Comments Off on Bear Bites Back — Pens LOSE 4-0
Posted by nafsnep on November 23, 2016
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The unreasonable Penguins fan will be mad with this result.
That’s because the unreasonable Penguins fan expects their team to win 85-0 every game.
Don’t be an unreasonable Penguins fan.
Here’s what I wrote in my Gameday setup this afternoon…
Bears cannot be happy with the way Saturday went. Expect a relentless attack from Hershey tonight. Pens can’t be thinking about the turkey dinner yet or they’ll get embarrassed tonight.
Final result was a 4-0 Penguins loss. I wouldn’t call it an embarrassing loss, but whenever you get shutout of a game or lose by multiple goals, it’s not the first topic of conversation.
It’s also unreasonable to expect the Penguins to sweep the Bears all 12 games in this season series. The Bears are a good team and well coached. They were legitimately embarrassed by coughing up a two goal lead in the third period last Saturday against this very Penguins team. To think that this did not stick with Hershey and wasn’t a focus point in practice this week is unreasonable.
I mean if you disagree, this is an open forum and the comment section is always available. If no one comments I assume I am correct in my analysis, but I am not mad at this loss at all.
Now, if the trend continues and the Pens are swept by Bridgeport, themselves a very dangerous team, then the unreasonable fan may be onto something…
Tristan Jarry opposed Vitek Vanecek.
Lines were…
Tom Kostopoulos – Carter Rowney – Danny Kristo
Sahir Gill – Kevin Porter – Ryan Haggerty
Garrett Wilson – J-S Dea – Josh Archibald
Thomas DiPauli – Jarrett Burton – Reid Gardiner
Derrick Pouliot – Chad Ruhwedel
David Warsofsky – Lukas Bengtsson
Cameron Gaunce – Ethan Prow
Tristan Jarry – Casey DeSmith
Lineup Notes: Derrick Pouliot is down for his conditioning stint, playing his first game for Wilkes-Barre since January 16 at Syracuse. Oskar Sundqvist was a surprise injury scratch. Obie said on radio that he picked up a minor lower body injury in practice Tuesday. It isn’t expected to be long term. With Jake Guentzel currently on recall to Pittsburgh, Danny Kristo took his spot on the first line, making his debut in a Penguins sweater.
First Period: Better start by the Penguins to start in contrast to Saturday. Wilkes-Barre had six shots on the board before the Bears registered their first. Both goalies made saves on breakaways. Vanecek on Josh Archibald and then later Jarry on Ryan Bourque when the Penguins were on a power play.
Second Period: Game was settling into a defensive battle, with just five shots by the teams nineteen minutes into the second period. Then, with 20.5 seconds left, Zach Sill scored his first goal of the season on this shot that broke the 0-0 deadlock…
Bears had started to setup and control the offensive zone time before breaking though on the goal by Sill.
Third Period: Pens weren’t going to win this game tonight after Josh Archibald was stopped for the second time on the breakaway by Vanecek. Hershey comes right back down the other way and scores this goal that made it 2-0 for the Bears…
Referee Evgenii Romasko appeared to be out of position slightly to not be able to initially blow the play dead on the initial stop by Jarry. I guess in hindsight he was in perfect position because he allowed play to continue and Christian Thomas to score the goal. After an officials review, the goal stood.
That goal wasn’t the reason why the Penguins lost this game. Something seemed off here by Wilkes-Barre. They seemed to be chasing the game since around the half way point and the score line showed.
Three Stars: Vitek Vanecek (24 save shutout) 2) Christian Thomas (goal, even) and 1) Zach Sill (game winning goal, +1)
Observations: Derrick Pouliot had a good game, drawing three tripping penalties. Noticed Danny Kristo a lot in the first half of the game, but not so much in the second half. Shots ended up 24-18 favoring the Penguins.
Around the Division: Bridgeport beat Hartford 4-2. One of their goals was scored in this manner…
Not only is Hartford a bad team (in last place in the Atlantic) but there have ZERO puck luck.
