Chirps from Center Ice

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First Penguins win in Hershey since December 28, 2019.

It’s been a while, yes, but I wasn’t going to use the obvious “Miracle” headline on the anniversary of the US beating the USSR in Lake Placid 42 years ago.

I mean I should have, but Kyle Olson’s pair of goals stated otherwise.

I don’t want to call it a statement win because of what the Penguins didn’t do in Charlotte last week and what Hershey did last weekend (they lost two in Providence) but it’s good to finally win in Hershey after two plus years.

Penguins win 3-1. Tommy Nappier stole the show and deserved his first career shutout, but a busted stick on a shot by Alex Alexeyev thwarted that wish.

Nappier opposed Hunter Shepard, who by his own right played a good game and has thwarted Wilkes-Barre before in the past.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Forwards Radim Zohorna and Drew O’Connor and defenseman Mark Friedman were all in. Forwards Felix Robert (listed as injured, he’s banged up), Kasper Bjorkqvist and defenseman Will Reilly all came out.

First Period: Bears blocked a ton of shots. Pens had a 4:00 power play they did bupkis with early on. Bears had a power play too and didn’t score on theirs either. Seemed like a feeling out period between two teams that are very familiar with one another.

Second Period: Kyle Olson bangs home his first of the night when he swept in an initial shot from Jordy Bellerive from the point past Shepard to put the Penguins on the board first.

Third Period: Penguins held on to the lead. Tommy Nappier was dialed into 10 with some really nice saves. The Penguins finally caught up to the Bears in the shot board. Both teams traded power plays with crucial chances to extend the lead if you are the Penguins or tie the game if you were the Bears. No dice.

Finally, with time dwindling, Bears head coach Scott Allen calls his time out and pulls Shepard. Well, Kyle Olson takes a puck to center and flips a back hand shot into the empty net for a 2-0 Pens lead.

But then Alex Alexeyev snaps his stick on a world be shot which turned into a pass to Brian Pinho who put one past Nappier breaking up the shutout bid with about a minute left to make it 2-1.

Allen pulled Shepard again and this time it was Jonathan Gruden who scored into an empty net at center ice that iced the game away for the Penguins.

Three Stars: Hunter Shepard (22 saves) 2) Tommy Nappier (26 saves) 1) Kyle Olson (two goals)

The Good: Great to see the Penguins finally get a win in Hershey for the first time in over two years.

The Bad: Would love to see Nappier get the shutout but it was not to be.

Turning Point: Seemed innocent at the time, but the Olson goal in the second really put the pressure on a Hershey side which has hit a cold snap. The Penguins rode as dialed in Nappier and the rest of the clock to victory.

Around the Division: They all watched us.

Standings: Pens are back to .500, still in sixth place. Charlotte is in fifth with .585 percentage points, Hershey .571, the Pens then Lehigh Valley at .478.

Wheeling Update: Nailers win in overtime on a Patrick Watling goal. Wheeling wins 4-3.

Video Highlights: 

Phantoms Wednesday. More then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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It was Military Appreciation Night at the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins game Saturday and they stopped during a break in play to acknowledge members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines.

No love at all for the Space Force.

I don’t know what if anything that had to do with the Penguins beating the Springfield Thunderbirds 3-2 in a shootout Saturday, but that’s another story.

The Penguins raced out to a 2-0 lead in the second period and held the Thunderbirds to just three shots. Then Springfield turned the tables and tied the game back up with a relentless attack in the third period like you saw in Charlotte Tuesday and Wednesday.

Styles make fights, and the Penguins have the number of the division leading Springfield Thunderbirds. It’s something to keep in mind if these two teams ever meet in the playoffs later this season.

Tommy Nappier opposed Joel Hofer. Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: I’m the dummy for not plugging in the MacBook since last Wednesday. Will Reilly for Cam Lee.

First Period: Thunderbirds go on a power play and the Penguins keep them out. No power plays for the Penguins till  the third period.

Second Period: Alex Nylander scores in the first minute of the period.

Mitch Reinke through traffic makes it a double for the Penguins.

Seeing eye shot.

