Comments Off on Weekend Preview – What Does $5 Million Get You?
Posted by nafsnep on October 30, 2024
The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have the services of NHL All-Star goaltender and $5.3M / year man Tristan Jarry, down on a conditioning assignment, for this week and parts of next.
Music to Set the Mood…
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Playing in the minors while collecting ~$203,900 on a bi-weekly basis? Can I sign up for this to write my old high schools newsletter?
Oh wait, the Diocese of Scranton closed my high school. Anyway…
A Quote…
Everybody’s got a price! – The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase
The Setup
A Wednesday trip up to Bridgeport to take on the Islanders, a Friday off, then a Saturday home game against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The Penguins split a series with the Syracuse Crunch where the home team won both game. The Pens were shutout in Syracuse 2-0 on Friday and then beat the Crunch at home 3-2 on Saturday.
The Islanders went to Charlotte last weekend and were obliterated by the high octane offense Checkers and lost 13-4 on aggregate (8-2, 5-2) – Bridgeport has allowed the most goals in the Division with 27. It’s looking like a long year again on the Sound Island.
Hartford beat Lehigh Valley 4-3 in overtime, had Saturday off and then got smashed by a Springfield club playing a third game of a three in three weekend 5-2. They will host the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday, then travel to Syracuse on Friday.
Records
The Penguins are 4-2, on 8 points and third in the Atlantic Division. The Islanders are 1-5-1-0, on three points and in last place in the Atlantic. Hartford is 3-2-0-1, on 7 points coming into Wednesday and in fourth in the Atlantic.
Defensemen Dan Renouf and Filip Kral, forwards Jimmy Huntingdon and Jagger Joshua are the week to weekers that we know of.
Isaac Belliveau remains day to day, but he hasn’t played at all, and it’s been weeks, so is he really day to day?
Sam Houde remains in Wheeling. Sergei Musharov went to Wheeling in the Jarry transaction and I can’t tell you what the status is with Taylor Gauthier because the ECHL’s roster rules are more complex than they need to be. Compounding that, Coal Street signed G Luke Richardson, who was with the Pens in training camp, to a PTO on Monday.
Four points playing in front of an NHL All-Star goalie is a must, unless said goaltender malfunctions. I don’t think he will though. Going back to Saturday’s goals against, go ahead and find me a goaltender in the AHL or NHL that stops those scenarios. It’s unfair and nitpicking if you blame Jarry for those goals.
Bridgeport is a mess and unless a miracle happens expect the Penguins to win handily. Hartford should put up a bit more of an opposition but expect the Penguins to compete and have the edge. Provided they keep the power play clicking and stay healthy, they should be in a position to pick up two points with under ten minutes to play in the third period in each game.
Who’s in Goal?
Sometimes it’s fun having the answers before the test. Jarry isn’t here to be anyone’s back up. It’s him Wednesday and Saturday.
For Bridgeport, expect Jakub Skarek, who at this point should be getting hazard pay.
Hartford should probably roll out Dylan Garand, because you figure old buddy Louis Domingue will see the start against the Griffins Wednesday and again in Syracuse.
Who’s Running the Show?
Stephen Hiff and Austin Rook get the duties Wednesday in Bridgeport and Mitchell Hunt and Dylan Lewis are on the lines.
Graedy Hamilton and Mason Riley have the referee assignments on Saturday, with Jud Ritter and J.P. Waleski on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
Home Wednesday against Lehigh Valley, Friday in Allentown, then Saturday back home against the Rochester Americans who stop by for their only visit of the season.
Give us a bold prediction…
Tristan Jarry gets a shutout Wednesday in Bridgeport then beats the Wolf Pack in a seven round shootout on Saturday.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview – Walking Wounded?
Posted by nafsnep on October 25, 2024
So the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are down four injured defensemen through four games. They didn’t (that we know of) see anyone go out in the Saturday road game in Allentown.
They sure as hell aren’t playing like it though, shutting out the Phantoms Saturday 3-0 where Lehigh Valley put up 41 shots. Filip Larsson had a hell of a bounce back and was sharp as a tack after letting in six a week before against Charlotte.
Now, the Syracuse Crunch are on the radar for a home and home series starting Friday in Syracuse.
Music to set the mood…
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A Quote…
I had no idea a living being could sustain so much injury and go on living. — Yann Martel, Life of Pi.
Always wondered where the “day to day” injury description came from, apparently hockey coaches read that book.
The Setup
Another home and home for the Penguins. It’s must be a thing. I don’t know if you saw or not but I resurrected the AHL Power Rankings from the ashes and if you go in depth on the team capsules you will note that there are a lot of teams playing other teams on home and home backs to backs. Some are playing the same opponent three times in a row which I think is silly.
