Chirps from Center Ice

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have made the Calder Cup Playoffs for the tenth straight year in row, defeating the Connecticut Whale in Hartford by a score of 3-0 behind a 32 save shutout by goaltender Scott Munroe and a three goal flurry in the first period spanning 2:11.

Scott Munroe vs. Chad Johnson – Cody Wild and Philip Samuelsson were in for the recalled Brian Strait and Simon Despres. Brandon DeFazio and Matt Rust were the scratches.

First Period: Penguins, on the power play, get a goal from Jason Williams on a backdoor feed from Colin McDonald. Then, Ben Street spun off a man, side stepped another and wired a slick wrist shot past Johnson to make it 2-0. Then, Cody Wilkd would collect his first goal of the season crashing the net and putting one past Johnson to make it 3-0. That goal would chase the Connecticut goalie in favor of Cameron Talbot. Pens would have to kill a 4:00 double minor for a Steve MacIntyre high stick. Connecticut would not get a shot on goal.

First Period Thoughts: Wow. Night and day from last weekend. Tom Grace said on radio that Coach John Hynes worked the team hard in practice and spent all week breaking down video. It worked. Pens looked like a totally different team.

Second Period: Whale come out with two quick chances but Munroe made some big time saves to keep them out of his net. Really the story of the night as the Pens did well in insulating him and he made the stops he needed to when called upon.

Third Period: More of the same from the Penguins just keeping the Whale in check, almost at arms length. When they got close, Munroe was there to deny them. Brian Gibbons was turned away by Talbot who really settled things down for the Whale. Munroe was seeing the puck through traffic late making a few big saves to preserve the shutout.

Three Stars: 3) Ben Street (goal, +1) 2) Scott Munroe (32 save shutout) 1) Jason Williams (game winning goal, even)

Tom Grace stated that Brad Thiessen would get the net tomorrow night in Albany. If I am Hynes I go right back to Munroe. We will see.

Around the Division: Norfolk win 22 in a row in comeback fashion, 2-1, over the St. John’s IceCaps. Syracuse coughs up a 3-1 lead and lose 4-3 to the Adirondack Phantoms in overtime.

Standings: Norfolk 101 / Penguins 87 / Hershey 86 / Syracuse 74 / Binghamton 59.

Conference: 1-NOR (101) 2-STJ (86) 3-BRI (79) 4-WBS (87) 5-HER (86) 6-CT (77) 7-SYR (74) 8-MCH (73)

Penguins bus to Albany to take on the Devils tomorrow at 7. Gameday will be here tomorrow at 4.

Let’s Go Pens!

Penguins finally win a game this weekend and beat the Springfield Falcons 5-3 this afternoon. Wilkes-Barre at times stifled the Falcons, limiting them to only nine shots on goal through two periods, but the Falcons pounced on defensive breakdowns by the Pens and scored three goals on them.

Patrick Killeen vs. Mike Clemente // Brandon DeFazio was scratched for Steve MacIntyre, who was back from his four game suspension.

First Period: Geoff Walker and Greg Amadio settled a score from the last game and fought at the opening face-off. Amadio got a takedown. MacIntyre took his first shift which was uneventful. Then, Springfield broke in on a 3-on-1 and scored when Matt Calvert snuck one past Kileen. Then, Jason Williams whacked in a rebound to finally end the goal less drought at just under 150 minutes. Then, something I never saw, referee Jarrod Ragusin calls Dalton Prout for diving, with no Penguin in the box for the trip you almost always see. Pens couldn’t do anything with it and it was off to the…

Second Period: Alex Giroux scored to push the Falcons up to 2-1. Then, Maksim Mayorov was awarded a penalty shot when Brian Strait put a hook on him, but Killeen made the save. Then, Ben Street was denied on two separate occasions by goaltender Clemente once on the far circle and again in the slot. Then, Dane Byers scores to make it 3-1 Falcons which was a slow developing three-on-one which ultimately ended a two-on-none. At this point it was three Falcons goals on seven Falcons shots. Penguins would hit a post on a power play then Bryan Lerg had a puck find him with a wide open net in front of him and cut the Springfield lead to one, making it 3-2.

