Chirps from Center Ice

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The Penguins came out flatter than the leftover champagne you had at midnight Wednesday and it cost them, losing 6-2 to the Hershey Bears Friday night. Andrew Agozzino, on his birthday and on a day he was selected to All-Stars, scores both Penguin goals.

Dustin Tokarski started the game but was chased after the fourth goal. Any effort to try and kickstart a run before or after failed. The Pens made a furious push in the third, but never got close.

Tokarski opposed Vitek Vanecek.

Lineup:

Lineup Notes:

Casey DeSmith served as backup. I suppose he decided to stick around and make Thomas DiPauli drive while he flys to Montreal Saturday. Pens signed Sebastien Caron to a PTO per AHL transactions.

First Period: Pens had the better start, Hershey had the better finish.

Andrew Agozzino opened the scoring after getting named to the All-Star team earlier in the day on his birthday.

I’ve missed Taylor.

Anyway, Hershey has a power play come and go then killed a penalty. As it was expiring, Brian Pinho streamed up ice and scored unassisted to get the Bears on board.

Hershey really took it to the Penguins, outshooting them 14-6.

Second Period: Garrett Pilon and Eddie Wittchow scored within minutes of one another to give the Bears a 3-1 lead. Setup went like this, draw attention to far side, get players to overcommit and draw off a man, opponent passes to streaking team mate and the goal is scored.

Off of the faceoff following the Wittchow goal, Kale Kessy and Jamie Devane fought.

But there’s a problem. They fought off of the faceoff which is a direct violation of Rule 46.10 of the AHL Rulebook which outlaws fighting off of a faceoff. In part…

46.10 Fighting Prior to or at the Drop of the Puck – Unless this occurs prior to the start of the game or any period (see 46.9), a player or players who enter into a fight, prior to, at the drop of the puck, or immediately following any face-off during the game, shall be assessed an automatic game misconduct in addition to any penalties assessed.

They have had this rule in the book for a few years now but you may as well outlaw fighting altogether if you are going to write rules like this. They already suspend you for 10 fights, guys like Steve MacIntyre are out of the league and fights are becoming less and less.

There’s a time and place for it. Getting scored on again in the period was the perfect time to try and spark the bench to get a rally going. Kale Kessy and Jamie Devane are both willing, trained professionals who probably know more about what you read about CTE than the people writing it. That doesn’t stop them from trying to knock each other out, so why stop them and come up with 5,000 rules trying to disavow it.

Just ban it. I’ve wasted three full paragraphs veering off base on it. Just make a rule that if you fight, you’re thrown out of the game and suspended for one. If you do it again, you’re suspended for two games and your team is fined $500. Double the fines and suspensions from there. Simple.

Hershey continued to pile on with another Pinho goal for a tap in which chased Tokarski for DeSmith and then on a tail end of a two man advantage when Philippe Maillet hacked and whacked at a puck that got by DeSmith that made it 5-1.

Third Period: Andrew Agozzino with his second of the game in the first minute of the period.

Pens put on a clinic in the offensive zone but couldn’t get a few power play chances to fire and were running out of time. Liam O’Brien iced it away with an empty net goal.

Wilkes-Barre had 14 shots through two periods, ended up with 18 in the third. Vellucci’s challenge going forward is going to be getting a full effort out of his team with all three periods.

Three Stars: 3) Philippe Maillet 2) Andrew Agozzino 1) Brian Pinho

The Good: That third period was promising. They dominated Hershey but it may have been a wolf in sheep’s clothing given the scoreline.

The Bad: Absent the rules on fighting, they got their asses kicked tonight by a blood rival and are now out of a playoff spot.

Turning Point: Hershey’s two quick goals to open the second put the Penguins on tilt, and it spiraled from there.

Around the Division: Hartford doubles up Providence 3-1….Lehigh Valley is shutout 4-0 in Laval….Springfield beats a game Utica club 3-2….Binghamton beats Bridgeport 3-1. Charlotte was off.

Standings: Hartford 47 — Hershey 43 — Providence 43 — Springfield 40 — Penguins 39 — Charlotte 35 — Bridgeport 31 — Lehigh Valley 29

Wheeling Update: Nailers win 2-1 in overtime in Cincinnati. Cam Brown with both goals including the overtime winner. Alex D’Orio faced a firing squad in goal, stopping 34 shots.

Video Highlights: 

Springfield in Saturday with a chance to get back above the cut line. More Saturday at 3.

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Two evenly matched teams squared off Tuesday afternoon in Springfield.

Your new rival is the Springfield Thunderbirds. Not Hershey or Lehigh Valley. It’s the Thunderbirds. They play the Penguins tough, strong and hard. They don’t lead the division by 15 points or beat teams by seven goals a night, they play a hard nosed, physical style just like the Penguins.