Other finals included a Lehigh Valley 1-0 win in Binghamton in a game that was similar to the Pens / Bears game somewhat in a defensive battle. Rookie Alex Lyon picked up his first AHL shutout with 28 saves….Providence beat Rochester 6-4. The Amerks have lost four in a row.
Last Game / Last Meeting: Saturday in Hershey, the Penguins were down two goals in the third period when they stormed back to take the game in overtime 4-3. Tom Kostopoulos’ goal with 67 seconds left tied it, and Carter Rowney’s hand / eye coordination with a defender draped on him ended it for the Penguins in the comeback win.
Record: For WBS: 12-3-1-0 (25 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division) — For HER: 8-4-3-1 (20 pts., 4th place Atlantic Division)
Why you should care: Bears cannot be happy with the way Saturday went. Expect a relentless attack from Hershey tonight. Pens can’t be thinking about the turkey dinner yet or they’ll get embarrassed tonight.
Other Game to Watch: Binghamton hosts Lehigh Valley tonight. B-Sens are trending hot and the Phantoms have stayed hot. Should be an interesting clash of styles tonight on the Southern Tier.
Next Five Games: @ BRI 11/25, BRI 11/26, @ STJ 12/3, @ STJ 12/4, HER 12/9
Comments Off on Wheeling Wrap 11/22
Posted by nafsnep on November 22, 2016
Tuesday at noon means a look at the ECHL affiliate in Wheeling.
The Wheeling Wrap returns after a one week hiatus as the Nailers were playing a school day game with the Brampton Beast last Tuesday.
Back on Friday, November 11, the Nailers hosted division rival Reading and beat the Royals 4-1. Freshly assigned from Wilkes-Barre, Adam Krause got the goal scoring early for the Nailers in the second period at just 40 seconds. But less than a minute later the Royals would even the score. Going into the third period, the Nailers responded with three straight goals to cruise to the win. The power play struck once and goaltender Doug Carr stopped 25 of 26 shots, good for second star honors.
The Nailers had off Saturday before heading North of the Border to Canada, where the met the Brampton Beast for the first of a home and home Sunday afternoon. Adam Krause struck twice, and J.P. Anderson stopped 27 of 29 as the Nailers beat the Beast 5-2. Kevin Schulze chipped in a goal and picked up two assists.
Tuesday morning in front of a school day crowd of 5,182 in West Virginia, Wheeling would sweep the Beast in a wild, knock down, drag out 6-5 win. The Nailers jumped out to a 6-2 lead when Brampton struck late in the second and then two more in the third in a nail biting finish for the home team which sent the school kids home happy. Kevin Schulze continued his giving ways, assisting on four of the Nailers six goals. The Nailers chased starting goaltender Bryan Pitton, then Zachary Fucale battened down the hatches and stopped the next 11 Nailers shots.
Last Friday night, the Nailers traveled to Indianapolis and took on their Twitter buddies the Indy Fuel. The action on the ice wasn’t as kind as the Fuel dismantled the Nailers by a 6-1 score. Christian Hilbrich scored the only goal for the Nailers on the power play. Doug Carr took the loss stopping 24 of 30.
Saturday, the Nailers continued their road trip with a four and a half hour trip West to Moline, Illinois for a date with the Quad City Mallards. They won 3-2 on a late goal by Brett Stern. Stern also notched and assist. Goaltender J.P. Anderson stopped 33 of 35 to pick up the win and Adam Krause continued his tear and scored a goal and picked up two assists, figuring into every goal for the Nailers on this night.
This past Sunday, the Nailers would sweep the Mallards with another 3-2 win. Josh Shalla picked up his team leading ninth goal of the season for Wheeling. Michael Webster picked up his first professional goal in the second period. The Nailers went ahead on a power play goal then needed a penalty kill in the third period to secure the win. J.P. Anderson started in back to back games and stopped 23 of 25.
The Nailers currently sit in third place in the North Division with a 9-4-1-0 record, good for 19 points and just two points off division leaders Manchester and Adirondack. Wheeling has won nine of their last eleven games.
