Chirps from Center Ice

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

AHL Power Rankings: Week 4

Minimal shakeup in this week’s edition of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings. The top five stay the top five, with only San Jose dropping one and Milwaukee moving up.

Charlotte, Springfield and Rochester remain your top three this week after another week of wins. Milwaukee moves up one after holding the biggest lead as a division leader. San Jose rounds out the top five as a defensively stout hockey team.

Jump past the Barracuda to see where the rest of the teams filled out this week if you didn’t link in direct.

1

Last Week: CHA 4 @ BNG 3 (OT), CHA 6 @ SYR 3
If we moved Charlotte from the top spot last week, which we didn’t, we would have put them back at number one again this week. The Checkers are smoking opponents and there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight.

n/a

This Week: vs. PRO 11/2, vs. PRO 11/3
Record: 8-1-0-0

2

Last Week: PRO 2 @ SPR 4, HFD 2 @ SPR 6
Thunderbirds have yet to lose in regulation, the last AHL team to do so. Scored four power play goals Sunday at home against Hartford. Home and home with Bridgeport coming up.

n/a

This Week: vs. BRI 11/2, @ BRI 11/3
Record: 6-0-0-2

3

Last Week: UTI 0 @ RCH 4, LAV 2 @ RCH 3
Run the streak to 7-0-1 in their last eight. Americans are jumping ahead of a tough North Division early.

n/a

This Week: vs. HER 11/2, @ HER 11/3, vs. CLE 11/7
Record: 7-2-1-0

4

Last Week: CLE 2 @ MIL 3 (OT), MTB 1 @ MIL 4, MTB 2 @ MIL 1 (OT)
Admirals keep collecting points and lead the Central by five points, most of any other division in the AHL.

+1

This Week: vs. RFD 11/2, @ GR 11/3, vs. CHI 11/7
Record: 8-1-2-0

5

Last Week: SJ 2 @ SA 1, SJ 6 @ TEX 1
Positive Texas road trip where the Barracuda held the opponent to just one goal on each night.

-1

This Week: vs. SA 11/2, vs. STK 11/5
Record: 7-1-0-1

Read more of this post

Losing in a Shootout — Pens LOSE 4-3 (SO)

       @       

3                                         4

Headline tonight doesn’t contain a pun. A run and gun affair in Hershey ends in a shootout loss for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. Something seemed off for the Penguins, who never trailed in the game, but never had more than a one goal lead in this Saturday night affair in Hershey.

Tristan Jarry appeared in net again for the Penguins in a back to back start and again was outstanding. Beat on a rim around and then shorthanded in the second and a blown assignment in the third. He opposed Ilya Samsonov, who won his first game in net for the Chocolate and White this season.

Penguins don’t score in the shootout round, Hershey elected to shoot first and scored in the top of the second and the third and take the extra point. Penguins lose 4-3.

Lines were…

Notes: No changes up front, same lineup as Friday at home. Will O’Neill returned and replaced Matt Abt. Ethan Prow and Jeff Taylor were paired up on defense.

First Period: :06 in, Liam O’Brien and Penguins captain Garrett Wilson dropped the gloves…

Wilson with a few stiff shots and the takedown.

Tristan Jarry looked dialed in as he was Friday at home. He had a glove save on one of the thirteen shots on goal for the Bears in the period. Then Stefan Elliott fell down and Liam O’Brien had a chance at Jarry that he made a save on.

Zach Aston-Reese scored the only goal in the period when a puck found his stick in his own end, he took it out and scored with a Bears defenders stick in his skates…

Chris Summers took a puck to the face in the final minute…

…and was helped off.

Shots were 13-5 Bears heading into the…

Second Period: Chris Summers returned for the second period but at some point Sam Miletic was lost to injury.

In the first minute of the period, Bears went for a dump in and the puck took a funny bounce where Mike Sgarbossa deposited it into the empty net when Jarry came out to play it.

Penguins re-establish the lead when Teddy Blueger raced and collected a puck off the side wall, then went back to the slot and flipped a puck past Samsonov to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.

Penguins had two back to back power plays but they were a nightmare. So much so, that Hershey scored on one of them when Riley Barber snuck behind the Penguins defense and scored shorthanded.

Woof indeed, Taylor. Woof indeed.

Sam Miletic was injured in the second period. He was hit by Connor Hobbs. No penalty on the play. Here is the sequence…

Third Period: Adam Johnson found Ethan Prow for a wide open net off a nice pass that gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead.

But :51 later, Beck Malenstyn scored to tie the game again.

They lost him on defense, pass found him and connected.

Penguins had to kill a bunch of penalties which included a 5-on-3 against and got out of it. Tristan Jarry carried the Penguins to overtime.

Overtime: I Periscoped it. I remembered that I had that live streaming device and decided now was as good a time as ever to start a stream. Here it is, all 5:00, here for you.

If you didn’t click in and watch all eight minutes (there were stoppages) then you missed…

No scoring in overtime, so out was off to a shootout.

