Comments Off on Scheduled Loss? — Pens LOSE 5-2
Posted by nafsnep on December 22, 2023
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Looking back at this game on the schedule back in August, you could point to this game and say it would be a scheduled loss for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.
You know, it is a stark contrast playing in Belleville, Ontario, which looked like a high school auditorium in front of maybe 500 fans Thursday night vs. Friday in Laval. They had a band, lasers, a packed house and it’s not far from Montreal. A lot of players aren’t making the trip back home to Wilkes-Barre, opting to stay in Canada for the Christmas holiday. A lot of players family were in attendance as well.
So, yeah, I guess you could say this was a scheduled loss.
You may look at the AHL standings coming into this and see Laval at the bottom of the North Division. Well, the Rocket are not playing like a last place team. Bellville played like a last place team. This Laval team had won 3 out of their last 4 coming in to the bash with the Penguins.
First Period: A penalty marred first period was a harbinger of what was to come. No scoring.
Second Period: Rocket connect for three, yes, three power play goals. These all came in consecutive order but before William Trudeau scored at even strength to give the Rocket a 1-0 lead.
Penguins second overall penalty kill looked bad, very bad, there. Shots from the point that should not be taken without interference in the form of a player wearing black.
Third Period: Wouldn’t you know it, but more shots from the slot taken unabated as Sean Farrell scores from there to extend the Rocket lead to 5-1.
Three Stars: 3) Arber Xhekaj (goal) 2) Logan Mailloux (goal, assist) 1) Philippe Maillet (three assists)
The Good: Not going to lie, not a lot of good to come out of this.
The Bad: Three straight power play goals against was bad, man.
Turning Point: Those three straight power play goals will be keeping the coaching staff up on the trip back home Friday.
The only thing that you hope is that they rest and recover, wash this one out of their systems, regroup and get ready for Hershey Wednesday in Hershey. Huge game.
Comments Off on B-Sen Beatdown — Pens WIN 5-1
Posted by nafsnep on December 21, 2023
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Sometimes it’s nice to watch a game and know that the issue is never in doubt. This was one of those games.
A 5-1 walloping of the Belleville Senators by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. The power play went 3/6, Rem Pitlick scored again and Joel Blomqvist was sharp as a tack. Not much more you could ask for in this one.
Lineup Notes: Jonathan Gruden and Marc Johnstone were back for Lukas Svejkovsky, who they went to Wheeling earlier in the week and Raivis Ansons. On defense, Ryan Shea made his WBS debut and Will Butcher was back in for Taylor Fedun and Xavier Ouellet.
First Period: They didn’t waste any time, scoring at the expiration of an early power play when Jonathan Gruden scored to open the scoring for Wilkes-Barre.
Second Period: Before you could say Bay of Quinte, the Penguins were down two men for 1:56 and Max Guenette blasted home a one timer to put the B-Sens on the board and broke up any prospective Joel Blomqist shutout bid.
But the Penguins answered right back on a power play when, guess who, Rem Pitlick scored a power play goal to re-establish the two goal lead for the Penguins.
Third Period: Sam Poulin scores on the back end of a 4:00 double minor for his second of the game for the third power play goal scored for the Penguins in the game.
Penguins didn’t let off at all in the period, outshooting the Senators 13-4 in the period.
Three Stars: Max Guenette (goal) 2) Colin White (goal, assist) 1) Sam Poulin (two goals)
The Good: A better team in the Penguins should wallop a last place team like Belleville. The Senators seemed directionless, and the Penguins made them pay. It was good to see.
The Bad: I’m nitpicking, but they gift wrapped Belleville nearly two minutes of a two man advantage and lost a shutout bid for their goaltender.
Turning Point: Poulin’s first goal, that made it 4-1 at the time, erased any hope of Belleville mounting anything close to a comeback in this one.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview — So, Canada
Posted by nafsnep on December 21, 2023
The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins head to Canada for a Thursday and Friday pair of games against more North division foes in Belleville and Laval before breaking for Christmas.
Music to set the mood…
From me and the cats, Merry Christmas!
A Quote…
Consistency is what transfers average into excellence.
