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I was called out of the area this afternoon and was not able to watch or listen to about 95% of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Charlotte Checkers and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins so I relied on Twitter to keep me updated. I guess you can say the tables turned.

From what I gathered from Twitter, the Penguins were in control through 40 minutes of play and had a 2-0 lead on the Charlotte Checkers going into the third period. Tristan Jarry was dialed in.

If you don’t get the headline, you must not be an Aerosmith fan. It was the same old story and same old song and dance for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

The keys to the game tonight were simple. Stay out of the penalty box, maintain your composure and limit mistakes against this high octane, offensively gifted Charlotte Checkers team. For two periods it worked, for the third and final period, it didn’t.

I played basketball in college. One of the million things that resonated with me from my time away from home in Northeastern Pennsylvania still to this day was my coach telling us in certain situations that we are not playing to win, we are playing not to lose.

In the third period of Game 1 tonight, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins had a 2-0 lead and played not to lose.

Stay out of the penalty box, maintain your composure and limit mistakes were the goals. The Penguins didn’t accomplish any of them, giving up two goals in the third, one on a power play after a bonehead turnover and the Penguins trail 0-1 in this best of five with Game 2 set to go off Saturday at 6 in Charlotte.

Game 2 basically becomes must win for Wilkes-Barre. It’s a tough spot. No lead will be safe based off of the third period collapse tonight. The Penguins know that and more dangerously Charlotte knows that. If the Penguins want to win tomorrow, it may take a 5-0 lead after the first period and just going into a shell for the final 40 minutes.

Tristan Jarry came to play tonight, stopping 35 shots. The Penguins tweeted out about four GIFs of his saves. It’s the team in front of him that played not to lose and now face a seemingly must win situation in Game 2 Saturday.

Since I didn’t watch the game, that’s pretty much it. Andrey Pedan scored late in the first on a power play and Daniel Sprong scored on a boffo shot from center ice in the second. Aleksi Saarela scored on a snipe to start the comeback in the third, and leading regular season goal scorer Valentin Zykov scored on a power play about five minutes later to tie it. The Penguins never possessed the puck in overtime and Lucas Wallmark tipped in a shot through a mess of bodies which may or may not have been interference on Jarry and the Checkers take game one 3-2 in overtime.

I have no idea if the Checkers are going to put out a highlight package. So here are the Penguins goals starting with Andrey Pedan…

And Sprong….

And all three Checkers goals in one tweet.

Game 2 goes tomorrow at 6 from Charlotte, meaning that the Gameday setup here on the blog will be out Saturday at 2.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Usually you would see that headline in the final game of a season where the team featured played its last game of the campaign.

That’s not true here, as the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are headed to the Calder Cup for the 16th straight season.

But, with nothing to play for and their seeding locked in at two, the Penguins dressed a young, inexperienced lineup in Hershey today.

They all looked like cagey veterans. Penguins win 3-2 in Hershey Sunday afternoon and will face the Charlotte Checkers in Round One of the Calder Cup Playoffs that open Friday in Charlotte.

But let’s get back to the Penguins and their regular season for a second. 45 wins, 99 points, second in the Atlantic. 10-0-1-1 against Hershey, the most dominant one opponent was against the other in this storied rivalry.

The Penguins enter the 2018 Calder Cup playoffs as a team looking for a Calder Cup for their captain. No other heavy expectations as a number one overall seed like they were last year when they went out in five games over the Providence Bruins. Much of that same core returns and is upgraded greatly, defense is one area.

But we can get to all that in the coming week. For tonight, Anthony Peters opposed Vitek Vanecek.

Lines were…

Adam Johnson – Gage Quinney – Daneil Sprong
Christian Thomas – Jarrett Burton – Jan Drozg
Ryan Haggerty – Sam Lafferty – Anthony Angello
Troy Josephs – Cam Brown – Patrick McGrath

Niclas Almari – Ethan Prow
Andrey Pedan – Jeff Taylor
Kevin Schulze – Dane Birks

Anthony Peters – Tristan Jarry

Lineup Notes: With this basically being a free game to play withnothibg on the line, Clark Donatelli rested the likes of J-S Dea, Tom Kostopoulos, Teddy Blueger, Zach Trotman, Tom Sestito and the like. Dane Birks and Jan Drozg made their pro debuts and Cam Brown made his WBS debut.

First Period: If first impressions are lasting ones, then the number one impression I got when watching the first period on AHL Live is that these newcomers that Donatelli put in the lineup today are good. Hershey, dressing a lineup full of regular players, got all they could handle from the ATO players.

Daniel Sprong put the Penguins ahead 1-0 halfway through on a power play on this wrist shot that beat Vitek Vanecek.

Hershey had a power play come and go, then Jarrett Burton scored in the final minute of the period when he unleashed a writer that beat Vanecek and double the Penguins lead.

Jan Drozg was credited with the secondary assist on the play, his first AHL point.

Second Period: Was a quick pace to the period, with the Bears failing to score on a power play, Daniel Sprong and Adam Johnson failing to connect on a 2-on-1 and Dustin Gazley scoring in the final minute of the second to cut the Penguins lead to one. Anthony Peters stopped a few shots, never corralled the rebound and the puck squirted to Gazley in the slot for the goal.

Third Period: Daniel Sprong put a shot on and Gage Quinney put in a rebound to extend the lead to two again for Wilkes-Barre…

Bears would score on a 6-on-4 power play with Vitek Vanecek pulled when Jeremy Langlois tipped in a shot from the point to bring the Bears to within one, but Hershey would not get any closer.