But I digress. The Penguins swept their home and home with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by a 4-3 score on Friday and a 3-0 score Saturday. Friday they scored all four goals in the first. Saturday I thought was a much better played game structurally (but for the icing fest in the second period) and certainly would be a building block for the coaching staff to help mold the identity of this team.
For Syracuse, they played a three in three. They played a pair in Laval and were beat 5-2 Friday and 1-0 Saturday. It’s hard to lose 1-0 in today’s AHL. Like, it happens, but conceivably you don’t score a goal but allow just one and lose.
The Crunch then travelled to Belleville and beat the Senators 5-2 on Sunday.
Records
The Penguins are 3-1, on six points and tied with Charlotte for second in the division.
The Crunch are 3-2, on six points and are in third in the North.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall….
Who’s Up, Down, Out?
Defensemen Dan Renouf, Filip Kral, Marc Clurman and Isaac Belliveau are all out. The long termers are Renouf and Kral, out week to week and Clurman is day to day along with Belliveau.
Who knows if those statuses change. Jagger Joshua is the lone forward out week to week, that we know of.
Sam Houde is with the Wheeling Nailers.
It was actually quiet week transactionally for the team, with nothing doing on the wire for Coal Street all week. I guess that’s good?
One other transaction for the opponent. Conor Sheary was sent down to Syracuse by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Sheary cut his AHL teeth with the Penguins in 2014-15 and 2015-16. You may see him in both games, but for certain I would think he plays Friday in Syracuse.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
Can the offense and the power play stay hot? All indicators indicate yes, as long as Boris Katchouk and Emil Bemstrom keep hopping over the bench and on the ice. I think the defense is OK, shielded a bit by the team putting up 3+ goals a night and getting bailed out by reasonable goaltending. When may the luck run out? When they start hitting really good teams on the schedule. Who’s a good team? Too soon to know, really.
Early returns are the team is good. Building up credit while you are young is good. Anyone over thirty gets this reference in real life scenarios.
Who’s in Goal?
You ride the hot hand and put Larsson out there Friday in Syracuse and then let Sergei Musharov take the Saturday start. You continue to do this until one plays his way into the bonafide starter role. I think the faith is Larsson as the starter as long as Joel Blomqvist plays the role of the NHL backup while Pittsburgh somehow still carries three goalies but Musharov isn’t coming from overseas to play second fiddle to anyone. We will see.
For Syracuse you can expect Brandon Halverson Friday and Matt Tompkins Saturday, or Halverson for both starts. Who knows.
Who’s Running the Show?
Riley Brace and Adam Tobias get the duties on Friday with Justin Johnson and Jason Brown on the lines. Saturday sees Jordan Deckard and Jared Cummins in the orange arm bands with Bill Lyons and Chandler Yakimowicz on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
A Wednesday visit to Bridgeport, a Friday off (woo hoo!) then November starts with a Saturday visit from the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Give us a bold prediction…
No reason to veer off course here. They score power play goals in both games and win both of them. Musharov outduels Larsson and the Penguins have a good problem to have and continue the two headed goaltending monster approach.
Wilkes-Barre / Scranton heads into the second weekend of AHL action with a home and home against a team it sees twelve times in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms who took the Penguins out of the First Round of the AHL Playoffs last Spring.
Music to Set the Mood…
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I remember hearing this song for the very first time up in Binghamton, New York when the then Senators came out to this as their warmup music. It hit then, it hit now. With a pair with a ghost named team this close to Halloween, I find it apropos.
I miss Binghamton…
A Quote…
(yes, I forgot this last week)
The world is full of ghosts, and some of them are still people. — Peter Straub
…but enough about who you like on Election Day.
Oh, sorry. Wrong blog. Anyway. Moving on…
The Setup
A home and home with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on consecutive nights beginning Friday in Wilkes-Barre.
The Phantoms needed a shootout to beat the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday in Allentown in their only action of the weekend. The Penguins scored ten goals and managed a 1-1 record, putting up six in a losing effort against the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday and then four more in a 4-1 win in Springfield on Sunday.
They scored a power play goal in each game, which was good, but allowed two shorthanded goals against Charlotte, which was bad.
They will likely roll Filip Larsson in goal in one of the contests this weekend, and which Larsson we get will be the question. Sure, his defense and special teams did him no favors Saturday, but he could have been better.
Records
The Penguins are 1-1 and the Phantoms are 1-0. Early days in the division here.
