Chirps from Center Ice

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

Category Archives: The AHL

Path to Providence

Comments Off on Path to Providence Posted by on May 8, 2013

The second round opponent for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins has been decided, finally.

It’s the Providence Bruins.

Who are the Providence Bruins? The regular season champions. The Atlantic Division Champions and only the tenth team in AHL history to come back from down 0-2 to win a five game series. They defeated the Bears tonight 3-2 to become just the tenth team in AHL history to come back from an 0-2 hole in a best of five to win a series.

The Penguins open Friday in Providence. The rest of the schedule can be found here:

Eastern Conference Semifinal – Series “I” (best-of-7)

1-Providence Bruins [BOS] vs. 5-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins [PIT]

Game 1 – Fri., May 10 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
Game 2 – Sat., May 11 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
Game 3 – Wed., May 15 – Providence at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Game 4 – Fri., May 17 – Providence at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 5 – Sat., May 18 – Providence at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 6 – Mon., May 20 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05
*Game 7 – Wed., May 22 – W-B/Scranton at Providence, 7:05

*if necessary… All times Eastern

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Pressed for time here, but you are in luck! This week, I wrote two previews. One for the Providence Bruins, which you will see tomorrow at noon and one for Syracuse I am probably placing into the trash bin on the blog now by the time you read this.

Let’s Go Pens! All In!!!!

The AHL, WBS

Wednesday Scenarios

1 Comment Posted by on May 8, 2013

Today is finally the day when the Eastern Conference Semifinal picture is painted. With Game 5 tonight in Providence between the Bruins and the Hershey Bears, I created a little chart here to help you figure out whom plays whom if who wins tonight.

If… Providence wins… Hershey wins…
Springfield plays Syracuse plays Hershey
Syracuse plays Springfield plays Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre plays Providence plays Syracuse

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The schedules have already been released. Click here if you want to see.

I will have blurbs on the deciding game and the Penguins Round 2 opponent later tonight.

The AHL, WBS

Still Waiting….

Comments Off on Still Waiting…. Posted by on May 5, 2013

Just finished a fantastic weekend where the weather in Wilkes-Barre was low 70s with sun, sun and more sun. A tremendously peaceful weekend, knowing that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are already onto the second round.

I thought, Thursday night walking out to my truck after sweeping the Binghamton Senators, that by Saturday, Sunday the latest, we would know the second round opponent.

Nope.

We do know one thing. It’s not Springfield, who showed Manchester the door last night in overtime. It’s down to Syracuse or Providence.

The Bruins beat the Hershey Bears twice this weekend in Hershey. The regular season champions blew out the Bears 5-1 Saturday and won an epic battle Sunday afternoon 5-4 in a back and forth battle for the ages.

Game 5 is Wednesday in Providence.

Scenarios: A Providence win means the Penguins head to Rhode Island. A Providence loss and the Penguins head to Syracuse.

So for the Penguins, they either take on the regular season champion Providence Bruins or the winners of the best division in the AHL in Syracuse.

I am not going to muddy the mind in giving potential Game 1 openers. It will be next weekend, sometime.

So enjoy this hold music. The operator will be with you shortly….

The AHL, WBS

Step Out of Wilkes-Barre For a Second…

Comments Off on Step Out of Wilkes-Barre For a Second… Posted by on April 30, 2013

So to break up the monotony of nothing to write about between games two and three between the Penguins and the Senators, here’s a look at the three other series currently ongoing in the Eastern Conference:

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SYRPOR

(6) Portland vs. (3) Syracuse
(SYR leads 2-0)

Game 1 Saturday had the Pirates up 2-0 at one point but the Crunch scored on three of eleven power plays and Richard Panik ended it in overtime and the Crunch went on to win 4-3. The next night the Crunch scored the first four goals and coasted to an easy 4-2 win.

