Chirps from Center Ice

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4                                  5

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Playoffs are a different animal man.

The Penguins, 20 points better than the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the regular season, are swept in the First Round of the Calder Cup Playoffs on Friday night 5-4 2:11 into overtime on a Jacob Gaucher game winning goal.

The Phantoms will advance to the Atlantic Division Semifinals where they will face the Hershey Bears. The Pens will go home.

Wilkes-Barre had a 3-1 lead in the third period, then disaster struck. I don’t want to spoil the story for you, so please read on.

Lines were…

Lineup Notes: Marc Johnstone returned from injury, replacing Matt Filipe. On defense, Scooter Brickey from THEE Ohio State University was in for Dmitri Samorukov.

First Period: Wilkes-Barre seemed a step quicker than the Phantoms with their backs against the wall facing elimination. They kind of needed a quick start and got one 2:17 into the game when Valtteri Puustinen deflected a Jack Rathbone shot that put the Penguins ahead 1-0.

Penguins had three power plays in the period to the Phantoms one. Corey Andonovski had a shorthanded bid and, like he attempted in Game 1 on similar circumstances, tried to go five hole on Cal Petersen but Petersen read the play well then and read the play the same way in Game 2.

Second Period: Theme this period was the Penguins power play and inability to score on same. They had a carry over power play to open the period and didn’t score. They got another crack at 2:30 and didn’t score. Then the scales tipped into the favor of the home team. Lehigh Valley gets a chance on the power play and didn’t score but the Pens survive a scare of sorts when the red light comes on behind Blomqvist but the puck didn’t even enter the crease. Wilkes-Barre navigates out of this, but then the Phantoms get another crack at another power play and Ronnie Attard cashes and ties the game at one at 9:19.

Joel Blomqvist spills a rebound of the initial Attard shot there, bodies bussing in front and Attard picks the near corner.

Deflating, yes, as the Phantoms started running downhill and got some momentum back. But then Louie Belpedio puts a puck over glass for a delay of game and six seconds into the ensuing power play which followed, Radim Zohorna did this…

Big goal here on a rebound off a shot from Hinostroza from the point, and the Wilkes-Barre re-establishes the lead.

2:52 later and Ville Koivunen finds a streaking Jack Rathbone in the slot and Rathbone wires one home that gives Wilkes-Barre a two goal advantage.

I ragged on Jack Rathbone earlier in the year. I will admit that he has come into his own and has scored big goals late down the stretch for the Penguins.

Third Period: So the Phantoms have eight comeback wins this season.

The Penguins hit a disaster stretch of 2:43.

First, Jonathan Gruden was called for a check to the head when the replay clearly didn’t show contact.

Then on the power play in a scrum, Xavier Ouellet legitimately cross checks Rhett Gardner in the back and that put the Phantoms on a five on three for :38.

:16 into that, Emil Andrae scored.

But :22 after that, Tanner Laczynski tied the game at three on the back end of the two man advantage. There was some debate as to whether the shot was directed in legally with a high stick, but after a conference between linesmen Ryan Jackson and Jud Ritter, referees Jack Young and Jordan Deckard allowed the goal to stand. You be the judge.

Scoresheet credited the goal to Laczynski, not Brink as Bob Rotruck gleefully indicates above.

The Penguins gave up another power play but Wilkes-Barre navigated clean out of that.

Radim Zohorna to the rescue?

That was a hell of a pass by Valtteri Puustinen there that reestablished the Penguins lead with 3:48 to play. All five Penguins touched the puck on the play.

But, :34 later, Tanner Laczynski scored again to tie the game at four. Sam Poulin was tripped behind the play, no call. Marc Johnstone tackled in the corner, no call.

Suffice to say that Jordan Deckard and Jack Young shouldn’t see another playoff game this season. They will, but they shouldn’t.

No one else scored. It was off to…

Overtime: The Penguins didn’t record a shot, the Phantoms had a quick start and a hot finish.

Defensive zone face-off win. Brandon Furry with the initial shot, Joel Blomqvist with the save, but Jacob Gauthier there for the rebound to put the Phantoms through and the Penguins to the offseason.