— Unknown
The Penguins are 6-3-1 in their last ten, winning more than losing and finally, just maybe, settling into a consistent winner. You want to see this continue this week with more North Division opponents on the plate.
The Setup
Trip to the Bay of Quinte on Thursday for a visit with the Belleville Senators and then a Friday in Laval to take on the Rocket.
Last week, the Penguins swept all three games, beating the Syracuse Crunch, Utica Comets and Rochester Americans. Rem Pitlick is red hot with nine points in his last eight games. Alex Nylander is scoring goals and they got a goal from a returning Sam Poulin on Saturday.
The Belleville Senators last played on Friday in Cleveland and were swept by the Monsters. They have not won in three games.
The Laval Rocket got pasted in Hershey 7-1 on Saturday. They beat Lehigh Valley the night before on Friday. They played Syracuse yesterday in Syracuse and won 3-2.
Records
The Penguins are 14-9-3-0, good for 31 points and third in the Atlantic Division.
Belleville is 10-10-2-2, good for 22 points and fifth in the North Division.
Laval is 8-13-3-2, good for 21 points and in last place in the North Division.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
Pittsburgh: Jansen Harkins, Vinnie Hinostroza (he cleared waivers over the weekend but was not immediately assigned) and Valtteri Puustinen.
Back from Pittsburgh: Marc Johnstone and Jonathan Gruden. Also assigned was Ryan Shea.
Justin Addamo was returned to Wheeling on Friday. Lukas Svejkovsky and Tanner Laderoute followed suit on Tuesday.
The Pens recalled Owen Headrick from Wheeling. Headrick was acquired in the Peter Abbodonato trade.
Sam Poulin returned from injury and played Saturday.
The Libor Hajek experiment is over, the Penguins released him from his PTO and he returned to his native Czechia.
Still up from Wheeling: Raivis Ansons.
Injured: Avery Hayes and Sam Houde.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
They should easily beat a slipping Belleville and a last place Laval team. But if they start to wallow in their past successes, they can and likely will get caught and lose to Belleville in a tight 2-1 game or get caught already into the egg nog and lose by five in Laval. It can happen. It shouldn’t if you are a believer in J.D. Forrest and his coaching staff.
Looks like they may be shifting away from Joel Blomqvist as their rock solid #1 and going more and more to Magnus Hellberg, who started two games last week.
Also they look like they are getting healthier, with just Avery Hayes (who I have to assume is close to a return) and Sam Houde out with injuries.
Finally these points they are accumulating have them ascending the Atlantic Division. Hershey and Hartford look like the class of the field right now. It’s a dogfight between the three through six seeds.
Who’s in Goal?
I’d go Hellberg Thursday and Blomqvist Friday. I’m hoping to see leviathan Mads Sogaard, all 6’7 of him, for Belleville on Thursday and maybe more towers of power with 6’5 Jakub Dobeš for the Rocket on Friday.
Who’s Running the Show?
Dre Barone and Mathieu Menniti have the referral duties on Thursday with Justin Johnson and Dustin McCrank on the lines. On Friday, Dre Barone will follow the team to Laval and be joined by Alex Normandin with Antoine Bujold-Roux and Anthony Lapointe on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
We will see if there is any lessons learned with this little win streak when the Hershey Bears come back calling and the Pens travel there next Wednesday. The Penguins close out 2023 with a pair of games against the Charlotte Checkers Friday and Saturday.
Give us a bold prediction…
They will finish out the year without a regulation loss.
Comments Off on Falling Comets — Pens WIN 4-1
Posted by nafsnep on December 15, 2023
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Wilkes-Barre / Scranton’s mastery of the North Division continues, with a 4-1 win in Utica Friday night.
It was not a close affair.
The Comets had only six shots after two periods and only registered their third shot with 4:21 to play in the period, after the Penguins were already up 2-0.
Peter Abbandonato scored in the third and made it 3-0. Utica finally breaks through shorthanded to get on the board but it was far too little far too late.
Lineup Notes: The Penguins sent Justin Addamo back to Wheeling and released Libor Hajek. Addamo got shuffled out and Hajek never really had an impact and was taking up a veteran spot.