Shootout: Nothing doing in round one. Riley Barber went over Jarry’s glove in the top of the second, Jimmy Hayes was unsuccessful in his attempt and Shane Gersich scored in the top of the third to seal the extra point for Hershey.

That thing I talked about in the open? It could have been Sam Miletic who, it looks like, will be out for a bit.

Or something else, summarized here again by Tom…

Three Stars: 3) Tristan Jarry (35 saves on 38 shots) 2) Mike Sgarbossa (goal, assist) and 1) Riley Barber (goal)

Around the Division: Charlotte thumps Syracuse 6-3…Lehigh Valley beats Binghamton 5-2…Bridgeport beats Hartford 5-4…Springfield beats Providence 4-2.

Standings: Charlotte 16 – Springfield 12 – Lehigh Valley 11 – Penguins 11 – Hartford 9 – Bridgeport 7 – Hershey 7 – Providence 5.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers pick up their first win of the season with a 3-2 shootout win in Reading. Troy Josephs scored in regulation for the Nailers, he was assigned Saturday afternoon. John Muse picked up the win in his first regular season action of the season, stopping 37 of 39 and all four Royals shooters in the shootout.

Highlights: Hershey was the first, despite using the term I despise…

Penguins are off now until next Friday where they host the Hartford Wolf Pack for a pair of games next weekend on home ice before bussing to Bridgeport on Sunday afternoon. I will fill in news and notes as I get them here on the blog this upcoming week. The Week 4 AHL Power Rankings will be here on Thursday for sure.

Let’s Go Pens!

GAMEDAY: @ Hershey 10/27

@     

Who: Hershey Bears

Where: Giant Center

When: 7:00 p.m.

Last Game / Last Meeting : Last night in Wilkes-Barre, the Penguins won 4-1. Adam Johnson netted a pair of goals and Tristan Jarry stopped 27 shots. Liam O’Brien scored for the Bears.

Record: For WBS: 5-2-0-0 (10 pts., 3rd place Atlantic Division) // For HER: 2-6-0-1 (5 pts., 8th place Atlantic Division)

Referee(s): Conor O’Donnell / Corey Syvret

Linesmen: Jud Ritter / Matt McNulty

Why You Should Care: Expect the Bears to get up for this one. First game back from a seven game road trip that brought them to Wilkes-Barre twice. Charlotte for a pair and three games in the Midwest against Rockford, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee. Wilkes-Barre will be looking to apply the same gameplay they executed for a win last night at home against Hershey. Game ended with some bad blood, so this one should be a good one.

Listen: Nick Hart on the call on WILK.

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

Other Game to Watch: Bridgeport makes the brief trip north to Hartford to take on the Wolf Pack in a game where these two teams are still looking for an identity.

Next Five Games: vs. HFD 11/2, vs. HFD 11/3, @ BRI 11/4, @ PRO 11/9, @ HFD 11/10

Keeping the Bears in a Jar – Pens WIN 4-1

       vs.       

1                                          4

Tristan Jarry had that look tonight.

I could tell when he came out of his crease nonchalantly when the Penguins were on a power play here…

A confident goalie makes a move like that.

Jarry and the skaters ahead of him win tonight on home ice against the Hershey Bears who dressed a 100% max capacity lineup by a score of 4-1.

If you are Hershey starter Vitek Vanecek, those goals you gave up are goals that you want back. I don’t think any of the goals Wilkes-Barre scored tonight beat him clean. Vanecek was named AHL Player of the Week on Monday, by the way.

Lines were…

Notes: Anthony Angello was back and in for Tobias Lindberg. Ryan Horvat was in for Troy Josephs, Matt Abt for the suspended Will O’Neill on defense.

First Period: Anthony Angello scored shorthanded and beat Vanecek with this pretty shot.

What a shot.

Felt like Hershey had more shots in the period, but Wilkes-Barre led 10-6 on the shot board heading into the…

Second Period: Tristan Jarry continued to dial in, stopping a Brian Pinho shorthanded chance when Ethan Prow tried very hard to keep the puck in the zone on a power play.

Penguins double up on the scoreboard when Thomas DiPauli blows past Jonas Siegenthaler, puts a shot on that Vanecek saves but Adam Johnson was there for his first goal of the season…

Did Vanecek walk under any ladders on his way to the game today?

Right after they announced in house the weekly Player of the Week Award (it was Vanecek, the fans booed) Johnson did this…

Bar down and in. Faked a pass to Stefan Elliott which froze Vanecek.

Third Period: Wilkes-Barre was caught watching again in the slot and stone in the shoe Liam O’Brien scored in front to break up the Jarry shutout bid with this goal.

I was still planning on using some variation of “Bear in a Jar” regardless if Jarry got the shutout or not, so there.

Wilkes-Barre regains the three goal lead when Jim Hayes deflected a Matt Abt shot…

Game was speeding along, but hit snag after snag. As time started to dwindle, these two teams realized they were rivals and the hitting started picking up. Patrick McGrath pummeled Connor Hobbs in a fight at center ice. Game ended without further incident.

Three Stars: 

Around the Division: Charlotte improves to 7-1 with a 4-3 overtime win in Binghamton tonight. All the other slackers teams were off tonight which is rare for a Friday.