Dan Renouf was dinged up Saturday and has a lower body injury which they don’t think is that bad, per the broadcast Sunday afternoon. Sam Houde and Isaac Belliveau have lower body injuries and are day to day and Jagger Joshua is week to week with an upper body injury. The Pens recalled Mats Lindgren from Wheeling Wednesday mid-morning.
Pittsburgh sent rookie sensation Rutger McGroarty to Wilkes-Barre in a surprising but not surprising move. Kid needs to develop and that’s what the AHL is and does. Look for him to slot in the top six this weekend and we will see how he does.
Like I said, all of those are listed on that page which updates as I get the information.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
The hope is that they play Lehigh Valley tight but find a way to win or blow them straight out, right? Tighten up on special teams, which I think they did on the bus ride up to Springfield Saturday night into Sunday, don’t allow two shorthanded goals and capitalize on the chances given. Easy, right?
I am not concerned, nor should I be when I look at the calendar, and you shouldn’t be either. Now if they are sitting on an 0-2 record, you have every right to let doubt creep in. But honestly, how often do you see 7-6 track meets in the AHL like you saw Saturday? Not often. They are fine. They are still figuring things out, like all the other 31 teams in the League.
Who’s in Goal?
Perfectly reasonable to expect Larsson and Sergei Musharov, but in what combination is the question. I don’t see any reason they don’t start Larsson Friday and let Musharov take the Saturday start, so let’s just roll with that.
Heh. I had this typed up already before Pittsburgh sent Alex Nedeljovic to Wilkes-Barre for a conditioning assignment on Thursday. My guess is Nedeljkovic goes Friday at home and then Larsson and Musharov board the bus Saturday afternoon and Musharov goes Saturday and Larsson backs up. Nedeljkovic will get recalled back to Pittsburgh Sunday.
Or I could be wrong, very wrong, and Nedeljkovic starts both games and sticks around.
For the Phantoms, Alexei Kolosov started Saturday for them, so expect him out of the tunnel first Friday in Wilkes-Barre and Cal Petersen Saturday in the rematch in Allentown.
Who’s Running the Show?
Beau Halkidis and Samuel Heidemann are the refs scheduled for Friday with Tyler Loftus and Justin Johnson. The Pens saw Halkidis Sunday in Springfield and can’t shake the guy. Saturday sees Mason Riley and Jackson Kozari as the referees with Michael Magee and John Rey on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
Theme of the home and homes continue, this time with the Syracuse Crunch beginning next Friday in Syracuse.
Give us a bold prediction…
Power play train continues down the tracks, with them scoring in each game. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic does not score a goal in either contest. Wilkes-Barre sweeps the weekend.
Back and marginally better than ever here in Year 14 of this silly little blog. Thanks to all the Day 1ers who have stuck with it since the inception and welcome all new readers. I’m just trying to capture the spirit of the thing.
A word about me and this weekends action. If you are seeing this on Friday afternoon when this posts, I am likely somewhere on I-81 South, thundering my camper to Gettysburg, PA for the last camping trip of the season. I have been everywhere man, from Dover, PA to Cape May, NJ and from Watkins Glen, NY to the Delaware shoreline.
That said, I won’t be in attendance for the first game of the season Saturday night when the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins light the rocket on Year 26 and host the Charlotte Checkers, whom they opened with last year at this time in North Carolina.
Provided I get good Wi-Fi, I’ll watch and recap both Saturday and Sunday’s games. These camping trips are scheduled months in advance and this trip is a rain check from last year. We were originally scheduled to be in Gettysburg last year when it rained and we had to postpone.
Anyway, don’t fret when you look to Section 104 and don’t see me. I will be back next Friday for Game Three against Lehigh Valley…
Music to Set the Mood…
I wanted a “Song of the Summer” vibe here and this, I think, ties in nicely. It was either that or one of my favorite Yacht Rock songs I play out by the pool.
I think it ties in nice, as we all love this team and wish them good luck.
The Setup
A home game against Charlotte and a Sunday road trip to Springfield.
A bit of a Preview, say…
Off the hop I don’t expect Hershey to three peat. Also, don’t get mad when you see me refer to them as the 13ears on social media, as I think it works with the 13 Calder Cups Hershey have amassed and the back to back run our friends to the south are riding.
No, I think it’s Providence’s turn to have a run at the top, and I think they jump out to a hot start and contend all season long. They were the 2 seed late last Spring and I think they are primed to pick up where they left off.
1 – Providence – see above.
2 – Hershey – I still think the Bears contend, don’t get me wrong.
