Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

AHL Power Rankings – Week 22

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings – Week 22 Posted by on March 10, 2025

Some shakeup to the top five again this week but you can pencil these teams as top ten teams the rest of the way, I think.

Let’s get right into it.

1. Laval Rocket

Last Week: 4th (up 3)
Record: 37-15-2-1

Rocket and Americans playing leap frog for tops in the North and it’s the Rocket in front this week.

2. Rochester Americans

Last Week: 1st (down 1)
Record: 34-16-3-3

Swept in Laval and that’s a four point swing for the opposition and the Amerks are chasing Laval again. 

3. Hershey Bears

Last Week: 2nd (down 1)
Record: 35-15-5

Bears can’t lose and when they aren’t playing still manage to win when teams that have games in hand on them lose those. Five clear of the rest of the division, widest lead of all the division leaders.

4. Colorado Eagles

Last Week: 3rd (down 1)
Record: 31-15-5-3

Split with Henderson and you can’t be doing that when it is so tight with the tops of the division. 

5. Coachella Valley Firebirds

Last Week: 5th (no change)
Record: 32-18-1-5

Three game win streak and 7-3 in their last ten and tied for the lead with the Eagles in the Pacific. Can the Firebirds make it all the way again?

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Power Rankings

You Got What You Want – Pens LOSE 5-1

Comments Off on You Got What You Want – Pens LOSE 5-1 Posted by on March 9, 2025

I said last night that the explosion of offense was great, but I wanted to see them win a close game.

Sunday was just that. Heading into the third period down 2-1 to the Crunch, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins run out of gas and lose 5-1.

The Penguins are playing their third game in the nights while Syracuse was off the night before. It almost doesn’t seem fair, but such is life at this level.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Laferriere for Calvert, Boris Katchouk for Joona Koppanen up front, Aho and St. Ivany for Poolman and Knyzhov.

First Period: Pens figured to need a dirty goal to beat Brandon Halverson and they get just that here when Mathias Laferriere maximizes his minutes, netting a goal.

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No power plays in the period awarded by Kurtis Pare and Riley Brace, so the Crunch needed to find another way.

They kind of lulled the Penguins to sleep and got a goal from Tristan Allard to tie the game with under five minutes to play.

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Second Period: First half of the period flew by and I think that flew by, second half slowed the pace and I think that benefitted the Crunch. Ex-Penguin Anthony Angello, acquired in a trade with Nashville / Milwaukee, scored his first with the Crunch to push the lead to 2-1.

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Larsson left a big rebound in the slot. That’s a problem for him because there have been times he has been beat when he makes the initial save and gives up a goal on a rebound.

Third Period: The juice was out of the squeeze and the bottom fell out.

Wilkes-Barre gets the first power play chance of the game but does not register a shot on Halverson, the Crunch kill it easy and then Morgan Geekie puts the moves on Mac Hollowell and suddenly the hole is deeper.

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Oof.

It was all the Crunch needed because Max Crozier scores into the empty net to make it four, then Joel Teasdale scores the conventional way on Larsson to make it five.

Three Stars: 3) Mathias Laferriere (goal) 2) Tristan Allard (goal) 1) Anthony Angello (goal, assist)

The Good: I liked the connection between Laferriere and Chase Stillman, who nearly connected for a goal in the second.

The Bad: Kinda sucks losing like this, but in playoffs (provided they get there) you aren’t playing three straight.

Turning Point: The Geekie goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley beats Charlotte 3-2. Springfield beats Bridgeport 5-2. I am not sticking around for the Hartford / Belleville result that started at 5. Box here.

Standings: Hershey 75 – Penguins and Providence 70 – Charlotte 68 – Springfield 66 – Lehigh Valley 65. Hartford has 53, pending their result with the Senators and Bridgeport has 31.

Wheeling Update: Naielrs fare no better, losing 2-0 in Glen Falls.

