Chirps from Center Ice

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The Penguins had the Cleveland Monsters dead to rights all game.

But hockey is a one shot game most nights and despite firing just 17 shots all game at goaltender Joel Blomqvist, it is Shot 16 that ties it with an extra attacker in the third period and Shot 17 that wins it for Cleveland on the power play. Penguins lose 3-2 in overtime.

I mean they get a point, will stay at least third for another day, but this is a point they will wish they had in a few weeks and adjustments that they will need to make. If you double up a team in shots (the Penguins had 34 shots) you should be expected to win.

They didn’t, have about 26 hours to stew on it before they rematch with the Monsters on Monday night.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Unchanged up front, Jack St. Ivany (NHL recall) and Owen Headrick were out, Ryan Shea and Taylor Fedun were in on defense.

Injury Updates: J.D. Forrest told Pittsburgh media after the Penguins stopped by Cranberry, PA Saturday en route out to Cleveland that Marc Johnstone could be back by the end of the season and Peter Abbandonato could be ready for playoffs and that Sam Houde is out with upper and lower body injuries.

Isn’t the end of the season and the start of playoffs the same thing? Anyway…

First Period: No scoring, teams went 0/1 on the power play and 0/1 on breakaways. Sam Poulin had one shorthanded.

Second Period: :25 in, Justin Pearson scores on a pretty feed form Roman Ahcan. Pearson, left unmarked in the slot, makes no doubt and scores for the Monsters.

The Penguins would respond in kind :14 into a power play when Vinnie Hinostroza would score to bring the teams level.

About those breakaways, Joel Blomqvist stopped three to this point and here is one highlighted by the team he works for:

Third Period: Sam Poulin scores to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. Ty Smith whiffed on a shot, Vinnie Hinostroza was down low, collected the whiffed shot, bumped it back to Smith who found Poulin streaking down the slot for a wide open shot.

The Penguins had a power play about halfway through the period and I said at the time that they could really inflict damage if they could score in the sequence. They didn’t.

Trent Vogelhuber pulled his goaltender, called time out and ex-Penguin now coach Mark Letestu drew up a play and the rest is history.

Owen Sillinger wins a face-off back to Marcus Björk, who finds David Jiricik one the far side at the point. Jiricik rips a shot and it goes in.

So it was off to overtime. You know how this goes if you follow this team.

Overtime: Nick Hart mentioned at the start that it was the 20th overtime for the Monsters this season. That’s a lot.

Radim Zohorna was called for interference and in the ensuing power play, Stanislav Svozil scores at 2:57 to give the Monsters the seeming impossible, stunning comeback.

Here’s that goal and the Jiricik goal that tied it late for Cleveland.:

Another overtime loss for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

Three Stars: 3) Stanislav Svozil (overtime game winning goal) 2) David Jiricek (goal) 1) Justin Pearson (goal)

The Good: Despite the outcome, the Penguins were in control for 90% of the game against a division leading team, albeit that team is missing 5 of 6 of their top scorers to injury or recall.

The Bad: With how tight three through five is right now in the Atlantic, that extra point could have come in handy for the Penguins come mid-April.

Turning Point: I’m going to go off the wall here and say the missed power play chance halfway through the third period already up one gets it here as a 3-1 game is a steeper hill to climb for the Monsters when shots were at a premium for them. Alas, here we are.

Around the Division: Springfield beat Charlotte 6-4 in earlier action and Hershey shuts out a sliding Hartford Wolf Pack club 4-0. The Wolf Pack are winless in their last five contests.

Standings: Hershey 93 — Providence 77 – Penguins 69 — Charlotte 68 – Hartford 67 – Lehigh Valley 60 – Springfield 59 – Bridgeport 47

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: I’ll see if Cleveland or the Penguins run them and if they do will work the edit in.

Happy Monday, talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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If you do this right, then this next sentence is wrong.

Probably the most important game of the season for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

Seeing the Hartford Wolf Pack edge ahead of them for third on Tuesday night, the Penguins needed a response against a team that has owned them on their home ice and frustrated them the last time these two teams met.

They respond, in a huge way, to the tone of 3-0. The first shutout of the season for Joel Blomqvist and first of his North American career. Jagger Joshua had a pair of goals.

The depth scoring answered when the top liners of Sam Poulin and Vinnie Hinostroza had a quiet night.

