Chirps from Center Ice

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Some numbers for you.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins went 107:31 in between goals by Anthony Angello.

They go 243:07 since the last time a player not named Anthony Angello scored a goal for them of any kind since Thomas DiPauli’s empty net goal December 14 in Cleveland when Jake Lucchini scored a shorthanded goal in the third period.

Anthony Angello scored three goals for the Penguins tonight, the third being on an empty net and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins roll the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4-2 on Friday night.

Stefan Noesen was the straw that stirred the Penguins drink for the firs two months of the season. He’s gone now and someone, anyone, has to pick up the slack.

It’s Anthony Angello, who now after his three goal night, leads the Penguins in goals.

Coming into the season Angello was kind of at a crossroads. I felt he hit a wall last year and was just a body. Well now, he’s become an invaluable piece for a team which has lost a lot of offense due to call-ups or defections.

The other story on the night was the status of Casey DeSmith. He became ill during the game and was replaced by Dustin Tokarski to start the third period. The scuttlebutt was that he was throwing up in the locker room. No, he wasn’t traded, no he’s not injured.

DeSmith opposed Alex Lyon.

Lines were….

Lineup Notes: 

First Period: :31 in and the Phantoms were on the board. Gerry Fitzgerald pounced on a rebound and scored to make it 1-0 Phantoms.

(WBS social only tweeted Angello’s first goal and were out to lunch on his other, non-empty net goal and the Lucchini shorthander, so in the interest of consistency, no GIFs of the goals in tonights recap)

Alex Lyon had a good save on Chase Berger going post to post to deny the Penguins forward. Later, the Penguins thought they scored when Sam Miletic drove to the net and appeared to have scored, but parallax is a funny thing. After a video review, referees Patrick Hanhrahan and Reid Anderson confirmed the initial call on the ice of no goal.

Second Period: Anthony Angello (who else at this point) ended the Penguins goalless drought at 107:31 when he wired a shot over Lyon’s shoulder to tie the game at one.

(I know I said I wasn’t going to do it but I did)

Third Period: To the shock of many, Dustin Tokarski replaced DeSmith in net.

This is when the game really took off for both teams because no one held back anything.

Angello connected on the expiration of a Penguins power play to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Later, P-O Joseph led a shorthanded charge up ice and put a shot on that Jake Lucchini was there for the rebound to get past Lyon to extend the lead to 3-1.

Matt Strome connected for a goal as an expiration of a Phantoms power play had just expired to make it 3-2. The puck deflected off of a skate and in past Tokarski.

Tokarski would get some help from his teammates as Kevin Roy would sweep a puck off of the line to preserve the Penguins one goal lead.

The Phantoms, with time running out and the deficit still to one, pulled Lyon in the hopes of a game tying goal. Tokarski had a great stop with his pads on one attempt and finally the puck was cleared out to Andrew Agozzino who was off on a two on one with Angello. Angello collected the pass from his teammate and scored the hat trick into the empty net.

Three Stars: 3) Andrew Agozzino (three assists) 2) Jake Lucchini (goal) 1) Anthony Angello (three goals)

The Good: Angello is stepping up and scoring big goals when needed. The team overall isn’t playing bad, but the object of the game is to ultimately score, Angello just has been the only one doing it.

The Bad: Casey DeSmith leaving the game with sickness all but rules him out for Saturday in Hershey. The Penguins have Emil Larmi back on the roster and the thought is with the Penguins only having two games this weekend is to split the starts between DeSmith and Tokarski so it was always going to be Tokarski’s game Saturday regardless, but you hate to see a guy lost to sickness.

Turning Point: On a night where we have typed his name a lot, it isn’t Anthony Angello who get the rub here, it’s Jake Lucchini’s shorthanded goal that extended the Penguins lead to two that kind of put the game out of reach for the Phantoms to a point where you knew they weren’t going to be able to come back from it.

Around the Division: Hershey survives a scare in Utica to win their ninth straight, 5-4 in overtime. The Bears were leading 4-2 at one point….Bridgeport, who has been on the upswing, beats Hartford 5-1….Providence edges Springfield 4-3. Charlotte was off.