Conceivably, this is the same team that got smoked in Charlotte. Running the division leaders on Saturday at home? Yeah, I don’t know either.

Third Period: Sometimes I get a sense sitting down for a period against a team that is really good like Springfield that the Penguins are up on, that really would have no business being up on that the period will go south in a hurry.

I got that same sense tonight.

Springfield runs the table on the Penguins and ties the game at two.

First, James Neal on a power play.

Then Josh Wesley from a terrible angle beats Nappier for a goal.

Springfield let off there I felt. They could have kept going but the Penguins picked themselves off from the mat and started pushing back.

They had their first power play of the game, overthought things and didn’t score. They got it to the end of regulation tied.

Overtime: Fun, but no scoring.

Shootout: Alex Nylander scores in the top of the second. Tommy Nappier denies Sam Anas, Jim Neal and Hugh McGing in that order for the win.

Three Stars: 3) Mitch Reinke (goal) 2) Tommy Nappier (30 saves) 1) Alex Nylander (goal in regulation and in shootout)

The Good: Pick yourself up off the mat game for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton. Ride that momentum into a place you struggle at in Hershey Tuesday.

The Bad: It wasn’t a matter of if, but a matter of when the Thunderbirds were going to make their push. When they started, they ran downhill till they got what they wanted.

Turning Point: Nappier’s save on James Neal, he of close to 300 NHL goals, in the bottom of the second in the shootout was a big moment, Springfield follows with their hammer Hugh McGing, and if Neal scored there McGing may have after. Big save from Big Time Tommy Nappier from THEE Ohio State University.

Around the Division: Computer is at under 9% – gotta hurry. Not gonna link to each box, here’s the boxes for February 19. Utica beat Lehigh Valley 3-2 in a shootout, Charlotte beat Cleveland 4-2, Hershey beats Bridgeport 4-2, Providence beats Hartford 3-1.

Standings: Pens should get sixth back with .489 percentage points. Lehigh Valley has two games in hand on the Penguins though.

Wheeling Update: Wheeling beats Reading 5-3. Patrick Watling had a goal and two assists.

Video Highlights: My guess is that the Pens will have these up later, and if I can get an edit in I will.

Pens are back at it Tuesday in Hershey. Weekend Preview will be there Tuesday. Maybe I get Power Rankings Monday. Gotta charge the laptop first.

Let’s Go Pens!

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They needed to get something out of this trip.

All they got was frequent flyer miles and slightly warmer weather.

A short end of the stick run and gun affair Tuesday was met with a feckless effort Wednesday and the Charlotte Checkers sweep the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins with a 4-1 win.

What have we learned about the Penguins? There’s a divide in the division. The Penguins are on the wrong side. It’s a team that is going to hover at the cut line (the six seed in the Atlantic) and really won’t be able to push up the standings unless they go on a tear. At present, the team isn’t built like one that can go on a tear. Even if the Penguins swept the Checkers clean this week, they still would be sixth, but closer on percentage points to the Checkers. Now, the divide widens.

Sometimes, it is what it is.

Alex D’Orio opposed Joey Daccord.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Hallander back, replaced Sam Houde; Cam Lee also, replacing Will Reilly.

First Period: Furious rush for the Checkers to start and Zac Dalpe shoots, follows his own rebound and scores for a 1-0 Checkers lead.

Things settled down from there and the Penguins had the only power play of the period but still trailed one after the end of the period.

Second Period: The Penguins were building a crescendo towards tying up the game but Carsen Twarynski scores on a slow developing 2-on-1 that gives the Checkers a 2-0 lead.

Thought at the time was that that goal there was a momentum buster for the Penguins. It’s like you have a tuba you are playing in high school band and you accidentally sit on it on the school bus the way to the performance and ruin everything.

Connor Carrick scores on a power play to make it 3-0. The Penguins were hot about an interference call made by one of the referees far away from the play and then a more blatant call that went unwhistled.

Here’s both goals for you.

Third Period: Something about Charlotte and scoring early goals, Henry Bowlby takes a feed from Cole Schwindt and scores to make it a 4-0 lead.

Pens break up the Daccord shutout bid with this Nathan Lagare goal.