Huge game, gets them back to third with the Hartford loss in Charlotte Wednesday which I will get to in a bit.

I stop short at saying confidence building, because the power play is a downright abomination. But there’s time and they can still work on that, we hope.

Here’s how they lined up…

Lineup Notes: Debut for Vasily Ponomarev, return of Jonathan Gruden and Raivis Ansons. This trio replaced Matt Filipe, Lukas Svejkovsky and Tanner Laderoute. Laderoute was released from his PTO and was returned to the Wheeling Nailers. On defense, Xavier Ouellet and Owen Headrick were in for Taylor Fedun and Ryan Shea, who was recalled to Pittsburgh in the Gruden back to Wilkes-Barre transaction yesterday.

First Period: Jagger Joshua cleaned up the loose change in front…

…and the Penguins were off to the races.

But not without some bumps, as the Penguins found themselves on the wrong end of a two man advantage for :46. Phantoms power play was hitting at a 26% clip recently and were good on the road but the Penguins were able to get through it fairly unscathed.

Second Period: Penguins had three power plays in this game and let’s just move on and hot say anything bad about them and just say nothing about them at all.

Jagger Joshua bags his second of the night with a roof job after Corey Andonovski took a big hit to make a big play.

Said this at the time…

Third Period: Kind of a grit your teeth and hope for the best because the next goal here was going to be huge. If the Penguins score it’s 3-0 and a steeper hill to climb for the Phantoms. If Lehigh Valley pulls one back, it’s hang onto your butts and a white knuckle finish.

Thankfully, the Phantoms did not score any goals in the period. The teams traded power plays then the Penguins got another crack. Later, with the Lehigh Valley net empty, Dmitri Samorukov scores from about 190 feet away and makes it 3-0…

The only question from here was will Blomqvist do the thing?

Yeah, he did the thing.

23 saves for the Penguins rookie. Probably the best prospect in the organization and the future in goal for Pittsburgh. He’s overdue for this shutout and let’s hope there are many more this season to come.

Three Stars: 3) Corey Andonovski (two goals) 2) Jagger Joshua (two goals) 1) Joel Blomqvist (23 saves)

The Good: Felt good walking out of the arena and not getting blasted by cold air, right? That’s playoff weather for you. Think the players knew? I think so. Hell of a response against a team that has their number, moreso then the Bears, if that makes sense.

The Bad: That power plays stinks, man.

Turning Point: Lots of moving targets tonight. The second Joshua goal, the :46 kill of the Phantoms two man, take your pick.

Around the Division: Hartford loses 4-0 in Charlotte. The Checkers take all four points from the Wolf Pack, while Hartford only walks away with one point in North Carolina….Laval beats Bridgeport 5-1.

Standings: Hershey 88 – Providence 75 – Penguins 68 – Hartford 67 – Charlotte 66 – Springfield 57 – Lehigh Valley 57 – Bridgeport 47

Wheeling Update: Nailers were out in Iowa and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Heartlanders. Tanner Laderoute had a goal in his return for the Nailers. Taylor Gauthier had 29 saves.

Video Highlights: 

Enjoy the weekend off, they aren’t back in action until Sunday at 3 in Cleveland. Weekend Preview will most likely be up Saturday, I want it to be as fresh as I can make it in time for the Sunday-Monday set out in The Land.

Let’s Go Pens!

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I hate when I send a tweet thinking I may use it later.

Background, Wilkes-Barre came into the third period up 1-0 on visiting Lehigh Valley. You all know what they did the night prior where they were down coming into the third and rallied to win.

A power play goal, a shorthanded goal and a goal off of a turnover were all the Lehigh Valley Phantoms needed. Oh, sure they tossed in a fourth goal just to be sure but the Phantoms win 4-2 Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre.

Let’s talk about the Penguins third periods of late, especially against this team. They can’t seem to hold a lead. They can’t seem to hold a lead at home.

Let’s get into this.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: I don’t know if anyone at 40 Coal still reads the blog anymore but the mention of who comes in and replaces who in the lineup graphic is really helpful vs. “Here’s who we’re rolling with tonight” or something else.

First Period: Teams traded a couple of power plays. Seemed like a bit of a slog. No scoring.

Second Period: Penguins get a goal from Ryan Shea with Sam Poulin buzzing the tower to give Wilkes-Barre a 1-0 lead.

