Chirps from Center Ice

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

Birds Battle — Pens WIN 3-2 (SO)

Comments Off on Birds Battle — Pens WIN 3-2 (SO) Posted by on October 6, 2018

       vs.       

2                                          3

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This one was fun.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins battled the Springfield Thunderbirds tooth and nail tonight in Wilkes-Barre for the Penguins season opener. The Thunderbirds are going to be good this year and Michael Hutchinson is going to win them a lot of games. They didn’t disappoint, but it was the Penguins coming away with the two points with a 3-2 shootout win over Springfield.

When Tristan Jarry was re-assigned by Pittsburgh Friday, I thought that was the end of Anthony Peters here in Wilkes-Barre with John Muse already here on an NHL contract.

You will have to pry Anthony Peters out of the net with a crowbar. He was excellent. Sending him to the ECHL would be a waste of his talents, quite honestly.

Zach Aston-Reese didn’t have the best training camp with Pittsburgh so they sent him back to the AHL to work on things. Scoring a goal in regulation? Check. Scoring a goal in the shootout to help your team win? Check.

The only bit of concern was once again the power play. Wilkes-Barre could not score on the power play at opportune times and was 0-for-4 for the night.

Lines were…

Garrett Wilson / Adam Johnson / Jimmy Hayes
Zach Aston-Reese / Sam Lafferty / Anthony  Angello
Thomas Di Pauli / Teddy Blueger / Ryan Haggerty
Tobias Lindberg / Linus Ölund / Sam Miletic

Chris Summers / Stefan Elliott
Will O’Neill / Zach Trotman
Matt Abt / Ethan Prow

Anthony Peters / John Muse

Notes: The Penguins signed Matt Abt and Renars Krastenbergs to AHL contracts. Krastenbergs was sent to Wheeling….also this:

https://twitter.com/ScottStuccio/status/1048693147637874688

I knew that this was going to happen when Obie moved on leaving a spot open on color commentary. Stuccio won’t be at all the games, but will be filling in from time to time and it’s great to have him back.

First Period: Had everything. Goals, fights, more goals, more fights. Thomas DiPauli spilled a puck in the first minute of the game and Paul Thompson struck just :36 into the new season.

Thank you again to Taylor for first GIFing these things and second allowing me to run them here.

Ethan Prow scored the first Penguins goal of the season a few minutes later for the Penguins on a shot from the point that Hutchinson had to have been screened on and it was a tie game.

Zach Aston-Reese got the Penguins ahead with a nice curl and drag move here.

Hutchinson got most of it, but not all of it.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Garrett Wilson and Joel Lowry fought setting off an end of a period that had featured 46 PIMs.

Springfield’s penalty box had about six players in it at one point but the Penguins weren’t able to score on the power play. I said this at the end of the period…

Second Period: Thunderbirds connect on a power play half way through when a pin balling puck eludes Peters. Paul Thompson again, and it’s a brand new hockey game…

Penguins had a scare late when a puck dribbled through Peters but never crossed the line entirely. Pens killed a late power play and it was off to the…

Third Period: Goalie battle. Neither willing to give an inch. Michael Hutchinson was an offseason acquisition for the Florida Panthers from the Winnipeg Jets / Manitoba Moose and comes as good as his accolades with the Moose last year showed. But staring him down from 200 feet in the opposite direction was Anthony Peters, no slouch in his own right. No team scored here in the third, the Penguins had a late power play come and go.

Overtime: Anthony Peters with a ten baller here…

Aston-Reese came inches from ending it with 1.7 left but couldn’t get the extra oomph (I can say oomph on a blog, you couldn’t do that in a newspaper) to put it across the line and be the overtime hero.

Shootout: Zach Aston-Reese with the only goal. Anthony Peters stopped all three shooters he faced.

Three Stars: 

That graphic there saves me time. If anyone on Coal Street reads the blog, please keep doing this.

Around the Division: Charlotte, with an impressive weekend, sweeps a two game series with Rochester after a 4-2 win over the Amerks in Rochester tonight…Lehigh Valley beats a Bridgeport team that is built to contend 6-3…Providence coughs up a stunning 3-2 loss to the Laval Rocket, the Bruins are 0-2 to start the year…Hershey has their home opener spoiled by Syracuse with a 3-2 loss. Hartford was off.

