinnett Gladiators. This is an interesting move. The Jackals are in Wheeling tonight.

— Ex-Penguin goalie John Curry was named ECHL Goaltender of the Week. Curry plays for the Orlando Solar Bears.

— Certified Penguin Killer Tomas Kundratek was sidelined Sunday in Hershey with an ACL tear. He will need surgery and is obviously out. The Bears come to Wilkes-Barre Saturday night.

— Coupla moves on Coal Street today. First, they got Jayson Megna back from Pittsburgh and sent Harrison Ruopp to Wheeling. Megna’s return means Paul Thompson most likely is back to eating popcorn in the stands.

Finally, I will not be able to tweet the Syracuse game tomorrow. But the blog will still be covered. I’m putting together a list of those who will tweet the game and will run it here Friday night. I will be able to listen to and most likely watch the game on AHL Live on my iPhone and most likely will have a recap here afterwards as always.

Let’s Go Pens!

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

Week 6 AHL Power Rankings

Comments Off on Week 6 AHL Power Rankings Posted by on November 11, 2013

I really dislike Monday games. One, the Penguins rarely play Monday games and two, the AHL Power Rankings go up later waiting for the days action to finish.

Some shuffling this week as everyone is in a different spot from last week.

The Utica Comets are out of the basement! Yes! The Comets won two games this week and are finally in the win column!

Biggest riser this weeks are the Providence Bruins, Adirondack Phantoms and Syracuse Crunch, all up 9 spots respectively.

To prove to you guys I’m not a Penguins homer when it comes to the Power Rankings, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are among three other teams (Norfolk, Charlotte and Hartford) down ten spots this week from last week.

After the jump if you haven’t linked in from someplace else, the rankings for Week 6:

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Power Rankings

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