Good goal, okay start, but you just knew that they needed more.

Third Period: They had some carryover power play time they weren’t able to score on. Then :13 into a Lukas Svejkovsky hook, Samu Tuomaala scores on a power play to tie the game at one.

Then Garrett Wilson, who was running his mouth all night, takes an unnecessary checking to the head 5:00 match penalty and is ejected from the game. He clipped Ty Smith who was fine, but the Penguins were on a power plat for 5:00.

Remember how I told you in the Weekend Preview that they needed to score a power play goal in every game in this miniseries?

They didn’t. Not only that but they gave up a shorthanded goal to go behind 2-1 when Brendan Furry scored on a mini breakaway.

Just. Brutal.

Worse? Taylor Fedun with a bonehead turnover in front of his net that ends up inside of it. Adam Brooks with the gift of a goal.

Good lord I just looked at that replay and Fedun gave it away twice.

Even Polei makes it 4-1 on a snipe.

Sam Poulin scores on a penalty shot that brings the Penguins within two…

…but they would get no closer and did not score on the power play.

Three Stars: 3) Parker Gahagen (30 saves) 2) Rhett Gardner (two assists) 1) Brendan Furry (goal)

The Good: Nice to see the building full and the fans seemed to have a good time for the first forty minutes at least.

The Bad: Didn’t like Svejkovsky’s game. Played too fast and loose. Seems like it’s one step forward with him and two steps back. Fedun’s turnover is inexcusable. The power play sucked despite getting a goal by default on the penalty shot by Poulin. Losing to a non-playoff team. I mean I could keep going but we lose an hour of sleep tonight.

Turning Point: Said it at the time, but the 5:00 major power play that they failed to score on but got scored on gets it here. Sometimes they are obvious.

Around the Division: Hartford picks up a point but loses in a shootout in Bridgeport 3-2….Hershey beats Charlotte 3-2….Springfield beats Toronto 5-1.

Standings: Hershey 88 – Providence 73 – Penguins 66 – Hartford 66 – Charlotte 62 – Springfield 57 – Lehigh Valley 55 – Bridgeport 47

Wheeling Update: Nailers rematched against Fort Wayne and won 4-3. Taylor Gauthier picks up the win with 30 saves.

Video Highlights: Not up yet. I doubt they are in a hurry. If I see them and can work an edit in, I will.

But for breaking news between now and Wednesday, talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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After a tumultuous couple of days for the Penguins organization, business had to continue with the issue still in doubt for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins and their playoff seeding and chances.

They answer with a gritty, gutsy, third period comeback win in Allentown Friday night and win 3-2 and will stay ahead of the Hartford Wolf Pack for another night.

Rematch Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre with these two teams.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: More trades. Magnus Hellberg was traded to Florida for Ludovic Waeber. Waeber is a goalie who did time with the Charlotte Checkers. In a corresponding move, Coal Street signed Jaxon Castor to a PTO. The thought process here is twofold. 1) You may see Taylor Gauthier get recalled and stay with Wilkes-Barre. Gauthier has been tearing up the ECHL. Let him back up Blomqvist and if need be, call up Weaber or even Garret Sparks if you have to. 2) Just have Waeber back up Blomqvist.

I am leaning more towards number two, but you have to read on to see why.

I think it is apparent that Pittsburgh is fast tracking Blomqvist for the NHL next season. He’s earned it.

Other moves were paper transactions on Valtteri Puustinen and Jonathan Gruden, making them eligible for assignment to Wilkes-Barre when Pittsburgh’s season wraps up and Joona Koppanen being assigned and playing Friday in Allentown.

On ice, Lukas Svejkovsky and Jack Rathbone were back from their respective injuries. Matt Filipe and Dillon Hamaliuk were out for Svejkovsky and Laderoute. Jack Rathbone for Owen Headrick.

Ty Smith stays in Wilkes-Barre. How? He was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes and is Carolina property. The Hurricanes do not have an AHL affiliate. The Chicago Wolves are independent, opting to go without an NHL affiliate so, for now, Smith stays put.

Whew. That’s a lot. Onto the game.

First Period: I told you in the Weekend Preview that if the Penguins wanted to have success against the Phantoms they had to score a power play goal in each game. Well, it took them four seconds, but they did score a power play goal when Austin Rueschhoff cleaned up the loose change left by a shot from Vinnie Hinostroza from the point.