Standings: Early days. No more percentages. It goes Charlotte with 4, Lehigh Valley, Hartford and Wilkes-Barre with 2, Springfield with 1 and Bridgeport, Hershey and Providence with 0.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are still in preseason, they get going next weekend.

If Coal Street runs a highlight package, I will edit it in here. I am probably going to cut my own for road games and stuff with the AHLTV platform. But it’s late, there were audio issues on AHLTV tonight in house and I want to get this gamer out at a reasonable hour so I could sit and cut up the stuff, but would rather just push this out now vs. try to do it all and and add it in.

Pens are off til Monday. My Power Rankings won’t run until Thursday. I am moving them there, for now, to see how it goes for me. It became way to strenuous on me on Sunday night’s trying to sort out and build the Rankings. Sometimes I would be sitting at the computer for 6 plus hours if the Penguins were playing on Sunday’s. I don’t want to do that anymore so Thursday it is. We will see how it goes.

Pens plan on making roster moves before they hit the road for two in Cleveland next weekend so when that news breaks, look for it here. Those games in Cleveland are next Thursday and Saturday.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 3-2 (SO)

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 3-2 (SO) Posted by on October 6, 2018

Pain that it ended in a shootout, cause these two teams match up well.

Goalie battle for the ages. Michael Hutchinson and Anthony Peters were outstanding. Penguins have three goalies on the roster, Peters you would think is the odd man out, he’s earned his stay here in Wilkes-Barre.

Springfield is going to be good this year. Their play and their goaltender will win them a lot of games.

Zach Aston-Reese had a regulation and shootout goal and the Penguins take the extra point.

Full work up in a bit.

Rapid Recap

GAMEDAY: vs. Springfield 10/6

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Springfield 10/6 Posted by on October 6, 2018

vs.     

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Who: Springfield Thunderbirds

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game: This is the first regular season game for both teams.

Record: For WBS: 0-0-0-0 (– pts., – place Atlantic Division) // For SPR: 0-0-0-0 (– pts., – place Atlantic Division)

Referee(s): Conor O’Donnell / Mike Sheehan

Linesmen: Ryan Knapp / J.P. Waleski

Why You Should Care: First game of the season always brings optimism. Standing in the way is a vastly improved in offseason Springfield Thunderbirds team that could contend this season. Take nothing from the 3-0 preseason that the Penguins played last weekend. The real season starts tonight against a very dangerous Springfield Thunderbirds team.

Listen: Nick Hart on the call on WILK.

Watch: AHLTV is new and improved and a lot cheaper.

Promotion(s): Opening Night / Geisinger Magnetic Schedule

Other Game to Watch: Lehigh Valley opens their Atlantic Division Championship defense against another strong and rebuilt team from the offseason in the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Next Five Games: @ CLE 10/11, @ CLE 10/13, vs. HER 10/17, @ LV 10/19, vs. LV 10/20

Gameday

Oh Captain!

1 Comment Posted by on October 5, 2018

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins made the worst kept secret official Thursday afternoon when they announced that Garrett Wilson was named playing captain for the 2018-19 season. Chris Summers will serve as the alternate and they will rotate the third “A”.

Good on Wilson, who is seen as a leader on and off the ice.

Wilson joins a number of ex-Penguins to wear the, “C” around the AHL. Colin McDonald is captain in Lehigh Valley, Kevin Porter in Rochester and yesterday the Milwaukee Admirals named Jarred Tinordi their captain.

Philip Samuelsson signed on with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Samuelsson led AHL defenders in +/- last season and this is a big time get for the reigning, defending, undisputed Atlantic Division Champions in Lehigh Valley. Wilkes-Barre sees the Phantoms twice in October.

That’s all. If something breaks later I’ll have a blurb. If not, tonight is opening night in the AHL. I will be playing around with the new AHLTV streaming that the League touted this summer on the computer, my iPhone and Apple TV.

EDIT: Tristan Jarry was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre by Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon. Interesting decisions ahead now for the coaching staff on Coal Street regarding who to start in goal and who to cut. In my opinion, at least in the short term, the answer is simple. It’s John Muse. Peters will be assigned to Cincinnati of the ECHL (who have his rights) sometime next week when the ECHL’s regular season gets going a week from now. When in doubt, go with the guy(s) with the NHL contracts.

