Chirps from Center Ice

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

Category Archives: WBS

Back to Hockey

Comments Off on Back to Hockey Posted by on September 12, 2013

The first day of training camp in Pittsburgh wrapped up today. Here’s a clearinghouse of links for your eyes:

— Jonathan Bombulie is on the ground in Pittsburgh and checks in with this entry.

— The venerable Eric Majeski had a note on Day 1 training camp, complete with lines.

It is widely known that Pittsburgh is about a million dollars over the salary cap. It’s also pretty common knowledge that the lines in Pittsburgh are about 90% set. So, what do you do? Trade a player? Send a player on a one way contract down? Demote Simon Despres or Beau Bennett? I don’t have an answer to this. Selfishly, send Despres / Bennett down, if you aren’t going to play them regularly. Time, always tells.

Oh, here’s an article on Tom Kostopoulos from Seth Rorabaugh from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Elsewhere…

— Individual tickets for all Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins home games go on sale September 20. 

— Scott Darling, who backed up Brad Thiessen in Game 3 vs. Binghamton in the Calder Cup Playoffs this past Spring, has signed with the Milwaukee Admirals. I have updated the 2013 Offseason Moves List.

Finally, the annual Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews are 90% done. I just need the “case for” and “case against” each team. Tentative release looks like this:

– September 29: Last preseason game vs. Hershey
– September 30: West and Midwest Division Preview
– October 1: North Division Preview
– October 2: Atlantic Division Preview
– October 3: Northeast Division Preview
– October 4: AHL Opening Night // East Division Preview
– October 5: Start of regular season for WBS Penguins, @ Bridgeport.

If Day 2 Friday warrants a blog post, I’ll be back tomorrow with an entry.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

Hey Now, It’s an All-Star, Gaaaame….

Comments Off on Hey Now, It’s an All-Star, Gaaaame…. Posted by on September 10, 2013

Today the AHL announced that the 2013-14 AHL All-Star Classic will be played in St. John’s, Newfoundland on February 11-12, 2014.

Only the format won’t be the traditional East vs. West, rather it will pit a team of AHL All-Stars vs. Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League.

Färjestad BK is the Swedish equivalent of the Hershey Bears, winning six Swedish League Championships since 1996, and three in the last seven years.

I like this concept, considering that the hockey world will be turning its eyes to Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics, for this year and this year only.

Why, you ask?

There are 30 teams in the AHL. You can only dress 20 players for a regular season game (12 forwards, 6 defensemen, 2 goaltenders for a total of 20 players) in All-Star Classics prior, the rosters expand to three goalies, and a few more forwards and defensemen a side but even still, the AHL isn’t dressing a 30 player lineup for the exhibition, which leads me to believe that there will be some teams left unrepresented. Not overly fair, if you ask me. Not to mention this is going to be played like an actual game, you know, with hitting and stuff. I would hate to see anyone get injured.

So that’s why.

Nothing going on in Pittsburgh on the eve of training camp.

My pal Bob Howard has ran an “30 AHL Arenas in 30 Days” feature on his Facebook page. Today was Wilkes-Barre’s turn.

If there’s anything newsworthy out of Day 1 of training camp in Pittsburgh, I will most likely have something to say about it here Wednesday.

The AHL, WBS

A Camping We Will Go…

Comments Off on A Camping We Will Go… Posted by on September 9, 2013

Pittsburgh opens training camp tomorrow and today published their training camp roster. The only player on the list not familiar to the Penguin fan is that of Jean-Sebastian Dea. Dea had a really good Rookie Tournament this past weekend, so his invite should not come as a surprise.

Jonathan had a tweet today about how there be no room at the NHL inn for fringe guys.

Here’s a video of Tom Kuhnhackl putting a puck from this past weekend through a net.

Finally, the AHL has a big announcement planned for Tuesday, which I am 99.99% positive has something to do with the AHL All-Star Classic going to St. John’s, Newfoundland this February.

Regardless, I should have something to blog about Tuesday regarding that and the goings on in Pittsburgh. Check back tomorrow.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

Rookie Tourney Game #3: PIT 2 – CHI 3

1 Comment Posted by on September 8, 2013

This afternoon the Pittsburgh Penguins prospects closed out the Rookie Tournament up in Lonton, Ontario vs. the Chicago Blackhawks prospects.

They lost 3-2. Recap by Wilkes-Barre here.