Standings: Providence 43 — Hartford 41 — Hershey 39 — Penguins 36 — Springfield 34 — Charlotte 31 — Bridgeport 30 — Lehigh Valley 29

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 2-1 out in Toledo, Ohio. Cam Brown had the goal for Wheeling in the loss.

Video Highlights: 

Pens hit the road to Hershey Saturday. Bears have won nine straight and are on fire. Gameday setup hits the blog here Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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They got by with just one goal Friday at home against Providence and played well defensively and rode a hot goalie to a win over Providence.

But you can’t carry over momentum and cash them for goals, and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are shutout 3-0 Saturday night in Bridgeport. Dustin Tokarski, who we made a strong case to start this game did, but the goaltenders don’t score the goals.

They have scored just 14 goals all month. That’s…not good and also what happens when you lose your top scorer.

Dustin Tokarski opposed Jakub Škarek.

Lines were…

Lineup Notes: The same as it was Friday.

First Period: If I did a good and bad like I do from time to time here on the blog the good in this period would be the fact that the Penguins went 4-for-4 in the period on the penalty kill, including a 1:55 of two man disadvantage against. The bad would be the 1-0 deficit the Penguins chased all period. A Jan Drozg turnover resulted in a Kieffer Bellows goal at 1:11.

Shots were 11-8. Hard to get momentum when you are constantly killing penalties, no matter how bad the unit you are killing against is.

Second Period: Kevin Roy had the best chances to score in the period but couldn’t. First, he had a puck knuckled on him but Škarek went post to post to deny him. Then, on a two on one, the Penguins forward was again denied by the Sound Tigers goaltender.

Mike Cornell and Jamie Devane tangled, Cornell went to throw a punch and slipped. You really can’t constitue it as one.

Travis St. Denis would score on a fourth our fifth attempt on goal in a scrambling attempt on a Sound Tigers power play.

Third Period: Nothing of memory occurred until about half way through when the Penguins went on the power play. Mike Vellucci opted to pull Tokarski for an extra attacker to try anything to score a goal. The Penguins power play came and went but Tokarski stayed on the bench. Finally, a miscommunication in the neutral zone and Travis St. Denis finished off a pass from Josh Ho Sang to make it 3-0 into the empty net.

Three Stars: 3) Keiffer Bellows (goal) 2) Travis St. Denis (two goals) 1) Jakub Škarek (30 save shutout)

The Good: A week to regroup, the organization to heal up, maybe get bodies back and get ready for Lehigh Valley back at home next Friday.

The Bad: Still haven’t scored a ton of goals this month, that obviously has to change.

Turning Point: If you would have shut your radio off after Bellows scored 1:11 into the game tonight and said to yourself if recent history was any indication that was the game, you would have been right.

Around the Division: Providence is shutout in back to back games, 3-0 in Hartford against the Wolf Pack….Hershey beats Springfield 2-1 in overtime….Lehigh Valley beats Charlotte 3-2.

Standings: Providence 41 — Hartford 39 — Hershey 35 — Penguins 34 — Springfield 34 — Charlotte 29 — Lehigh Valley 29 — Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: Emil Larmi’s second ECHL game doesn’t go as well as his first, Kalamazoo beats Wheeling 3-1.

Video Highlights: I mean you have the goals up top and I don’t think Bridgeport really does a video highlight package but if they do, I will add them in this spot.

So they are off until next Friday. Blog wise, I’ll have the AHL Power Rankings early next week. Depending on how quick I get them done Monday you may see them then. If not, definitely Tuesday. Also, look for the stat board to get updated (the static one anyway, the one at the bottom auto updates) some time on Sunday, provided I get to it.

Enjoy the Christmas break.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Let’s recap the week that was on Coal Street, shall we?

They get throttled 6-0 Wednesday against the Providence Bruins in a lifeless, toothless, punch drunk affair. Casey DeSmith gets shelled and chased in the third period.

