Chirps from Center Ice

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The Syracuse Crunch played this game tonight against the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins two men shot tonight. Their leading scorer Cory Conacher was recalled to parent Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the day then Alex Gallant was suspended four games by the AHL.

So things looked bleak for the Crunch with the AHL’s league leading team bussing into town for a 7:00 Friday start at home.

But you still have to play the game and the Crunch, bolstered by a three goal first period, ride a 23 save performance from Louis Domingue and go 6 for 7 on the power play and stun the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins and win by a 5-2 score.

Scoreline closer than it would appear, the Penguins drew to within one goal late in the third period, then got a 5:00 major power play that they couldn’t do anything with. Syracuse hit two empty nets to win back to back games for the first time this season and ended the Penguins 12 game point streak.

Casey DeSmith opposed Louis Domingue.

Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Adam Johnson – Gage Quinney – Daniel Sprong
Dominik Simon – Colin Smith – Christian Thomas
Freddie Tiffels – Teddy Blueger – Thomas Di Pauli

Chris Summers – Lukas Bengtsson
Kevin Czuczman – Zach Trotman
Jarred Tinordi – Frank Corrado

Casey DeSmith – Colin Stevens

Lineup Notes: On fourth line, Thomas DiPauli was back in the lineup after missing Wednesday with Freddie Tiffiels for Jarrett Burton and Patrick McGrath. Andrey Pedan served the final game of this three game suspension.

First Period: Bad start for the Penguins. How bad? A 3-0 hole start, bad.

First, the Crunch thought they scored in a scrum, but the puck never crossed and the play was blown dead. Precursor of things to come for Syracuse…

Alexander Volkov scored through a screen of player and referee and made it 1-0 Crunch.

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Then the Penguins had a power play, but never got anything established and gave away a breakaway and a follow-up chance on the rebound left by DeSmith.

Then Syracuse got a power play, and three seconds later…

Jamie McBain made it 2-0 on the power play.

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:57 later, the first period rout was on when Syracuse made it 3-0. Kevin Lynch redirected a Jamie McBain shot in front of the net.

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First time that the Penguins had trailed by three goals since the home opener against the Charlotte Checkers.

Penguins got two late power plays but hit posts in both of them. They had some carryover heading into the…

Second Period: Penguins had the lion share of power plays in the frame and finally cracked Domingue on this nice goal by Colin Smith on the power play…

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But the Penguins could have slipped farther away in the deficit to the Crunch but due to these saves made by Casey DeSmith, the score remained 3-1. First, on a penalty shot.

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Then later with the Penguins caught in a line change, a four on one…

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Louis Domingue robbed Dominik Simon at the buzzer that kept his team ahead by two heading into the…

Third Period: Sleepy period in terms of action. Penguins hit a bunch of posts early. Then, Dominik Simon scored this goal to bring the Penguins to within one…

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Then, Thomas DiPauli was smashed into the boards by Ben Thomas. Thomas was ejected from the game and the Penguins went on a 5:00 power play. It was a power play that they played with like their hair was on fire. A lot of urgency, but nothing calm and everything seemed rushed and forced.

Syracuse got the kill and with DeSmith pulled, hit two empty nets. The latter being a short handed goal when the Penguins were looking for a late, desperation comeback.

Three Stars: 3) Alexander Volkov (goal, +1) 2) Louis Domingue (23 saves on 25 shots) and 1) Kevin Lynch (goal, +3)

Around the Division: Bridgeport beats Hartford 7-3…Lehigh Valley doubles up Springfield 6-3. Hershey, Charlotte and Providence had the night off.

Standings: Penguins (.833 percentage points) — Providence (.625) — Lehigh Valley (.611) — Bridgeport (.588) — Charlotte (.579) — Hershey (.474) — Hartford (.447) — Springfield (.375)

Wheeing Update: The Nailers played an afternoon game in Cincinnati and lost 3-1 Derek Army scored the lone goal for the Nailers in the loss. Sean Maguire took the loss in net.

Video Highlights: 

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Crunch are normally good with the video highlights so if they put one in a tweet that I see, I will run it here in a later edit.

These two teams are right back at it Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre at 7:05. Gameday setup hits the blog at 3 on Saturday.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Penguins continue to pile the points in the month of November, now points in twelve contests after a 4-2 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Wednesday night.