Pace slowed down a bit from there as it usually does when these teams meet.

Second Period: Phantoms jump the Pens from the drop of the puck and Ty Smith and Vinnie Hinostroza get their wires crossed and Jack Rathbone tries to bail them out but the pass is picked off at center ice by Victor Mete who finds Brandon Furry who then finds a streaking Rhett Gardner who goes top corner on a post to post going Joel Blomqvist to tie the game at one.

Well past ten minutes and all the Pens had was a grip it and rip it shot from Jagger Joshua.

They picked it up a bit, but then Lehigh Valley was back on it quickly and Rhett Gardner bags his second of the period on a two man advantage for the Phantoms and it’s 2-1.

Penguins looked bad that period, out of sync and what have you.

Third Period: Needing a positive response, the Penguins get one in the form of Lukas Svejkovsky for his first of the season in the AHL on an absolute dart.

Game started to devolve a bit after that, every whistle had fisticuffs. Pens miss on a 4:00 double minor but looked good on it, credit Lehigh Valley’s penalty kill I guess.

Things settled from there and it appeared as if that they were headed to overtime and we all know the Penguins success or lack thereof in that period.

Corey Andonovski to the rescue.

A most ridiculous tip or deflection of a pass from Ryan Shea for Andonovski who has had a mercurial year. If a guy like Andonovski starts warming up, there’s no telling the heights that this team can reach.

Lehigh Valley pulled Cal Petersen for an extra attacker but ere not able to find the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Cal Petersen (18 saves) 2) Rhett Gardner (two goals) 1) Corey Andonovski (game winning goal)

The Good: They battled. JD Forrest pushed the right buttons and it’s a huge two points that will help them down the stretch.

The Bad: Game too close for my liking and I didn’t like that second period at all against a non playoff team.

Turning Point: The Andonovski goal is the clear and obvious choice here.

Around the Division: Hartford wins 7-4 over Providence….Charlotte beats Hershey 5-3 for the Bears third loss in a row? Bridgeport beats Springfield 4-2.

Standings: Hershey 86 – Providence 73 – Penguins 66 – Hartford 65 – Charlotte 62 – Springfield 55 – Lehigh Valley 53 – Bridgeport 45

A note, the Penguins finished last season with 66 points.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are out in Fort Wayne, Indiana. That game started late. Box here.

Back to Gauthier, he started in goal for Wheeling Friday, so the thought is Waeber may be headed to Wilkes-Barre. Who knows, though.

Video Highlights: 

Back at it for the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration game against the Phantoms again in a rematch.

Let’s Go Pens!

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There’s no flies on Sam Poulin.

Coming back from injury, Poulin assists three times and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins defeat the Charlotte Checkers 4-1 on Friday night in an important game for both teams.

Poulin had been playing well leading up to his recent injury, and he now has 21 points in 27 games.

Vinnie Hinostroza had a pailr of goals, including one on a power play that put the Penguins up 3-1 at the time.

Radim Zohorna had an empty net goal, also on a power play which iced the game away for the Penguins.

Joel Blomqvist stopped 21 shots.

Charlotte’s seven game point streak comes to an end.

These two teams rematch in Wilkes-Barre Saturday at 6.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Coal Street really buried the lede with missing that Sam Poulin also made his lineup return. Other lineup notes were Radim Zohorna and Avery Hayes (also returning from injury) for Jonathan Gruden (recalled to Pittsburgh) Max Cajkovic and Taylor Fedun.

First Period: They looked flat, Joel Blomqvist bailed them out a bunch of times and got beat by Wilmer Skoog for a goal that put Charlotte on the board first and gave the Checkers a 1-0 lead.

Penalty filled first period. Nothing was getting past referees Liam Maaskant and Casey Terreri.

Second Period: Vinnie Hinostroza went to work.

The latter of which was a power play goal.

With Valtteri Puustinen in Pittsburgh and Alex Nylander traded, Wilkes-Barre will be leaning heavily on Hinostroza for offensive outputs. So, essentially carbon copies of games such as this going forward.

Third Period: Thing of beauty as Ryan Shea connects with Corey Andonovski who connects with Austin Rueschhoff who slams it home for a 3-1 Penguins lead and some breathing room.