Thursday, they learn that Stefan Noesen was claimed on waivers by the San Jose Sharks. Noesen was, at the time he was signed and then recalled by Pittsburgh, the leading scorer.

On account of that fact and the other that Pittsburgh lost Justin Schultz to a knee injury, Thomas DiPauli and Kevin Czuczman were recalled Friday morning.

Friday night, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins hosted the Providence Bruins in a rematch of Wednesday. The first place Providence Bruins and the same Providence Bruins who had a shutout streak of over 130 minutes going.

So of course the team that lost their leading scorer, one of their better penalty killers and a veteran presence on defense and shuts out the Providence Bruins 1-0. 23 saves for Dustin Tokarski, his 27th all time which ties him for 10th all time in AHL history.

Hockey is a funny sport.

I’m one of Casey DeSmith’s biggest fans. He’s in my top five of all time favorite Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins players to come through here.

In no way shape or form, if I am Mike Vellucci, do I give him the net Saturday night in Bridgeport.

They are a different team with Tokarski in the net. They just are. Examples:

– After getting shutout in Cleveland last weekend, Vellucci turns to Tokarski and they win 3-1 the very next night. A steadier performance and the first win of the month.

– After getting bombarded by Providence with six goals Wednesday after Tokarski comes in, they allow just three and he stops them all.

You will hear me say all the time that I don’t coach the team, I blog about them and when you need to choose between a player at a position go with the guy with the NHL deal (DeSmith) over the one who doesn’t have one (Tokarski) but in. my opinion, Dustin Tokarski has played his way into a starters role and Casey DeSmith has played, maybe through no fault of his own (it isn’t the goaltenders job to score goals) his way out of the starters role. We will see what happens Saturday in Bridgeport, but I think that Dustin Tokarski should get the start and not DeSmith.

Anthony Angello scored the only goal and if you are thinking to yourself that I have brought his name up a lot you’d be right, he’s the only Penguin player to score a non-empty net goal for the team in the last four games.

A defense, with four rookies on it mind you, limit the Providence Bruins to just 23 shots after allowing 30 on Wednesday, six of those for goals.

Funny sport, that hockey.

I mean that’s pretty much it. A scoreless first and third. Providence had 11 in the first (which was their best period) and then six in the second and third. Anthony Angello was the last Penguin to touch a puck which deflected off Providence’s Jeremy Lauzon’s leg and past Dan Vladar on a power play. Wilkes-Barre only mustered 20 shots of their own, but they outshot Providence 38-30 Wednesday anyway and still lost 6-0.

Pretty vanilla game, but when you are a team in flux, with the loss of your leading scorer and two recalls which kind of were like a punch in the gut Friday morning, just what the doctor ordered.

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Three Stars: 3) P-O Joseph 2) Anthony Angello (power play, game winning goal) and 1) Dustin Tokarski (23 saves)

Around the Division: Springfield beats Saturday’s opponent Bridgeport 3-1. Some guy named Ryan Haggerty scored the game winning goal assisted by some other guy named Ethan Prow. Fire Jim Rutherford….Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Charlotte and Hartford were all off.

Standings: Providence 41 — Hartford 39 — Penguins 34 — Hershey 33 — Springfield 33 — Charlotte 29 — Lehigh Valley 27 — Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: 

That’s four straight wins for the Nailers, too. Here’s your box.

Video Highlights: 

Pens are in Bridgeport Saturday before the Christmas break. Gameday setup hits the blog Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Work night home games are bad. Worse even when the officials are delayed 20 minutes like they were tonight. Still slightly better than Sunday afternoon home games but let’s digress.

Wrote this on the iPhone, so mind the spelling errors, morseo than usual.

Before I forget, Stefan Noesen is on waivers. Thursday at noon we will find out if he clears.

The Penguins better hope that he does, cause they looked listless, lifeless and totally overmatched and outplayed by the Providence Bruins on Wednesday night, who take this game 6-0.

Tommy Marchin scored his first two professional goals, so you understand the headline rub.

The two teams rematch Friday.