But they wouldn’t get any closer.

Three Stars: 3) Joey Daccord (22 saves) 2) Serron Noel (two assists) 1) Connor Carrick (goal)

The Good: Hard to find something out of this wreckage. They needed at least two points here in this series, and get zero.

The Bad: 1/5 on the power play, slow starts, overall disjointed. The team is what it is, and that’s a .500 at best team which will hover at the cut line for the remainder of the season.

Turning Point: The Twarynski goal that made it 2-0 was a real back breaker.

Around the Division: They all watched us.

Standings: Springfield .622 percentage points – Hartford .619 – Hershey .600 – Providence .579 – Charlotte .578 — Lehigh Valley .488 — Penguins .478 – Bridgeport .467

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: I don’t think anyone wants to watch highlights of this but if I see them I will work the edit in.

Springfield Saturday. Enjoy the Friday night off.

Let’s Go Pens!

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This one is going to sting for a bit.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, down 4-2 in the third period Tuesday night, pull themselves up by the bootstraps and rally to tie the game at four with a little over two minutes to play, when quickly developing Penguin killer Cole Schwindt scores with 1:31 left in regulation to sink the Penguins ion regulation. It’s Schwindt’s fifth goal against the Penguins.

I didn’t feel like recycling “Holy Schwindt” as a pun headline.

Penguins lose 5-4.

Rematch Wednesday.

Here’s how they lined up…

No lineup changes to speak of. They went with the exact same lineup they did on Saturday.

First Period: Valtteri Puustinen got the party going with a slick wrist shot that beat Knight that gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

Later, on a power play, Anthony Angello scores on a spin-o-rama play that beats Knight again for a Penguins power play goal.

But then it was Scott Wilson skating in and scoring on a ridiculous angle with a backhand roof job over the shoulder of Nappier that put the Checkers on the board.

Second Period: Penguins don’t score on a double minor power play after Taylor Fedun was split open by a high stick. Charlotte has a top ten penalty killing unit.

Max McCormick and Cale Fleury score :56 apart on screwy plays. On the McCormick goal, there was a loose puck in front of Nappier’s crease he pounced on and swept across to tie it. Then on Fleury’s goal, a shot from along the side hits Fleury’s blade and deflects in to give the Checkers a 3-2 lead.

Clear the crease on the first play. Nothing you could do on the second play.

Pens were shut down in the second period. No shots after the double minor power play expired until about 2 minutes to play in the period. You can’t really have that, especially after you come into the period up one and right after a double minor penalty you fail to score on.

Third Period: Kole Lind extends the Penguins deficit to two with this goal right after the Checkers killed a penalty.

Then the Penguins started their comeback sparked by Jonathan Gruden when he digs a puck out of the pads of Spencer Knight and sweeps it past him to pull the Pens within one.

Then the Penguins were awarded a power play and Michael Chaput scored to tie the game at four.

But that apparently was too much time left on the clock for the Checkers as Cole Schwindt would play hero on the night and score to make it 5-4 Checkers.

Oh, Schwindt.

The Good: Two power play goals scored and a nice comeback.

The Bad: Couldn’t find a way to get it to overtime and questionable man marking leads to the Schwindt tally.

Turning Point: Sometimes it’s obvious. Schwindt’s goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Only other game in the division on Tuesday was Bridgeport hosting Rochester. Amerks win 3-2 in overtime.

Standings: Springfield .622 percentage points – Hartford .619 – Hershey .600 – Providence .579 – Charlotte .568 – Penguins  .489 – Lehigh Valley .488 – Bridgeport .467

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off tonight.

Video Highlights: 

Rematch Wednesday. More then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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It’s not something to be that proud of, but the Penguins with this win Saturday night, are solidly in sixth place in the Atlantic Division after a dominating 3-2 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Wait. Dominating? A one goal win if dominating? Since when?

Penguins outshoot the Phantoms 35-22. They didn’t take a penalty. They clearly were the better team from the jump.

It sets up a huge midweek showdown in Charlotte Tuesday and Wednesday. The Checkers currently hold the five seed in the Atlantic.

