Chirps from Center Ice

I don’t know about you, but I think “Phantom Wolf” would make for a hell of a team name. Maybe there is a high school somewhere in Nebraska who are known as the Phantom Wolves. All black jerseys, big, howling wolf that just intimidates opponents.

The Setup

Penguins coming off opening night weekend with a Jekyll and Hyde performance against Lehigh Valley (a win) and Charlotte (a loss) where they looked like two different teams. A gritty 2-1 win against the Phantoms followed up by a dud the next night with a 4-1 loss to the Checkers. 

Hartford comes in Friday, having their 2021-22 campaign begin with a good ol’ three in three. They beat Bridgeport last Friday 2-1 in their home opener, then lost 2-1 the next night in Springfield and then finished off the three in three weekend with a gritty 4-3 shootout win against the Providence Bruins. 

Then Penguins get Saturday night off, then square off against Lehigh Valley in what will end up being a home and home, Sunday in Allentown and next Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre. Lehigh was in Hershey last Sunday and lost 2-1. By the time the Pens face them Sunday, they will have played the Wolf Pack this Saturday night.

The Records

Coming into this weekend’s action, the Pens are 1-1, .500 and 6th in the Atlantic Division. The Wolf Pack are 2-1, .667 and 4th in the Atlantic and Lehigh Valley is in last place, 0-2 with a .000 percentage point.

Who’s in Goal

I got this completely wrong last week. I expect that to continue heading into week two, but here goes. Filip Lindberg will get one of the games, my guess Friday, and since Alex D’Orio was reassigned to Wheeling on Monday of this past week, either Tommy Nappier or maybe Louis Domingue coming off injury gets the road start Sunday in Allentown. But Domingue or Lindberg may be headed up, as it was revealed Thursday that Tristan Jarry was placed in COVID protocol. So, one of either Domingue / Lindberg are likely going up. With three goalies here, you don’t need to recall D’Orio. For the opposition, my guess is Keith Kinkaid for the Wolf Pack Friday and, with Lehigh playing the night before, backup Samuel Ersson for the Phantoms Sunday afternoon.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Oh boy, where to start. They looked like two completely different teams in each game. You want more of what you saw Saturday, obviously, than you did Sunday. But, it is a young team that will probably be chomping at the bit after a week of hard practice to get out there again for another home game Friday and then for a road trip to Allentown Sunday. Hartford can run and gun it looks like, so the Pens will need to keep that in check. Normally you know where you stand in the first ten minutes of a hockey game after a bad performance like the one you saw Sunday. Then, with Lehigh Valley, the Phantoms are getting these same Wolf Pack on Saturday, having off Friday. No one can discount the firepower that the Phantoms possess. Gotta keep that in check in a hostile environment Sunday. 

Who is running the show?

Scheduled referees as assigned by the American Hockey League are Rob Hennessey and Beau Halkidis Friday night in Wilkes-Barre and Dan Kelly, who you may remember as a referee last year and Tyler Loftus on the lines. Kelly switched to linesman late last season. For Sunday, it’s Halkidis again joined by Patruck Hanrahan calling penalties with John Rey and J.P. Waleski handling the lines.

Looking ahead…

Lehigh Valley is in next Wednesday to pay off the home and home, then the Pens take to the road with a game in Hartford next Friday and then a Saturday game in Springfield to close out the month of October.

Give us a bold prediction…

The Penguins score five goals this weekend and win both games. 

I am replacing the old “Gameday” setups for something new, a Weekend Setup which for me is going to be easier to write and put together. Most of what was contained in the Gameday setups will carryover in these, but instead of writing 76 of them, which is a bear when you really don’t want to sometimes, I am only going to run these once or so a week previewing the weekend set of games ahead. Every game that the Penguins play this season will get a mention, so I am not going to miss any game, don’t worry. Your input is vital to these, so let me know what you think.

Also, NEW CATEGORY ALERT – say hello to “Weekend Preview”

Anyway, here we go…

The Setup

The Penguins are off on opening night in the AHL, with 12 teams playing Friday night and just two (Bridgeport visits Hartford) Atlantic Division teams getting started tonight. It’s a rare, but usual Friday at the start of the season, night off for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton.

Wilkes-Barre hosts Lehigh Valley Saturday night at 6:05 and Charlotte Sunday afternoon at 3:05. Charlotte will be in Hershey Saturday before trekking up to visit the Penguins for a Sunday matinee.

It important to note that for Saturday night home games in Wilkes-Barre this season, every game will start at 6:05. Jeff Barrett explained why:

“We made a conscious effort to move our Saturday home games to an hour earlier in order to accommodate our many families who come to the games with young children,” said Penguins CEO Jeff Barrett. “Down the line, we hope to have the opportunity to host some post-game events for these nights, too. Fans should stay tuned on that front.”

Who’s in Goal

It’s probably going to be the Alex D’Orio show Saturday then Louis Domingue Sunday against Charlotte. I’d guess that Felix Sandstrom goes for Lehigh Valley Saturday and Christopher Gibson goes Sunday for the Checkers.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

It’s really going to be interesting, because you have one subset of fans that thinks they can be a playoff team and another cadre of fans that don’t have them winning more than 30 games. It’s a young, hungry side playing against a team that is better than them and more established on paper in Lehigh Valley (also a blood rival they will see 11 more times this weekend) and a Charlotte team that didn’t play last year because of COVID and splitting an affiliation with Seattle that looks good, at least on paper. Do you take a 1-1 start right now? Do you feel good starting 0-2? It’s a lot to build off of. It’s going to be a competitive division and every percentage point is going to count. Get off on the right foot and catch some teams sleeping now while you have the home ice advantage.

Who is running the show?

History is going to be made Saturday night because for the first time ever in the AHL, you will have a woman calling penalties. Katie Guay makes her AHL officiating debut donning the orange armbands, joined by Brandon Schrader. Guay is part of nine other female officials hired by the League this year. Joined on the lines with Guay and Schrader, J.P. Waleski and Patrick Dapuzzo will call offsides, break up scrums, handle most of the faceoffs and rule on icing calls. On Sunday, Michael Zyla, another new referee this year is joined by Brandon Schrader, who will stick around after Saturday’s assignment. On the lines Sunday afternoon are Jud Ritter and J.P. Waleski.

Looking ahead…

Pens have a home game next Friday, October 22 against the Hartford Wolf Pack, then a rare Saturday night off, then make their first road trip of the season down the PA Turnpike to Allentown to play the Phantoms next Sunday afternoon. Lehigh Valley returns the favor and visit the Penguins for a Wednesday night game in Wilkes-Barre on October 27. The season series against the Phantoms will be 25% over before November 1!

Give us a Bold Prediction

I still won’t like Sunday afternoon games.