Video Highlights:

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Power Rankings sometime Monday, Weekend Preview here Wednesday setting up an important one against Hershey.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

Fifteen In Two, So Far — Pens WIN 8-3

Comments Off on Fifteen In Two, So Far — Pens WIN 8-3 Posted by on March 8, 2025

          vs.          

3                               8

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So if you are counting last night, where they scored seven in Hartford, eight more Saturday for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins after an 8-3 throttling of the Belleville Senators at home, that is fifteen goals in the last two games with yet another game to be played Sunday against Syracuse.

I think they are back. And getting Sam Poulin who had a third period natural hat trick to go with an assist and Joona Koppanen, who had three assists strengthens that argument. It looks like a different team at present, a team that is playing with swagger getting goals from every corner of the lineup. Twelve skaters put points on the board for the Penguins Saturday.

No, I am not going to go through every goal here, but, working backwards, here are the the video highlights:

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Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Stillman made his WBS debut for Mathias Laferriere up front and Sebastian Aho had a planned day off and was replaced by Colton Poolman on defense. Jack St. Ivany was sent back to Wilkes-Barre and Gabe Klassen and Matty De St. Phalle went back to Wheeling.

First Period: Penguins on the board first with a power play goal from Rutger McGroarty and Wilkes-Barre was off and running.

I know I said I wasn’t going to post every goal, but I have to post this one here where Avery Hayes sauced a loooooooong pass to Vasily Ponomarev for a goal and a 2-0 lead.

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But then Angus Crookshank beat Sergei Murashov for a goal and the B-Sens were on the board.

It would become a trend for a bit.

Second Period: Here’s Avery Hayes feeding Ville Koivunen for a goal and the entire arena drowning in the sauce on the pass from Hayes.

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But then Zack MacEwen bled a shot through Murashov that made it a one goal affair again for the visitors.

Tristan Broz answers for a goal, his first in a bit, and that was the end of Leevi Meriläinen, enter Malcom Subban…

…who gives up a goal on the first shot he sees off the stick of Nikolai Knyzhov, and it’s 5-2 Penguins.

It was here that the thought of the team being back hit me. Getting a goal from a defensive defenseman like Knyzhov? Getting goals from all over the place, too? Yeah. I think we need to get the word out there, we are back up.

Third Period: MacEwen gets Murashov again to give the B-Sens a faint hope and it’s a two goal lead again. We aren’t doing this again, are we?

Sam Poulin said nope.

A natural hat trick for Poulin, with him capping it off with 6.3 seconds left and it’s fifteen goals scored for the Penguins.

Three Stars: 3) Joona Koppanen (three assists) 2) Ville Koivunen (goal, two assists) 1) Sam Poulin (hat trick, assist)

The Good: They are drubbing opponents right now at an opportune part of the season.

The Bad: I want to see them win a tight game. I know it isn’t related to the category, but I want to see. them win a nailbiter.

Turning Point: The Knyzhov goal gets it here because that is when the epiphany of, “we are back” hit me.

Around the Division: Hershey and Charlotte win their respective games over Cleveland and Lehigh Valley. Springfield beats Providence 2-1 clean and Toronto beats Bridgeport in OT 3-2.

Standings: Hershey 75 – Penguins 70 – Providence 70 – Charlotte 68 – Springfield 64 – Lehigh Valley 63 – Hartford 53 – Bridgeport 31

Wheeling Update: Nailers get revenge on Adirondack beating them 6-4. Instant impact for Matty De St. Phalle, who had a goal and two assists.

I gave you the video highlights above.

Don’t forget to turn the clocks forward.

More tomorrow with Syracuse.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

RAPID RECAP: Penguins 7, Hartford 1

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP: Penguins 7, Hartford 1 Posted by on March 7, 2025

Bringing the Rapid Recap out of the moth balls for a night to briefly touch on Friday’s throttling of the Hartford Wolf Pack by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. Pens win 7-1. I don’t think it is a bellwether of the weekend, though, because Hartford is a bad team.

Seven different scorers for the Penguins in the form of Mathias Laferrière, Avery Hayes, Valterri Puustinen, Vasily Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, Atley Calvert and Rutger McGroarty.