Small statement game for Wilkes-Barre here. Division leaders taking on the second place team at home go up early then get slapped down and trail after one period and are heavily outshot. But some adjustments made in the second period on and the Penguins mount a comeback and win and collect a point again in their twelfth straight contest.

Casey DeSmith opposed Alex Lyon.

Veteran option on lines / lineup notes tonight:

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Lineup Notes: Corrado was re-assigned from Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Freddie Tiffels was recalled from Wheeling Wednesday morning as the Penguins quietly have found themselves in a bind up front somewhat. From Tom, a couple days ago…

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First Period: :31 in, Ryan Haggerty scored his eighth goal in his eighth game.

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But the Phantoms responded quickly with goals 1:26 apart when Corban Knight scored the first even strength goal allowed by the Penguins in eight periods. Later, a shot from the point was stopped by DeSmith but then cue balled in by Greg Carey that made it 2-1 Lehigh Valley. Here they are for you:

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(Phantoms didn’t tweet a GIF of their second goal, so I asked them to nicely and they obliged)

The Phantoms didn’t tuck their tails in and hide after getting scored on :31 in, they responded with a ton of shots and a boatload of offensive zone time to take a 16-5 lead heading into the…

Second Period: Penguins had three power plays in this period but didn’t score on them. That offensive momentum though flowed into an 18-7 shot advantage in the period and two goals from J-S Dea and Colin Smith. First Dea’s, after some nice passing from Ryan Haggerty:

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Colin Smith found himself alone in the slot, made a move to freeze Lyon and sniped this one home for a 3-2 Penguin lead:

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Third Period: Teams traded power plays, neither able to score. Penguins looked like they wanted the final slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving and desperately tried to get the fourth goal.

Ryan Haggerty got that fourth goal, his second of the night, into the empty net with Lyon pulled with no time left to make it 4-2.

Nice stat from Hart postgame…

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Three Stars: 3) Colin Smith (goal, even) 2) J-S Dea (goal, two assists, +3) and 1) Ryan Haggerty (two goals, assist, +2)

Around the Division: Belleville beats Charlotte 5-2 down in North Carolina….Providence beats Binghamton 2-1 in overtime on the Southern Tier….Springfield beats Hershey in Chocolatetown 2-1.

Standings: Penguins (.821 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.647) — Providence (.600) — Charlotte (.579) — Bridgeport (.563) — Hershey (.500) — Hartford (.472) — Springfield (.342)

Wheeling Update: Nailers win in a shootout 4-3 against Worcester in a game that saw the Railers on a 5-on-3 power play in overtime. Sean Maguire picked up the win. Garrett Meurs had a goal and an assist.

Video Highlights: 

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Tom had some injury updates postgame…

And Hart with some late night nuggets on Casey DeSmith creating milestones…

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Pens are off Thursday for Thanksgiving then back at it Friday in Syracuse. Happy Thanksgiving too everyone who reads here. Gasmeday setup for the Friday game at Syracuse will hit the blog Friday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Christian Thomas picked up right where he left off.

After scoring the shootout goal two weeks ago in Allentown against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Christian Thomas turned his attention to Finland in the Karjala Cup for the last week and a half. There, he was evaluated to be among the few chosen to represent Canada in the Olympics.

Back home, his Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins continued to rack up points while he was away.

Make it 11 straight games for the Penguins with at least a point, 21 out of a possible 22, as Wilkes-Barre gets by the Binghamton Devils tonight by a 4-3 score on the Southern Tier. Christian Thomas scored the game winning goal in the third period.

Casey DeSmith opposed Ken Appleby.

Lines were…

Dominik Simon – Colin Smith – Christian Thomas
Jarrett Burton – Gage Quinney – Daniel Sprong
Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Thomas Di Pauli

Chris Summers – Lukas Bengtsson
Kevin Czuczman – Ethan Prow
Jarred Tinordi – Zach Trotman

Casey DeSmith – Colin Stevens

Lineup Notes: Garrett Wilson was at home taking care of a family matter, so Jarrett Burton took his spot on the second line. Lukas Bengtsson was pack and paired with Chris Summers. Andrey Pedan served Game 1 of a three game suspension.

First Period: :12 in, Ryan Haggerty scored to make it 1-0..

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Binghamton would respond later with a power play goal when Brandon Gignac knocked in a rebound of a blocked shot to tie the game at one a piece.