Casey DeSmith opposed Max Lagace.

Lineup:

Lineup Notes:

First Period: There was…not a lot of offense. Two similarly structured, very good hockey teams just battling.

Shots were 5-4 Bruins. Adam Johnson was featured prominently, his bid off a nice tic tac toe play was denied with the pad of Lagace about midway through and he took the only penalty of the period taking away the only other good scoring chance of the period belonging to Providence.

Second Period: Completely different period for the Providence Bruins who has a pair of rebound goals bookend a four goal explosion.

Pavel Shen on a rebound. 1-0 Providence.

Robert Lantosi split Matt Abt and Macoy Erkamps, broke in and scored. 2-0 Providence.

Penguins would get a power play chance after the first and second Bruin goals but did not score.

Tommy Marchin on a cross ice one time bomb. 3-0 Providence.

The passes. The passing killed them, setting up essentially easy goals or opportunities for goals.

Peter Cehlarik in the final minute of the second on a rebound again, 4-0 Providence.

The Bruins, in contrast to the first, completely obliterated the Penguins in the middle frame with speed and vision.

Third Period: The assault continued.

Jack Studnicka on a transition rush that went tic tac toe. 5-0 Bruins.

(you get the idea, not going to GIF anymore visitor goals)

Quickly, Tommy Marchin deflected a point shot and it was 6-0 Providence.

Enter Dustin Tokarski. He didn’t allow any goals. Penguins wised up and only allowed three shots. Hopefully, he gets the net Friday when they rematch.

This was at the end of the second, but an accurate description of the type of night Casey DeSmith had:

Three Stars: 3) Robert Lantosi 2) Tommy Marchin 1) Max Lagace

The Good: If you can’t say something nice…

The Bad: Penguins waited for something bad to happen and when it did, an avalanche of bad things happened.

Turning Point: Oh, that second period was bad, bad, bad.

Around the Division: Bridgeport beats beats Syracuse 3-2 and Charlotte obliterated Hartford 7-1.

Standings: Providence 41 — Hartford 39 — Hershey 33 — Penguins 32 — Springfield 31 — Charlottte 29 — Lehigh Valley 27 — Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: I’ll work this in if I see a highlight package from Coal Street, they probably won’t, given the outcome.

Pens and Bruins rematch Friday in Wilkes-Barre. Now, what you want is that to be the next update here on the blog. If Noesen goes unclaimed, then I will not post that here unless its tied into other news of the day.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Like a tight game late in the eighth inning, Mike Vellucci walks up to the mound and calls in his closer.

Out of the bullpen steps Dustin Tokarski.

The one thing that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins failed to do in this five game losing streak was closing out opponents.

A very tightly contested affair in Cleveland, the Penguins win 3-1. Two goals for Anthony Angello, 27 saves for Dustin Tokarski and the five game losing streak is over.

Tokarski opposed Veini Vehvilainen.

Lines were…

…not tweeted in a graphic by the Penguins tonight, so they went this way.

Sam Miletic – Andrew Agozzino – Anthony Angello
Jake Lucchini – Oula Palve – Thomas Di Pauli
Graham Knott – Jordy Bellerive – Ryan Haggerty
Andreas Martinsen – Chase Berger – Jan Drozg

Jon Lizotte – P-O Joseph
Kevin Czuczman – Niclas Almari
David Warsofsky – Macoy Erkamps

Dustin Tokarski
Emil Larmi

Lineup Notes: Pens play by play man Nick Hart said that Zach Trotman has a head injury. Kevin Czuczman slotted in for him. Graham Knott made his Penguins debut, for essentially Joseph Blandisi who was recalled by Pittsburgh under emergency conditions again Saturday morning. Ryan Haggerty swapped with Jamie Devane vet for vet.

For posterity, Cleveland lined up like this…

First Period: Sam Miletic took a big hit his first shift and didn’t return, I was out for birthday dinner and would have got the video. I may at some point, just not tonight.