An array of depth (Laferrière, Calvert) scoring, some secondary (McGroarty, Hayes) and top line (Puustinen, Koivunen, Ponomarev) scoring as well. A balanced night.

Filip Larsson stopped 24 of 25, with Nathan Sucese getting him in the first period.

The Pens trailed 1-0 after one, but got goals :31 apart in the second and :37 apart in the third to break it wide open.

Nikolai Knyzhov had three assists for a guy who has been a scratch the last ten games. No reason to take him out of the lineup whatsoever. He’s steady.

For posterity and because I use this to compare / contrast the next lineup, here’s how they lined up:

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1898154611174785075

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Lineup Notes: Koppanen, Poulin back. Gabe Klassen and Boris Katchouk out of the lineup. Knyzhov took the place of Jack St. Ivany who went up as insurance for Pittsburgh.

NHL trade deadline saw the Pittsburgh Penguins amass a ton of draft picks. The only collateral loss is Jonathan Gruden to New Jersey. I liked the kid. A pot stirrer. He will be good in Utica / New Jersey.

Out of town, Hershey and Providence win to stay ahead of the Pens the same amount of points as they came into the day. Charlotte was idle.

Back to a more conventional write-up Saturday.

Let’s Go Pens!

Rapid Recap

Weekend Preview – Spring Forward!

Comments Off on Weekend Preview – Spring Forward! Posted by on March 7, 2025

Another three in three for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton and a Sunday home game where we turn the clocks ahead an hour which means we lose an hour of sleep. A peaceful Sunday will have an hour cut off from it with a Sunday home game. Fantastic.

I don’t know where you stand on Daylight Savings Time. I have no problem with it and don’t see what’s so inconvenient with falling back in the Fall and springing forward in the Spring. I take it as a passage of good (Spring – Summer) vs. evil (Fall – Winter)

Music to Set the Mood…

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Full disclosure here, not a Sheeran fan only on account of where I go to listen to music he isn’t featured. So I guess I am agnostic to it. Again it’s the first things I type into a YouTube search that I run with here.

A Quote…

In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.
Mark Twain

I can see it. March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.

The Setup

Road trip to Hartford Friday, home against Belleville Saturday and again on Sunday against the Crunch.

They lost 5-2 last Wednesday to Rochester in a game they were straight outclassed from the start. It seemed they did everything right but were beat by a better team.

They got right in Syracuse on Saturday, shutting out the Crunch 2-0.

Saturday, in a game I am still hot about, they had a 3-0 lead evaporate on them as they crumbled under the intense pressure that the Hershey Bears put on them. Bears tied it 3-3, Pens score 8 seconds later to go ahead but lose 5-4 in overtime. That ended up being Tristan Jarry’s swan song, as he was recalled to Pittsburgh Tuesday.

This past Tuesday, Belleville comes in and throttles the Pens 4-1. Wilkes-Barre looked great the first ten minutes then lost the final fifty.

Opponent wise, Hartford won in Bridgeport 6-3 to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. Providence beat them 5-2 Sunday and Utica clipped them in a shootout on Saturday.

Belleville loses 4-1 in Laval on Saturday, trounces Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday 4-1 and then does the same to the Hershey Bears the very next night to the tune of 6-2 on Wednesday. They are idle Friday.

Syracuse lost in a shootout against Rochester Saturday. They fared better against the Amerks than we did, getting a point but we shut the Crunch out. Maddening. Syracuse loses.   in OT against Utica Sunday. They are back in Utica Friday, off Saturday then here Sunday.

Records

Pens are third in the Atlantic with a 29-15-7-1 record good for 66 points.

Hartford is seventh in the Atlantic  with a 23-26-5-2 record and on 53 points.

Belleville is fifth in the North Division with a 26-19-4-4 record good for 60 points.

Syracuse is sixth in the North with a 23-18-8-4 record and on 58 points.

This is through Friday, March 7.

Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?

Hey, there it is! I omitted this by accident last week.

