Chirps from Center Ice

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

Category Archives: WBS

DeSmith Donut Factory — Pens WIN 6-0

Comments Off on DeSmith Donut Factory — Pens WIN 6-0 Posted by on January 6, 2018

       vs.       

0                                          6

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins needed a game like this.

The Belleville Senators have been bad all season, their 6th place showing in the North Division is only bested by last place Binghamton, who the Penguins have struggled with.

So the Penguins rightfully should crush a young, inexperienced Belleville team.

It’s exactly how the outcome turned out tonight.

A 6-0 win. Casey DeSmith was marvelous in goal tonight for the Penguins, stopping all 24 shots sent his way. The game had some lulls to it as any game would, but when called upon DeSmith was there to preserve his clean sheet. Now five wins in a row for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

Two goals from J-S Dea tonight and two more from Christian Thomas who must be pushing hard to get noticed for Team Canada and the Olympics. Secondary scoring from defensemen in Ethan Prow and Zach Trotman and that’s your ballgame.

DeSmith opposed Chris Driedger.

Lines were…

Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Garrett Wilson – Greg McKegg – Christian Thomas
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Colin Smith
Freddie Tiffels – Jarrett Burton – Thomas Di Pauli

Jarred Tinordi – Zach Trotman
Andrey Pedan – Kevin Czuczman
Chris Summers – Ethan Prow

Casey DeSmith – Anthony Peters

Lineup Notes: Earlier in the day, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Frank Corrado on waivers. Lineup wise tonight, Patrick McGrath was out for Freddie Tiffels.

First Period: Christian Thomas used a Belleville defenseman with a screen and ripped home a shot from the high slot that went in to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

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Zach Trotman a few minutes later doubles the Penguins lead to 2-0 with this shot from the point that makes it way past Driedger for a 2-0 Penguins lead…

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Despite the fact that it was a low shot period for the Belleville Senators, Casey DeSmith was dialed in, stopping a deflected puck from the point then the rebound attempt.

Second Period: Belleville tried to push back with a lot more offensive zone time then they had in the first period, but the Penguins played a bend but not break style of hockey that preserved the 2-0 lead when J-S Dea scored to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead. Dea had to be called back onto the ice by referee David Banfield after an icing call, won the face-off that ensured in his own zone, then skated the length of the ice and scored to give the Pens the 3-0 lead.

It was Dea’s first goal in 15 games, so he took the proverbial monkey on his back and threw it into Section 102.

Third Period: J-S Dea again, this time off of Driedger and in. Check this out…

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Power play goal by Dea made it 4-0 Penguins. Dea’s first multi-goal game of the season, his last coming March 5, 2017. Oh, and also…

Ethan Prow fired and scored his first goal of the season to make it 5-0.

Christian Thomas scored his second of the night that made it 6-0.

Twelve Penguins recorded at least a point and four of them had multi point nights.

It was the definition of a great team tearing apart a bad team.

Three Stars: 3) J-S Dea (two goals, +1) 2) Casey DeSmith (24 save shutout) and 1) Christian Thomas (two goals, assist, +4)

Around the Division: Really good results here if you are a Penguin fan. Providence beat Springfield 6-2…Rochester beat Lehigh Valley 3-1…Hershey crushed Charlotte 5-1…Syracuse beats Hartford 3-2…Toronto steamrolls Bridgeport 6-1.

Standings: Providence (.691 percentage points) — Penguins (.662) — Lehigh Valley (.635) — Charlotte (.614) — Bridgeport (.544) — Hershey (.500) — Hartford (.472) — Springfield (.405)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were in Cincinnati and lost to the Cyclones 4-2. Kevin Schulze and Cam Brown scored for the Nailers in the loss.

Video Highlights:

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I’m not really convinced that the Penguins are back, so to speak, rather than just playing out of their terrible December by getting pieces back together and beating some really bad teams. That week where Wilkes-Barre hosts Lehigh Valley on January 17 and then travels to Providence on the 19th is circled on my calendar as the true tests for this team.

If Frank Corrado is claimed on waivers, I’ll put a blog post up Sunday noting same. If not, Week 14 AHL Power Rankings will hit the blog Monday back on their regular time Monday at 4.

Postgamer

RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 6-0

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 6-0 Posted by on January 6, 2018

Casey DeSmith with a 24 save shutout, two goals from J-S Dea and Christian Thomas and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins subjugate the Belleville Senators Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre.

Five in a row now for the Penguins. More in a bit.

Rapid Recap

GAMEDAY: vs. Belleville 1/6

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Belleville 1/6 Posted by on January 6, 2018

vs.     

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Who: Belleville Senators

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game: Last night at home against Springfield, the Pens won 4-2. Wilkes-Barre scrapped with the Thunderbirds all night, Casey DeSmith stopped 20 of 22 shots. For Belleville, the Senators were in Binghamton last night and lost 6-1. Christian Jaros scored the only goal for Belleville in the loss.