Three Stars: 3) Emil Andrade (goal, assist) 2) Tanner Laczynski (two goals) 1) Jacob Gaucher (game winning overtime goal)

The Good: Overall positive season. They finished third, got better as the season wore on and got a playoff spot.

The Bad: Another early playoff exit. Will they ever win the big one? Faceoffs were an issue all series. They got killed in the dot in Game 1, and as you just saw they lose a face-off in the offensive zone which ultimately ended their season.

Turning Point: The 2:43 of madness that they seem to find themselves in the postseason sees Lehigh Valley score a pair of goals in :22, steals all the momentum and they ride the rail to overtime, where they can’t win a face-off and lose on a rush and a rebound that ends their season way too early.

Listen, I didn’t like their chances against the Providence Bruins if they got there. What we are doing is meaningless, because Hershey is the overwhelming favorite in the posteseason, but then sometimes these underdog teams like the Phantoms go on runs and upset everything in their way. Can the Phantoms beat Hershey? I don’t think so. But I’m also the guy that said the Penguins would sweep the team that just swept them.

So that’s it. Thanks for following along again for another season. Lots of woody banter with most of you which I appreciate.

I’ll be around, I may do a player grade thing like I did at the end of last season here and will be around on Twitter and will still pay attention to the Calder Cup Playoffs here to see the Colorado Eagles win the Calder Cup.

Talk to you soon.

Let’s Go Pens!

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2                                   1

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I guess the easiest thing going for me is that for as long as the Penguins are on the brink of elimination, I am going to whip out this headline because the theme for this postseason from Coal Street is, “Let ‘Em Cook” – just so you know.

A lot of chemists out there all of a sudden.

I say that because of the 2-1 setback the Lehigh Valley Phantoms dealt the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in Game 1 of their First Round series Wednesday night and all of the chemists out there saying that due to “chemistry” it was one of the reasons the Penguins are already facing elimination.

Game 2 goes Friday from Allentown.

So, by these peoples logic, they would allow Raivis Ansons to play over Valtteri Puustinen because Ansons has been on the team all season here in the AHL and Puustinen hasn’t. All of these new players and this influx is allegedly messing with the “chemistry” all of a sudden. They complain when Pittsburgh takes the players then blame it on chemistry when they return them.

Going a step further, the Penguins would have about 24 points this season and would have only won 12 games if the chemistry argument was to believed, what with the constant lineup changes and recalls and injuries.

No, tonights game was a game of inches.

About midway through the first period in a then scoreless contest, Jonathan Gruden fed Matt Filipe on a two on one rush. Filipe received the pass, shot it into a wide open net but Cal Petersen was there for a diving save, knocking the puck out of the direction of the net with the backside of the glove.

Lehigh Valley strikes at 14:37 of the first when Adam Brooks sneaks in a shot through the right armpit of Joel Blomqvist and it was 1-0 to the visitors.

Inches.

Then, just :58 into the second period and the Penguins desperate for a response after getting run over in the last 10 minutes of the first period, Rhett Gardner, a Penguins killer, sweeps in a pinballing puck off an uncorralled rebound from Blomqvist and it’s 2-0.

There were multiple problems facing the Penguins in Game 1. None of it had anything to do with chemistry.

• Want. Phantoms played hungrier and a perfect road game, taking the fans out of it early after the first TV time out, dominating possession time.
• Bodies. Wilkes-Barre was manhandled below the dots in Game 1. The Phantoms played the game from the bottom up and it seemed to work.
• Joel Blomqvist was shaky. Remember he’s a rookie and this is his first playoff series. A lot of brass in the building tonight as well. He’s human and pressure busts pipes.

Ville Koivunen scored his first North American pro goal off a deft feed from Sam Poulin far side late in the second which gave Wilkes-Barre life.

He was acquired in the trade for Jake Guentzel and early returns on him were positive. He skated on a line with Poulin and Puustinen.