Sebastian Aho returned form injury Tuesday…Isaac Belliveau was sent to Wheeling…Scooter Brickey is injured (day to day)…Gabe Klassen is up from Wheeling…Sergei Murashov is too…Tristan Jarry went up to Pittsburgh and Joel Blomqvist returned to Wilkes-Barre but didn’t dress Tuesday….Joona Koppanen, Jonathn Gruden and Sam Poulin are day to day with injuries.

The Roster Tracker page has all the updates. For now, since this is the NHL trade deadline.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

A month ago this team blitzkriegs these cupcakes by multiple goals and sweeps the week easily. Now? Not so much.

I think it is apparent they lack straw stirrers like Gruden, Koppanen and Poulin. Gruden the most followed by Poulin because I think he is more refined than Koppanen.

Depending on how you look at things, they are either five points out of a playoff spot or five points from the top of the division. It’s a little bit of both and I know that sounds like a cop out, but it is.

Listen, it isn’t easy. This is the “grind” part of the season. They simply have to grind points at this point and keep their heads above water. Can they? Running it back against Belleville and Syracuse I think will tell the tale. I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in Hartford because they have been in a tailspin for months. Finding a way to beat Belleville is a must on home ice and then trying to duplicate what worked against a stingy team like Syracuse on Sunday on one hour less sleep isn’t going to be easy, but that’s why I suppose Kirk MacDonald makes the big bucks.

Getting some combination of Gruden, Poulin or Koppanen or better yet, all three this weekend, would be a huge kick in the ass this team desperately needs.

Who’s in Goal?

Good question. Do they let all three get a game this weekend? If so I would go Blomqvist, Murashov, Larsson. I think that’s crazy, by the way, but we will see.

Louis Domingue, Leevi Meriläinen, Brandon Halverson is my guess for the opposition.

Who’s Running the Show?

Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Brody Sutter have the assignment Friday in Hartford with Nick Briganti and Trevor Disbennett on the lines.

Saturday sees Riley Brace and Kurtis Pare with Robert Peterkin and John Rey on the lines. Wilkes-Barre debut for Pare I believe.

If you guessed Pare and Brace again Sunday, you’re right. I see the AHL is racking up those hotel points by keeping the same dudes marooned in Wilkes-Barre for 48 hours. Chandler Yakimowicz and John Rey are on the lines.

Looking Ahead…

Wednesday at home against Hershey then a Friday and Sunday in Alletown. More Sunday games, fantastic!

Give us a bold prediction…

The year is 2030. Referee Jonathan Gruden is working his ninth straight game in Wilkes-Barre in some kind of an obscure record that hasn’t been broken in the AHL for years. It happens on a Sunday, the third Sunday home game in a row for the Penguins.

Weekend Preview

Tin Man Arguments — Pens LOSE 4-1

Comments Off on Tin Man Arguments — Pens LOSE 4-1 Posted by on March 4, 2025

         vs.          

4                                1

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The idea of the headline is that when I got back into the car to head home after watching the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins lose 4-1 to the Belleville Senators on Tuesday, America’s “Tin Man” was playing on SiriusXM Radio. It’s a song I commonly hear out by the pool on a lazy summer afternoon listening to Yacht Rock Radio.

So I looked up the idea of a Tin Man Argument and I think I am onto something here. You are defending a position or an argument that doesn’t hold in the end.

Tuesday, the Penguins blitzed the Belleville Senators to a 7-2 shot count which included an Atley Calvert tip in of of a Matt Nieto shot. Belleville’s Leevi Meriläinen was under siege while the Penguins Filip Larsson was in his crease knitting a sweater. It looked like the Penguins were on cruise control.

But then Valterri Puustinen was slashed, or wasn’t, which led to a rush up the ice and Hayden Hodgson scoring a goal that tied the game and changed the complexity of the game entirely.