Springfield wins 5-4 in a shootout in a game that had everything. The game ending in a shootout was the least exciting thing about the entire contest.

Casey DeSmith opposed Philippe Desrosiers.

Lineup:

Lineup Notes: They released Sebastian Caron from his PTO about five minutes before they came out for the warmup, DeSmith started and Dustin Tokarski backed up. That was it. No imminent recall in the wake of Jake Guentzel’s season ending shoulder surgery off of the injury he sustained in Monday’s game against Ottawa.

Notable, Andrew Agozzino played in his 500th game. Also, Springfield didn’t post lines or any goal GIFs.

First Period: Period had pretty much everything.

First, two goals by the Penguins scored :18 apart. Anthony Angello drove the net and ripped a shot which was tipped but the rebound put in by Sam Miletic for a goal at 7:38.

Then, :18 later, a puck off of the chest of Andrew Agozzino and in for a 2-0 Penguin lead.

Oh and this too, depending on your view of what’s even strength or not.

To clarify, I’m talking about the goal Miletic scored in Rochester on December 11, not the one he scored Tuesday.

Springfield was never on the ropes, because they responded in kind to not only tie, but take the lead.

Paul Thompson’s initial shot is stopped, but the Thunderbirds captain follows his shot and puts it in to cut the deficit to one.

Later, Dryden Hunt tied the game on a tic tac power play goal.

Then Ryan Haggerty scored a goal in controversial fashion.

He put a puck in past DeSmith after the Penguins netminder made the initial stop, then never covered the puck which was loose in or around the crease. As Haggerty is knocked around, he makes contact with DeSmith as DeSmith is going down into a snow angel to hopefully cover up the puck before it crosses the line.

It did. Referee Dan Kelly was right on top of the play and signaled goal. This made Casey DeSmith very mad. He flung his blocker in the general direction of Kelly. Kelly then went to replay to review something. No idea what, as goalie interference calls when goals are scored and not called as such are not reviewable in the AHL. The goal stood and the place was hot.

I guess what I don’t understand is why that goal by Haggerty was allowed to stand with all that contact and the goal Bobby Nardella scored against Dustin Tokarski Saturday in Hershey wasn’t. Nardella sneezed on Tokarski and his goal was disallowed and yet DeSmith is knocked over, unable to play his position, and the goal stands. There is no black and white. There just isn’t. You can argue contact, but there is contact all the time.

Mike Vellucci then initially refused to send five players over the boards in a protest despite Dan Kelly’s petitioning to start play again at center ice.

Full marks to Kelly for not throwing Casey DeSmith out of the game. You can’t throw things at officials. Also, you are supposed to start play when the official signals. Kelly could have thrown gas on the fire by ejecting DeSmith and Vellucci but didn’t.

Oh, Jan Drozg scored a power play goal to tie the game at three.

(no goal GIF here or of the Haggerty one)

That was just the first period.

Second Period: A lot less controversy. The Penguins knuckle down and put 15 shots on Desrosiers, but the Thunderbirds netminder turned them all aside. Springfield took just six, one of them going in when Joel Lowry had a goal go in the opening minutes of the period.

Third Period: Penguins finally get one to go, this time off of the back of Desrosiers, when Thomas DiPauli was the last to touch the puck which tied the game at four.

Overtime: Pens had to kill a too many men penalty and did. No one really got close to scoring on either end.

Shootout: Henrik Borgstrom’s goal in the first round of the shootout stood up as the winner. Kevin Roy, Jake Lucchini and Anthony Angello all missed in that order for Wilkes-Barre.

The Good: Competitive game between to evenly matched teams gave the fans a good show. It’s always a battle and the Penguins and Thunderbirds sometimes bring out the best and worst of each other. Oh, and they rematch Saturday in Wilkes-Barre.

The Bad: Obviously the goalie interference no call, but the standard has no footing. No one knows what is or isn’t goalie interference.

Turning Point: Haggerty’s controversial goal gave Springfield the jam they were seeking. They kept out the Penguins in the second, and rode Desrosiers and a shootout to a win.

Around the Division: Hartford and Bridgeport were the only other game in town division wise, and the Wolf Pack handled the Sound Tigers beating them 3-2.

Standings: Hartford 45 — Providence 43 — Hershey 41 — Penguins 39 — Springfield 38 — Charlotte 35 — Bridgeport 31 — Lehigh Valley 29

Wheeling Update: Nailers hosted the Norfolk Admirals and beat them 6-1. Emil Larmi had 45 saves. Ryan Scarfo had a goal and an assist.

Video Highlights: Are here. The Haggerty goal is around the 1:50 mark.