The week ahead sees the Nailers host the Greenville Swamp Rabbits for a pair at WesBanco Arena on Saturday and Sunday of this week.
Comments Off on Battling Back the Bear — Pens WIN 4-3 (OT)
Posted by nafsnep on November 19, 2016
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When the Hershey Bears get a multiple goal lead on an opponent at Giant Center, it’s lights out for the opponent.
You can’t stop a Chris Bourque train.
Zach Sill will hit you into next week if you try to take liberties and look like you want to come back.
It’s hard to think when a sellout crowd of 10,000+ is yelling and screaming for their home team en route to another win for the storied Hershey franchise.
Yeah, well none of that fazed the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins who, were down for most of this game and down two goals in the third period when the come back happened.
A Garrett Wilson single to center, through the pads of Joe Cannata and in for a 3-2 Bears lead.
Watching the game on AHL Live, on my computer in my cats basement, even I could feel the tension of the Bears faithful. The Bears weren’t going to blow this lead, against this team, were they?
Were they?
Tom Kostopoulos, the captain and living legend of Wilkes-Barre teams past and present, scored on his own rebound with 64 seconds left and poof, the lead was gone.
Penguins possessed for much of the overtime that followed and Carter Rowney swept in a puck using the stick blade as almost and extension of his arm, harmlessly past a sprawled out Cannata who never sealed off the post.
There would be no Chris Bourque train.
No Zach Sill booming hit.
A crowd of 10,355 left the Giant Center with their mouths agape, stunned as to what happened.
Last Game: Last night at home vs. Bridgeport, the Pens won in gritty fashion by a score of 4-3. Carter Rowney had a goal and an assist and was named first star of the game. For Hershey, the Bears hosted Syracuse and won 5-1. Vitek Vanacek stopped 23 of 24 shots. Chris Bourque scored two goals and added an assist.
Last Meeting: October 23 in Hershye is twas Dominik Simon’s penalty shot goal in overtime that won it for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry stopped 30 of 31 shots for the Pens and was named first star of the game.
Record: For WBS: 11-3-1-0 (23 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division) — For HER: 8-4-2-1 (19 pts., 3rd place Atlantic Division)
Why you should care: Bears will be looking to avenge the loss back on October 23. Due to injuries to players at parent Washington coupled with injuries to the Bears, the defending Eastern Conference champs may be a bit understaffed tonight but that won’t matter as the Pens will still need to bring their best in this rivalry.
The first place Penguins add more offense to a team which is loaded in goal and stacked on the blue line.
Kristo played with Carter Rowney at the University of North Dakota and also won a gold medal with Dave Warsofsky in 2010 at the World Juniors.
It’s not clear whether Kristo will be able to join the Penguins tonight in Hershey, but if not, then definitely when the Penguins and Bears rematch in Chocolatetown this Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Game day setup for tonight’s matchup with the Bears will hit the blog at 3 p.m.
Comments Off on Tiger Tested — Pens WIN 4-3
Posted by nafsnep on November 18, 2016
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It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough to get the job done.
A 4-3 Penguins win at home tonight over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers who stuck around all game and almost and rightfully maybe, should have won.
Bridgeport did not have a single power play tonight. After a dominating, scoreless first by the Sound Tigers, the Penguins strike twice in the second period to go up 2-0, then see Bridgeport cut the deficit to one three times. The Pens had gone up 3-1 (Bridgeport scored to make it 3-2) then 4-2 and then your 4-3 final.
Call it a test passed by the Penguins. Bridgeport is a very good hockey team that is missing a big break to put them over. Are they elite? No. But I have stressed that in this AHL, there are a few great teams, a handful of good teams and a boat load of bad teams. The Penguins right now are a great team. Bridgeport right now is a good team.
The thing that plays in the favor of the Sound Tigers is that they get two more cracks at the Penguins. Next Friday in Bridgeport then Saturday back at Wilkes-Barre. They are well coached and have good leadership and a crop of promising players.
Casey DeSmith opposed Stephon Williams.