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HERPRO

(8) Hershey vs. (1) Providence
(HER leads 2-0)

To the surprise of no one that works at this blog (read: me) the Providence Bruins are down 0-2 to an East Division counterpart. The Bears have fought and clawed for weeks to get in the playoffs and now that they are in drew the Providence Bruins who haven’t faced competition in Hershey all season long. Part and parcel is because of the eight teams that made playoffs in the Eastern Conference, four came from the East Division. Goaltender of the Year Niklas Svedberg was lit up for four goals on Friday and the Bears won easily 5-2. In Game 2 Sunday, the Bears tied the game late and won in overtime 5-4. Oh, and by the way, the Bears power play is 5/10 in the series. Is the Big Bear Machine getting hot at the right time or did Providence underestimate its opponent? Time will tell.

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button_spr200

MCH

(7) Manchester vs. (2) Springfield
(SPR leads 2-0)

All you need to know about this series is that Cody Bass scored both game winning goals in overtime. Have to get a body on him in sudden death, if I was the Manchester coaching staff.

If all the series end in sweeps or, with the teams in the lead winning the series, the Eastern Conference Semifinals will look like this:

(2) Springfield vs. (8) Hershey
(3) Syracuse vs. (5) Wilkes-Barre / Scranton

Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves though, shall we?

But for huge breaking news tonight, tomorrow or the lead up to Game 3, look for the next blog update to come in the form of the Game 3 setup for Thursday night’s game vs. Binghamton.

Let’s Go Pens!

The AHL

Penguins / B-Sens Series Preview

Comments Off on Penguins / B-Sens Series Preview Posted by on April 26, 2013

Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 6.16.54 PM

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The most wonderful time of the year can also be the most frustrating time of the year.

For the eleventh straight season, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs. With the amount of roster turnover that goes on year to year, team to team, making playoffs eleven consecutive times as a minor league hockey franchise is a remarkable achievement.

For these Penguins, its been ten years in and ten years out with no Calder Cup. Meanwhile Hershey, Norfolk and the opponent in our way in Binghamton have all lifted the championship trophy in recent years. The Penguins started off the season with a strong lineup and fine-tuned as the season wore on with the additions of Chad Kolarik and Derek Nesbitt. The journey begins tomorrow night in Binghamton and hopefully ends in June with a party.

But before we let visions of grandeur enter into our psyche too vividly, there is a series to breakdown.

The Penguins open the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs Saturday night on the Southern Tier of New York vs. a Binghamton Senators team which defied expectations all season long. The B-Sens have used the term “pesky” to describe themselves and played their way to a 4 seed and nearly snuck up on the East Division Champion Syracuse Crunch.

The Penguins went 4-6 vs. their closest rival this season but some of that is obscured by the NHL lockout that ended in January. Goaltender Robin Lehner was called up to Ottawa shortly after the labor strife ended peacefully and then the Penguins started having success. Lehner is not available for Binghamton this go around.

And now it’s time for the breakdown:

Forwards:

The B-Sens have three rookies in Mark Stone, Shane Prince and Cole Schneider who are among the top five in scoring for the team. Their best players are first year guys who are going to be experiencing Calder Cup playoffs for the very first time.

Wilkes-Barre has Chad Kolarik, Trevor Smith, Riley Holzapfel and Derek Nesbitt which pace the team in points. Nesbitt was a late add and only has a game with the team. Smith, who won a Calder Cup last year with the Norfolk Admirals centers Kolarik and Holzapfel.

The Penguins are the lowest scoring team in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Penguins look like a one line team on paper. Shutdown one or two of the top line if you are Binghamton and you have a good chance of winning.

Advantage: Binghamton

Defense:

Both teams play stingy defense and were both in the top five in goals allowed. Wilkes-Barre has allowed the fewest goals in all the AHL and that defense has flat out won games for the Penguins this season.

Advantage: Push

Goaltending:

The Penguins have Brad Thiessen and Jeff Zatkoff, winners of the Hap Holmes award for fewest goals allowed. Yes, the defense for the Penguins has been the best all year long in the League but the duo of Zatkoff and Thiessen have been better.

Binghamton has Nathan Lawson and Marc Chevrie. Pens fans may remember Lawson from the Bridgeport series a few years ago. Lawson has been dealing with an injury this week and has not practiced. The backup to Chevrie is Scott Greenham, who has played 11:00 of AHL hockey in mop up duty Sunday.