Happy New Year. Don’t drink and drive, all that. Pens are back in action Friday when they host Hershey. Expect the All-Star rosters to be published sometime Thursday. I will be back then to let you know who made it from the Penguins plus looks at all the other players named. I think Casey DeSmith and Andrew Agozzino are locks, but I guess we will find out for sure then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Another ridiculously tight, too close to call game between the Hershey Bears and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. The Penguins, despite a few blowouts and 1-0 shutouts against, have played decent hockey in the month of December but they lacked any type of scoring unless your name was Anthony Angello. The Hershey Bears haven’t lost a game in the month of December.

Until tonight. The Penguins win 2-1 Saturday night to end the Bears nine game winning streak.

I ran the numbers back to that December 11 game in Rochester where Sam Miletic and Oula Palve scored in the third period. Depending on what your view of an even strength goal is, Jan Drozg scored an even strength goal and then Sam Miletic scored one with an extra attacker on, Drozg’s goal came 365:37 minutes ago, Miletic’s was 361:56.

Well make it 425:37 or 421:56 (again, depending on your views of what is even strength) since a player not named Anthony Angello scored an even strength goal for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

Angello scored the Penguins first goal and Thomas DiPauli, in his return from Pittsburgh, added on a power play goal and the Penguins tidily sweep the weekend.

Dustin Tokarski opposed Vitek Vanecek.

Lineup: 

Lineup Notes: Thomas DiPauli was returned from Pittsburgh, he replaced Jamie Devane on the fourth line. Casey DeSmith didn’t make the trip, Wheeling is in Indianapolis and Emil Larmi was up for the week and his itinerary included going back to the ECHL to get a bunch of games in during the Nailers crazy busy stretch coming up here so logistically he couldn’t rubber band back to town. Penguins signed Sebastian Caron to a PTO and he spent his afternoon / evening as the backup.

First Period: Was basically all centered around this play which a lot of Bears fans weren’t happy with.

Bobby Nardella puts the puck in the net but referee Michael Duco immediately washes out the goal and puts Matt Moulson in the penalty box for interference.

Soft call? Yes. Right call? Who knows. Whenever you think you know what a call is or isn’t, they move the target on you and you end up wrong.

These types of calls usually go for you and against you at least once a season.

There was no (legal) scoring in the period.

Second Period: Anthony Angello continued his goal scoring tear for the Penguins with this shot for a goal in the slot that gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

Hershey would get a two man advantage and Matt Moulson tapped in an easy goal that tied the game at one.

Cheeky point by Moulson there, mocking the referees that that one counted.

Penguins had a power play that went like this. Lose face off, give up two on none, then have this happen to your goaltender.

Third Period: Thomas DiPauli scored on a rebound of an Oula Palve shot. His offering dribbled up the back of Vancek and into the net.

Hershey responded in kind, by Penguins defenseman Michael Kim had a better shift, dropping to a knee to save a goal which preserved the Penguins one goal lead.

Bears pulled Vanecek in search of a tying goal, but weren’t able to get the equalizer. It was a ferocious final stand by Tokarski and the Penguins defense that preserved the win and ended the Bears winning streak.

Three Stars: 3) Anthony Angello (goal) 2) Matt Moulson (goal) 1) Thomas DiPauli (goal)

The Good: Despite the tumult, a nice turnaround by Wilkes-Barre / Scranton to sweep the weekend. They proved that they can hang and squeeze out goals when they need to in order to win hockey games.

The Bad: Really nitpicking as I am sitting here watching the cursor flash by on me as I am trying to think of one. Penguins played a great game, top to bottom with luck, and got the result they were seeking.

Turning Point: I’m going to let Tyler give this to you.

Hard to disagree with it. You could also go DiPauli’s goal which gave the Penguins a lead and then Tokarski shutting the door from there also.

Around the Division: Providence and Hartford are playing hot potato with the division lead, Hartford wins 4-1….Ethan Prow’s goal in overtime gives Springfield a 4-3 win over Bridgeport….Charlotte thumps Cleveland 5-1….Lehigh Valley loses at home to Utica 4-2.

Standings: Hartford and Providence 43 — Hershey 39 — Penguins 38 — Springfield 36 — Charlotte 33 — Bridgeport 31 — Lehigh Valley 29

Wheeling Update: Nailers are off tonight, play Indy Sunday. Emil Larmi may get that start.

Video Highlights: 

Pens are back in action Tuesday at 3 p.m. for a New Years Eve game at home against Springfield. Breaking news here as it warrants between now and then. If not, then look for the next blog update to come at 11 a.m. Tuesday for the Gameday setup for the clash with Ryan Haggerty and the Thunderbirds.

Let’s Go Pens!