Oh, and on the subject of ex-Penguins as Captains elsewhere in the AHL, Derrick in the comments below reminded me of Paul Thompson and the Springfield Thunderbirds. Add another name, as Cal O’Reilly was named captain of the Iowa Wild in advance of their opener Friday with the Manitoba Moose.

Gameday setup for Saturday’s opener hits here Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

The AHL, WBS

2018-19 AHL Previews – Atlantic Division

Comments Off on 2018-19 AHL Previews – Atlantic Division Posted by on October 4, 2018

 

We conclude our Chirps from Center Ice 2018-19 AHL Previews with a look in familiar territory, the Atlantic Division. If you missed the division previews this week in the Pacific, Central and North, use the drop down menu at the top of the blog.

Every division prior to the Atlantic had a change of some kind. Not here. No additions, contractions or affiliation changes. Wilkes-Barre plays every team in this division multiple times with those games being played in Wilkes-Barre listed in bold.

Let’s finish up…

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NHL Affiliation: New York Islanders

Record: 36-32-5-3 (80 points, 5th place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Brent Thompson 

Arena: Webster Bank Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Worcester Railers

Offseason Moves: Chris Bourque, Matt Lorito, Jeremy Smith, Mike Sislo

The Case For: Big time signings by the Sound Tigers this offseason. Bridgeport will have a lot of firepower up front and are loaded coming out of the gate.

The Case Against: Bridgeport always finds a way to miss the playoffs. 

Social Media: @TheSoundTigers / /soundtigers / soundtigers

Broadcaster: Alan Fuehring

vs. WBS: 11/4, 12/8, 12/16, 12/19, 1/23, 2/2, 4/2, 4/13

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NHL Affiliation: Carolina Hurricanes

Record: 46-26-1-3 (96 points, 3rd place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Lost in five games to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the Atlantic Division Finals.

Head Coach: Mike Vellucci

Arena: Bojangles’ Coliseum

ECHL Affiliation: Florida Everblades

Offseason Moves: Jamie Phillips, Zach Nastasiuk, Dan Renouf, Kyle Platzer

The Case For: Good veteran signings coming in for Charlotte. Checkers will be good again this year. 

The Case Against: So many more improved teams in the division. Will Charlotte be able to keep up?

Social Media: @CheckersHockey / /checkershockey / checkershockey

Broadcaster: Jason Shaya

vs. WBS: 11/16, 11/17, 1/11, 1/12

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NHL Affiliation: New York Rangers

Record: 34-33-6-3 (77 points, 6th place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Keith McCambridge

Arena: XL Center

ECHL Affiliation: Maine Mariners

Offseason Moves: Bobby Butler, Dustin Tokarski

The Case For: Seems like an already bad Hartford team from last year lost more than they gained this offseason, still though, anything can happen.

The Case Against: Improved Bridgeport and Springfield teams are going to batter the Wolf Pack, not even mentioning divisional foes like Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre / Scranton. Could be a long year in Hartford.

Social Media: @WolfPackAHL / /HartfordWolfPack / hartford_wolfpack

Broadcaster: Bob Crawford

vs. WBS: 11/2, 11/3, 11/10, 2/17, 3/6, 3/8

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NHL Affiliation: Washington Capitals

Record: 30-37-4-5 (69 points, 8th place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Spencer Carbery

Arena: Giant Center

ECHL Affiliation: South Carolina Stingrays

Offseason Moves: Jayson Megna, Logan Pyett, Mike Sgarbossa

The Case For: With a new head coach coming in this season, don’t expect the Bears to finish last this year.

The Case Against: All that said, with all the upgrades happening around the division and outside, don’t expect the Bears to be a playoff contending team.

Social Media: @TheHersheyBears / /TheHersheyBears / thehersheybears

Broadcaster: Zack Fisch

vs. WBS: 10/17, 10/26, 10/27, 11/24, 11/28, 12/9, 12/21, 12/28, 1/19, 2/13, 2/22, 3/19

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NHL Affiliation: Philadelphia Flyers

Record: 47-19-5-5 (104 points, 1st place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Swept in four games by the Toronto Marlies in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Head Coach: Scott Gordon

Arena: PPL Center

ECHL Affiliation: Reading Royals

Offseason Moves: Zach Palmquist

The Case For: Not a lot of offseason noise for the Phantoms, but they are a young and up and coming team filled to the brim with prospects ready to take the next step. Expect Lehigh Valley to contend again this year.