Record: For WBS: 20-10-2-1 (43 pts., 3rd place Atlantic Division) // For BEL: 14-19-0-3 (31 pts., 6th place North Division)

Referee(s): Evgenii Romasko / David Banfield

Linesmen: Bob Goodman / Tom George

Why You Should Care: Penguins can go for five straight wins against a hapless Belleville team that are 3-7 in their last ten. This should be a game that the Penguins win easily, but if they get lax, Belleville could smack the Penguins and stun them with a big win.

Promotion(s): Pens website says, “TBD” – if you are a season ticket holder like me, don’t forget your Jake Guentzel bobblehead voucher.

Other Game to Watch: Pens trail the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by .001 percentage point in the Atlantic and the Phantoms are in Western New York taking on the Rochester Americans.

Next Five Games: @ BEL 1/12, @ LAV 1/13, LV 1/17, @ PRO 1/19, @ HFD 1/21

Gameday

Four The Birds — Pens WIN 4-2

Comments Off on Four The Birds — Pens WIN 4-2 Posted by on January 5, 2018

       vs.       

2                                          4

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Fourth win in a row for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins tonight, a 4-2 win over a pesky Springfield Thunderbirds team that were with the Penguins step or step for 59:58 tonight. It was Adam Johnson’s empty net goal with 1.7 seconds left in regulation that ultimately put the Thunderbirds away.

Casey DeSmith picked up the win tonight for the Pens, who again have won four in a row. It sure has hell doesn’t feel like a four game winning streak with the tumultuous times that Wilkes-Barre has been in and battling out of.

I said in my Rapid Recap of this one earlier that this is a game a few weeks ago that the Penguins probably lose. They didn’t, of course, because of heady defense and pack mentality offensively. No scoring in the first period, Pens outshoot Springfield by a wide margin for a time then Greg McKegg breaks the deadlock and gets the Penguins on the board. A wild third period that saw both teams score four times, is probably one that the Penguins of three weeks ago manage to overthink and let get away from them. Not tonight.

Are the Penguins back? I think yes, but I am not sure yet. Bridgeport was the biggest test of the week and the Penguins passed with flying colors. Springfield is last in the division and Belleville, Saturday’s opponent, is playing awful hockey right now and got smoked by Binghamton on the Southern Tier 6-1 last night. I don’t make the schedule and a win is a win, but come see me when the Penguins meet up with the Providence Bruins and Lehigh Valley Phantoms later down the schedule before you start asking me if they Pens are back.

Casey DeSmith opposed Samuel Montembeault.

Lines were…

Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Garrett Wilson – Greg McKegg – Christian Thomas
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Colin Smith
Thomas Di Pauli – Jarrett Burton – Patrick McGrath

Jarred Tinordi – Zach Trotman
Andrey Pedan – Kevin Czuczman
Chris Summers – Ethan Prow

Casey DeSmith – Anthony Peters

Lineup Notes: Adam Johnson was back in, replacing Cody Wydo and Zach Trotman was in for Jeff Taylor.

First Period: No scoring here but the Penguins largely dominated offensive zone time and outshot the Thunderbirds 8-5.

Second Period: Greg McKegg would sweep in a doubled deflected shot from the point on the near side to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

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Jarred Tinordi swept away a Curtis Valk shot that slipped in between DeSmith that was reviewed on replay (nice to see it’s operable again) and then later murdered Ed Wittchow in this fight…

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I have not seen a Penguins player manhandle an opponent in a fight like that in some timer. Tinordi stung Wittchow with many stiff shots, I counted nine straight at one point, full credit to the Thunderbirds defenseman for staying on his feet and not going down.

Third Period: 1:03 in, Mark Fayne scored to get the Thunderbirds on the board. He was there to poke home a rebound off of DeSmith’s pads to tie the game and make it a tie and new game again.

Christian Thomas scored on this snipe to re-establish the Penguins lead.

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Man down!

Later, Ryan Haggerty swept in a puck that the Thunderbirds did not clean up in front of Montembeault to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead.

I thought at that point it was the kill shot the Penguins finally were able to find.

:21 later, Dryden Hunt and other plans. Springfield established time in the offensive zone and Hunt scored to make it a one goal game again for the Thunderbirds.

But Springfield, with time becoming their enemy, were not able to find the equalizer and with Montembeault pulled saw Adam Johnson score on the empty net with 1.7 seconds left to ice it away for the Penguins.

Three Stars: 3) Greg McKegg (goal, +1) 2) Christian Thomas (goal, even) and 1) Ryan Haggerty (goal, +1)

Around the Division: Toronto takes down Lehigh Valley in a shootout 3-2….Hartford jumped out to a 3-0 lead and preserved it to hold on for a 3-2 win over Providence….Bridgeport scrapped with Rochester in Western New York and lost 3-2 in overtime. Charlotte was off.

Standings: Providence (.652 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.653) — Penguins (.652) — Charlotte (.632) — Bridgeport (.561) — Hershey (.486) — Hartford (.486) — Springfield (.417)

Pens are .001 percentage point behind the Lehigh Valley Phantoms with three games in hand.