3 – PENGUINS – If either one of the top two ursine named teams slip, yeah, I see an outside chance that Wilkes-Barre can have a few good weeks at the top of the division.
4 – Hartford – I think the Wolf Pack will be sneaky good. Underestimate them at your peril.
5 – Lehigh Valley – I think the Phantoms are primed to be better than people think, but I am not sold on Ian Laperriere as their head coach and have never been.
6 – Springfield – I don’t think the Thunderbirds miss playoffs like they did last year. I expect them to contend.
7 – Bridgeport – Could slightly be better. They finished last last season and the only way is up.
8 – Charlotte – Someone has to finish last. I could see it turning out just OK for the Checkers but could also see them as a non-contending team.
I am normally wrong, very wrong, with these, so please take these with a grain of salt.
Records
This is the first game for the Checkers and Penguins. The Thunderbirds open Saturday with Laval.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
I have dedicated a page that I will (try to) constantly update throughout the year. It’s pinned at the very top of the home page if you are viewing on your computer. If not, it is here. I’ll refer to it throughout the season provided I stay on top of it, which I should, because it would be just moving names around.
Anyway, the lineup is missing Joel Blomqvist who is up in Pittsburgh for the injured Alex Nedeljkovic. Vasily Ponomarev is also injured up in Pittsburgh. Those are the only two players you could see again in Wilkes-Barre this season.
But that’s OK because Filip Larsson and Sergei Musharov are good goaltenders and they are about as strong as they will be at forward and on defense. It’s a good club, one that should contend, but don’t get your hopes too high. It is October, after all.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
New coaching, something about a renewed sense of optimism with the organization running good prospects through the pipeline. But it all can fall apart in an instant. Pittsburgh is old and not expected to contend, but they still have a guy named Crosby on their team and can upset a few apple carts along the way but they are a cold start away from upending it all and blowing it all up for a future in a few years. How does that affect the farm team on Coal Street is anyone’s guess.
I think the Penguins are favored to beat the Checkers and the Thunderbirds this weekend and a 2-0 start is within the margins of error for the Kirk MacDonald Era. Where does it go from there? What if they are down 3-0 against the Checkers at the end of the first on Saturday night?
Who knows. You bought the ticket. Now it’s time to take the ride. Strap in.
Who’s in Goal?
Toss a coin regarding Larsson and Musharov. Musharov saw a ton of preseason minutes but Larsson played the whole game Sunday against the Phantoms. I think it may be Larsson Saturday and then Musharov Sunday.
For the Checkers, expect Chris Driedger and Colten Ellis for Springfield on Sunday.
Who’s Running the Show?
Veteran ref Jim Curtin and Andrew Bell get the duties on Saturday with J.P. Waleski and Devon Gale on the lines.
Sunday in Springfield sees Beau Halkidis and Mathieu Menniti in the arm bands with Dylan Blujus and Nick Briganti on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
Home and home with Lehigh Valley, who the Penguins didn’t see till January last season. Pens are home next Friday against the Phantoms then are in Allentown for the 7:05 7:15ish start on Saturday.
Give us a bold prediction…
They get a shutout, and score a pair of power play goals in each game and start the season gangbusters.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview — The Reinforcements…
Posted by nafsnep on April 19, 2024
Sorry about the lack of coverage last weekend. These camping trips I do with my family are made months on advance. One thing about campgrounds is that they always tout Wi-Fi access but when it’s you and 75 other campers and their families, and those families have kids, it’s tough to get a good connection.
That’s why I have cats.
Anyway.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be playoff bound, so Valtteri Puustinen, Ryan Shea, Jack St. Ivany and Radim Zohorna are all be Wilkes-Barre bound.
Things are still up in the air for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins as far as seeding goes. Put it this way, if Providence finds a way to get one more point, the Penguins cannot catch the Bruins for second and the Bruins will have the first round bye. Also, the Penguins have to win out. If the Pens win out and the Bruins lose out, the Pens and Bruins would be tied in points, but since Wilkes-Barre has more ROW (regulation or overtime wins) they would get second place.
How do you feel about the Penguins and the bye? I am split. They can use the time to heal up key guys. But, you don’t want rust or any of those things creeping into the team.
I ultimately think the scenario of the Bruins losing out is more unlikely than the Penguins winning out. I will get to that in a minute.
Music to Set the Mood…
Once again this is another one of those, “type the headline for the blog post this week in youtube.com and see what happens. Here’s what I found.
Edinburgh based rock band with an exciting live presence, who write and perform their own material and at the time of writing , are looking to tour anywhere and everywhere in the next few months, before dropping a load of new songs via Infinite Hive.