Nothing doing in the third for either side. I counted three posts that the Phantoms rang in the game, two in the second and one in the third. Evenly played period for the most part with a lot of play and not many whistles. It seemed at times that referees Jim Curtin and Riley Brace threw out the AHL rulebook because I counted a few blatant cross checks and trips that went uncalled that three weeks ago puts a team on a power play. They were fine. The Penguins did not lose the game because of the officiating.

Here’s how they lined up…

Lineup Notes: Jonathan Gruden (injury return) Tristan Broz and the aforementioned Ville Koivunen made their season debuts for the Penguins. No changes defensively from the last regular season game.

I, for one, didn’t particularly like the play of Dmitri Samorukov or Ryan Shea Wednesday. The Phantoms owned the ice from the dots down and Samorukov and Shea were a part of that, in part. I saw chatter about Taylor Fedun having a poor night, I didn’t notice him much which is a good thing in my book, your mileage may vary.

Three Stars: 3) Ville Koivunen (goal) 2) Cal Petersen (21 saves) 1) Rhett Gardner

The Good: Future is bright it would seem with Koivunen. He comes from overseas where they play on bigger ice but didn’t look out of place at all.

The Bad: I don’t know what defensive adjustments J.D. Forrest has at his disposal. I’m not advocating for placing Owen Pickering or Emil Pieniniemi in there for Game 2 with the season on the line. He may be in a box here.

Turning Point: I think it’s below…

Here’s your highlights…

The Petersen save on Filipe is right around the minute mark of the video. An argument can be had that if that goes in, it’s a different result for the Penguins maybe because it completely would turn the tide in the game. Since it really was just a save on just a shot, if you want to give it to Gardner and his goal :58 into the second period that made it 2-0, I am not going to stop you.

Game 2 is Friday with the season on the line. They better be ready.

I really am not looking forward to a Sunday at 5 p.m. start in Wilkes-Barre with both teams seasons on the line. Que será, será.

Let’s Go Pens!

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2                                0

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21 saves by Ludovic Waeber and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins seal the third spot in the Atlantic Division with 87 points and a First Round date with the team that they defeated Saturday in the season finale in the Phantoms with a 2-0 win.

Here’s the First Round schedule.

For gods sake I hope it ends in a sweep because the last damn thing I want to do is come to a Sunday home game that starts at 5. And if there is overtime? On a Sunday? Which is a work night?! Egads!

Here’s how they lined up…

If some of those names on the Phantoms don’t sound familiar, it’s because they aren’t, Lehigh Valley, locked into the six seed, dressed a greener lineup and rested regulars.

Lineup Notes: Evan Vierling and Isaac Belliveau were sent to Wheeling Saturday afternoon. Scooter Brickey and Matt Quercia also yielded for the Pittsburgh reinforcements.

First Period: No scoring. No penalties. Slow start. Moving on…

Second Period: Teams traded penalties. Sam Poulin scored on a nice feed from Valtteri Puustinen and that gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

Great vision by Puustinen to find a streaking Poulin and better finish by Poulin for the goal.

Third Period: Penguins carried a penalty kill into the period but on the expiration of that Radim Zohorna finished off a tic tac toe play with Vinnie Hinostroza and the aforementioned Puustinen again that made it 2-0 Penguins.

My initial thought was Hinostroza was going to shoot there and it looked like he kinda did, but it was a pass to the front for the redirect by Zohorna and in.

Really it’s about uneventful hockey and just getting out clean, and that’s what they did here. Waeber, facing a more inexperienced lineup, only faced six Phantoms shots in the third.

Three Stars: 3) Alexei Kolosov (22 saves) 2) Sam Poulin (goal) 1) Ludovic Waeber (21 save shutout)

The Good: 87 points is about 10-15 points higher than I thought they would finish. They surprises all of us, and are getting hot at the right time. Maybe, just maybe…

The Bad: Not found. They sewed up the three seed and their backup goaltender got a shutout.

Turning Point: The Zohorna goal that made it two gets it here.

Around the Division: Charlotte beats Hershey 4-1. The Bears will not finish with the best points percentage in AHL history, that dubious distinction remains with our friends on the Southern Tier of New York and the Binghamton Rangers. Bridgeport beats Providence 4-1….Hartford beats Springfield 6-4.