The Case Against: It’s probably going to be tough to repeat as division champs and even harder to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals like the Phantoms did last year. Do they have it in them? Time will tell.

Social Media: @LVPhantoms / /LehighValleyPhantoms / lehighvalleyphantoms

Broadcaster: Bob Rotruck

vs. WBS: 10/19, 10/20, 12/15, 12/26, 12/29, 1/21, 3/6, 3/13, 3/22, 3/23, 4/6, 4/7

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NHL Affiliation: Boston Bruins

Record: 45-26-3-2 (95 points, 4th place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Lost in four games to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Head Coach: Jay Leach

Arena: Dunkin’ Donuts Center

ECHL Affiliation: Atlanta Gladiators

Offseason Moves: Austin Fyten, Mark McNeill, Cody Goloubef

The Case For: Providence is always constantly good.

The Case Against: Consistently good may not be enough when you have a Springfield team that looks great and a Bridgeport team that may score six goals a night or more. 

Social Media: @AHLBruins / /providencebruins / providencebruins

Broadcaster: Only AHL team without one.

vs. WBS: 11/9, 11/11, 11/25, 3/1, 3/16, 3/27

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NHL Affiliation: Florida Panthers

Record: 32-37-5-2 (71 points, 7th place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Geordie Kinnear

Arena: Mass Mutual Center 

ECHL Affiliation: None

Offseason Moves: Chris Driedger, Mike Hutchinson, Jacob MacDonald, Julian Melchiori, Matt Mangene, Harry Zolnierczyk, Paul Thompson

The Case For: You want a preseason favorite? Look no further than Springfield. Completely rebuilt and retooled at every division, the Thunderbirds should contend all season and compete for a division title.

The Case Against: It may be hard to look for one on paper, but as we have seen with countless other teams who’ve rebuild from the ground up with hopes of contending, the proof will be in the product.

Social Media: @thunderbirdsahl / /thunderbirdsahl / thunderbirdsahl

Broadcaster: Ryan Smith

vs. WBS: 10/6, 11/14, 11/23, 12/12, 3/24, 3/30

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NHL Affiliation: Pittsburgh Penguins

Record: 45-22-6-3 (99 points, 2nd place Atlantic Division)

Playoffs: Swept in three games by the Charlotte Checkers in the Atlantic Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Clark Donatelli

Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

ECHL Affiliation: Wheeling Nailers

Offseason Moves: John Muse, Will O’Neill, Stefan Elliot, Jimmy Hayes

The Case For: Top end offensive firepower with a strong defensive corps should have the Penguins in the mix all season long.

The Case Against: Youth and the lack of as high end prospect with Daniel Sprong likely graduated. That and the power play which has been a punch line to a joke in Northeastern PA could have the Penguins playing from behind every now and again.

Social Media: @WBSPenguins / /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins / wbspenguins

Broadcaster: Nick Hart

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That does it for another year of AHL Previews. I hope you enjoyed reading them. If you have a team going tomorrow, good luck. The Gameday setup for the Penguins Saturday home opener against the Springfield Thunderbirds hits the blog Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

The AHL

2018-19 AHL Previews – North Division

Comments Off on 2018-19 AHL Previews – North Division Posted by on October 3, 2018

 

Welcome to Day Three of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews for the 2018-19 season. Today, we find ourselves in the North Division. On Monday we started in the Pacific Division and yesterday we covered the Central Division.

No affiliation changes here, Cleveland comes over from the Western Conference. Penguins play everyone in this division at least twice but for the Laval Rocket and Belleville Senators whom they do not play at all. Home games listed in bold.

Let’s get after it…

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NHL Affiliation: Ottawa Senators

Record: 29-42-2-3 (63 points, 6th place North Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Troy Mann

Arena: CAA Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Brampton Beast

Offseason Moves: Rudolfs Balcers, Chase Balisy, Paul Carey, Joseph Labate, Mike McKenna, Adam Tambellini

The Case For: No team completely rebuilt from the ground up like Belleville did this offseason. These signings are for real and the Senators should compete this season.