In the games final minute, Thomas DiPauli scored with 17.2 seconds left to make it 2-1 Penguins…

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Blunger there with the hustle to the wraparound shot / pass to DiPaui who was in the right place at the right time.

Wilkes-Barre would get outshot 13-4 in the period but in keeping with the theme Sunday in Hershey, it was all about quality over quantity.

Second Period: Binghamton would score, again on a power play, to tie the game at two a side. Bracken Kears deflected a shot in that made it 2-2 for the only scoring in the period.

The Penguins, to this point, did not have a single power play. They finally opened the third period with one when ex-Penguin Brian Strait boarded a Penguin at the buzzer.

Third Period: Adam Johnson scored on a bomb of a shot via one timer to push the Penguins back out ahead midway through the third…

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Christian Thomas scored on a breakaway minutes later and the floodgates were opening for the Penguins….

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But the Devils would score their third power play of the game when Jacob McDonald made it a little too close for comfort for the Penguins as the score would be cut to one.

Binghamton would hit a cross bar, DeSmith would make a save on his back, the Devils would pull Appleby for an extra attacker but never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Jacob McDonald (goal, assist, -1) 2) Christian Thomas (goal, +2) 1) Teddy Blunger (two assists, +2)

Around the Division: Hershey continues to win, winning Game 1 of their two game set in Providence by a 4-1 score. The two teams rematch Sunday… Hartford loses 4-2 in Rochester… Springfield blanks Charlotte 4-0… Lehigh Valley beats Laval 5-2. Bridgeport was off.

Standings: Penguins (.821 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.647) — Charlotte (.625) — Providence (.571) — Hershey (.529) — Bridgeport (.500) — Hartford (.441) — Springfield (.361)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were in Norfolk tonight and crushed the Admirals 6-2. Garrett Meurs had a goal and two assists for first star honors. Sean Maguire picked up the win, stopping 36 of 38 shots.

I didn’t see any video highlight package that the Devils put out.

That’s it for the weekend for the Penguins, who are off Saturday and Sunday and back in action Wednesday at home against Lehigh Valley before their home and home series with the Syracuse Crunch starting next Friday.

AHL Power Rankings will hit the blog Monday at 4.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins went into Hershey Sunday and made the most of their scoring opportunities, beating the Bears 5-1 with a paltry 13 shots on goal.

No, you read that right, five goals on just 13 shots on goal all game.

Hershey fired 32 at starting goaltender Casey DeSmith and but for a fluke bounce on a power play in the second period, it could have been a shutout.

One other back of the envelope stat about this game, the Penguins only had one power play that they made count, to the Bears five.

The Penguins sweep the week and have points in ten straight games now and 19 out of a possible 20.

DeSmith opposed Vitek Vanecek, making his season debut for the Bears.

Lines were…

Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Garrett Wilson – Jarrett Burton – Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson – Colin Smith – Dominik Simon
Thomas Di Pauli – Teddy Blueger – Patrick McGrath

Andrey Pedan – Ethan Prow
Chris Summers – Kevin Czuczman
Jarred Tinordi – Zach Trotman

Casey DeSmith – Colin Stevens

Lineup Notes: Jarrett Burton replaced Gage Quinney and Patrick McGrath, making his season debut, replaced Tom Sestito. Lukas Bengtsson was a bit under the weather, and given his history with POTS, the coaching staff rested him today in favor of Ethan Prow.

First Period: Penguins jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with goals through the five hole of Vanecek. Jarred Tinordi with his second goal of the season here…

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And then Daniel Sprong found Zach Aston-Reese for an easy tap in goal for a 2-0 Penguin lead…

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Tinordi’s goal gave him back to back goals and doubled his output from last season when he was with the Tucson Roadrunners. Aston-Reese scored his second goal of the season, both coming against Hershey. Ethan Prow had the assist.

Good flow to the game, with both teams going up and down the ice and not a lot of stoppages. Casey DeSmith made this ten bell stop that caught the League’s attention…

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Second Period: Bears get a goal from Dustin Gazley on the power play off a weird carom that snuck past DeSmith to cut the lead to one.

But just :58 later, the Penguins answer right back with a goal by Thomas DiPauli that re-established the two goal Penguin lead…

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One minute later, Daniel Sprong toasted a Bears defense and made it 4-1…

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Rout was on after that.