Tommy Nappier opposed Kirill Ustimenko.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup: Filip Hallander was out with a non-COVID illness. I guess we have to highlight COVID vs. non-COVID from here going forward. Sam Houde went to the top line. Will Reilly went in on defense for Cam Lee.

First Period: No scoring. No penalties. Pens showed flashes with under five to play highlighted here on the splay by Nathan Legare.

Shots were 13-4. Pens were good, but Ustimenko was better.

Second Period: Two goals :34 apart to open the period for the Penguins and it looked like the rout was on.

Taylor Fedun got the party going just :51 into the period.

Then :34 later, Nathan Legare with a pass to himself then a shot that bleeds through Ustimenko to give the Pens a 2-0 lead.

Lehigh Valley made a push late. Hayden Hodgson lays a big hit on Taylor Fedun which set up Cal O’Reilly scoring to cut the Phantoms deficit in half with a flick of a wrist.

(no GIF of it)

Referees Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Jeremy Tufts stayed out of the way and didn’t call any penalties.

Third Period: P.O. Joseph scored his 8th goal of the season, tying him for the lead in that department among  defensemen.

That is an NHL caliber wrist shot. If you want another example, scroll down to the Rochester recap and check out his goal in that one. He’s not long for the AHL if he keeps doing this.

The Phantoms though, stuck around and scored on a redirect by Maksim Sushko that brought them to within one yet again.

(no GIF of this one either)

The Phantoms called timeout and pulled Ustimenko but Nappier and the Penguins defense kept them out. They never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Maksim Sushko (goal) 2) Taylor Fedun (goal) 1) P. O. Joseph (goal)

The Good: Was a little shocked to see Nappier go in back to back, but having two good goaltenders is a great problem to have. Also good to see the Penguins bounce back and take two clean points out of an in-state rivals rink.

The Bad: Clearly the better team, let the opponent stick around to a one shot possibility. That formula isn’t going to work the later we go.

Turning Point: Joseph’s goal gets it here. Phantoms were better as the period wore on. Plan coming out of the third was not to let the Penguins score another to go back up two.

Around the Division: Checkers shutout Bridgeport 2-0.…Springfield blows up a depleted Providence side 5-1….Hershey wins a close one at home against Belleville 5-4….Hartford needs overtime to beat Rochester 2-1.

Standings: Springfield .622 percentage points — Hartford .619 – Hershey .614 – Providence .579 – Charlotte .558 – Penguins .500 – Lehigh Valley .476 – Bridgeport .467

Wheeling Update: Nailers win in overtime 4-3 against Fort Wayne. Sean Josling with the game winner in that one.

Video Highlights: If the pens post em I will edit them in.

Big one Tuesday against Charlotte. I’ll work on the Power Rankings Sunday and they will be up Monday. Weekend Setup looking at Charlotte and Springfield next Saturday Tuesday morning.

Let’s Go Pens!

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You always wonder if treading away a prospect meant to come through your hallway is the right move or not.

Filip Gustavsson was that prospect.

He started in goal Friday for the visiting Belleville Senators and stole the show for the away team as the Senators win 2-1. 31 saves for Gustavsson earned him second star honors.

With that out of the way, this is a game that the Penguins would have easily won last week.

Thing is, the game evolves and teams get film on you. Troy Mann, the head coach of the Senators, is a hell of a coach and a guy I would take in a heartbeat to run my team. He had his team prepared tonight and while the Penguins were in the home black jerseys, everywhere they went on the ice, they were followed by a white shadow.

You could maybe make the same argument for Wednesday in Rochester too. Teams get film on you and if you don’t evolve, you get left behind.

Tommy Nappier opposed the aforementioned Gustavsson.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Valtteri Puustinen and Michael Chaput were returned by the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday morning. Jan Drozg and Sam Houde came out of the lineup.

First Period: Parker Kelly wasn’t on my sheet I print off the AHL on game day mornings. Neither were Puustinen or Chaput. That’s because Kelly was also sent back to the minor leagues by his parent team Ottawa today. He scored in the first period on a rush that put the Senators on the board.

Someone told me walking out that it could have been 5-0 at the end of the first. With shots being 15-5 Belleville, they may have been onto something.