I let it play a bit in the background when I was writing it. Not really my thing, but I played it longer than I would have.
A Quote…
Let ’em Cook
— Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins
That’s your playoff theme this year. The puns if they don’t go all the way would be “cooked” or, “well done” among other things.
The Setup…
Hartford on the road Friday and Lehigh Valley on the road Saturday.
The Penguins ran the win streak to seven games with home wins over Bridgeport, 5-2 on Friday and Hershey, 4-1 on Saturday before losing in Hershey on Sunday 4-1. That was a bit of a bad loss for the Penguins because both Providence and Charlotte lost on Sunday.
Hartford snapped out of their funk with a pair of wins over Springfield, 5-3 on Friday and Charlotte, 5-2 on Sunday. The Wolf Pack clinched a playoff spot last weekend and will likely be the five seed.
Lehigh Valley lost 4-1 to Hershey in Hershey on Friday then beat Bridgeport 5-4 in overtime on Saturday. The Phantoms will be in Bridgeport on Friday.
Records
Penguins are 38-23-8-1 with 85 points and are third in the Atlantic.
Hartford is 32-27-7-3 with 74 points and are fifth in the Atlantic.
Lehigh Valley is 30-30-6-3 with 69 points and are sixth in the Atlantic.
— x-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 17, 2024
This is notable because Blomqvist plays in the same division as fellow rookie Clay Stevenson of the Hershey Bears who has an astonishing seven shutouts.
— x – Wheeling Nailers (@WheelingNailers) April 18, 2024
It’s good to have a future in goal for the organization.
Check Your Surroundings…
Alright so Providence has a three in three weekend where they play a hapless but scrappy Springfield team at home Friday, a straight up hapless Bridgeport team on Saturday and host a not really much left to play for stuck in fifth place Hartford Wolf Pack team on Sunday. Remember that any point gained by Providence (or lost by the Pens) seals up a first round bye for the Bruins. That said, the records don’t really matter.
Charlotte is still buzzing around the face of the Penguins. The Checkers played Hershey own Wednesday and lost their game in hand on the Penguins with a 4-3 defeat to the Bears. They will rematch against the Bears on Saturday and then conclude their regular season against the Phantoms on Sunday.
Charlotte cannot get to second now and if the Penguins amass two more points, they can’t get to third either. If they tie, the Pens have one more ROW than the Checkers.
The Checkers are 38-25-7-0 and have 83 points in fourth place. The Checkers have 37 ROW also.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
The kids are alright, aren’t they? Avery Hayes has turned it up, Evan Vierling too. Beau Jelsma made his AHL debut last weekend and didn’t look out of place. When you are young, talented and hungry, you can go places. These kids may not know any better.
The issue for them this weekend is that a lot of their seeding fate is out of their hands. It’s unlikely they get the second seed. All they need is two more points out of their final two games and third is theirs, so there is some work to do. Alternatively, if Charlotte loses two points in any form or fashion over their next two games, third place is the Penguins.
Also, the reinforcements from Pittsburgh will likely push out some guys in the lineup. Here’s who I would bounce if I was J.D. Forrest.
Ryan Shea and Jack St. Ivany for Taylor Fedun and Isaac Belliveau. Let Belliveau eat minutes for Wheeling in ECHL playoffs.
Valtteri Puustinen and Radim Zohorna for Matt Filipe and Matt Quercia. Same story with Quercia, let him eat minutes in the ECHL in the playoffs.
Jonathan Gruden for Raivis Ansons once Gruden is healthy.
Eventually Marc Johnstone for Lukas Svejkovsky, etc. I would keep Mathieu De St. Phalle, Evan Vierling, Avery Hayes and Beau Jelsma in the lineup for asd long as possible and only replace them if you need to.
We may have a special team here. There’s scuttlebutt about a late 2000’s early 2010’s vibe about this team. Who knows. Gotta beat Hershey in Hershey, something they haven’t done all season.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
Puustinen, St. Ivany and Zohorna were sent back from Pittsburgh Thursday. Ryan Shea needed waivers, so he will likely clear and be officially assigned Friday afternoon.
Out: Peter Abbandonato, Marc Johnstone, Sam Houde, Vasily Ponomarev, Joona Koppanen, Taylor Gauthier and Jonathan Gruden were unavailable this past weekend due to injury. The news on Ty Smith wasn’t positive, longer term lower body. The hope is that Johnstone and Gruden are back sooner than later and you see Ponomarev, Abbandonato and maybe Koppanen in a few weeks, if they are still around. I think some combination of those five are vital if they were to have a prayer against Hershey.