Third Period: Quick moving period for both teams with a lot of back and forth but a ton of zone time for Hershey, who outshot the Penguins 12-3 in the period and had two power plays to play with but could not get anything past DeSmith for however hard they tried. Daniel Sprong was awarded a penalty shot in the opening moments of the period but hit the post.

Three Stars: 3) Daniel Sprong (goal, +2) 2) Zach Aston-Reese (goal, +1) and 1) Casey DeSmith (31 saves on 32 shots)

Around the Division: Providence coughs up another two goal lead and loses in overtime, this time against the Springfield in Massachusetts this afternoon and lose 4-3. Laval beat Hartford 3-2 in overtime in Connecticut. Everyone else was off.

Standings: Penguins (.808 percentage points) — Charlotte (.714) — Lehigh Valley (.667) — Providence (.615) — Hershey (.467) — Hartford (.467) — Bridgeport (.462) — Springfield (.281)

Wheeling Update: beat the Norfolk Admirals at Wesbanco Arena this afternoon 5-3.Nailers Goalie Will King picked up the win and first star honors, stopping 39 of 42 Admirals shots. Garrett Meurs had two goals and Cam Brown had a goal and two assists. Reid Gardiner was held without a point. Nailers are back in action Tuesday in a kids day game against the Adirondack Thunder in West Virginia. Bring your earplugs.

As for the Penguins, they have one game this coming week, Friday in Binghamton and then have off the rest of the weekend.

Video Highlights: 

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Week 6 AHL Power Rankings hit the blog Monday at 4.

Let’s Go Pens!

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There is no such thing as a machine that prints money. Well, legally, and not controlled by the Federal Government at least.

There is, however, such a thing that churns out American Hockey League points right now and they skate in all white with yellow and black trim with a skating Penguin behind an upside-down triangle on their chests.

After falling down 0-2 to the Providence Bruins, the same Providence Bruins who ousted the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins last April, the Penguins storm back and respond with three straight goals only to see the Bruins score a late goal to tie with the extra man on but it would be the Penguins who would prevail in overtime with Ryan Haggerty getting the game winning goal just :20 into the extra frame.

Let’s talk about Ryan Haggerty for a second. Here is a guy who didn’t see action in the first seven contests for the Penguins. Now, Haggerty has eight points in just five games for Wilkes-Barre after a three point night tonight as the Penguins take down the Providence Bruins 4-3 in overtime to pick up their ninth straight game with at least a point, a 17 out of a possible 18.

Casey DeSmith opposed Zane McIntyre.

The Penguins didn’t have any lineup changes from Wednesday against Toronto, scroll down if you didn’t link in direct to see the lines.

First Period: 1:33 in, the Bruins scored when Matt Grzelcyk found Ryan Fitzgerald as he split a pair of Penguins defenders to give the visitors a lead early on.

There were two fights in the period, which is something you just don’t see anymore. Tom Sestito lost a fight with Chris Breen then Andrey Pedan ate league MVP Kenny Agostino for lunch in a separate fight.

Second Period: Pens found themselves in a bit of a hole when Colby Cave threw an end over end puck ay DeSmith that got by to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.

Here is a rad statistic from color man Nick Hart that nearly blew my socks off…

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About two minutes later, Kevin Czuczman put a backhander through McIntyre’s five hole to get the Pens back within one…

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McIntyre had a yeoman like effort on a Penguin power play at the end of the period.

Third Period: Game to this point had the feel of a heavyweight affair. Not so much like Wednesday against Toronto because it wasn’t filled with fights and the general bad blood that the Pens and Bruins had.

Jarred Tinordi let one rip from the point that got past McIntyre to tie the game for Wilkes-Barre.

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Pens had a long 5-on-3 but were not able to get anything past McIntyre. Then, with 2:23 left, Andrey Pedan let one rip and Thomas DiPauli got a stick on it to put the Pens ahead 3-2…

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…Call at the time was Pedan’s goal, but that was later reversed back to DiPauli.

Providence, undeterred by the circumstances, pulled McIntyre and then Ryan Fitzgerald scored his second…

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So the game was headed to…

Overtime: :20 in, Czuczman set up J-S Dea who quickly found themselves on a 2-on-1 with Ryan Haggerty. Dea dished to Haggerty and that was the ballgame.

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Three Stars: 3) Andrey Pedan (assist, +1) 2) Ryan Fitzgerald (two goals, +2) 1) Ryan Haggerty (game winning overtime goal, two assists, +2)

Around the Division: Springfield picks up an impressive win against Laval after falling in a 3-0 hole. The Thunderbirds win 6-4….Syracuse cools off Charlotte 5-3….Hershey smokes Lehigh Valley 6-1….Hartford beats Bridgeport 2-1.