A look at the lineups here.

Penguins had a 5-on-3 for 1:23 but couldn’t do anything with it.

Then the Penguins went right back to work on a power play.

But Chicago scored a shorthanded goal to open the scoring at 1-0.

Sound familiar?

Then the Blackhawks got a second goal. Then Bobby Farnham fought again.

The Penguins continued the excitement for first periods, outshooting the Blackhawks 20-11.

J-S Dea had himself quite a tournament. The free agent invitee scored his second goal in as many nights to put the Penguins within one in the second period.

Tristan Jarry started the game, replaced halfway though the second by Matt Murray.

At the end of two, it was 3-1 Chicago.

Dea assisted on Tom Kuhnhackl’s third period goal to bring the Penguins back to within one, but that was all the scoring this hockey game would see.

The team will travel back to the States tonight and likely either head straight to Pittsburgh for the start of training camp Tuesday or to Wilkes-Barre first, then Pittsburgh.

WBS

Rookie Tourney Game #2: PIT 3 – TOR 4 (SO)

Comments Off on Rookie Tourney Game #2: PIT 3 – TOR 4 (SO) Posted by on September 7, 2013

Tonight the Penguins rookies played the Toronto Maple Leafs Rookies in London, Ontario.

A look at the lineups here.

Scott Harrington opened the scoring for the Penguins in the first period.

There was a fight. Then another one.

Toronto scored a power play goal. An action packed first period.

Jayson Megna scored a goal in the second period on a backhander off of a rebound.

Matt Murray started the game in goal. He was replaced halfway through by Eric Hartzell. Hartzell let in a goal quickly afterwards which brought the game even at two a piece.

In the third, the Penguins couldn’t score on a power play and the Leafs scored shortly thereafter.

Late, Tom Kuhnhackl scored with 19.1 seconds to go in regulation with Hartzell pulled.

Overtime solved nothing. Please keep reading.

ATO tryout Jean-Sebastian Dea scored in round two of the shootout. No other Penguin did the same, and the Leafs won in the shootout 4-3.

Brian Dumoulin had two assists.

Rookie tournament wraps up tomorrow at 2 pm, when the Penguins square off against the Chicago Blackhawks.

WBS

Penguins Debut New Sweaters

Comments Off on Penguins Debut New Sweaters Posted by on September 6, 2013

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins capped off their week of news with the debut of the new sweaters that they will be donning this October, as seen above. They take the Alternate from last year and make it the road jersey and take the Warmup and make it the home jersey. The alternate is a new design, corresponding with the logo for the 15th Season.

Really nice look.

Enjoy the weekend.

WBS

Rookie Tourney Game #1: PIT 1 – OTT 4

Comments Off on Rookie Tourney Game #1: PIT 1 – OTT 4 Posted by on September 5, 2013

A bunch of Penguins rookies are in London, Ontario for the annual rookie tournament. The Penguins played the Ottawa Senators this afternoon. Both teams were filled with young players which will likely be mainstays in the AHL, ECHL or back to juniors and maybe one or two players with a realistic shot at NHL action this season.

Here’s a look at the rosters. Lines cobbled together looked like this:

Kuhnhackl-Megna-Brace
Sylvester-Nejezchleb-Dea
Simmonds-Rankin-Rowney
Farnham-O’Brien-Marcantuoni

Pouliot-Samuelsson
Maatta-Harrington
D’Agostino-Seymour

Hartzell-Jarry

Samuelsson wore the C and Jayson Megna was the alternate.

Scratches were D’s Harrison Ruopp and Brian Dumoulin and forwards Reid McNeill, Dominik Uher, Adam Payerl and goaltender Matt Murray.

Oh, Ottawa won 4-1. Cody Sylvester scored the lone goal for Pittsburgh.

Ottawa jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Sylvester scored with 3.4 left in the first period.

Jarry replaced Hartzell about halfway through the second.

Derek Grant scored a goal in the second and again in the third.

Bobby Farnham was in midseason form, fighting twice and getting a game misconduct.

If I am following the WBS twitter feed correctly, it looks like the Penguins were 1-for-4 on the power play. There was no box score, so I don’t really know.

If if the Penguins put a recap on wbspenguins.com I will tweet it and link it here. EDIT: Here is the recap. EDIT 2: Pittsburgh had a recap as well.

Penguins play Saturday vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects.

WBS

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