Who’s in Goal?
No reason to start Blomqvist in back to back games. I would get Ludovic Waeber in there Friday against Hartford and let Blomqvist go against the Phantoms.
Old buddy Louis Domingue for the Wolf Pack Saturday and Felix Sandstrom for the Phantoms if you make me guess, which you have all season.
Who’s Running the Show?
Mathieu Menniti and Austin O’Rourke are the referees Friday with Jeremy Faucher and Ryan Jackson on the lines. Saturday sees Chad Ingalls and Jake Kamrass as the referees with Shawn Oliver and Kirsten Welsh on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
They are in the playoffs, but won’t know until likely Sunday night who and when they are playing, so look for something here Sunday evening.
Give us a bold prediction…
They will end up as the three seed and will have a first round date with the Phantoms. Penguins in two.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview — Where the Roads Lead…
Posted by nafsnep on April 12, 2024
As things stand, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are just four points away from the second place Providence Bruins. Yes, the Bruins have a game in hand on the Penguins and the Charlotte Checkers are tied with the Penguins in points with the same amount of games played. The Penguins, winners of five straight, seem to be heading in the right directions, all of them positive.
Wait, what’s that I smell? Chocolate. Oh, boy.
The reigning, defending, undisputed 12 time Calder Cup Champions are back on the Penguins schedule this weekend. And they are there twice.
The division and soon the entire AHL will need to run through Hershey, as the Bears locked up the Atlantic Division Championship early last week and are just three points away from winning the regular season title ensuring they have home ice against every playoff victim opponent the Bears may face this postseason.
For the Penguins, second place in the division is calling to them. The only issue is that the voice may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing which is actually a bear.
Music to Set the Mood…
Let’s hope that our road leads to a first round bye.
A Quote…
“Fire Forrest” — a lot of us
There’s a reason we are fans and that decision makers are decision makers. No matter what happens here in the next month, month and a half if we are lucky, you got to hand it to J.D. Forrest and the coaching staff of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. He’s navigated choppy waters all season long in losing his top two leading scorers in Rem Pitlick and Alex Nylander to trade and possibly his current leading scorer in Ty Smith to injury.
I don’t think the Penguins are where they are under the tutelage of anyone else other than Forrest. I was wrong, you were too, and we gotta hand it to the guy.
The Setup
Another three in three weekend with Bridgeport here Friday then a home and home with the Hershey Bears Saturday here and Sunday in Hershey.
For the Penguins, they got all six points last weekend in a three in three. An OT thriller against Cleveland on Friday, a 6-3 drubbing of the last place Islanders on Saturday then a 5-1 beatdown of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday. Newcomers Evan Vierling, Mathieu De St. Phalle and the regulars like Avery Hayes and Xavier Ouellet all stepped up huge and got this team all six points and at the doorstep of a possible first round bye.
The Islanders on Sunday lost in a shootout to the resurgent Rochester Americans 5-4. Hershey thumped the Iowa Wild 7-2 on Friday then beat the Wild in a shootout 3-2 on Saturday to continue to rack up points and get closer to the regular season title, a meaningless accomplishment for a franchise that measures itself on Calder Cups.
Records
Penguins are tied for third in the Atlantic with a 36-22-8-1 record good for 81 points and have 67 games played.
Bridgeport is last in the Atlantic with a 24-36-6-2 record good for 56 points and 68 games played.
Hershey is an astonishing 50-12-0-5 with 105 points and 67 games played.
Check Your Surroundings…
Providence is second in the Atlantic with a record of 38-19-6-3 with 85 points and 66 games played.
The Bruins came away with just two overtime loser points thanks to losses handed to them by Lehigh Valley and Rochester. The Bruins have a scrappy Utica Comets team twice at home Friday-Saturday and a flailing Springfield team in Western Massachusetts on Sunday.
The fourth place Charlotte Checkers have a 37-23-7-0 record and 81 points with 67 games played.
The Checkers swept the Hartford Wolf Pack this weekend by an aggregate score of 8-1. Old buddy Magnus Hellberg had a 20 save shutout for the Checkers on Saturday. Charlotte is in Springfield and Hartford Saturday and Sunday respectively, so on account of playing Friday, the Penguins will be in arrears to a game for the Checkers when the dust settles Sunday evening.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
I think this weekend is really the last stand they have against chasing down the first round bye because as I said Providence and Charlotte will have a game in hand on the Penguins heading into the start of next week. I think the guys in the room realize it is a very important weekend to get all six points again if they want to be contenders for the bye but playing the Category Five Superteam known as the Hershey Bears makes for a tall task.
