Chirps from Center Ice

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So Todd Nelson ripped into this Hershey Bears team really badly on Saturday after their 5-0 loss on home ice Saturday. So much so that the Bears took down the video of his post game availability because he was so mad at the way his Hershey Bears lifeless effort against a pedestrian Syracuse team.

They have a lot of guys sick and half the team is up from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL, but Nelson didn’t use that as an excuse.

His team responded in kind and defeated the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins 5-4 on Tuesday night.

Barely.

A would be game tying goal from Boris Katchouk was adjudged to be deflected into the net with a high stick with 2.2 seconds left. It was the right call. Despite the fact that you can’t review the sequence (you should) – replay showed that Katchouk’s stick was almost above his head when the shot by Mac Hollowell deflected off of Katchouk’s stick and in.

Again, the right call, despite the lack of replay to confirm the obvious, in my opinion.

EDIT: Went back and looked and turns out it was, blatantly a high stick.

https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/1889521139904328150

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Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Atley Calvert and Corey Andonovski were out for Emil Bemstrom and Vasily Ponomarev up front and Nikolai Knyzhov was back in on defense for Scooter Brickey.

First Period: A lot happened!

Five goals in the period, three for Herhsey and two for the Penguins. Andrew Perrott scored in his Bears debut off of a face-off win from Garrett Roe to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.

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The Penguins would respond under three minutes later when Emil Bemstrom scored to tie the game at one.

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Hell of a pass by Owen Pickering there.

But then Hershey would rattle off a pair of goals in under two minutes. Hendrix Lapierre raced past Jack St. Ivany to slip one past Joel Blomqvistr to make it 2-1 and then Ethan Bear from the top of the near dot that made it 3-1.

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A melee would ensue which saw Vasily Ponomarev dismissed for a major boarding penalty which started it all, Nikolai Knyzhov and Hershey’s Justin Nachbaur for a secondary altercation and Dalton Smith getting a game misconduct for being an aggressor, jumping Ponomarev.

There were other secondary and tertiary infractions given out of that fracas, but I had no issues with the way refs Liam Maaskant or Patrick Hanhrahan handled things there.

:30 later, the Penguins found themselves on a 4-on-3 power play and Valtteri Puustinen scored to bring the Penguins to within one.

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Whew.

Second Period: The Penguins were flat out being outworked by the Hershey Bears in the period. The Bears tacked on a power play goal to start the period to extend the lead to two.

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That was Mike Vecchione cleaning up the loose change in front.

Hershey outshot the Penguins 7-6 in the period but many of the six shots for the Penguins came in one late desperation shift.

It was 4-2 to end the period and this was familiar territory for the Penguins because this is where they were Saturday against Cleveland, but it felt different.

Third Period: Better effort for the Penguins, who get a goal from Avery Hayes that brings it to within one.

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Hayes is high sticked and doesn’t bat an eyelash and scores. What an effort.

Penguins pull Blomqvist for the extra attacker but Spencer Smallman scored on an empty net that made it 5-3.

But hold up, Mac Hollowell scored his first as a Penguin to bring Wilkes-Barre to within one.

Pens then put the pressure back on the Bears and scored what looked like a tying goal but Katchouk redirected the puck in the net illegally.

No issues with the way that Liam Maaskant or Patrick Hanrahan handled the game, in my opinion.

Three Stars: 3) Ethan Bear (goal, assist) 2) Hendrix Lapierre (goal, assist) 1) Spencer Smallman (goal, assist)

The Good: They showed resolve in the eleventh hour, but ran out of time.

The Bad: Getting back to the headline, who wants it more? The Penguins were loaded by Pittsburgh during the Four Nations break and couldn’t beat a rag tag group of a lineup of half ECHL players? These were two points lost, poorly, by the better team on paper. Games in hand be damned.

Turning Point: I suppose you can give it to Spencer Smallman and his goal that made it 5-3 at the time or you could give it to the referees taking the would be Katchouk tying goal off the board.

Around the Division: I suspect that all of the games that the AHL played on this night (six total) they would have played on Super Bowl Sunday. With that said, none of the other teams in the Atlantic Division played.