Wheeling Update: Nailers score a touchdown and extra point on division leader Manchester, winning 7-4 at home. Riley Bourbonnais had a hat trick.

Video Highlights…

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Belleville is in tomorrow night for their only stop down of the year. Pens Head Coach Clark Donatelli didn’t tip his hand as to who is starting in goal against the Senators Saturday. I’ll answer for him. Casey DeSmith hasn’t seen a ton of game action, he’s the guy on the NHL contract vs. the backup on PTO, DeSmith heads out of the tunnel first Saturday night for warmups.

Gameday setup hits the blog Saturday afternoon at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 4-2

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 4-2 Posted by on January 5, 2018

This is a game I feel that the Penguins lose three, four weeks ago.

A tight one here in Wilkes-Barre as the Penguins defeat the Springfield Thunderbirds 4-2.

Goaltender duel between Casey DeSmith and Samuel Montembeault.

Greg McKegg scores in the second, then the Thunderbirds would answer early in the third. Pens would pull ahead right after. It went back and forth in a crazy third.

More in a bit. Fourth win in a row for Wilkes-Barre.

Rapid Recap

GAMEDAY: vs. Springfield 1/5

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Springfield 1/5 Posted by on January 5, 2018

vs.     

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Who: Springfield Thunderbirds

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game: Wednesday at home against Bridgeport, the Penguins won 3-2 in overtime. Wilkes-Barre battled back from a 2-0 deficit to start the third and tied it late on a Greg McKegg power play goal and Teddy Blueger scored the overtime game winner to win it for the Pens. For Springfield, the Thunderbirds beat the Hartford Wolf Pack in the Connecticut capital Saturday 5-4. Ex-Penguin Bobby Farnham had a pair of goals for the Thunderbirds in the win.

Last Meeting: December 13 in Wilkes-Barre, the Pens won 6-3. The Penguins used three goals in the third period to propel past the Thunderbirds.

Record: For WBS: 19-10-2-1 (41 pts., 3rd place Atlantic Division) // For BRI: 14-19-1-1 (30 pts., 8th place Atlantic Division)

Referee(s): Reid Anderson / Cameron Voss

Linesmen: James Tobias / J.P. Waleski

Why You Should Care: Can the Penguins keep the streak going against Springfield? The Pens will be looking for carbon copies of the last three games, keeping them close and trying to stay perfect on the penalty kill, to propel them past Springfield today.

Promotion(s): WBRE Fan Friday ($14 Tickets), Postgame Autographs, $2 Draft Beers (6-7:30 p.m.) / PA Lottery Giveaway (Fans 18 and older)

Other Game to Watch: Lehigh Valley visits Toronto. The Phantoms are looking to keep the heat on first place Providence.

Next Five Games: BEL 1/6, @ BEL 1/12, @ LAV 1/13, LV 1/17, @ PRO 1/19

Gameday

That’s All-Star Casey DeSmith to You…

Comments Off on That’s All-Star Casey DeSmith to You… Posted by on January 4, 2018

The American Hockey League announced on Thursday afternoon the playing rosters for the All-Star Classic which will be held in Utica, NY on January 28 and 29.

Staying with the four divisions that make up the “teams” that will compete in a round robin four on four and three on three tournament, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins will have two nominees head to Central New York in a few weeks.

Forward Daniel Sprong and Goaltender Casey DeSmith were named today. First selections for both. Sprong is in his rookie year, DeSmith his sophomore season. Release from Coral Street here.

Sprong is currently with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Here’s the Atlantic Division roster…

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Penguins are among the Providence Bruins, Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms to have two players represent their teams out of the 12 players selected for the Atlantic Division team. Hershey, Springfield, Charlotte and Hartford are only sending one representative.

Full roster and league release here.

Quotes…

Sounds like Clark is speaking in past tense regarding Sprong. Your interpretation may vary.

The ECHL also named their All-Star squads. They are adopting the same format as the AHL this year. Their games are being held in Indianapolis this year and will be hosted by the Indy Fuel. Wheeling’s Cody Wydo, currently up with Wilkes-Barre, was the lone Nailer selected.

Notes from practice today…

Casey DeSmith was not at practice on Coal Street today. Donatelli told media that he’s essentially in purgatory and playing, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash at his apartment on repeat waiting on whether he is being recalled to Pittsburgh. Only part of that last sentence is true, I’ll let you decide which is correct. Of note, Tristan Jarry participated in practice with Pittsburgh earlier. The Pens host the Carolina Hurricanes tonight before traveling to Brooklyn to take on the Islanders Friday.

Zach Trotman and Adam Johnson were also at practice at Coal Street today. I’d suspect that if a recall was going to be made, it would have been done already.

Sebastian Caron was at practice again today. The plan is to go with DeSmith and Anthony Peters this weekend, but if that can’t happen because Pittsburgh does recall DeSmith, then the plan is to go with Peters the starter and Caron the backup. Personally I find this plan nonsensical but as I always say, I blog about the team, I don’t run it.

Gameday setup for Friday’s matchup vs. Springfield, provided they are able to get here safely with the winter weather, hits the blog Friday at 3.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

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