The Case Against: With Ottawa in full and complete rebuild, how much of that tumult trickles down to Belleville? 

Social Media: @BellevilleSens / /BellevilleSens / bellevillesens

Broadcaster: David Foot

vs. WBS: Do not play.

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NHL Affiliation: New Jersey Devils

Record: 25-38-9-4 (63 points, 5th place North Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Mark Dennehy

Arena: Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Adirondack Thunder

Offseason Moves: Kurtis Gabriel, Eric Tangradi, Eric Gryba

The Case For: Really nice signings for the Devils as they compete on the Southern Tier in the sophomore season under the New Jersey affiliation. Binghamton could surprise a few in the North Division this season.

The Case Against: Belleville is totally retooled, Toronto its coming off of a Calder Cup, Rochester and Syracuse are set to be solid. There is only so much room at the table. Is Binghamton really going to be a player this season? That is a question which has yet to be answered.

Social Media: @BingDevils / /BingDevils  / bingdevils

Broadcaster: Rob Lippolis

vs. WBS: 12/31, 1/26, 4/5, 4/14

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NHL Affiliation: Columbus Blue Jackets

Record: 25-41-7-3 (60 points, 7th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: John Madden

Arena: Quicken Loans Arena

ECHL Affiliation: None

Offseason Moves: J-F Berube, Tommy Cross, Adam Clendening, Dan DeSalvo, Dillon Simpson

The Case For: Getting out of the ever competitive Central is one.

The Case Against: Moving into the ultra competitive North Division is the other.

Social Media: @monstershockey / /monstershockey / monstershockey

Broadcaster: Tony Brown

vs. WBS: 10/11, 10/13, 12/7, 2/1

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NHL Affiliation: Montreal Canadiens

Record: 24-42-7-3 (58 points, 7th place North Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Joël Bouchard

Arena: Place Bell

ECHL Affiliation: None

Offseason Moves: Kenny Agostino, Alex Grenier, Martin Lamarche, Matt Peca, Xavier Ouellet

The Case For: Solid signings with one time league MVP in Agostino and another with Alex Grenier. Laval shouldn’t be a pushover this season.

The Case Against: Putting it all together is half of the battle. Getting it all to click is the other. Can Laval compete and win right out of the gate?

Social Media: @RocketLaval / /RocketLaval / rocketlaval

Broadcaster: Anthony Marcotte

vs. WBS: Do not play.

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NHL Affiliation: Buffalo Sabres

Record: 37-22-11-6 (91 points, 3rd place North Division)

Playoffs: Swept in three games by the Syracuse Crunch in the North Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Chris Taylor

Arena: Blue Cross Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Cincinnati Cyclones

Offseason Moves: Yannick Veilleux, Scott Wedgewood, Tyler Randell, Wayne Simpson

The Case For: The Amerks contended and were a strong team for much of 2017-18. You should expect that to continue in 2018-19.

The Case Against: If we were to pick a team that made playoffs in the North last year to miss playoffs this year, there may be a few fingers pointing in Rochesters direction.

Social Media: @AmerksHockey / /RochesterAmericans / amerkshockey

Broadcaster: Don Stevens

vs. WBS: 11/30, 1/18

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NHL Affiliation: Tampa Bay Lightning

Record: 46-22-3-5 (100 points, 2nd place North Division)

Playoffs: Swept in four games by the Toronto Marlies in the North Division Finals.

Head Coach: Benoit Groulx

Arena: Oncenter War Memorial Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Orlando Solar Bears 

Offseason Moves: Cameron Gaunce

The Case For: Syracuse should be good this year, always a solid team and one that makes you battle for everything.

The Case Against: It’s a new day, yes it is with fresh new blood coming out from Laval, Belleville and Binghamton. If the Crunch have a winning record against these teams at the end of the season, they are probably a playoff team. If not, then they may just miss out.

Social Media: @SyracuseCrunch / /syracusecrunch / syracusecrunch

Broadcaster: Lukas Favale

vs. WBS: 12/22, 3/9

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NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs

Record: 54-18-2-2 (112 points, 1st place North Division)

Playoffs:  Won Calder Cup in seven games over the Texas Stars.