Second Period Notes: The Giroux goal was his 700th AHL point, which makes him the 23rd player in AHL history to reach this plateau.

Third Period: Brian Gibbons would stuff one home in the periods opening stanza. The other way, Killeen had two big stops, then Alex Grant would unleash a bomb from the blue line which put the Pens out ahead. Falcons would pull Clemente late and would never find the equalizer. Brian Strait would backhand a puck in from center ice which found the empty net to seal it at 5-3.

Third Period Thoughts: Patrick Killeen stopped all 17 shots he faced and you can argue had a huge hand in the win, keeping Springfield out of the back of his net.

Three Stars: 3) Bryan Lerg (goal, assist, even) 2) Jason Williams (goal, assist, +1) and 1) Alex Grant (game winning goal, -1)

Around the Division: The Bears win six in a row and are a point back of the Penguins with a game in hand. They beat the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 in a shootout and are starting to look like the Bears of old, down 2-0 to comeback and win 3-2. only one other game featuring an East Division team with Binghamton running out of time in a 5-4 loss. At one point the B-Sens were down 5-1.

Standings: Norfolk 97 / Penguins 85 / Hershey 84 / Syracuse 71 / Binghamton 59

Conference: 1-NOR (97) 2-StJ (86) 3-CT (77) 4-WBS (85) 5-HER (84) 6-BRI (75) 7-MCH (73) 8-SYR (71)

Magic Number: Was seven at the start of the day, looks to be five now. Syracuse in eighth was idle and Worcester in nine lost. Number looks like it is still 90 to clinch.

This Week: St. John’s is in Norfolk on Wednesday looking to end the Admirals 20 game win streak, the Bears travel to Binghamton. Penguins practice Tuesday, so I will probably have news and notes then, unless something jumps up which is relevant to blog about sooner.

Let’s Go Pens!

The subject line tonight was overheard by me from a small child telling his father that he didn’t hear the Penguins goal horn for two straight nights. Whomever that young child is, I would like to thank him for telling his father that and giving me the idea to use that phrase as my blog title this evening.

Nothing childish, however, about the Penguins lack of scoring. 2-0 loss tonight, now shut out in back to back periods and goalless for 127:32 going back to Geoff Walker’s goal last Sunday vs. Binghamton, provided my math is correct.*

Scott Munroe vs. Eddie Pasquale

Before the game, the Hershey Bears announced that they will be hosting an outdoor game at Hersheypark Stadium next January 20. I have a blog about it one post down, or here with full details.

First Period: Penguins would get two power plays but could not muster anything with them. Really the story of the night and the goalless drought with the power play ineffectiveness. Some power plays the Pens couldn’t muster even a shot. Ray Sawada hit Aaron Gagnon on a stretch pass which sprung Gaganon on a breakaway he scored on in the final minute.

Second Period: Penguins caught on their heels a bit as the IceCaps pressured and pressured. Finally Jason Gregoire scored on a sneaky play by him where he snuck in behind the D, gets a pass from John Albert and goes top shelf on Munroe to put his team up 2-0. St. John’s would continue to have firing squad mentality but Munroe never let in another one. Penguins had sustained pressure late but were unable to find the back of the net.

Third Period: Uneventful in terms of goals. Pasquale left rebound after rebound of the nine shots the Pens pumped his way this period but no single goal was found. Pens pulled Munroe and weren’t able to score with the extra man.

Thoughts: Munroe has actually played outstanding these last two nights. If I tell you at 5 o’clock Friday that after two games, he only lets in a total of three goals, you probably take it and run. Penguins are just not skating. I don’t know if it is line combinations or what it is now, hopefully it gets fixed and fixed quick.

Magic Number: Think stays at 7. Scenarios with the logjam at the 8 seed make it hard for me being a folly at math.

Around the Division: One more and the streak will be old enough to drink. The Norfolk Admirals run it to 20 in a row, defeating the Albany Devils by a 4-3 score. Hershey comes back to nip Charlotte 2-1. Syracuse loses to Rochester in a shootout, 4-3.