That’s because the Senators would get called for a penalty and go on to score a shorthanded goal from Zack Ostapchuk which afforded them a lead and Meriläinen to settle and dial in. Belleville never looked back from there. In the second Xavier Bourgault pounded on a juicy rebound of a shot saved by Larsson from Jorian Donovan and it was. then 3-1.

Wilkes-Barre continued to pepper Meriläinen to the tune of 15 shots in the third, but could not get another one past him. With Larsson pulled, Maxence Guenette scored a 190 foot empty net goal.

I looked up Meriläinen’s stats. 11-5-3 with 3 shutouts coming in on 23 games played. He’s good. The Senators would be in a much better position in the North Division standings if he played more. He may have been hurt because I believe this is the first time the Pens saw him all season.

Wilkes-Barre is missing straw stirrers such as Joona Koppanen and Jonathan Gruden who I heard from someone who was slightly later than I to the game are day to day. Good, because this little slide here started when Gruden went out of the lineup. The sooner this pair is back, the better.

Wilkes-Barre went 0/2 on the power play, giving up a shorthanded goal in the first and failing much offense late in the third down a pair. Belleville didn’t have a power play all game. A rare good game from ref Rob Hennessey, depending on who you ask and how much of a slash / no slash there was on Puustinen in the first.

Here’s how they lined up…

Notes: Laferriere for De St. Phalle up front and Aho returning from injury for Brickey, who was put on the injured list. Sergei Murashov backed up tonight, being recalled earlier in the day. Tristan Jarry went up, Joel Blomqvist came down.

Here’s the goals in the order they were scored.

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Three Stars: 3) Atley Calvert (goal) 2) Jorian Donovan (two assists) 1) Zack Ostapchuk (goal)

The Good: I think they stunk top to bottom.

The Bad: 0/2 on the power play and giving up a shorthanded goal in an otherwise tight affair.

Turning Point: Ostapchuk’s shorthanded goal sucked all the air out of the balloon in one fell swoop. Leevi Meriläinen locked it down from there.

Around the Division: Springfield does the Pens a solid, shutting out Charlotte 3-0.

Standings: Hershey 71 – Providence 68 – Penguins 66 – Charlotte 64 – Lehigh Valley 63 – Springfield 62 – Hartford 51 – Bridgeport 30

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

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Back at it Friday in Hartford. I’ll probably run the Weekend Preview in the morning to stay out of the noise which is the NHL Trade Deadline.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: vs. Belleville 3/4

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Belleville 3/4 Posted by on March 4, 2025

This game is kind of on an island by itself being a makeup game from January 18, and with another three in three for the Pens next week, the Weekend Preview will return Friday afternoon.

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Who: Belleville Senators

Where: Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game: Saturday in Hershey the Pens had a 3-0 lead on the Bears but lost 5-4 in overtime. Yeah, I am still hot about it. For Belleville, they were in Laval Saturday and lost 4-1.

Last Meeting: January 12 in Belleville, the Pens lost 4-3. This was the beginning of the, “can’t hold onto a lead” stigma that irks this team, as Wilkes-Barre had a 2-1 lead heading into the third, Belleville scores :33 in to tie it, Emil Bemstrom scores to make it 3-2 but then the Senators storm back to tie it and then Wyatt Bongiovanni scores a power play goal with three seconds left to stun the Pens and take the full two points.

Record: For WBS: 29-14-7-1 (66 pts., 3rd place Atlantic) — For BEL: 24-19-4-4 (56 pts., 6th place North)

Referees: Rob Hennessey / Austin O’Rourke

Linesmen: J.P. Waleski / Chandler Yakimowicz

Why You Should Care: I want a full circle moment here. The beginning of the “no lead is safe” mantra started the last time the Pens saw Belleville and continued Saturday in Hershey when the Bears won in OT. Wilkes-Barre is better than Belleville in all facets and should put this team away easily, but they don’t play games on paper.

Listen: Nick Hart on the call on WILK.

Watch: AHLTV on FloHockey

Next Five Games: @ HFD 3/7, vs. BEL 3/8, vs. SYR 3/9, vs. HER 3/12, @ LV 3/14

Gameday

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