Standings: Penguins (.792 percentage points) — Charlotte (.714) — Lehigh Valley (.667) — Providence (.625) — Hershey (.500) — Hartford (.464) — Bridgeport (.462) — Springfield (.233)

Wheeling Update: with a 5-3 win over the Nailers.Toledo splits the series with the Wheeling Nailers Reid Gardiner had two assists. Sean Maguire takes the loss after stopping 23 of 27 shots. The Nailers take on the Norfolk Admirals back at home at 3:05 Sunday.

Video Highlights: 

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Pens take on the Hershey Bears Sunday afternoon in Hershey. Clark Donatelli revealed his starting goaltender to Tom…

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Gameday setup hits the blog Sunday at 1.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Shoutout to Citizens Voice Penguins beat writer Tyler Piccotti for the headline suggestion here.

This was a methodical takedown of the North Division leaders in Toronto by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. After getting punched in the mouth early, the Penguins clamped down defensively, wore down the Marlies lines and were able to win a Wednesday night home game 4-2 to take sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference.

Veteran option on lines tonight cause it’s a work night and I have to get up for work in the morning…

Casey DeSmith – Colin Stevens

DeSmith opposed Garrett Sparks.

Lineup Notes: The Pens sent forward Freddie Tiffels and defensemen Jeff Taylor and Dylan Zink to Wheeling in a 5 pm transaction on Wednesday. With Wheeling playing three games in a row this weekend, it will be good for both club and player to get reps in. Gage Quinney went in between Garrett Wilson and Daniel Sprong. Tom DiPauli was back in as Tiffels departed to Wheeling earlier in the day. Pens also had their full compliment of defensemen but for Frank Corrado, who is still up with Pittsburgh.

First Period: 1:08 in and the Marlies scored on a Daniel Sprong turnover in his own end…

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Game settled a bit after that, because the Marlies came out and dominated, going up 5-0 in shots before the goal. Game ebbed and flowed both ways where the Penguins would get zone time, then the Marlies would follow.

Andrey Pedan scores his first of the season when he unleashed this shot that caught a lot of Sparks on the way through…

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Penguins found themselves in penalty trouble late, with Chris Summers and J-S Dea going off :06 apart, but Jarred Tinordi blocked three shots by the Marlies in the two-man advantage to help the Penguins kill the penalties heading into the…

Second Period: Penguins really found their wind and ran circles around the Marlies, outshooting the visitors 17-4. Neither team gave an inch however as it remained tied late into the period.

Ryan Haggerty with this dart that would make a sniper blush…

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A lot of the Marlies would be shots went wide and never registered, but the Penguins ones did and Haggerty made his effort count. Not bad for a guy who was scratched the first seven games of the season. Haggerty has scored five goals in for games.

Third Period: Thomas DiPauli busted around a guy, made a move to deke Sparks and scored to extend the Penguins lead to 3-1 on this pretty play…

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Nikita Soshnikov made it interesting with about six minutes to play. He waited and waited, danced around a Penguin, shot it, followed his shot and cashed the rebound left by DeSmith to cut it to 3-2…

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With time dwindling, the Marlies pulled Sparks and no sooner after that Thomas DiPauli put a puck into the empty net at center Ice to ice the game away.

Three Stars: 3) Ryan Haggerty (goal, +2) 2) Andrey Pedan (goal, assist, +2) and 1) Thomas DiPauli (two goals, +2)

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley and Bridgeport played a kids day game up in Connecticut this morning. The Phantoms scored four unanswered to beat the Sound Tigers 4-2…. Utica hosted the Charlotte Checkers and lost 5-2…Hershey was in Springfield and won 3-1.

Standings: Penguins (.773 percentage points) — Charlotte (.750) — Lehigh Valley (.714) — Providence (.636) — Bridgeport (.500) — Hershey (.462) — Hartford (.423) — Springfield (.179)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers host the Toledo Walleye Friday.

Video highlights…

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Pens are off Friday. But for anything breaking between now and the next time they are on the ice, which is Saturday at home against Providence, look for the Gameday setup of that contest to hit here Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Remember this point come the Spring.

That’s because the Penguins deserved to straight up lose this game against the Hershey Bears.