Standings: Hershey 111 – Providence 91 – Penguins 87 – Charlotte 85 – Hartford 78 – Lehigh Valley 71 – Springfield 65 – Bridgeport 59

Wheeling Update: The Nailers needed a win in Game 2 and got one in a big way winning 7-1 in Indy over the Fuel. That series is tied 1-1. Justin Addamo had four assists. Evan Vierling had a pair of goals.

Video Highlights: Aren’t up yet. To the AHL VideoCenter you go.

I will have a generalized Calder Cup Preview from start to finish for you likely Tuesday here and we will just roll into Game 1 from there. I like their chances in the First Round against Lehigh Valley. Not so much against Providence in the next round. Explained more in depth Tuesday for you.

Let’s Go Pens!

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2                                  3

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Depending on your view of this one, a 4-3 Penguins loss in Hartford on Friday, the Penguins…

…sleptwalked through two periods and found themselves down 2-0 but then used a pair of goals in short order to tie the game, but got bit late on a 5-on-3 power play goal from the hosts.
…took way too many penalties (seven) in the contest and with the combination of a slow start crippled with having to kill 14 minutes of penalties ion a 60 minute hockey game, the results are what they are.

So it could have been way worse, but it wasn’t.

The bad news is that Providence beat Springfield and the Penguins cannot get to the second seed and first round bye. So they will be in the first round playing a best of three, we just don’t know against who, because they still haven’t nailed down the three seed yet.

Let’s get to that later.

Here’s how they lined up. Hartford didn’t post lines:

Lineup Notes: From Sunday in Hershey, it was Jagger Joshua for Logan Pietila up front and Owen Headrick for Isaac Belliveau on defense. Ryan Shea cleared waivers at 2 thus making him eligible for assignment to the AHL and the Penguins released Emil Järventie and defenseman Kalle Kangas from their ATOs.

First Period: Wasn’t good. It’s a good thing Joel Blomqvist is as decorated as he was this past week because he was busy in the first, stopping all 12 shots faced and stymying the Hartford power play three times. Wilkes-Barre had just a paltry three shots on goal.

Second Period: Bryan Yoon, playing in his second AHL game, breaks the deadlock with a rebound of a Bobby Trivigno shot that made it 1-0 Hartford.

Shots at the end of the second were 21-9 Wolf Pack. The Penguins could not get out of their own way.

Third Period: It continued into the third period. Nik Brouillard scored just :43 in to make it 2-0 Hartford.

But then, two goals in :39 for the Penguins had them tied and the Wolf Pack stunned.

First Jack Rathbone floated to the slot and snapped a shot home that made it 2-1 Pens.

Then Austin Rueschhoff, skating in his 200th AHL game, scored against his former team and tied the game at two.

But the Penguins continued to battle penalties and found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-on-3 and it was Nic Petan that scored to make it 3-2.

The Penguins, with Blomqvist pulled for the extra attacker, had a power play late but could not find the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Jack Rathbone (goal, assist) 2) Nikolas Brouillard (goal, assist) 1) Nic Petan (goal, assist)

The Good: I liked the scoring in flashes. They went down swinging.

The Bad: Gotta clean up the penalties and I didn’t like the fact that Hartford couldn’t win to save their arse two weeks ago, look like a well oiled machine and are getting hot at the right time all of a sudden.

Turning Point: The Petan gets it here.

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley takes the final spot in the Atlantic and qualify for the playoffs with a 3-0 shutout win in Bridgeport….Providence beats Springfield and earn a first round bye with a 4-2 win.

Standings: Hershey 111 – Providence 91 – Penguins 85 – Charlotte 83 – Hartford 76 – Lehigh Valley 71 – Springfield 65 – Bridgeport 57

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose Game 1 of Kelly Cup Playoffs in Indy 5-2. Dillon Hamiluk had a goal for the Nailers in the loss.

Video Highlights: AHL Video Center is probably your best bet for you sickos.

They wrap the regular season tomorrow in Allentown. Talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!