Standings: Charlotte 14 – Springfield 10 – Penguins 10 – Lehigh Valley 9 – Hartford 9 – Bridgeport 7 – Providence 5 – Hershey 5

Wheeling Update: Nailers are in Reading, but they play the Royals Saturday.

Highlights: Both teams were quick on them tonight. Here’s Wilkes-Barre’s…

These two teams rematch Saturday in Hershey. Gameday setup hits the blog at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 4-1

Pretty full lineup for Hershey tonight but Tristan Jarry had that look in his eye tonight. Jarry stops 27, Adam Johnson scores twice, Penguins beat Hershey 4-1. These teams rematch tomorrow in Hershey.

More in a bit.

GAMEDAY: vs. Hershey 10/26

vs.     

Who: Hershey Bears

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game: Last Saturday at home against Lehigh Valley, the Penguins lost 6-3. Sam Miletic had two first period goals before it all fell apart on the Penguins. For Hershey, the Bears faced the Charlotte Checkers in Charlotte last Saturday and shut them out 2-0. Vitek Vanecek had a 25 save shutout.

Last Meeting: October 17 at home, the Penguins lost 3-2 despite putting up 42 shots at Vitek Vanecek. He stopped 40 of them. Tobias Lindberg and Garrett Wilson scored for the Pens but Jayson Megna for the Bears scored 2:11 after Wilson in what held up as the game winner. Tristan Jarry took the loss in his season debut, he stopped 25 shots.

Record: For WBS: 4-2-0-0 (8 pts., 5th place Atlantic Division) // For HER: 2-5-0-1 (5 pts., 8th place Atlantic Division)

Referee(s): Brandon Blandina / Jason Williams

Linesmen: Bob Goodman / Jud Ritter

Why You Should Care: Penguins play a home and home set this weekend against a hot Hershey Bears team that has 5 out of 6 points in their last three games. Wilkes-Barre will need to find a way to solve expected starting goaltender and reigning AHL Player of the Week Vitek Vanecek if they wish to have any success this weekend. Big test lies ahead.

Listen: Nick Hart on the call on WILK.

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

Promotion(s): Halloween / Postgame Autographs / $2 Beers till 7:30

Other Game to Watch: Colorado travels to Iowa. The Eagles have won four straight while Tim Army’s Iowa Wild dropped two against the Texas Stars last week and are looking to kick off their weekend on a winning note.

Next Five Games: @ HER 10/27, vs. HFD 11/2, vs. HFD 11/3, @ BRI 11/4, @ PRO 11/9

AHL Power Rankings: Week 3

You would like to think that your team three weeks into the season either remains hot or starts to turn a corner for the good. There are teams that have started bad and remain bad or teams that are turning the corner for the bad. Sense a theme? You want to make moves? Turn the corner. Some teams are this week, for the good and the bad.

Charlotte remains the top team for the third week in a row after some shuffling in the top five. No real reason, yet, to move the Checkers from the pinnacle.

Springfield bumps to second. There are no undefeated teams left in the AHL, but Springfield is one team who has yet to suffer a regulation loss.

Rochester started 0-2 but have not lost in regulation since. The Americans are third in this weeks Rankings.

San Jose drops to fourth after splitting a series with Stockton.

Your Central Division leading Milwaukee Admirals round out the top five.

Pop past Milwaukee if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up this week….

1

Last Week: HER 3 @ CHA 4 (SO), HER 2 @ CHA 0, CHA 3 @ UTI 1
Even the best teams have bad days, like the Checkers had against the Bears Saturday, but that is not enough to knock Charlotte out of the top spot, yet.

n/a

This Week: @ BNG 10/26, @ SYR 10/27
Record: 6-1-0-0

2

Last Week: SPR 5 @ LAV 3, SPR 4 @ LAV 2
Thunderbirds go into Laval and sweep the Rocket. Points in all six contests so far for the Thunderbirds, who host Providence and Hartford this week.

+2

This Week: vs. PRO 10/27, vs. HFD 10/28
Record: 4-0-0-2

3

Last Week: TOR 4 @ RCH 5 (SO), RCH 4 @ BEL 5 (OT)
Underestimate this Rochester team at your peril. This Amerks team is built to compete and compete they have. After an 0-2 start to start the year, points in their last six.

+9

This Week: vs. UTI 10/26, vs. LAV 10/27
Record: 5-2-1-0

4

Last Week: SJ 5 @ STK 2, STK 3 @ SJ 2
Split a series with the Heat. Off to Texas this week. Still lead the Pacific.

-2

This Week: @ SA 10/26, @ TEX 10/27
Record: 5-1-0-1

5

Last Week: MIL 2 @ SD 4, MIL 5 @ CHI 4 (SO), SA 0 @ MIL 3
Milwaukee jumps into the top five after a positive week. Admirals lead the Central. Good trio of games coming up this week.

+2

This Week: vs. CLE 10/26, vs. MTB 10/27, vs. MTB 10/30
Record: 6-1-1-0

Read more of this post