The Bears, playing their third game in three nights, came into Wilkes-Barre against a Penguin team that had Saturday night off and stayed step for step with the Penguins.

The Penguins, having been idle the night before, went 0-for-7 on the power play including a long stretch of 5-on-3 time in the second period in where they failed to register a shot on goal. They registered just six shots on the power play all night, four of those coming in the first period on one power play. Penguins had 27 shots on goal all game.

To get a point and ultimately lose in the shootout 3-2 won’t sit well with the Penguins coaching staff. Make no mistake, this was a game the Penguins should have won handily.

Maybe if they played the game without a penalty the outcome would have been different. Where’s Jeff Smith when you need him.

Casey DeSmith opposed Pheonix Copley.

Lines were…

Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Garrett Wilson – Colin Smith – Daniel Sprong
Gage Quinney – Adam Johnson – Dominik Simon
Tom Sestito – Teddy Blueger – Freddie Tiffels

Andrey Pedan – Lukas Bengtsson
Dylan Zink – Kevin Czuczman
Jarred Tinordi – Chris Summers

Casey DeSmith – Colin Stevens

Lineup Notes: Christian Thomas traveled for Finland today to play in the Karjala Cup this week in Finland. Thomas DiPauli was a healthy scratch. These two made was for Freddie Tiffels and Colin Smith, making his Penguins debut. On defense, Jarred Tinordi made his Penguins regular season debut and was joined by Dylan Zink for Ethan Prow and Kevin Spinozzi on defense.

First Period: 1:18 into the game, Daniel Sproing scored. he hd his stick on the ice, Kevin Czuczman shot the puck to his stick and the physics of it all saw the puck deflect off Sprong’s stick and into the net to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead…

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Game then devolved into a penalty fest. No flow and a parade to the penalty box.

Then s hot through traffic was redirected in by Wayne Simpson to draw the Bears even with the Penguins to tie the score at one all…

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Second Period: Penguins found themselves on the right side of 1:39 of a two-man advantage but in that same two-man advantage failed to register a shot on Copley. Bears killed it easy after just watching the Penguins complete passes in the zone without attempting a shot.

Bears cashed on a power play when Travis Boyd made his shot count that made it 2-1 for Hershey…

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Boyd lost the handle, regathered and snapped a shot off and it went in.

Dea hit the top of the cross bar on a late Penguins power play. Wilkes-Barre made a late push for the tying goal towards the end of the period.

Third Period: Zach Aston-Reese scored his first goal of the season on a wicked wrap-around attempt that went through Copley…

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Colin Smith collected an assist on that play, his first point in a Penguin sweater.

Game evened out after that and they teams headed to…

Overtime: Penguins lost the game because they couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage today. They got a point because of the saves Casey DeSmith made in the game, none more memorable than this robbery on future Hall-of-Famer Chris Bourque….

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The League didn’t let the GIF go for a few more seconds or else you would have seen Bourque lay on the ice lifeless like someone sucked his soul out of his eyeballs. Terrific save by Casey DeSmith who was outstanding again tonight.

Shootout: I don’t have a GIF of the goal that Wayne Simpson scored in the bottom of the first. He made a deke on DeSmith and scored. No Penguin scored in the three rounds, with Colin Smith here in the top of the third needing to score to extend it but failing…

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Three Stars: 3) Daniel Sprong (goal, +2) 2) Zach Aston-Reese (goal, +1) and 1) Wayne Simpson (goal in regulation, goal in the shootout, -1)

Around the Division: Bridgeport shuts out Providence 6-0. Sebastian Aho had a hat trick, the second time that the Sound Tigers shut out the Bruins this weekend. The Bruins shut out the Bruins on Friday 1-0…Hartford beats Springfield 4-2 and Toronto, who is in Wilkes-Barre Wednesday, beats Lehigh Valley 5-1. The Checkers were the only Atlantic Division team not in action Sunday.

Standings: Lehigh Valley (.750 percentage points) — Penguins (.750) — Charlotte (.727) — Providence (.636) — Bridgeport (.545) — Hartford (.423) — Hershey (.417) — Springfield (.192)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers are off until this Friday when they host the Toledo Walleye.

If Coal Street puts out a video package, I will run the video here.

Power Rankings Monday at 4. But for breaking news elsewhere, check you back here on the blog for the Wednesday setup against the Toronto Marlies at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!