Advantage: Penguins

Intangibles:

John Hynes is the winningest coach in Penguins history. Luke Richardson some say is the primary reason why the B-Sens are where they are. Coaching advantage goes to Hynes slightly, only because the Pens have been to and have had success in the Calder Cup Playoffs with him at the helm in the past. The B-Sens and Penguins won’t be putting on any clinics on how to score on the power play, both teams were in the bottom third in the League in this category. To make up for this, the Penguins have been at the top of the penalty kill all season long and the B-Sens are top ten. Special teams may be a push, but could slide to either side as the series goes on.

Social Media Coverage:

For the Penguins…

Twitter: @WBSPenguins
Radio: @MikeOBrienWBS // @TGracePens
Beat: @CVBombulie
Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins
Fan Blogger: @nafsnep

For the B-Sens…

Twitter: @BSens_Hockey
Radio: @BSensRadio // @PPPShow
Beat: @PSBSens
Facebook: /binghamtonsenators
Front Office: @KateKrenzer

Prediction: Penguins in four. The Penguins have to get the advantage in the series early because the longer that the “pesky” B-Sens stick around the more dangerous they become. I don’t think anyone in Wilkes-Barre wants to see this series go the distance.

Gameday setup for Game 1 drops tomorrow at 3 p.m.

The AHL, WBS

Calder Cup Playoff Preview — Eastern Conference

Comments Off on Calder Cup Playoff Preview — Eastern Conference Posted by on April 25, 2013

cc13_primary

Welcome back to the Calder Cup Playoff Previews! Yesterday, I previewed the Western Conference. Today, we return to more familiar territory in the Eastern Conference. Here are the capsules for the teams that made it.

bng

Binghamton Senators

Record: 44-24-1-7 // 96 pts., 2nd place East Division (4 seed)

Power Play: 27th // 13.6%

Penalty Kill: 6th // 85.6%

Top 3 Scorers: Mark Stone 15-23-38 // Stephane Da Costa 13-25-38 // Shane Prince 18-17-35

Overview: The resilient Senators stayed at the top of the East Division all season and gave in-state rival Syracuse a late run for the division title.

First Round Opponent: Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Record vs. the Penguins: 6-2-0-2

Odds to win Calder Cup: 20:1

her

Hershey Bears

Record: 36-31-3-6 // 81 pts., 4th place East Division (8 seed)

Power Play: 11th // 18%

Penalty Kill: 10th // 84.2%

Top 3 Scorers: Jeff Taffe 18-53-71 // Casey Wellman 16-37-53 // Jon DiSalvatore 18-31-49

Overview: The Bears struggled all season and looked to miss the playoffs but got in on the last day.

First Round Opponent: Providence Bruins

Record vs. the Bruins: 1-1

Odds to win Calder Cup: 55:1

mch

Manchester Monarchs

Record: 37-32-3-4 // 81 points, 3rd place Atlantic Division (7 seed)

Power Play: 23rd // 15%

Penalty Kill: 14th // 83.2%

Top 3 Scorers: Linden Vey 22-45-67 // Brandon Kozun 26-30-56 // Tyler Toffoli 28-23-51

Overview: Monarchs got in on the final weekend by winning two of three and while the Connecticut Whale nosedived out.

First Round Opponent: Springfield Falcons

Record vs. the Falcons: 2-3-0-1

Odds to win Calder Cup: 45:1

por

Portland Pirates

Record: 71-30-3-2 // 87 pts., 2nd place Atlantic Division (6 seed)

Power Play: 15th // 16.6%

Penalty Kill: 20th // 82.5%

Top 3 Scorers: Andy Miele 19-34-53 // Alexandre Bolduc* 24-27-51 // Chris Brown 29-18-47

Overview: Pirates could have caught the Penguins on the last day for the 5 seed but lost to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on the final day of the regular season and now face the Syracuse Crunch, a team they have not played at all this season.

First Round Opponent: Syracuse Crunch

Record vs. the Crunch: Did not play.

