Chirps from Center Ice

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

Category Archives: The AHL

Now, the Real Fun Starts!

Comments Off on Now, the Real Fun Starts! Posted by on April 21, 2013

The Penguins woke up this morning not knowing who they would be playing in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

They will go to bed knowing that their closest neighbors await their challenge Saturday night on the Southern Tier of New York.

Let’s all party like it’s 2005! It’s the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins and the Binghamton Senators in the best of five Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Games 1 and 2 will be Saturday and Sunday in Binghamton. But first, let’s see how the final seedings were decided today:

POR     1

BRI     4

Recap: The Bridgeport Sound Tigers do the Penguins a favor and defeat the Portland Pirates by a score of 4-1. The Sound Tigers jumped out to a 3-1 lead after twenty minutes and held the Pirates at bay for the final 40 minutes. The Portland loss locks the Penguins at the five seed and the Pirates at the six. The Pirates face off against the Syracuse Crunch in Round 1.

BNG     5

SYR     1

Recap: Syracuse’s hopes of jumping up to the two seed fell short, losing to the Binghamton Senators 5-1 today, but the East Division Champion Crunch will settle for the three seed. Bingo scored five goals, from five different goal scorers, and no player that dressed was a minus.

NOR     3

PRO     4

Recap: The Norfolk Admirals were tied with the Providence Bruins 3-3 when Ryan Spooner scored a hat trick with :21 left pushing the P-Bruins to a 4-3 win. This effectively ended the Admirals season. A backbreaking, heartbreaking way to lose. There will be a new champion crowned in June.

MCH     2

HER     4

Recap: Locked into the seven seed and playing with house money, the Manchester Monarchs rolled out rookie Ty Rimmer in goal. He let in his first shot faced at :16 and the Hershey Bears never looked back and rolled to a 4-2 win and the final berth in the Eastern Conference.

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The Penguins and B-Sens announced the first round playoff schedule. Home teams in CAPS.

Game 1 – Saturday, Apr. 27, W-B/Scranton at BINGHAMTON, 7:05 PM
Game 2 – Sunday, Apr. 28, W-B/Scranton at BINGHAMTON, 5:05 PM
Game 3 – Thursday, May 2, W-B/SCRANTON vs. Binghamton, 7:05 PM
*Game 4 – Saturday, May 4,  W-B/SCRANTON vs. Binghamton, 7:05 PM
*Game 5 – Monday, May 6,  W-B/Scranton at BINGHAMTON, 7:05 PM

* – if necessary

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Finally, a bit of news today regarding the Penguins. Brad Thiessen and Jeff Zatkoff were named recipients of the Harry “Hap” Holmes Award this afternoon. The award is presented to the goaltender(s) with at least 25 games played on the team which allows the fewest goals in the regular season. The Penguins allowed a league low 178 goals in 2012-2013.

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Here’s the schedule of content at Chirps from Center Ice this week…

Monday: Fourth Quarter Grades
Tuesday: Nothing planned. Follow me on Twitter for news, if any, and check the blog anyway.
Wednesday: Calder Cup Playoff Preview — Western Conference
Thursday: Calder Cup Playoff Preview — Eastern Conference
Friday: Penguins vs. B-Sens Series Preview
Saturday: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 1 Gameday setup with postgame recap after the game.
Sunday: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game 2 Gameday setup with postgame recap after the game.

All blog content publishes at noon each day, with exception of the Gameday setups, which will publish at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Let’s Go Pens! All In!

The AHL, WBS

Seven on the Floor

Comments Off on Seven on the Floor Posted by on April 17, 2013

Here are a septuplet of topics on a Wednesday afternoon:

— The Penguins will be opening the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs on the road in either Syracuse or Binghamton on April 27. Both clubs announced that the Conference Quarterfinal begins April 27 with Game 2 on April 28. Mark your calendars accordingly.

— The Peter Merth Effect is back in Wilkes-Barre. Merth signed a PTO this week and is yet another depth defenseman the Penguins have in their arsenal.

— Pittsburgh signed goaltender Eric Hartzell to a one year contract for this season. Hartzell just completed a season at Quinnipiac, runners-up to champion Yale in the Frozen Four which was held in Pittsburgh last week.

— Wilkes-Barre signed a pair of players to ATOs this week. They are forwards Anton Zlobin and Matia Marcantuoni. They will practice, get a taste of what it is like to be a professional hockey player and likely take that knowledge home with them for the summertime.

— The AHL announced more award winners. Sportsman of the Year and Coach of the Year. Neither one play in the Eastern Conference.

— You like outdoor games? Next year is your year then, as the NHL will be announcing a “Stadium Series” next year to be held in outdoor baseball or football stadiums. The Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks are scheduled to play at Soldier Field next March.

— Dollar Drafts are back this Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena. Drink responsibly.