Anthony Angello scored for the Penguins when it appeared that Vehvilainen kicked in the puck that gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

It was a good period overall, one penalty (Bellerive for a high stick) and the Penguins led 1-0. They limited Cleveland to just six shots and played a very good opening period.

Second Period: Anthony Angello scored his second of the night when Andrew Agozzino forced the issue and pressured the goaltender. Angello zipped a hell of a shot that went in.

Dillon Simpson scored for the Monsters which unleashed a calvacade of teddy bears on the Monsters teddy bear night.

Third Period: Two big saves under pressure by Tokarski to preserve the one goal lead for the Penguins.

Both teams had very good looks at the net but no one scored.

Penguins had to kill a Joseph cross check and did so easily.

Then with time dwindling and Cleveland still looking for the tying goal, Thomas DiPauli hit the empty net at center ice that iced its away.

Three Stars: 

Simpson had the only goal for the Monsters.

The Good: Hell if I am Mike Vellucci, I give Tokarski the net Wednesday at home against Providence and go from there. He was the factor tonight in the Penguins victory. An otherwise bland sixty minutes and the goaltenders usually steal the show. Angello got hot and bagged two, Tokarski took it from there.

The Bad: Cleveland’s power play is bad, the Penguins allowed them to score again tonight. That has to get tightened up.

Turning Point: Angello’s second goal which made it 2-0 seemed like a breath of fresh air for the Penguins who led by multiple goals and rode their veteran goaltender across the finish line.

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley beats Hartford 4-2….Providence beats Springfield 5-4 in overtime….Hershey has won five straight, beating Bridgeport 5-2….Syracuse beats Charlotte 5-4.

Standings: Hartford 39 — Providence 37 — Penguins 32 — Hershey 31 — Springfield 31 — Lehigh Valley 27 — Charlotte 25 — Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers close out the third game out in South Dakota with the Rapid City Rush. Box here.

Video Highlights: I didn’t see any package by the Monsters, so don’t expect one but if Coal Street does one and I can work an edit it will run here.

Pens bus back tonight and will have a few well deserved days off before they are back at it Wednesday at home against Providence in an important two game series with the Bruins. News as it comes from there.

Let’s Go Pens!

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So Cleveland just came off of a hellish road trip where they only won once in four games through Belleville and Laval. They were sixth in the North Division coming home to face the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

The Penguins have had success against Cleveland of recent memory, sweeping them in Ohio last season so if there ever was a chance to right this mini funk that was affecting the team, it was right here, right now.

Penguins lose 4-0 in what could best be described as one of the more frustrating games of the season for the team, and borderline low point of the season. The Penguins couldn’t do anything right, and the Monsters could do no wrong.

The Penguins dominated the early start, Monsters score a five on three power play goal, then the Penguins shot themselves in the foot in the second after going down another goal and couldn’t get anything going in the third.

Five game losing streak. November may as well be as far away as June is right now.

It’s clear at this point that they miss the hammer of offense that Stefan Noesen brought to the team. Andrew Agozzino has been invisible and Joseph Blandisi they are beating like a rented mule. It’s a funk you can only punch and skate out of.

Casey DeSmith opposed Matiss Kivlenieks.

Lines were…

Lineup Notes: Shuffling to the forward pairings, but Jordy Bellerive was in for Ryan Haggerty in forward and the defense pairs were the same as they were in Rochester on Wednesday.

First Period: Wilkes-Barre dominated early possession, Kivlenieks was under bombardment, but the shots quality wasn’t very good.

Wilkes-Barre would not score on back to back power plays.

Then the momentum flipped and all of a sudden the Penguins found themselves on a wrong end of a five on three against for over a minute. Cleveland’s power play is bad, last in the AHL, and they have only scored four power play goals at home all season.

So of course the Monsters would cash on the power plat when Kevin Stenlund cashed on a one timer feed off of Stefan Matteau to give the Monsters a 1-0 lead.