First Period: No scoring, tons of penalties. The AHL’s top two penalty kills were getting a workout. Penguins by some miracle outshot the Comets 13-4.
Second Period: Goals in this period were scored by defensemen.
Will Butcher’s first as a Penguin then a nifty play, move and shot by Jack Rathbone.
The Comets didn’t have a shot on goal for well over 15 minutes into the period. When they did manage their first shot, it was too raucous cheers by the Utica faithful. You thought Penguins fans were rough?
Third Period: Penguins notch another goal when Peter Abbandonato, who has been the Penguins most consistent player, scored to extend the lead to 3-0.
Three Stars: 3) Ryan Schmelzer (goal) 2) Colin White (goal, assist) 1) Jack Rathbone (goal)
The Good: They seem to be on a roll right now and that’s a good thing.
The Bad: Would have like to have seen them get a shutout for their goalie, but it was a good night at the office for the road team.
Turning Point: Abbandonato’s goal in the third squashed any hopes for a Utica comeback. You knew the Comets would respond (they had 16 shots in the third) but having to dig from three down after a sleepwalking start is a daunting task for any team, anywhere.
Housekeeping: I will be out of town tomorrow and not at the Saturday home game against Rochester. I may not have a full writeup, but will try to recap something.
Comments Off on What a Fool Believes… — Pens WIN 4-1
Posted by nafsnep on December 13, 2023
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Syracuse has lost now three straight. The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins made them look like that with a 4-1 handling Wednesday night. Goals scored by Rem Pitlick, Jack Rathbone, Austin Rueschhoff and a beautiful breakaway goal by Matt Filipe had the Penguins off to the races against the Crunch.
Work night, school night, let’s get this over with.
Lineup is Fedun and Samorukov in as they rotate 7 D again. POJ was recalled after conditioning. Up front 11 forwards so Laderoute and Addamo come out and Svejkovsky slots in.
You kind of wanted this type of sleepy start if you were the Penguins with how offensively potent the Crunch are and can be.
Second Period: Penguins stay relentless on a wall battle, it is dug out and over to Jagger Joshua who finds Jack Rathbone at the top of the slot. Rathbone unleashes a shot that beats Matt Tomkins and it’s a 2-0 Penguins lead.
But almost immediately, the Penguins respond for a goal from Austin Rueschhoff off a deflection from Dmitri Samorukov that re-establishes the Penguins two gaol lead.
Look at that explosion right there. That’s power skating and I don’t even know how. With every stride, he’s losing his defender. He has to finish, and does. Just an all around great play.
Third Period: Penguins went 0/4 on the power play, and had three of those four chances in the third period but didn’t score.
Three Stars: 3) Corey Andonovski (two assists) 2) Matt Filipe (shorthanded goal) 1) Jack Rathbone (goal, assist)
The Good: Team effort, team win. Goals came from all walks of life with half the team on recall. That’s how you do it.
The Bad: Power play was humming, until Wednesday. 0/4 is manageable because you beat a out of division rival, but these are habits you don’t want to fall into.
Turning Point: I love Filipe’s shorthanded goal so much it gets it here. The Rueschhoff goal could get it, but the Filipe shorthanded goal when you have a chance to get back into it if you are Syracuse just deflates you.
Standings: Hershey 40 – Hartford 33 – Providence 30 – Springfield 28 – Penguins 27 – Lehigh Valley 26 – Charlotte 25 – Bridgeport 13
Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.
Video Highlights:
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins received goals from four different scorers en route to a 4-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview — New York, New York!
Posted by nafsnep on December 13, 2023
The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins will be taking the three teams left in the State of New York head on this weekend, so it’s only fitting…
Music to Set the Mood…
Ol’ Blue Eyes. They don’t make music like they used to. That’s for sure.
Also, yes. I am keenly aware as New York Mets fan that this song is played after Yankee home game wins. Yankee scum.
Regardless, New York City is the greatest City in the world. You can’t change my mind so don’t even try.