That means Ludovic Waeber will likely see a start for the Penguins because I can’t see a scenario where Joel Blomqvist plays back to back with a travel day in between to Hershey on Sunday afternoon. Perhaps I am wrong. I very well may be.
You need to play a perfect game against the Bears if you want to have hope you are in contention at the end. They have done that back when they were toiling and we were calling for a change at the head coach position. That means limiting power play opportunities given to the Bears and limiting turnovers and general errors made. Hershey forces a ton of that, their record and run of play shows that of late. You just have to execute and keep it close in the end.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
Out: Peter Abbandonato, Marc Johnstone, Sam Houde, Vasily Ponomarev, Joona Koppanen, Taylor Gauthier and Jonathan Gruden were unavailable this past weekend due to injury. We don’t know the status of Ty Smith yet, injured Sunday.
Up: Ryan Shea, Jack St. Ivany, Valtteri Puustinen. Radim Zohorna went up Wednesday, Vinnie Hinostroza went up Thursday.
Sam Poulin was returned back to Wilkes-Barre Wednesday.
Down: Justin Addamo, Dillon Hamaliuk are in Wheeling.
Max Cajkovic, Matthew Quercia were released on Wednesday. Cajkovic was loaned to the Slovakian national team.
Lukas Svejkovsky and Taylor Gauthier are up from Wheeling and on the Coal Street roster.
More ATO’s: Emil Järventie, Kalle Kangas, Beau Jelsma were signed at various parts of this past week.
Who’s in Goal?
I think we see Ken Appleby for the Islanders and that two headed monster combo of Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson for the Bears. My gut says Ludovic Waeber Friday and Joel Blomqvist on Saturday and Sunday but my heart says otherwise.
Who’s Running the Show?
Jordan Deckard and Jordan Watt are the assigned refs Friday with J.P. Waleski and Tyler Loftus joining them on the lines.
Watt sticks around and has Taylor Burzminski join him with Bill Lyons and Jud Ritter on the lines.
Alex Łepkowski and Jordan Deckard are the assigned referees Sunday in Hershey with Justin Johnson and Richard Jondo on the lines.
A Note About Me…
I will not be at either home game this weekend due to a pre-planned camping trip to Lancaster this weekend. I’m likely not going to be able to watch Friday’s game on AHLTV, so I will do my best to cobble something together. I should have something Saturday and Sunday, though. I’ll be back for playoffs.
Looking Ahead…
Final weekend of the regular season with a stop in Hartford Friday and the season finale in Allentown against the Phantoms on Saturday.
Give us a bold prediction…
No reason to believe that they can’t run the win streak to eight and be a point or two off Providence for second. I think that if not, the Bruins and Checkers falter also and it all gets decided next weekend.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview — Soon…
Posted by nafsnep on April 5, 2024
The magic number to sew up a berth in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins is two. A win Friday against Cleveland, whom the Penguins have mastered for years, will do it for them. If not, if the Springfield Thunderbirds lose in Belleville against the Senators, the Penguins are in as well.
I’m not looking at overtime or shootout losses, that’s too much math, even for me.
Music to Set the Mood…
All of this talk of them making the playoffs…the purpose of qualifying is to win it all. Do I think they qualify for the playoffs? Yeah, it’s inevitable. Do I think they win it all?
Someday…
A Quote
Some say Better things will come our way No matter what they try to say – Lyrics from “Someday” – Sugar Ray
I think, if they do manage to qualify for playoffs, they would be favored against Hartford and/or Lehigh Valley. Charlotte I am not so sure about but of the four teams that are in position today, the Checkers make the least amount of sense because of seeding in the First Round.
As for being favored over the Providence Bruins or Hershey Bears?
Someday…
The Setup
Anyway, bloviating about playoffs is something we will save for the appropriate time, they have a three in three weekend they have to get through first starting tonight at home against Cleveland, then an afternoon Saturday visit to Bridgeport and then a Sunday home game against Lehigh Valley.
The Penguins played just one game last week, last Saturday against the Phantoms and won 4-3 in overtime after a third period game tying goal by Avery Hayes, his first AHL goal and then the game winning overtime goal from Corey Andonovski.
Cleveland dropped a pair against Rochester in a home and home which went Saturday in Cleveland (4-3 OT loss) and Wednesday in Rochester (6-1) loss. That was a big series for each because the Americans and Monsters are level on 77 points each, three off Syracuse, who leads the division.
Bridgeport has been quite active, losing 4-1 to the Checkers on Friday and then beating Charlotte 1-0 at home in overtime on Saturday, then losing 4-1 at home against Utica then winning 4-1 in Hartford on Wednesday. The Islanders are off Friday.