Head Coach: Sheldon Keefe

Arena: Coca-Cola Coliseum

ECHL Affiliation: Newfoundland Growlers

Offseason Moves: Adam Cracknell, Josh Jooris, Emerson Clark, Stefan Leblanc, Eamon McAdam, Jordan Subban

The Case For: Defending champs reload for another run at Calder.

The Case Against: Defending champs almost never repeat and win a consecutive Calder.

Social Media: @TorontoMarlies / /TorontoMarlies / torontomarlies

Broadcaster: Todd Crocker

vs. WBS: 12/1, 3/17

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NHL Affiliation: Vancouver Canucks

Record: 38-26-8-4 (88 points, 4th place North Division)

Playoffs: Lost in five games to the Toronto Marlies in the North Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Trent Cull

Arena: Adirondack Bank Center

ECHL Affiliation: Kalamazoo Wings

Offseason Moves: Tanner Kero, Jesse Graham, Ivan Kulbakov

The Case For: Comets bring in some solid signings this season who can keep Utica a threat all year in the North Division.

The Case Against: Competition in the North is going to be fierce this season. No room for slip ups in Utica this season. Doing so, and the Comets could fall behind and get trapped out come the Spring.

Social Media: @UticaComets / /UticaComets / uticacomets

Broadcaster: Joe Roberts

vs. WBS: 2/16, 4/12

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Back tomorrow to close out the previews with a look at the Atlantic Division.

The AHL

2018-19 AHL Previews – Central Division

Comments Off on 2018-19 AHL Previews – Central Division Posted by on October 2, 2018

 

Back for Day Two of the yearly Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews. If you missed the Pacific Division click here to get caught up.

Today we find ourselves in the Central Division. The Central loses the Cleveland Monsters to the Eastern Conference’s North Division and gains the San Antonio Rampage and Texas Stars. Everyone in this division plays 76 games. No affiliation swaps other than San Antonio moving from Colorado’s NHL affiliate to St. Louis’ and Chicago no longer sharing an affiliate with Las Vegas, they are the sole affiliate of the Stanley Cup runners up Golden Knights.

Penguins play the Rockford IceHogs, the Milwaukee Admirals and the Grand Rapids Griffins twice each, with the games played at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza listed in bold.

Let’s get started…

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NHL Affiliation: Vegas Golden Knights

Record: 42-23-7-4 (95 points, 1st place Central Division)

Playoffs: Swept in three games in the Central Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Rocky Thompson

Arena: Allstate Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Fort Wayne Komets

Offseason Moves: Daniel Carr, Zach Fucale, Jimmy Oligny, Gage Quinney, Curtis McKenzie

The Case For: Central champs return retooled, reloaded. Should be another successful season in Rosemont. 

The Case Against: Texas and San Antonio join the division and Rockford, Milwaukee and Grand Rapids project to be strong. It’s going to be an angry bees nest that the Wolves must negotiate through almost every weekend.

Social Media: @Chicago_Wolves / /ChicagoWolves / chicagowolves

Broadcaster: Jason Shaver

vs. WBS: Do not play.

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NHL Affiliation: Detroit Red Wings

Record: 42-25-2-7 (93 points, 2nd place Central Division)

Playoffs: Lost in five games to the Manitoba Moose in the Central Division Semifinals.

Head Coach: Ben Simon

Arena: Van Andel Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Toledo Walleye

Offseason Moves: Carter Camper, Harri Sateri, Chris Terry, Wade Megan, Jake Chelios

The Case For: The NHL parent team may be crap this season, but the prospects in Grand Rapids are a solid threat provided everyone stays healthy.

The Case Against: How much does the organizational lack of success seep down to the AHL level come January or February?

Social Media: @griffinshockey / /grgriffins / griffinshockey

Broadcaster: Bob Kaser

vs. WBS: 1/4, 2/9

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NHL Affiliation: Minnesota Wild

Record: 33-27-10-6 (82 points, 5th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Tim Army

Arena: Wells Fargo Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Allen Americans

Offseason Moves: Matt Bartkowski, Matt Read, Mike Liambas, Andrew Hammond

The Case For: Tim Army comes in from Wilkes-Barre to hopefully guide the Wild to a postseason berth with a solid group of offseason acquisitions.