Standings: Norfolk 97 / WBS 83 / Hershey 82 / Syracuse 71 / Binghamton 59

Conference: 1-NOR (97) 2-StJ (86) 3-CT (76) 4-WBS (83) 5-HER (82) 6-BRI (73) 7-MCH (71) 8-SYR (71)

Springfield is in Sunday afternoon for what is sure to be an interesting affair with Steve MacIntyre being eligible to return from suspension. You may want to get there early to see what boils up in warmups.

Gameday for that matchup will be here on the blog at 11 a.m.

Let’s Go Pens!

* – stop laughing.

Going to just let it flow tonight and see what happens tonight with this recap.

Pens lose 1-0 tonight and were shutout by a very outstanding Michael Leighton. They were in search of a few things:

• A goal. Nothing was happening tonight. Shooting it into skates and when the puck did get to the net, Leighton stood on his head and absolutely made ten bell save after ten bell save, highlight coming in the third period diving with the glove to absolutely rob Alex Grant out of thin air.
• Stability on defense. Alex Picard cut his leg in the first period then came out late in the second. How many 2-on-1’s did the Pens give up tonight? Too many. That needs to change.
• An actual power play. This mess of a drop pass to an invisible teammate in the neutral zone then dump and chase, watch the Phantoms clear it has got to change.
• Face-off wins. To my last point a bit, losing a face-off in the offensive zone on a power play and watch the Phantoms clear it.
• Lines that fit like puzzle pieces. I don’t like this idea of letting off because we know we can’t get better than a four seed and we can’t dip lower than six. Some guys just looked lost tonight.

For what it is worth Scott Munroe was on par with Leighton, making his own ten-bell saves. He was beaten in the first period when Jason Akeson received a pass off the wall from Tye McGinn and stuck it past him. That was it. Brandon DeFazio and Mike Testwuide had a spirited scrap in the first period also with DeFazio edging Testwuide with a harder right than his opponent as both were tossing heavy blows.

Pens had the best chances in the third period on Leighton, including the Alex Grant robbery. I was half way out of my seat before  I realized Leighton made the save.

If you saw it different tonight, please leave me a comment in the blog.

Three stars were Tye McGinn (primary assist, +1) 2) Jason Akeson (game winning goal, +1) and 1) Michael Leighton (24 save shutout)

Around the Division: Norfolk wins 19 straight beating the Albany Devils 2-1. This stat from the AHL PR Twitter feed is scary:

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Albany led briefly, 1-0.

Syracuse won a track meet vs. St. John’s 5-4. Syracuse is now the 7 seed. Binghamton edged Rochester in overtime 5-4. Hershey was off.

Standings: Admirals 95 / Penguins 83 / Bears 80 / Crunch 70 / Senators 59

Magic Number: The number to get there is 91 in the Eastern Conference. It remains 8 for the Pens, but remember I am horrible at math.

Conference: 1-NOR (95) 2-StJ (84) 3-CT (76) 4-WBS (83) 5-HER (80) 6-BRI (73) 7-SYR (70) 8-MCH (69)

Pens get the St. John’s IceCaps tomorrow. Gameday for these proceedings up here at the blog at 3 p.m., for puck drop from Wilkes-Barre at 7.

Let’s Go Pens!

Goaltender Scott Munroe wins his 100th AHL game as the Penguins sweep the weekend with a 3-2 comeback win this afternoon against the Binghamton Senators.

Scott Munroe vs. Robin Lehner – Cody Wild was in for Carl Sneep. No other lineup changes.

First Period: Pens came out flat and Binghamton pounced in a big way, making it 2-0 before the game was 15 minutes old. Overall just a sloppy, flat period.

Second Period: Penguins came with a jump this period. On the power play, Ben Street crashed the net and scored to cut the deficit in half. Then, Street again, receiving a pass from Geoff Walker and just slipping the puck under Lehner to even things at two. Fireworks at the end of period with Brandon DeFazio and Jack Downing dropping the gloves and having a spirited scrap.