Look for the next blog update Friday, which will be the Gameday setup for that night’s game vs. Worcester.

Let’s Go Pens!

Not AHL, Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

Loading Up For the Long Haul

Comments Off on Loading Up For the Long Haul Posted by on April 10, 2013

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins made a move today that made this guy look like a buffoon:

–

I was talking about today’s AHL trade deadline.

I could not have been more wrong.

The Penguins acquired Derek Nesbitt from the Peoria Rivermen around lunch time today. Nesbitt was the leading goal scorer for the Peoria Rivermen, and the then fourth highest goal scorer in the AHL’s Rumored Western Conference. Nesbitt has 26 goals, 21 assists, 47 points in 66 games for the Rivermen this season.

Wilkes-Barre and Peoria have never played each other in their respective franchise histories, but they sure do like doing business with one another. Danny Richmond and Andy Wozniewski come to immediate mind from a few years ago. Jonathan Filewich too. The Pens get Nesbitt today for, “future considerations” so no player from the Pens is headed out West.

The Penguins are loading up for the long haul, folks. Offense drying up in postseason has been this teams Waterloo. The addition of Chad Kolarik earlier in the year and now the add of Derek Nesbitt ensure that the offensive firepower is there. Also, there’s a kid by the name of Bennett that can come back from the parent club once James Neal gets healthy.

(edit: Link here for Jonathan Bombulie’s impeccable analysis of the days events. When Bombulie uses, “biggest splash … in franchise history” you know it’s a big deal)

(edit 2: Don’t expect Nesbitt to play a regular season game for the Penguins. Nesbitt is recovering from a healing lower body injury. This coming from Dave Eminian, who covers the Rivermen. Nesbitt should be good to go for playoffs.)

It’s about to get interesting in these parts. Buy the ticket. Take the ride.

Let’s Go Pens!

The AHL, WBS

NHL Trade Deadline Wrap

Comments Off on NHL Trade Deadline Wrap Posted by on April 3, 2013

The NHL trade deadline came and went Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Here’s how things affect the AHL’s East Division:

HER-WSH

Washington / Hershey

– D Garrett Stafford for LW Dane Byers. Byers comes over from Oklahoma City. It’s an AHL vet for an AHL vet, so the Bears will remain one over the legal limit to dress each game. Byers was 6-4-10 in 58 games with the Barons this season. Moving Stafford left a hole on the Bears back end but later in the day Washington sent back Dmitry Orlov and Tomas Kundratek.

– Matt Clackson for Joel Rechlicz. Rechlicz returns to Hershey, where he is immensely popular, Clackson goes to Portland, which is his second tour with the club.

– Prospect Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat and Michael Latta. Latta will report to Hershey. He comes over from Milwaukee, where he was second on the Admirals in points and first in assists. Latta is a non-vet and a physical, aggressive player. Latta was a fan favorite in Milwaukee, too.

SYR-TBL

Tampa Bay / Syracuse

– Prospect D Kirill Gorovets for LW Philippe Paradis. Paradis is just coming off of a concussion suffered February 20 and was just medically cleared to play.

– Cory Conacher for Ben Bishop. What this means for the Crunch is to expect G Cedrick Desjardins back to Syracuse in the forseeable future.

NOR-ANA

Anaheim / Norfolk

– Jay Rosehill for Harry Zolnierczyk. Zolnierczyk actually played for the Admirals against the Penguins yesterday.

– Jeff Deslauriers for future considerations to the Minnesota Wild. The one time WBS Penguin Deslauriers was buried in the Anaheim goaltending system. He’ll join AHL Houston.

BNG-OTT

Ottawa / Binghamton

– Ben Bishop for Cory Conacher. What this means for Binghamton is Robin Lehner stays up for good as Craig Anderson’s backup and the AHL nets belong to Nathan Lawson and Marc Chevrie.

WBS-PIT

Pittsburgh / Wilkes-Barre

– Conditional draft pick for Jussi Jokinen from the Carolina Hurricanes. This is strictly a Pittsburgh move and has no bearing on Wilkes-Barre. The indirect effect may be that Beau Bennett stays in Wilkes-Barre for the remainder of the season, although he could still hypothetically go back up at anytime. Here’s Jonathan Bombulie’s take on this and more.

– Patrick Killeen to Columbus for future considerations. Killeen fell off the radar way back in the beginning of the season when he wasn’t even invited to Pittsburgh’s prospect camp. He’ll likely join the Springfield Falcons as a Black Ace.

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Analysis

I don’t see a clear winner here. I also don’t see a huge loser either. Hershey got better, but nothing that makes you say, “wow.” Maybe you can say that Binghamton lost more in having Lehner graduating full time. You also would not be wrong in asserting that Syracuse is structurally stronger in getting their number one goalie back for the playoff run. Time tells all.