The Monsters would go on to outshoot the Penguins 10-9 in the period. Wilkes-Barre gets all the momentum early, can do nothing offensively, then found themselves on a wrong end of a five on three and trailed going into the…

Second Period: Wilkes-Barre had almost as many shots (five) as penalties taken in the period (four) – they also fell behind another goal when Oula Palve bobbled a puck at the blue line exiting the zone and turned it over. Justin Scott skated in, Casey DeSmith made the save, then the Jakub Lilja follow up but the rebound got past him.

The Penguins could not get anything going at all because of stupid, careless penalties.

– Anthony Angello was called for a high stick.
– Andreas Martinsen was called for a soft as tissue paper cross check.
(Monsters would score here in between at even strength as described above)
– Joseph Blandisi was called for essentially clotheslining Marko Dano.
– Pierre-Olivier Joseph cross checked Anton Karlsson in the mouth.

Two out of four penalties were legit. Notice that the careless infractions came as Wilkes-Barre trailed by two.

Penguins would lose Zach Trotman after this questionable hit by Calvin Thurkauf.

Thurkauf was assessed a charging penalty. The Penguins weren’t able to score.

Third Period: Zach Trotman did not come out for the third period. so the Penguins were down five defensemen.

Penguins only took one penalty in the period but still couldn’t generate any good offense in the zone.

Lilja blocked a David Warsofsky pass / shot at the blue line and skated in for a goal that beat DeSmith five hole that iced the game away as the Monsters made it 3-0.

Marko Dano hit an empty net goal as the Pens pulled DeSmith for the extra attacker.

Three Stars: 3) Kevin Stenlund (goal) 2) Jakob Lilja (two goals) 1) Matiss Kivlenieks (23 save shutout)

The Good: I don’t know what good comes out of being shutout on the road.

The Bad: Pucks are not going in right now. But for a garbage time goal and a bit of a rush late in Rochester Wednesday, the Penguins offense has gone cold like these December nights in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Turning Point: The power play goal against late in the first, after the Penguins came out hot and had all the momentum buried the lifeless offense and Wilkes-Barre had no real chance at a comeback from there.

I don’t want to bury the kid, but Emil Larmi is likely going to get the start for Wilkes-Barre tomorrow. Larmi hasn’t been good at all for the Penguins in the limited role he’s had as a backup for the team. I don’t know if Dustin Tokarski is on the trip, but Larmi looks primed for the start for the Penguins, who h*ave now lost five games in a row.

Also, Joseph Blandisi, if he plays tomorrow will be doing so in his fourth game in as many nights. Suffice to say, I wouldn’t expect him to play, but as I have said for years, I blog about the team I don’t coach them.

Around the Division: Hartford shuts out Lehigh Valley 4-0….Springfield beats Binghamton 5-3….Bridgeport beats Utica 4-3….Charlotte beats Syracuse 3-2. Hershey and Providence were off. I often wonder why Hershey never plays on Fridays but then see all those Sunday 5 o’clock starts they have. They can have it.

Standings: Hartford 39 — Providence 35 — Penguins 30  — Springfield 30 — Hershey 29 — Charlotte 25 — Lehigh Valley 25 — Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers are still out in South Dakota for the weekend, box here.

Video Highlights: I’ll look to see if Cleveland has them later and work and edit in if they do.

Penguins and Monsters rematch Saturday from Cleveland at 7. Gameday setup here Saturday afternoon at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The reigning AHL Coach of the Year Mike Vellucci has his hands full.

His Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins were totally outgunned and outclassed in a 4-2 loss in Rochester Wednesday. The scoreline is a bit of an oasis, this game wasn’t as close as the line indicates. Rochester went up 4-0, then let off and the Penguins got two, extra attacker goals in garbage time.

The Penguins couldn’t break the Rochester press, had their press broken easy and looked slow against Rochester’s speed.

Against Texas it was a team that had speed that the Penguins didn’t have a lot of film on and were unfamiliar with. The Stars came in on a point run also.

Against Hershey Sunday, they choked a lead late and lost in overtime.