Standings: Hershey 63 – Penguins 56 – Charlotte and Providence 55 – Lehigh Valley 50 – Springfield 49 – Hartford 43 – Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: Nailers are off until Saturday, when they take on the Bears ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays.

Video Highlights: AHL VideoCenter is your best bet for you sickos.

Back at it Friday. I’ll have the weekend preview up on the blog around lunchtime.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Well, that was fun.

An epic 5-4 comeback from behind overtime win for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, who still have not lost to the Lake Erie / Cleveland Monsters on home ice.

But it was how they got there that tells the tale.

After a penalty marred first period that saw the Cleveland Monsters score on not one, but two five on three advantages, the Penguins were behind the eight ball and trailing 4-1.

It was like the whole world was against them.

I don’t want to blame the officials but Casey Terreri and Will Kelly weren’t it. Terreri was here Friday and seemed fine, Saturday too. Will Kelly seems overmatched at this level and sees things no one else sees and calls things no one else calls.

But the Penguins won the game, so let’s leave stripes be. Hold onto your butts whenever you see Kelly as the guy officiating your game, you are in for a hell of a ride.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Jesse Puljujarvi quit on the team and is having his contract terminated. Pens gave him a shot to re-establish himself, he did somewhat, then 31 other teams passed on him through waivers. That’s why I cheer for the front of the jersey and never the back. If he doesn’t want to be here anymore, get lost.

Vasily Ponomarev went up to Pittsburgh this afternoon.

On the ice, Corey Andonovski and Atley Calvert drew in for Ponomaraev and that quitter Puljujarvi. Thank god this is the last time I have to spell Puljujarvi.

First Period: At the expiration of a Dan Renouf penalty, Joseph LaBate got Cleveland on the board first.

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Penguins respond quickly with a goal from Jack St. Ivany that tied the game at one.

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Through a screen. And a St. Ivany goal? That’s what you want to see.

But as they were announcing the goal, Rocco Grimaldi scored :36 later and the Monsters re-took the lead.

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Trey Fix-Wolansky and LaBate added two more Cleveland goals while the Penguins were down two men.

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The Penguins took five straight penalties to open the period and got burned for four goals, two of them on the power play.

They looked bad the night prior against Bridgeport and won. Cleveland offered stiffer competition and this? Oh boy.

Second Period: A Valtteri Puustinen shot banks off of Joona Koppanen’s leg and the comeback was seemingly on.

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Kelly and Terreri dialed back the penalties in the period.

Third Period: Okay, so they settled a bit and started to play Penguin hockey. They torched Jet Greaves’ net with 17 shots in the period and with every passing shot and shift, momentum started to turn.

Nifty hands by Jonathan Gruden in close from a hell of a pass from Sam Poulin and the Penguins are back to within one.

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Then after a time out and with Murashov pulled for the extra attacker, the Penguins would indeed find the equalizer when none other than Sam Poulin scored to tie the game at four.

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Free coffee!

But the celebration would be a bit short-lived as linesman Jud Ritter adjudged that Marc Johnstone threw a puck over the glass, thus assessing a delay of game penalty.

Ritter sucks and I think he has a vendetta against the Penguins going back years. But that’s beside the point.

Overtime: After 22 skaters in Cleveland jerseys and four idiots with striped shirts and whistles, here we are.

Wilkes-Barre would kill the Johnstone penalty thanks to four really good saves from Sergei Murashov and then Owen Pickering scored with 23.1 seconds left to clinch the epic comeback for the Penguins.

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Another angle…

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Three Stars: 3) Sergei Murashov (29 saves, four in overtime) 2) Sam Poulin (goal, two assists) 1) Owen Pickering (game winning overtime goal)

The Good: They never seemed out of it despite how things were going after the first. That’s coaching. That’s leadership. That’s determination.

The Bad: Besides the officiating, what planet was Mac Hollowell on? Not a good game at all by Hollowell in my eye, somehow credited with 7 shots. He would have had double that if those attempts were actually on target.