After losing in overtime against the Pens last Saturday as noted above, the Phantoms lost 1-0 in Hershey on Tuesday. Lehigh Valley will host Providence Friday then Cleveland on Saturday. A three in three for the Phantoms as well as they try to pursue Hartford for fifth and stay ahead of Springfield for the final playoff spot in the division.
Records
Pens are 33-22-8-1 with 75 points, good for fourth place in the Atlantic Division with 64 games played.
Cleveland is 35-23-4-3 with 77 points, good for third in the North Division with 65 games played.
Bridgeport is 24-35-6-1 with 55 points, good for last in the Atlantic with 66 games played.
Lehigh Valley is 28-27-6-3 with 65 points, good for sixth in the Atlantic with 64 games played.
Check Your Surroundings…
– Providence, in second place in the Atlantic, beat Utica 7-4 last Friday then lost 4-0 in Syracuse last Saturday. The Bruins have the Phantoms in Allentown Friday then return home to face off against the Rochester Americans on Saturday.
The Bruins are second in the Atlantic with 83 points, with 64 games played.
– Charlotte, in third in the Atlantic, noted above split a series in Bridgeport last weekend and host Hartford for a pair this weekend.
The Checkers are third in the Atlantic with 77 points, with 65 games played.
The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have 64 games played and have a game in hand against the Checkers.
Hartford has been in free fall mode, losing 6-2 last Friday at home against Springfield, 2-1 in a shootout against Hershey on Saturday and 4-1 against Bridgeport on Wednesday. They have a pair in Charlotte Friday and Saturday.
The Wolf Pack are fifth in the Atlantic with 70 points, with 65 games played.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
ATO season is upon us, with Coal Street adding Mathieu De St. Phalle, a forward out of Wisconsin and forward Logan Pietila out of Michigan Tech this week.
Joel Blomqvist went up then came back to and from Pittsburgh.
Justin Addamo and Dillon Hamaliuk were sent back to Wheeling.
Sam Poulin was recalled to Pittsburgh.
Remaining up in the NHL are Ryan Shea, Jack St. Ivany and Valtteri Puustinen.
Raivis Ansons, Owen Headrick and Lukas Svejkovsky are the longer term Wheeling recalls. I think we can consider Ansons up for good as well as Headrick to some extent.
Taylor Gauthier, Matthew Quercia, Max Cajkovic and Evan Vierling were the recalls made by Coal Street last week.
Peter Abbandonato, Marc Johnstone and Sam Houde remain out with injuries. Jagger Joshua and Vasily Ponomarev joined those three last week but I think Joshua may be good to go because he’s appearing at the last Pitt Stop next week, and they don’t normally send hurt guys to appearances.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
Do they lock up the playoff spot on their own or do they have someone do it for them? Can they make a push for third again and make any serious gains on Providence for second?
Their schedule is extremely favorable, a Cleveland team they own, especially at home, a last place Bridgeport team and a Lehigh Valley team barely hanging on to the final playoff spot in the Atlantic. Six points is not out of the realm of the reasonable this weekend for the Penguins.
Charlotte has Hartford at home twice, the Wolf Pack are one of the few teams that actually beat the Checkers in North Carolina, but the Wolf Pack can’t win to save their arse, so you use the game in hand you have on the Checkers and hope for a better fate next week, maybe.
Does Joshua return? Can they stay hot on the power play? Will there be any third period collapses again? If they are a playoff team, what kind of playoff team will they be?
Can they give any team in the division fits? Save for Providence, yeah. But this discussion is for another day.
Does Gauthier get a game this week and if so, how does he do?
Who’s in Goal?
Joel Blomqvist will get both home games and his playoff backup will start Saturday. Who will that be?
Malcolm Subban, Jakub Skarek, Felix Sandstrom for the competition.
Who’s Running the Show?
Mike Sullivan and Mike Dietrich are your referees Friday, with Richard Jondo and Patrick Dapuzzo on the lines.
Mathieu Menniti and Michael Zyla have the officiating duties Saturday in Bridgeport with Dan Kovachik and Dylan Lewis on the lines.
Sunday sees a mix of a Friday ref (Sullivan) and a Saturday ref (Zyla) with Bill Lyons and Chandler Yakimowicz on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
Cripes another three in three. Home game Friday against Bridgeport, home Saturday against Hershey and Sunday in Chocolatetown against the Bears.
Give us a bold prediction…
I’ll try to keep the next Weekend Preview under 1000 words.
WBS News
Chirps from Center Ice 