The Case Against: Iowa has become the poster child for the old saying that they don’t play games on paper. Wild will need to prove to everyone that they are a serious threat.

Social Media: @IAWild / /IAWild / iowawild

Broadcaster: Joe O’Donnell

vs. WBS: Do not play.

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NHL Affiliation: Winnipeg Jets

Record: 42-26-4-4 (92 points, 3rd place Central Division)

Playoffs: Swept in four games by the Rockford IceHogs in the Central Division Finals.

Head Coach: Pascal Vincent

Arena: Bell MTS Place

ECHL Affiliation: Jacksonville Icemen

Offseason Moves: Ken Appleby, Nic Kerdiles, Seth Griffith, Felix Girard

The Case For: Really don’t see a reason for a major regression for the Moose this season, Manitoba should again be a solid club.

The Case Against: If there was a team in the Central that made playoffs that there were odds to miss, Manitoba may be a heavy favorite.

Social Media: @ManitobaMoose / /ManitobaMoose / manitobamoose

Broadcaster: Mitch Peacock

vs. WBS: Do not play.

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NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Record: 38-32-4-2 (82 points, 6th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Karl Taylor

Arena: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena

ECHL Affiliation: None

Offseason Moves: Colin Blackwell, Brian Cooper, Jarred Tinordi, Zac Rinaldo, Rocco Grimaldi

The Case For: Missing playoffs is the rare exception in Milwaukee, look for the Admirals to rebound in a big way and possibly be a strong contender.

The Case Against: Competition in the Central is high, Milwaukee cannot be plagued by the inconsistency which haunted them last season. 

Social Media: @mkeadmirals / /mkeadmirals / mkeadmirals

Broadcaster: Aaron Sims

vs. WBS: 1/5, 2/8

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NHL Affiliation: Chicago Blackhawks

Record: 40-28-4-4 (88 points, 4th place Central Division)

Playoffs: Lost in six games to the Texas Stars in the Western Conference Finals.

Head Coach: Jeremy Colliton

Arena: BMO Harris Bank Center

ECHL Affiliation: Indy Fuel

Offseason Moves: Terry Broadhurst, Andrew Campbell, Jordan Schroeder

The Case For: Last years surprise team was Rockford, who will continue that momentum into 2018-19 and be a decent contender.

The Case Against: Book is out on the IceHogs, who will not be seen as an automatic two points for the opponent. Teams will be prepared for what Rockford brings. How the IceHogs react off of that will tell the tale of how far and how much success they have.

Social Media: @goicehogs / /RockfordIceHogs / rockfordicehogs

Broadcaster: Joseph Zakrzewski

vs. WBS: 2/6, 2/24

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NHL Affiliation: St. Louis Blues

Record: 35-31-10-0 (80 points, 8th place Pacific Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Drew Bannister

Arena: AT&T Center

ECHL Affiliation: Tulsa Oilers

Offseason Moves: Brian Flynn, Joey Laleggia, Jordan Nolan, Trevor Smith, Tyler Wotherspoon

The Case For: St. Louis comes in as a full time affiliate for the Rampage. That, coupled with some solid offseason acquisitions leads you to believe that San Antonio will be markedly improved in 2018-19.

The Case Against: Competition is expected to be stiff in the Central, where the Rampage move to this season. Can they keep up?

Social Media: @sarampage / /sarampagehockey / sarampage

Broadcaster: Brian McCormack

vs. WBS: Do not play.

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NHL Affiliation: Dallas Stars

Record: 38-24-8-6 (90 points, 2nd place Pacific Division)

Playoffs: Lost in seven games to the Toronto Marlies in the Calder Cup Finals.

Head Coach: Derek Laxdal

Arena: H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

ECHL Affiliation: Idaho Steelheads

Offseason Moves: Erik Condra, Joel Hanley Colton Hargrove, Michael Mersch

The Case For: Defending Western Conference champs come in as favorites in a new division. Stars should be good again this year and threaten for a playoff spot.

The Case Against: May not be the best team team in Texas anymore in a new division which was fun to watch last year.

Social Media: @TexasStars / /TexasStars / txstarshockey

Broadcaster: Brian Tosti

vs. WBS: Do not play.

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Back tomorrow for a look at the North Division.

The AHL

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