Charlotte takes a penalty, goes with the empty net and Radim Zohorna outmuscles a guy for an empty net power play goal that ices the game away.

Ballgame.

Three Stars: 3) Austin Rueschhoff (goal) 2) Sam Poulin (three assists) 1) Vinnie Hinostroza (two goals)

The Good: Felt like a big game, was hyped up as such and they delivered after a rough start.

The Bad: Still can’t get a shutout, huh? Bummer.

Turning Point: The Rueschhoff / Andonovski connection for a goal and a two goal lead was big at the time and gets it here.

Around the Division: Hartford beats Laval clean 2-1….Utica shuts out Lehigh Valley 3-0….Providence beats Springfield 4-2.

Standings: Hershey 85 – Providence 73 – Penguins 64 – Hartford 61 – Charlotte 58 – Springfield 53 – Lehigh Valley 51 – Bridgeport 39

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 2-1 in Cincinnati. Justin Lee with the goal for the Nailers. Taylor Gauthier stops 22.

Video Highlights: 

Back at it with the Checkers an hour earlier Saturday.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Wednesday it was face-offs that sunk the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

Friday in Hershey, it was penalties.

Chase Priskie’s power play goal late in the third period was the game winner in this one, a 4-1 Bears win over the Penguins. Hershey had seven power plays in the game and Priskie scores on the last one. Hershey turned it into a runaway as the Penguins, who went 0/5 on the power play Friday, were trying to get the game even and pulled starting goaltender Joel Blomqvist when Hershey hit two shorthanded empty nets from over 100 feet away.

Jordan Deckard and Adam Tobias were in charge Friday. Those two make the trek up I-81 and will be with you live again running amok when the Pens host the Bridgeport Islanders Saturday night.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: The Pittsburgh Penguins traded Alex Nylander to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday for Emil Bemstrom. Bemstrom is a right wing. Matthew Phillips, who Washington tried to send to Hershey but the Penguins claimed on waivers plays right wing. Phillips was the Calgary Wranglers leading scorer last season. Calgary was the AHL’s best team last season. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when Pittsburgh waives Phillips, Washington reclaims him and Hershey obliterates everything in their path like they have in all season. The Bears don’t need the help, but they are going to get it.

That’s the second time this season Pittsburgh has traded Wilkes-Barre’s leading scorer. Rem Pitlick to Chicago for 2026 considerations, now Alex Nylander. Ty Smith, you’re probably next.

Magnus Hellberg was sent back to Coal Street Thursday but it was Taylor Gauthier who backed up.

Matt Filipe and Taylor Fedun were back from injury. They went 11/7 again. Dillon Hamaliuk was assigned to Wheeling in the morning and reassigned back to the AHL in the afternoon. Radim Zohorna was out, with Peter Abbandonato. Seven players injured right now for the Penguins.

First Period: Jonathan Gruden scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway on this nice setup by Raivis Ansons.

Wilkes-Barre held Hershey to just a pair of shots but then Ryan Hofer scored a low quick shot that beat Joel Blomqvist that tied the game at one.

Second Period: Not a lot of action because the period was marred by penalties. Five total. Adam Tobias and Jordan Deckard were getting their monies worth. Foreshadowing in case you missed the lede, the Penguins will see these two whistle blowers Saturday when they host Bridgeport.

Third Period: I mean the penalties continued. It felt like a preseason game. Tensions were running high and it felt like Deckard / Tobias were losing control. When you call 900 penalties in game and become too controlling, you tend to lose control at some point.

Chase Priskie nets a power play goal for the Bears on their seventh opportunity on the night.

Wilkes-Barre would get a chance at a late power play (Deckard and Tobias didn’t discriminate) so J.D. Forrest called time out. A fumbled pass by Vinnie Hinostroza was picked off by Ryan Strome who scored from about 180 feet away. Later Bogdan Trineyev scored another shorthanded, empty net goal.

Three Stars: 3) Matt Strome (goal, assist) 2) Ryan Hofer (goal) 1) Chase Priskie (goal)

The Good: Despite all of the penalties, they stayed step for step with the Bears. Again, you need to play a perfect game if you want to beat Hershey. Giving the Bears seven power play opportunities is hardly a perfect game plan.

The Bad: The captain had six PIMs. Taylor Fedun has to be the most ineffective captains in the history of the franchise.