Turning Point: In a game that chased it to the end, the Pickering goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Bridgeport wins just their third game on home ice this season, beating Charlotte 5-1….Syracuse roughs up a depleted and ill Hershey team 5-0 that skated a man short because of it….Hartford beats Lehigh Valley 4-2 and Springfield beats Providence 5-2.

Good night out of town for the Penguins. Here’s why:

Standings: Hershey 61 – Penguins 56 – Charlotte and Providence 55 – Lehigh Valley 50 – Springfield 49 – Hartford 43 – Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: Nailers win 4-3. Jordan Martel with a goal and an assist. Jaxon Castor stops 23.

Video Highlights: 

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Late Breaking News:

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Pittsburgh and the rest of the NHL are on break for whatever the hell Four Nations is for two weeks, so this is expected.

The Power Rankings will be out Monday, don’t forget the Pens have a road trip to Hershey where they can draw to three points of the Bears lead with a win. Important game.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Your mileage may vary, but I didn’t like the way they played Friday.

Sure, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins shutout the Bridgeport Islanders 3-0, and a team on the rise beat a team that’s been in last place all season. It kind of had to happen this way, but I didn’t think they played well at all.

Bridgeport, save for a few shorthanded instances and maybe the first five to seven minutes of the game, never threatened. You take the two points and the game in hand on Hershey and move on.

Here’s how they lined up…

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I don’t know this guy, but you can’t convince me otherwise they aren’t the great Mike Fornabaio.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1888007646562931181

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Lineup Notes: Jesse Puljujarvi and the returning Tristan Broz for Corey Andonovski and Emil Bemstrom up front and Filip Kral for Scooter Brickey on defense.

First Period: Bridgeport wanted a hot start and got it, but didn’t get any goals to show for it.

Sam Poulin with a dart at 11:22 and the Penguins are on the board.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1888022049375010883

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Upper 90, as they say in soccer.

Then the Penguins put on a passing clinic and Tristan Broz tipped in a Ville Koivunen shot that made it 2-0 late.

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Second Period: Islanders go about half the period without a shot on goal but then get a few good looks and even better ones killing a penalty. Tristan Jarry didn’t have a lot to do in the period but stayed sharp.

Third Period: Jonathan Gruden lays a big hit on Isaiah George and fights Riley Piercey which delighted some of the casuals in attendance. Later, Gruden banged bodies again with Piercey in open ice.

Bridgeport had more of the desperation and if you were watching you were waiting for them to score. The Penguins got sloppy taking two penalties in the period but got out of those OK.

Islanders head coach Rick Kowalsky signaled his 6’8 goaltender Henrik Tikkanen to the bench and a few seconds after that Ville Koivunen setup Boris Katchouk for an empty net goal that sealed it.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1888055153741242678

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Three Stars: 3) Trisan Broz (goal) 2) Sam Poulin (goal) 1) Tristan Jarry (31 saves)

The Good: Handled business and beat a team they are on paper and in all facets better than, used game in hand to inch closer to Hershey.

The Bad: I was expecting more, especially on the power play which went 0/2. Was it a down night? Rust after All-Stars? Who knows. They could have been better, and maybe I am nitpicking a bit after a 31 ave shutout.

The Bad Deux: We have reached the point of the season that they start wearing dark jerseys at home. This is one of the stupidest things the League has done in quite some time. First of all you don’t see enough variety come through when you constantly play the same handful of teams over and over. It isn’t worth it. Whites are clean, whites should be worn at home. Period. Like, look at this…

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Do. Less.

Turning Point: No coming back from a three goal deficit late, the Katchouk goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Charlotte shuts out Hartford 3-0….Lehigh Valley coughs up a two goal lead at home against Cleveland but wins 3-2 in a shootout….Providence beats Springfield in the shootout 3-2. Hershey was off.

Standings: Hershey 61 – Charlotte 55 – Providence 55 – Penguins 54 – Lehigh Valley 50 – Springfield 47 – Hartford 41 – Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers double up the Indy Fuel 6-3 in Indiana Friday. Matty De St. Phalle with a pair of goals and an assist. Taylor Gauthier stopped 16. Nailers host the Reading Royals Saturday.

Video Highlights: 

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Back at it Saturday when they host the Cleveland Monsters.

Let’s Go Pens!