Third Period: More back and forth this period, although Binghamton didn’t get a shot on goal for a long stretch to open the period. Then, late, Geoff Walker in a scrum lifted the puck up and past a down and out Robin Lehner to push the Pens ahead 3-2. Binghamton pulled Lehner with approximately a minute remaining and were unable to find the equalizer and the Pens held on to win.

This will never get old:

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Three Stars: 3) Scott Munroe (24 saves on 26 shots and 100th career AHL win) 2) Geoff Walker, game winning goal, assist, +2) and 1) Ben Street (two goals, assist, +2)

Around the Division: Norfolk Admirals refuse to be beaten. They defeat the Charlotte Checkers 5-0. Not only are they scoring a billion goals, but backup goaltender Jaroslav Janus is on fire. Adding fuel to the fire, it appears that Tampa Bay is going to bring in a name familiar with WBS Penguins fans of old, Sebastian Caron. This would most likely bump Dustin Tokarski back to Norfolk. TBL wants Tokarski to log big minutes and under pressure. So he will definitely see that in Norfolk.

Oh yeah, the rest of the division. Hershey beat Albany 4-1.

Magic Number: Adding this here until we clinch, appears to be 9. I am not a math major and would welcome help here in the form of a comment from a reader or a mention on Twitter or an e-mail.

Standings: Norfolk 93 – Wilkes-Barre / Scranton 83 – Hershey 78 – Syracuse 66 – Binghamton 55

Conference: 1-NOR (93) 2-StJ (83) 3-CT (76) 4-WBS (83) 5-HER (78) 6-BRI (72) 7-MCH (69) 8-WOR (67)

Pens will probably be off tomorrow. Which means blog content from here to Friday’s tilt with Adirondack will be piggybacking what I see from the Bombulie’s or the league itself.

Let’s Go Pens!

Penguins get their first hat trick in 14 months from defenseman Alex Picard as the Penguins roll to a 4-1 win over the Worcester Sharks in front of a sold out crowd at home.

Scott Munroe vs. Tyson Sexsmith

Lineup Notes: Jason Williams was scratched, likely because Joe Vitale was banged up today in New Jersey. Williams will most likely get called up tomorrow morning (officially) as Pittsburgh plays Philadelphia tomorrow in the city of brotherly love. EDIT: In his post game wrap on his blog, Coach John Hynes told Pens beat writer Jonathan Bombulie that Williams was scratched due to personal reasons. Swing and a miss by me!

First Period: Worcester had the early pressure bout Munroe and the Pens defense held them off the scoreboard. It went this way for about seven minutes. Then, out of the TV timeout, the Penguins offense sprung to life. Alex Picard fired a shot on goal that Sexsmith never saw. Then, on the power play, Simon Despres fired a shot on goal that Captain Ryan Craig cleaned up the rebound and potted home to put the Pens up 2-0. Then three consecutive brawls with Brandon DeFazio fighting James Livingston, Carl Sneep fighting Matt Pelech and Geoff Walker fighting Curt Gogol. Penguins would get another power play goal in the period, this time from Alex Picard to make it 3-0. This would spell the end of Tyson Sexsmith who was relieved by backup goaltender Harri Sateri.

Second Period: I said at the time that the Penguins were looking to protect the three goal lead, as I just had the feeling Worcester wasn’t done and they were still in it. Period was really a back and forth battle, with the Pens preserving a three goal lead not really giving Worcester any solid looks on goal.

Third Period: Another power play goal by Alex Picard, and the Penguins had their first hat trick of the season. They also had a hat giveaway this night as part of a ticket deal so there were some extra hats on the ice. Sharks would later score on a power play of their own when John McCarthy busted up the Munroe shutout bid.

Three Stars: 3) Scott Munroe (27 saves on 28 shots) 2) Cal O’Reilly (three assists, +1) and 1) Alex Picard (hat trick, +1)

Around the Division: Hershey beat Albany 3-2 in a shootout. Syracuse beat Adirondack 5-2 and Binghamton lost in overtime to the Rochester Americans 4-3.