A Quote…
I can make it there, I can make it anywhere. — Frank Sinatra
Sinatra was referring to New York City. I’m referring here to the North Division and the AHL teams Syracuse Crunch, Utica Comets and Rochester Americans. Syracuse is neck and neck with the division leading Cleveland Monsters, just beat the Hershey Bears on Friday ending the Bears nine game winning streak, Rochester is a team full of a bunch of really good prospects and Utica seems like they suffer from the same problems that befell the Penguins in that they are consistently inconsistent.
The Setup
I kind of just gave it to you in the last paragraph, but slightly out of order. Syracuse at home Wednesday, Utica on the road Friday and Rochester at home on Saturday.
The Crunch stopped the Bears nine game winning streak and beat the Bears clean 4-1 on Friday then came back the next night and laid a dud against Utica (sound familiar?) and in the home and home rematch against the Comets in Utica they lost again 4-1, so it was a sweep by the Comets which probably didn’t sit well with the Crunch and their fans. Think Penguins and Bears fans don’t get along? Ratchet that up to ten with Comets and Crunch fans.
Utica beat Bridgeport Friday which isn’t saying much because the Islanders are terrible. They swept their biggest rivals in Syracuse this past weekend, detailed above.
Rochester split in Belleville Friday and Saturday, winning in shootout Friday and losing clean Saturday. The Americans will be in Springfield Wednesday and Hartford on Saturday.
The Penguins had last Wednesday off, beat the Cleveland Monsters decisively and then let one line beat them handily Saturday when the Providence Bruins came to town and spoiled Teddy Bear Toss Night and won 5-1.
Records
The Penguins are 11-9-3-0, good for 25 points and fifth in the Atlantic.
The Crunch are 13-7-0-2, good for 28 points and second in the North.
Utica is 10-8-3-0, good for 23 points and sixth in the North.
Rochester is 11-7-2-0, good for 24 points and fifth in the North.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
Pittsburgh: Jansen Harkins, Vinnie Hinostroza, Marc Johnstone and Valtteri Puustinen. P.O. Joseph was recalled from his conditioning stint on Sunday.
Dmitri Samorukov was returned back to Wilkes-Barre after clearing waivers.
Up from Wheeling: Justin Addamo, Raivis Ansons, Lukas Svejkovsky, Tanner Laderoute.
Injured: Avery Hayes, Sam Poulin and Sam Houde. Colin White returned from injury Saturday against Providence.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
How do they fare against a high flying Syracuse team they shutout then lost 6-3 in a home and home back in November and how do they fare against a brand equal in Utica and Rochester? How do they fare against a Crunch team who was swept by Utica and a Utica team that swept the Crunch? After they navigate through all that, how do they play against Rochester?
I honestly was expecting a reversal of fortune last week, that is a loss against Cleveland and a win against Providence. The opposite happened. They handled Cleveland, who I think is dealing with injuries and callups to key guys and straight let one line score all the goals against them on Saturday. It’s frustrating because there is potential with this team, and I think we all know it. The pattern of being consistently inconsistent is going to be with them for some time and as a result the inability to surprise (winning a game I don’t think they should have won Friday against Cleveland) and a clunker against a division rival they will be at pace with into 2024 and into the Spring.
I keep trying to remind myself that they are who we thought they were, that they aren’t going to get any better and can only marginally get worse and that the bottom can fall out at any time and they are out of playoff spot with how tight things are save for Bridgeport.
They have shown they can run with and beat Syracuse. They have yet to play Utica and Rochester yet but if early returns are to believed, this consistently in consistent team should find some consistency and beat all three teams, provided they do things the right way.
It should be simple to know what works vs. what doesn’t. Don’t let one line beat you. Get a couple power play goals. Stay out of the penalty box. Easy right? We shall see.
Who’s in Goal?
I thought it was Blomqvist’s world that we are are all living in but after these last couple of games I am not so sure.
Blomqvist is 6-4-2 and has lost his last three against Hershey (loss) Springfield (OT loss) and Providence. What was once a sure lock isn’t looking like that so much presently. But this is the AHL and a development league. This is adversity he has to battle through and I think that the skill set is there. The use has to be executed on.
Also being hung out to dry like Tuesday’s laundry like his team let him in parts against Hershey and Springfield and a lot against Providence needs to stop.