Odds to win Calder Cup: 25:1

prov

Providence Bruins

Record: 50-21-0-5 // 105 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division (1 seed)

Power Play: 8th // 18.5%

Penalty Kill: 5th // 85.7%

Top 3 Scorers: Ryan Spooner 17-40-57 // Carter Camper 10-37-47 // Craig Cunningham 25-21-46

Overview: The P-Bruins are the only team with 50 wins, no overtime losses, and were the class of the AHL pretty much all season long.

First Round Opponent: Hershey Bears

Record vs. the Bears: 1-1

Odds to win Calder Cup: 4:1

spr

Springfield Falcons

Record: 45-22-5-4 // 99 pts, 1st place Northeast Division (2 seed)

Power Play: 6th // 19%

Penalty Kill: 8th // 85.2%

Top 3 Scorers: Jonathan Audy-Marchessault 21-46-67 // Nick Drazenovic 17-36-53 // Ryan Craig 20-27-47

Overview: One of the highest scoring teams in the league. The Falcons boast youth and talent. Curtis McElhinney is a hell of a goaltender too. Will be a tough out.

First Round Opponent: Manchester Monarchs

Record vs. the Monarchs: 4-1-0-1

Odds to win Calder Cup: 9:1

syr

Syracuse Crunch

Record: 43-22-6-5 // 97 pts., 1st place East Division (3 seed)

Power Play: 12th // 17.4%

Penalty Kill: 9th // 84.4%

Top 3 Scorers: Tyler Johnson 37-28-65 // Brett Connolly 31-32-63 // Ondrej Palat 13-39-52

Overview: Class of the East Division. Will be getting a cavalry back from Tampa Bay. Only caveat may be the loss of head coach Jon Cooper, who guided much of this group to a Calder Cup Championship last Spring.

First Round Opponent: Portland Pirates

Record vs. the Pirates: Did not play.

Odds to win Calder Cup: 7:1

wbs calder 13

Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Record: 42-30-2-2 // 88 pts., 3rd place East Division (5 seed)

Power Play: 22nd // 15.1%

Penalty Kill: 1st // 87.2%

Top 3 Scorers: Chad Kolarik 31-37-68 // Trevor Smith 23-31-54 // Riley Holzapfel 21-30-51

Overview: One of the hottest teams of late. Best penalty kill, best defense, two of the best goaltenders in the League all season long. Eleven straight playoff appearances. All that is left is that elusive Calder Cup.

First Round Opponent: Binghamton Senators

Record vs. the Senators: 4-6

Odds to win Calder Cup: 12:1

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So there you have it. I return tomorrow with the series breakdown of the Binghamton series and give my prediction.

The AHL

Calder Cup Playoff Preview — Western Conference

Comments Off on Calder Cup Playoff Preview — Western Conference Posted by on April 24, 2013

cc13_primary

We are about 48 hours away from the first pucks hitting the ice in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs! Below, you will find the Western Conference Playoff Preview.

I try my best to offer up as much intelligent information / analysis on teams the Penguins and the rest of the Eastern Conference never play. If you are a fan of a Western Conference team and you find my capsules to be way off base, drop a line in comments.

Here goes nothing…

cha

Charlotte Checkers

Record: 42-26-4-4 // 92 pts. 2nd place South Division (4 seed)

Power Play: 5th // 20.2%

Penalty Kill: 3rd // 86.5%

Top 3 Scorers: Chris Terry 25-35-60 / Brett Sutter 19-29-48 / Zach Boychuk 23-20-43

Overview: Checkers are one of the few teams that have all three top scorers with the team. They boast sound special teams. This will be the Checkers’ first go at playoffs in the Western Conference.

First Round Opponent: Oklahoma City Barons

Record vs. the Barons: 4-4

Odds to win Calder Cup: 20:1

gr

Grand Rapids Griffins

Record: 42-26-4-4 // 92 pts., 1st place Midwest Division (3 seed)

Power Play: 9th // 18.5%

Penalty Kill: 29th // 80.3%

Top 3 Scorers: Gustav Nyquist* 23-37-60 / Tomas Tatar 23-26-49 / Landon Ferraro 24-23-47

Overview: Won one of the tightest divisions in hockey. Parent Detroit may miss NHL playoffs. If you don’t get the Griffins in Round 1, you may not get them.