Three Stars: 3) Garrett Mitchell (milestone 400th AHL game) 2) Dustin Gazley (goal, +1) and 1) Daniel Sprong (+1)

Around the Division: Providence beat Springfield 4-2 to briefly jump to third, but Charlotte beat Bridgeport 4-1 to take third and the first round matchup with Wilkes-Barre. Everyone else ended their season but for Lehigh Valley who open round one against Providence.

Video Highlights: 

Here is the first round schedule that went live moments after the Charlotte game went final:

Here’s Clark’s thoughts on the Checkers series after the game…

But, but, you told me it was going top be Providence all along! What’s up with that?!

The great Mark Divver caught up with a Springfield player who shared his thoughts on Wilkes-Barre…

I would have asked a follow up about the Checkers, but I guess you had to be there.

Anyway, as for this week, Week 28 AHL Power Rankings hit the blog Monday at 4. The Western Conference Playoff Preview will be out Tuesday and the Eastern Conference Playoff Preview will run Wednesday. Pens / Checkers breakdown will be Thursday with the full Gameday setup Friday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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A defensive battle and a goaltenders duel between Michael Leighton and Alex Lyon tonight in Allentown as the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins battled the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to a scoreless draw late in the third period.

Garrett Wilson finally broke the deadlock with a goal when he muscled a puck past and through Lyon to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

What happened after that, really was inconsequential.

The Phantoms, who battered Leighton with shot after shot in the third period, finally broke through with under a minute to play with Lyon vacated for the extra attacker with a goal from Chris Conner. It was a goal that Leighton would want back.

But it was inconsequential.

No scoring in overtime, Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored in the top of the fourth for the Phantoms and gave the Atlantic Division Champions an extra point to their already impressive season. Pens lose 2-1 in a shootout.

Yep, there is that five syllable word again: Inconsequential.

But why? Why is it inconsequential?

All the Penguins needed was one point to secure home ice in the first round. They got it with the play of Michale Leighton and the goal by Wilson. It seems funny to me that in instances where the Penguins need a big performance, like clinching a playoff spot last weekend and sewing up home ice in round one, it’s Michael Leighton that always ends up in the starting rotation.

The Penguins released their home schedule, what is still not known is the opponent. Providence shutout Springfield 5-0 in Springfield Saturday to keep their hopes at a three seed alive. It will come down to the final games Sunday afternoon. Providence hosts the Thunderbirds in a rematch and Charlotte closes out the regular season with a game in Bridgeport. The Penguins will probably dress a young lineup, much like the Phantoms did tonight Sunday afternoon in Hershey.

I’ll give the home schedule to you at the end of the blog story. I usually, when the Penguins are on the road, write the first and second period recaps in between intermissions. I would just use what I wrote above and just call it a night but since it’s already written, may as well use it.

So the lines were….

Garrett Wilson – J-S Dea – Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson – Gage Quinney – Anthony Angello
Tom Sestito – Jarrett Burton – Christian Thomas
Joseph Cramarossa – Teddy Blueger – Tom Kostopoulos

Chris Summers – Lukas Bengtsson
Niclas Almari – Kevin Czuczman
Jarred Tinordi – Zach Trotman

Michael Leighton – Tristan Jarry

Lineup Notes: Two Penguins draft picks made their WBS season debuts. Anthony Angello was in for Ryan Haggerty and Niclas Almari was in for Andrey Pedan.

First Period: If you are going to read about the game in the papers Sunday, the best summary of what happened in the first period in Allentown may read, “After a scoreless first period…” That’s because nothing really of substance happened beyond teams trading a few power plays.

Second Period: Reverse of fortunes for the teams. The Penguins started off slow in the first period and turned it on, then the Phantoms started slow in the second and turned it on as the period went on. The Penguins had to kill a 4:00 double minor and did so successfully. Niclas Almari busted up a would be breakaway for the Phantoms after his defense partner Kevin Czuczman was stopped point blank by Alex Lyon.

Third Period: Leighton was dialed in, stopping Radev Fazleev and Aube-Kubel on two separate attempts.

Garrett Wilson finally broke the scoreless deadlock.

With Lyon out, Chris Conner scored to tie the game. Leighton caught slightly off balance and Conner won the race to the puck near side and poked it home.

Overtime: Decided nothing. Pens had a power play that they did not score on. They were 0-for-4 tonight.

Shootout: Lyon and Leighton stopped the first three shooters they faced. Aube-Kubel scored on Leighton in the top of the fourth and Lyon stopped J-S Dea in the bottom of the fourth to secure the extra point for the Phantoms.

Three Stars: 3) Nicolas Aube-Kubel (shootout game winning goal, -1) 2) Michael Leighton (30 saves on 31 shots) and 1) Alex Lyon (26 saves on 27 shots)

Around the Division: Hartford beat Binghamton 4-2, Hershey beat Bridgeport 2-1 in the insignificant games in the Division, Providence shutout Springfield 5-0 to pull within a point of idle Charlotte to pull within a point to third place in the Atlantic in the only other game in the Division which mattered.

Standings: Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre have home ice locked up round one. Charlotte has 94 points and are a point ahead of Providence. Bridgeport, Hartford, Springfield and Hershey round out the division.

If Lehigh Valley runs a highlight package I will put it here.

Here is your Round One home schedule for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton. What is NOT known is opponent yet. Penguins will employ the 2-3 format because of distance to Providence or Charlotte.

“One More Kick at the Cup” appears to be the playoff motto. With this being Tom Kostopoulos’ final run, appropriate marketing.

Here are you scenarios for opponent.

If Charlotte wins or are tied with Providence in points, Charlotte is the three seed.

If Providence wins AND Charlotte loses in regulation, Providence is the three seed.

I’ll have more answers on this for sure tomorrow. Gameday setup for the final regular season home game in Hershey hits the blog Sunday at 1.

Let’s Go Pens!