Turning Point: It’s Priskie’s power play goal. No sense in overthinking it.

Around the Division: Hartford loses in Springfield 6-3….Providence beats Cleveland 4-3 in overtime.

Standings: Hershey 83 – Providence 67 – Penguins 60 – Hartford 58 – Charlotte 53 – Springfield 53 – Lehigh Valley 49 – Bridgeport 37

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 5-3 at home to Fort Wayne.

Video Highlights: 

Back at it Saturday at home against Bridgeport.

Let’s Go Pens!

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So here’s the thing, if it’s anyone else other than Joel Blomqvist in the net for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins Wednesday night, this is a blowout loss of epic proportions.

Instead, it was a close game throughout, but a game that the Penguins would lose 3-2 in overtime.

Wilkes-Barre carried a 2-1 lead into the third period but it was in this period that Lehigh Valley’s Cooper Marody started to cook. He scored the game tying goal and then in overtime the Penguins won the face-off, turned it over then never got it back and it was Marody at 1:04 of overtime that sent them packing.

Here’s how they lined up…

Lineup Notes: I completely forgot about Matt Filipe’s injury in the segment earlier today for the Weekend Preview. Other than that add Taylor Fedun and Lukas Svejkovsky to the injured list. They returned to the 12/6 format and Jonathan Gruden and Vinnie Hinostroza were back from Pittsburgh, Joona Koppanne was back from his weekend hiatus. Justin Addamo was out, the only lineup change from last game, but took warmups. 200th AHL game for Jonathan Gruden.

Magnus Hellberg was recalled to Pittsburgh earlier in the week. I didn’t mention it in the Weekend Preview because there’s no injury to any goalie (one of team were sick) so I would have thought he would have been back in time. He wasn’t and Taylor Gauthier was recalled from Wheeling.

First Period: Penguins came out flatter than two day old soda. That was foreshadowing on the night. But then Jonathan Gruden rang the post, and Jagger Joshua cleaned up the loose change and scored to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

Only blemish of the night from referees Mason Riley and Jim Curtain was when Austin Rueschhoff had the puck but was called for hooking near the Phantoms net. Baffling decision, but these two were stellar tonight I thought and let the players dictate play. I really like Curtain, I think he’s one of the better refs in the AHL.

Second Period: Phantoms had a goal taken away when replay shows it bat off the glove of the player who redirected it in (I didn’t catch a number) and more great stuff from Curtain and Riley, the review on video took all of about ten seconds.

Then the Penguins could not win a face-off. At all. This time, they lose the face-off (again) and Lehigh Valley fumbles it at the blue line and Alex Nylander is set up for a breakaway and scores to make it 2-0 Wilkes-Barre.

But then Lehigh Valley got a legal goal to go when Bobby Brink scored in tight to make it a 2-1 game.

(Lehigh Valley didn’t GIF goals, check video highlights below)

Third Period: Cooper Marody with a slam dunk on the near side left unmarked for a goal at 11:24. No penalties for either side, Curtain and Riley must have work in the morning like I do and kept it moving.

Overtime: Penguins win face-off, I think Ryan Shea turns it over and Lehigh valley takes it, doesn’t relent and Cooper Marody scores his second for the game winning goal that wins it for the Phantoms.

Three Stars: 3) Bobby Brink 2) Alex Nylander (goal) 1) Cooper Marody (two goals)

The Good: They scratched out a point and have 60 on the season. If I didn’t have work in the morning I’d check to see when it was they got 60 last season. Likely late in the season, because they finished with just 66 last year.

I think they will be fine. This loss stinks though.

The Bad: They could have and very well should have won the game, but not for Blomqvist, would have lost badly. Ryan Shea wasn’t good at all either I thought.

Turning Point: Marody’s overtime game winner gets it here as the event of a goal in overtime always does. Pens are 1-7 in overtime this season. That alone may cost them a shot at a bye come playoffs.

Around the Division: Hartford beats Bridgeport clean 2-1….Hershey loses in a shootout 3-2 in Laval.

Standings: Hershey 81 – Providence 65 – Penguins 60 – Hartford 57 – Charlotte 53 – Springfield 51 – Lehigh Valley 49 – Bridgeport 47

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

Back at it Friday in Hershey, more then.

Let’s Go Pens!