I’d go Blomqvist with both home games, Garrett Sparks in Utica.
For the opposition, Hugo Alnefelt for the Crunch, Nico Daws for Utica and don’t be surprised to see old friend Dustin Tokarski out first for the Americans on Saturday.
Who’s Running the Show?
Justin Kea and Jack Young are the scheduled referees on Wednesday against Syracuse with linesmen Patrick Dapuzzo and J.P. Waleski on the lines. On Friday up in Utica, Andrew Bell and Chad Ingalls are the referees and Jeremy Faucher and T.J. Dockery are the scheduled linesmen. Saturday in Wilkes-Barre sees Andrew Bell again with Peter Schlittenhardt and Chandler Yakimowicz and Patrick Dapuzzo on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
Penguins head north of the border for a Thursday game against Belleville and a Friday game in Laval before breaking for Christmas.
Give us a bold prediction…
They shock us all and win all three games by multiple goals.
The line of Georgii Merulov (2-3), Jesper Boqvist (2-2) and Justin Brazeau (1-1) terrorized the Penguins to a tune of all five goals scored and five assists. The Penguins had no answer for that line Saturday night at all. It is rare that a single line like that completely dominates in a hockey game at this level. I can’t remember when a single line completely murdered the Penguins like that. The 2010 Hershey Bears? The Norfolk Admirals the year they won six million in a row? I can’t remember. The Penguins had no answer for that line and were completely humbled.
Arkoudaphobia is a fear of bears, by the way.
Can’t beat Hershey (Bears) can’t beat Providence (Bruins, a synonym for a bear) but can beat or compete with pretty much every team in the AHL that they play.
Alex Nylander scored a power play goal with :03 left on it in the third period. There were some rogue teddy bears that hit the ice (after they all rained down in the second intermission) which I found hilarious.
— x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) December 10, 2023
The Penguins were in the game into the second period, only down one off of a Merkulov goal at 5:53 of the first period, but that’s when Providence went to work, netting a pair of goals by Brazeau and Boqvist. Brazeau was lest alone in the slot and fired a high shot that went in and Boqvist scored his goal off a rebound left by Penguins starting goaltender Joel Blomqvist.
Blomqvist had a bit of a ride. I thought he should have been better overall, but was left out to dry by his team. Remarkably, Xavier Ouellet was the only player to finish in the negative for the Penguins. Every other player was a -1 or worse. Ty Smith was a -3. Seven others were -2. Yikes.
Here’s how they lined up:
Colin White is back in action for the first time in just under a month, and Tanner Laderoute makes his AHL DEBUT!! pic.twitter.com/lhkqMUKKLL
— x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) December 9, 2023
Lineup was Taylor Fedun and Lukas Svejkovsky out for Colin White, returning from injury and Tanner Laderoute making his WBS debut.
Three stars were all Providence Bruins. Jesper Boqvist (two goals, two assists), Brandon Bussi (30 saves) and Georgii Merkulov (two goals, three assists)
The Good: The assumption is kids in need will get those teddy bears.
The Bad: Penguins had no answer for a one dimension line that sent them into another dimension.
Turning Point: There was a sequence in the second period where they were already down 1-0 and a goal mouth scrum where they couldn’t score. Had they did, teddy bears would have rained down and who knows what would have happened to the momentum and ultimate outcome from there.
Around the Division: Not going to give you boxes tonight. Hershey beat Cleveland 6-0, Springfield beats Bridgeport 5-1, Laval beats Hartford 5-1 and Lehigh Valley leads Charlotte late. Saturday’s scoreboard here.
Standings: Assuming that Lehigh Valley result holds.
Hershey 36 – Hartford 33 – Providence 29 – Penguins 25 – Springfield 24 – Lehigh Valley 24 – Charlotte 22 – Bridgeport 13
Wheeling Update: Nailers are losing to the Tulsa Oilers big. Box on that here.
I don’t think anyone wants to watch video highlights. I sure don’t.
More midweek when Syracuse stops by. They stopped Hershey’s nine game win streak. Should be fun!
WBS News
Chirps from Center Ice 