Second Period: Ex-Penguin Andrew Agozzino scores this dart to double Belleville’s lead:

Shots evened up in the second period a bit. No penalties to speak of either.

Third Period: Penguins finally break through on a power play goal by Puustinen.

The Penguins had a few more chances on the power play but couldn’t find the equalizer,

Back to my point about scouting. Late, the Penguins couldn’t even get Nappier off because they couldn’t gain entry into their offensive zone. That’s excellent coaching.

Three Stars: 3) Tommy Nappier (31 saves) 2) Filip Gustavsson (31 saves) 1) Andrew Agozzino (goal)

The Good: Power play is warming up…

The Bad: …not warm enough though. Could have used more than one tonight.

Turning Point: Keeping with the theme, down a goal late in the third with under 7 to play the power play didn’t come through.

Around the Division: Bridgeport beats Charlotte 4-3…Springfield beats Hartford 4-2. James Neal (yeah, him) with a pair of goals….Lehigh Valley beats Hershey 6-3…Providence beats Rochester 3-2 in a shootout.

Standings: Springfield goes back top with .614 percentage points. Hartford .610 – Hershey .605 – Providence .595 – Charlotte .548 – Penguins and Lehigh Valley .488 – Bridgeport .477.

Wheeling Update: Nailers win in overtime 3-2 over Atlanta. Josh Maniscalco with the game winner.

Video Highlights: 

Back at it Saturday in Allentown.

Let’s Go Pens!

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So if you read the Weekend Preview earlier today (below this post) you read that the Penguins are building their success from the inside out. Goal and defense is good, offense is iffy.

That was on full display Wednesday night up in Rochester as the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins lose 3-1 and see their five game point streak end.

Penguins scored the only goal in the first, then clamped down defensively. Hard.

Four shots against in the second. Three in the third.

The bad news? One of them went in in the second and two of them went in in the third. One of them was an empty net goal.

It happens. The Penguins will win a heck of a lot more games then they will lose if they follow this blueprint.

Alex D’Orio opposed Aaron Dell.

Here’s how they lined up…

Rochester didn’t post lines.

Lineup Notes: Sam Houde and Nathan Legare were back for the recalled Valtteri Puustinen and Michael Chaput. Another note was the news that Niclas Almari is returning back overseas. The Penguins reassigned him back to Finland. Consider his North American career over. A fifth rounder who never really panned out stateside. He’s a free agent next year. That’s why you never buy stock in European players. You never know what you will get. A good majority of them never pan out.

Anyway.

First Period: Just 1:09 in and P.O. Joseph takes a nice pass from ex-Amerk Alex Nylander to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

Pens were outshot 13-12 in a high flying period otherwise. Rochester had the only power play in the period.

Second Period: Through a minefield of penalties called in the middle of the period, Brett Murray scores what will go down as an even strength goal.

Goal came four on four.

Wilkes-Barre only allowed four shots against in the period but sadly one of them went in.

Third Period: Ex-Penguin Ethan Prow scores on a saucy feed from JJ Peterka to put the Amerks up 2-1.

Nothing you could do about that one.

Penguins had a power play but had a few shots but none that were worthy enough to beat Aaron Dell.

Peterka scored an empty net goal to ice the game away. The Penguins did have a great chance to score with D’Orio pulled.

Three Stars: 3) JJ Peterka (goal, assist) 2) Aaron Dell (32 saves) 1) Ethan Prow (goal)

The Good: Give me more of this defensive effort.

The Bad: The Penguins badly missed Valtteri Puustinen tonight.

Turning Point: When the Penguins couldn’t score on that power play in the third, you had the feeling it was curtains for Wilkes-Barre.

Around the Division: Only other team in action tonight was Springfield, who hand the Utica Comets a clean loss 3-2.

Standings: Pens back to .500 and will hold in sixth. That matchup next week with currently fifth place Rochester looks like it may be important.

Wheeling Update: Nailers with a 4-1 win in Kalamazoo. Nick Hutchinson with a pair of goals.

Video Highlights: 

Belleville at home Friday. More after then.

Let’s Go Pens!