First Round Opponent: Houston Aeros

Record vs. the Aeros: 4-2

Odds to win Calder Cup: 15:1

* – on NHL recall

hou

Houston Aeros

Record: 40-26-5-5 // 90 pts., 4th place South Division (6 seed)

Power Play: 7th // 19%

Penalty Kill: 18th // 82.6%

Top 3 Scorers: Justin Fontaine 23-33-56 / Jason Zucker 24-26-50 / Brian Connelly 5-34-39

Overview: Lame Duck Aeros are going to go all out and play with nothing to lose. Is probably one of the stronger lower seeds.

First Round Opponent: Grand Rapids Griffins

Record vs. the Griffins: 2-3-0-1

Odds to win Calder Cup: 70:1

mil

Milwaukee Admirals

Record: 41-28-4-3 // 89 pts., 2nd place Midwest Division (8 seed)

Power Play: 26th // 14.2%

Penalty Kill: 19th // 82.6%

Top 3 Scorers: Zach Hamill 19-25-44 / Taylor Beck* 11-30-41 / Austin Watson 20-17-37

Overview: The last team to get in the playoffs, the Milwaukee Admirals have made the playoffs for an eleventh consecutive season, tied with the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins as active leaders.

First Round Opponent: Texas Stars

Record vs. the Stars: 0-1-1-0

Odds to win Calder Cup: 75:1

* – Beck is on NHL recall

okc

Oklahoma City Barons

Record: 40-25-2-9 // 91 pts., 3rd place South Division (5 seed)

Power Play: 1st // 21.6%

Penalty Kill: 30th // 79.3%

Top 3 Scorers: Mark Arcobello 22-46-68 / Jordan Eberle* 25-26-51 / Justin Schultz* 18-30-48

Overview: Funfact: The Barons have the best power play and the worst penalty kill in the AHL.

First Round Opponent: Charlotte Checkers

Record vs. the Checkers: 4-3-1-0

Odds to win Calder Cup: 25:1

* – Eberle and Schultz played for the Barons during the NHL lockout

rch

Rochester Americans

Record: 43-29-3-1 // 90 pts., 2nd place North Division (7 seed)

Power Play: 4th // 20.3%

Penalty Kill: 2nd // 87%

Top 3 Scorers: Mark Mancari 22-39-61 / Kevin Porter* 15-29-44 / Johan Larsson 16-25-41

Overview: Bad draw for the Amerks in Round 1. They have had virtually no success against the Marlies.

First Round Opponent: Toronto Marlies

Record vs. the Marlies: 1-7-1-1

Odds to win Calder Cup: 100:1

* – Porter on NHL recall

tex

Texas Stars

Record: 43-22-5-6 // 97 pts., 1st place South Division (1 seed)

Power Play: 2nd // 20.9%

Penalty Kill: 22nd // 81.8%

Top 3 Scorers: Colton Sceviour 21-31-52 / Matt Fraser* 33-13-46 / Travis Morin 12-32-44

Overview: Stars are primed for another run at the Calder Cup Finals. Won the most competitive division in hockey. If they continue the pace set, will be skating for Calder in June.

First Round Opponent: Milwaukee Admirals

Record vs. the Admirals: 2-0

Odds to win Calder Cup: 7:1

* – Fraser on NHL recall

tor

Toronto Marlies

Record: 43-23-3-7 // 1st place North Division (2 seed)

Power Play: 19th // 16.4%

Penalty Kill: 15th // 83.1%

Top 3 Scorers: Ryan Hamilton* 30-18-48 / Joe Colborne* 14-28-42 / Keith Aucoin* 10-27-37

Overview: Defending Western Conference champions back looking for revenge. The Marlies dominated their division and their opponent in the first round, the Rochester Americans. Are the Texas Stars biggest challenge.

First Round Opponent: Rochester Americans

Record vs. the Amerks: 9-1

Odds to win Calder Cup: 12:1

* – all on NHL recall, Aucoin isn’t in the organization anymore (New York Islanders)

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So there you have it. Hopefully I sound semi-intelligent here. I will have a better idea of what I am talking about tomorrow when I roll out the Eastern Conference Calder Cup Playoff Preview.

The AHL

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