There were other, “paper” moves to get players assigned to the AHL for the purposes of playing in the postseason. A notable name not on that list was Simon Despres, which means that he is with Pittsburgh for the duration. (edit: Jonathan tweets that Despres indeed has been sent to WBS to make him eligible for AHL playoffs if by chance Wilkes-Barre lasts longer than Pittsburgh in the postseason)

Let’s Go Pens!

Not AHL, The AHL, WBS

East Division Bloggers Summit – Part Two of Two

Comments Off on East Division Bloggers Summit – Part Two of Two Posted by on March 26, 2013

Welcome back to Part Two of the East Division Bloggers summit with bloggers from around the AHL’s East Division. To get you caught up, Part One is here. After the jump, you will find the final block of questions from the summit.

Read more of this post

The AHL

Famine to Feast

3 Comments Posted by on March 25, 2013

Man.

I go from having nothing to blog about for two weeks, to having content I have to hold off on because I have too much too soon (see today’s East Division Blogger Summit Part One)

Anyway, there’s a couple of things that happened today that need the blog’s attention. Off we go:

— Pittsburgh made another trade today. Douglas Murray comes over from the San Jose Sharks for draft picks.

— Now, there’s a plethora of bodies on the PIT blueline and an overage once bodies heal of roster spots. What will likely happen is best summarized by the Great Jonathan Bombulie here. The cliff notes version is that Beau Bennett and Simon Despres, both waiver exempt, return to Wilkes-Barre.

If I am Wilkes-Barre head coach John Hynes, I am beating down Pittsburgh’s door to return Bennett and Despres, if only until before the trade deadline. (April 3) after that, they go back up and stay up cause there are no roster limits at that point. These next four games are crucial for the Penguins playoff chances. Binghamton twice, Providence and a Norfolk team on the rise. In my opinion, they can only afford to lose one of these next four. They need all the help they can get.

— Some help is on the way in the form of  Trevor Smith, who was sent back today.

— I was at the Penguins Season Ticket Holder Meet and Greet tonight. I took pictures of the locker room and other random things I don’t ever remember taking pictures of. I will have those probably up on Facebook at some point this week.

— Syracuse Crunch head coach Jon Cooper was named the eighth head coach in Tampa Bay Lightning history. Rob Zettler, Cooper’s assistant in Syracuse, takes over for the Crunch as head coach.

Underestimate the Syracuse Crunch at your own risk. In my opinion, the departure of Cooper only makes them collectively stronger.

— Finally, any speculation that John Hynes was leaving the Pens to take the Boston University job have apparently died. Colorado Avalanche assistant coach David Quinn is taking the job and apparently this will be announced Tuesday.

—

Make sure you check out Part Two of the East Division Bloggers Summit Tuesday at noon.

Let’s Go Pens!

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

East Division Bloggers Summit – Part One of Two

Comments Off on East Division Bloggers Summit – Part One of Two Posted by on March 25, 2013

With the finish line of the season within sight, another season of AHL hockey is nearly behind us. With the competitiveness of the teams comprised of the AHL East Division, I decided to bring on bloggers from each of the teams in the division for a little bit of a summit, if you will, on the teams strengths and weaknesses, and what to expect going forward. Going north to south in the division, let me introduce the panel.

The Syracuse Crunch are represented by Alex, who runs the blog Chairman How’s Glorious Army. You can follow her on Twitter @Allovimo.

The Binghamton Senators are represented by Don Rieber, Jr., who writes for examiner.com and is credentialed by the B-Sens. You can check his work out here, and follow him on Twitter, @BSensExaminer

You know who represents the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, so let’s just move on.

The Hershey Bears are represented by Matt Trust, who writes for the blog Sweetest Hockey on Earth. You can follow the blog on Twitter @SweetestHockey and Matt at @Matt_Trust

The Norfolk Admirals are represented by Shawn Dulin, who writes about the Admirals for Anaheim Calling, part of the SB Nation network of blogs. You can follow Shawn @ShawnDulin

Now that you know who’s on the panel, here’s the discussion points. I asked five variations of questions. For Syracuse / Binghamton, the number one reason why they will win / won’t win the East Division this year. For Wilkes-Barre / Hershey / Norfolk, why they will or won’t make playoffs this year.

I then asked who they would least like to see in playoffs, trade deadline questions and had each complete a sentence.

There was so much information that each person gave I had to break it up into a two-day read for the blog because I didn’t want a long epistle. Plus, I haven’t had a ton of stuff to blog about in weeks, so it’s a nice way to have fresh content in the beginning of the week. Part Two will run tomorrow at the same time.

Here we go, as soon as you jump through. The “a” categories are for Syracuse and Binghamton, and the “b” questions are for Wilkes-Barre, Hershey and Norfolk.

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The AHL

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