Standings: Admirals 91, Pens 81, Bears 76, Crunch 66, Senators 55

Conference: 1-NOR (91) 2-StJ (83) 3-CT (74) 4-WBS (81) 5-HER (76) 6-BRI (72)  7-MCH (67) 8-SYR (66)

The battle for seventh and eighth in the Conference is a tight one all the way to fourteenth, with the Providence Bruins there with 61 points.

The Binghamton Senators are in tomorrow for a 3 p.m. start, Gameday will be up on the blog here at 11 a.m.

Let’s Go Pens!

No silly headline tonight. Sorry. Pens lose this game 4-1.

Let’s just go on and crown the Norfolk Admirals the 2011-2012 East Division Champions and the odds on favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the Calder Cup Finals. The Admirals winning streak is now old enough to drive, they have won SIXTEEN straight.

Funny game tonight. Fans on one side will say that referees Steve Patafie and Jason Rollins were downright awful. Fans on the other will say that the Pens just looked flatfooted all night. Others will say that the Admirals are just that good at this juncture. Some may add a potpourri of other random observations such as Norfolk’s speed, Munroe’ having an off night, etc. I will tend to agree with all thought processes.

Before I get into the game recap, hats off to Norfolk. The 15 wins in a row before this would have been enough to SWEEP through the ENTIRE Calder Cup Playoffs (emphasis added)

Scott Munroe vs. Jaroslav Janus

Lineup Notes: Joey Mormina was under the weather and scratched. So too Cody Wild yielding to Brian Strait and Simon Despres, down from Pittsburgh. Matt Rust took warmups but was scratched. Bryan Lerg returned to the lineup.

First Period: Brian Gibbons took a trip call. Pens killed it then a second later, Cal O’Reilly dropped a pass to Bryan Lerg who scored what would end up being the only Pens goal of the night, a slick wrister which handcuffed Janus. Then the Pens took another penalty in the form of a Bryan Lerg elbow. The Admirals wasted little time in evening the score at 1 when Mark Barberio fired a slap pass to Richard Panik who tipped it past Munroe. Then, next shift Radko Gudas scored from the top of the circles to make it 2-1 Admirals. They then came in 2-on-1 and didn’t score. Pens were juyst standing around.

Second Period: Admirals were on a carryover power play from the first period which Tyler Johnson wasted no time on scoring making it 3-1 before you were able to settle in for the second. After that, the Admirals just held the Pens at arm length the rest of the night really. Munroe made a stop on a two on none with Ondrej Palat and Richard Panik. Pens killed off a late Norfolk 5-on-3.

Third Period: Evan Oberg, fresh out of the box on an interference call, was sprung and beat Munroe clean to make it 4-1. Penguins only managed two shots on goal this period as the Admirals really did a nice job, I don’t want to say insulating Janus, but protecting the lead.

Final shots on goal were a robust 33 for the Admirals and a paltry 13 for the Penguins.

Thoughts: Not going to be discouraged by this result. The Admirals are as hot as hot can be. The pessimist in me will call this an out and out dismantling of the Penguins tonight. The optimist in me says it’s a learning experience for pretty much everyone.

Three Stars: 3) Radko Gudas (goal, +1) 2) Richard Panik (goal, assist, even) 1) Tyler Johnson (goal, two assists, +1)

Around the Division: Syracuse came back to beat Adirondack in Glens Falls 2-1.

Standings: Norfolk leads by 10 points, 89 to the Pens 79. Hershey has two games in hand on the Pens and sit five back at 72 points. Syracuse is 10 back of Hershey and the B-Sens are twenty behind Hershey and ten behind Syracuse.

Conference: 1-NOR (89) 2-StJ (83) 3-BRI (72) 4-WBS (79) 5-HER (72) 6-CT (72) 7-MCH (65) 8-ALB (64)

I heard Grace mention practice Friday in advance of Saturday home vs. Worcester then Sunday vs. Binghamton. Fodder between now and then may be scarce.

Let’s Go Pens!