Wednesday was a lesson in while yes, you were 9-2-1-1 in the month of November, Rochester didn’t lose at all in that month and just had a 12-game point streak cut by Charlotte last Saturday. This Amerks team suffocated the Penguins and if not for Casey DeSmith, the game could have been out of hand in the second period.

They have a lot of work to do because you run into teams like this, better ones even, in May and June. Vellucci of all people knows that.

The aforementioned Casey DeSmith opposed Andrew Hammond.

Lines were…

Lineup Notes: A few switch ups to the bottom six and defense, but no one in, no one out in contrast to Sunday in Hershey. Adam Johnson is day to day and didn’t make the trip.

First Period: Rochester’s speed was on full display. They broke out quickly and easily marched through the neutral zone and into the attack zone.

Finally Curtis Lazar used a burst of speed to break in, nutmegged Zach Trotman and scored on a wicked wrist shot that beat DeSmith and gave the Americans a 1-0 lead.

The Penguins didn’t really have a lot of high danger scoring opportunities and didn’t score on the only power play awarded in the period.

Second Period: Wilkes-Barre had a quick little flurry of offense in the opening seconds of the period, then only mustered four total shots the entire period. Rochester had the puck seemingly for the entire period and doubled their lead when ex-Penguin J-S Dea stripped Zach Trotman of the puck and scored to make it 2-0 Rochester.

Earlier, Macoy Erkamps caught Casey Fitzgerald up high with an elbow….

….they later fought….

Fair fight, Erkamps caught Fitzgerald with two punches, they grappled and then Fitzgerald slipped and they both fell.

Wilkes-Barre killed two penalties in the period. The penalty killing looked good, but Rochester was breaking the press far too easy at even strength and using speed to get at DeSmith.

Third Period: Wilkes-Barre went over ten minutes without a shot on goal, even with a power play.

Andrew Oglevie deflected a shot from the point that iced it away.

Penguins got desperate and pulled DeSmith and J-S Dea picked off a Penguins defenseman and found a streaking CJ Smith for an empty net goal that made it 4-0.

Rochester packed it in there and let the Penguins back into the game.

Off the ensuing face-off, Jan Drozg scored his first AHL goal here.

That goal snapped a 128:18 scoreless streak for the Penguins in Rochester. Remember, they were shut out last season here.

Andrew Hammond went for an unsuccessful poke check and Sam Miletic scored to cut it to two.

Andrew Agozzino nearly scored which would have made it a one goal game. Time ran out shortly after.

Three Stars: 3) Curtis Lazar (goal, assist) 2) J-S Dea (goal, assist) 1) C.J. Smith (goal, assist)

The Good: Jan Drozg finally getting his first AHL goal. You can see that they are starting to trust him and hopefully that goal will unleash an avalanche of goals to come for the Penguins rookie.

The Bad: Rochester didn’t become a great team last night or last week. They have been good all season. The Penguins knew this and game planned for a victory tonight. The way that the Amerks basically laughed at that and walked through the Penguins has got to be a bit of a concern.

Turning Point: The Oglevie goal serves two purposes. Here, it iced away a game which was already out of reach for the Penguins. For the Amerks, it put the Penguins in desperation mode, they scored again to make it 4-0 and let off. The North Division has too many good teams in it for Head Coach Chris Taylor to feel good about his teams last five minutes. But that’s his problem.

Around the Division: Syracuse beats Providence 4-1. The Bruins have lost two straight….Hartford beats Binghamton 3-1 to go up to the top of the Atlantic Division clean again. Everyone else was off.

Standings: Hartford 37 — Providence 35 — Penguins 30 — Hershey 29 — Springfield 28 — Lehigh Valley 25 — Charlotte 23 — Bridgeport 22

Wheeling Update: Nailers are out in South Dakota taking on the Rapid City Rush. Box here.

Video Highlights: If Rochester or the Penguins add them on Twitter, I will work the edit in here.

Pens will travel to Cleveland for their games with the Monsters Friday and Saturday. Penguins have had some success with Cleveland and this series may actually be just what the doctor ordered.

AHL Power Rankings hit the blog Thursday. Check them out then.

Let’s Go Pens!