Lines were…
Garrett Wilson – Carter Rowney – Tom Kostopoulos
Kevin Porter – Jake Guentzel – J-S Dea
Thomas DiPauli – Oskar Sundqvist – Josh Archibald
Reid Gardiner – Sahir Gill – Ryan Haggerty
Reid McNeill – Chad Ruhwedel
David Warsofsky – Lukas Bengtsson
Cameron Gaunce – Ethan Prow
Casey DeSmith – Tristan Jarry
Lineup Notes: Dominik Simon is day to day with a lower body injury as told to the WBS media postgame by Head Coach Clark Donatelli. Sahir Gill and Ryan Haggerty were in for the injured Simon and Patrick McGrath. Ethan Prow, who should play every game in my opinion, was in for Stuart Percy, who should also play in my opinion. Percy is nursing an injury, so maybe this is good that he and Prow swap games.
First Period: Casey DeSmith made 13 saves in the period and every single one of them were challenging. A deflection stopped with the pad. A denial in close. More saves on deflection. Pens didn’t register a shot on goal until the nine minute mark and were getting dominated. Wilkes-Barre was lucky to not be down a goal or more heading into the…
Second Period: Penguins scored what appeared to be a good goal five seconds into a power play but referee Guillaume Labonte waved it off immediately on account of an Oskar Sundqvist high stick. The arena showed the replay (I don’t think they are supposed to) and what I saw was a 50/50 call that could have gone either way. Labonte, then gave the Penguins :41 of 5-on-3 but Wilkes-Barre was not able to score.
It was the Sound Tigers that didn’t have a shot on goal for a long stretch of the period. Oskar Sundqvist finally scored a goal that counted when he punched one through the pads of Williams. Sundqvist is now tied for the team lead in goals (6) with Jake Guentzel.
Pens doubled their lead on a nice keep in by Lukas Bengtsson who chipped it back to Garrett Wilson who found Kevin Porter in front who was denied initially but collected his own rebound and scored. Bengtsson collected the secondary assist on the goal, his first North American point.
Bridgeport responded. They started with a naked two on one, then scored when Bracken Kearns scored to cut it to one. DeSmith made one acrobatic save but could not make a second an the Sound Tigers were on the board.
Two minutes and ten seconds later, J-S Dea scored on a deflection in front that re-established the two goal lead for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton.
But the Sound Tigers would score with 26.5 seconds left when Andrew Rowe sweeps in a puck that popped over DeSmith and cut it back to one.
Bridgeport coasted for 13 minutes, got scored on twice and came back and scored two.
Third Period: Garrett Wilson pushed Pat Cullity into Stephon Williams as Williams came out to play a puck cycling around his net. Williams fell down. Tom Kostopoulos scored the easiest goal in his life that made it 4-2 Penguins.
Penguins outshot the Sound Tigers 10-7 in the period and were looking like they were going to cruise to a win. Not so fast, my friend. Josh Winquist scores a tap in back door goal at 14:55 that made it a one goal game again.
But with Williams off with time dwindling his team was never able to find the equalizer.
Three Stars: 3) Jon Landry (two assists, +2) 2) J-S Dea (goal, +1) and 1) Carter Rowney (goal, assist, +1)
It’s the first time all season that an opponent scores more than one goal on Casey DeSmith.
Around the Division: Hershey beats Syracuse 5-1. Bears may be a bit understaffed tomorrow against the Penguins. They may end up seeing players get called up to Washington and may be dealing with a rash of injuries. Utica beats Springfield 5-4 in overtime. Strange game here. Darren Archibald scored in overtime on a goal which was not initially rewarded….Lehigh Valley scores two in the third period to tie it then one in overtime to win it against the Providence Bruins. 4-3 the final there and the Phantoms have won eight straight. Hartford was off.
Wheeling Update: The Nailers were smoked by the Indy Fuel 6-1. Christian Hilbrich scored the only goal for the Nailers. Doug Carr took the loss, stopping 24 of 30.
Video highlights….
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Pens travel to Hershey for a 7:00 date with the Bears. Gameday setup for the blog will be here at 3 p.m.
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WBS News
Chirps from Center Ice 