Chirps from Center Ice

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Syracuse wins 3-1 tonight against the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins and take the season series 3-1.

Utica last week, Rochester the day before, the Penguins need to figure out the North Division if they want to have overall success this Spring, if they even get to that point.

The Crunch skated circles around the Penguins all night, heavily outshooting them through two periods. Syracuse finally blows up the dam and sinks the Penguins in the third period with a pair of goals to pull away.

Anthony Peters opposed Connor Ingram.

Lines were…

Thomas Di Pauli – J-S Dea – Reid Gardiner
Garrett Wilson – Gage Quinney – Jarrett Burton
Freddie Tiffels – Greg McKegg – Joseph Cramarossa
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Daniel Sprong

Kevin Spinozzi – Ethan Prow
Jeff Taylor – Kevin Czuczman
Jarred Tinordi – Kevin Schulze

Anthony Peters – Casey DeSmith

Lineup Notes: Planned nights off for Tom Kostopoulos and Tom Sestito, who will be back in tomorrow afternoon against Hershey. Jarrett Burton and Freddie Tiffels slotted in. No changes on defense for the Penguins.

First Period: It was a blitzkrieg of shots for the Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club. Seventeen in total. Anthony Peters was making saves like these…

Joseph Cramarossa was getting in fights like these trying to speak his team…

But they don’t judge games off of shots and fights, they score them on goals. The Penguins had the only goal in the period with this nice goal from Freddie Tiffels.

Wilkes-Barre had just four shots and one of them went in. Luck? Good goaltending?

Second Period: Syracuse scores shorthanded against the Penguins again, their third shorthanded goal of the season against Wilkes-Barre and eleventh overall. Gabriel Dumont with a great individual effort and in the process just embarrasses J-S Dea…

Penguins were still getting outshot by Syracuse, 11-8 in the period, and Anthony Peters continued to keep them in it heading into the…

Third Period: Crunch were knocking on the door for the first two period and got tired of waiting and just kicked the door in in the third period.

Board battle. Puck squirts out to Alex Volkov who was racing down the slot. Volkov wastes no time to make it 2-1 Syracuse.

Penguins take another penalty. Not doing themselves any favors in this situation, Anthony Cirelli tips in a shot from the point from Mathieu Joseph that makes it 3-1 Crunch and essentially puts the game out of reach.

Penguins could never find another goal even with Peters pulled with a late flurry at the end.

Three Stars: 3) Daniel Walcott (assist, +1) 2) Alex Volkov (goal, +1) and 1) gabriel Dumont (goal, assist, even)

Ingram really deserved a star in the game, getting beat on his first shot on goal, then buckling down and not allowing another goal from there.

Around the Division: Charlotte beats Bridgeport 2-1…Hartford beats Providence 2-1…Rockford clips Hershey 4-3 in overtime…Lehigh Valley beats Binghamton 2-1…Springfield holds off Utica 3-2.

Standings: Lehigh Valley (.675 percentage points) — Penguins (.644) — Providence (.620) — Charlotte (.580) — Bridgeport (.519) — Hartford (.518) — Hershey (.482) — Springfield (.473)

Wheeling Update: Nailers play Sunday vs. Adirondack.

Video Highlights: 

Gameday setup for Sunday afternoon’s game vs. Hershey hits the blog Sunday at 11.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Ethan Prow is slowly rounding into form as a defenseman that you can count on for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

With the injuries that always happen at this time of year, Prow has been pressed into work for the Penguins and he has capably handled the load for the team, quarterbacking the power play units and chipping in here and there.

That here and there was in the form of a three assist night as Prow and the Penguins overpower the Rockford IceHogs 6-3 in the first ever meeting between the two teams.

It was a reversal of fortune for the Penguins who were obliterated last weekend in Rochester 12-3, then scrapped with a pesky Utica team to an overtime loss Saturday then totally shut down against a Lehigh Valley team 4-1 in Allentown last Sunday. Six different Penguins scored goals tonight. With Prow, Tom Kostopoulos, returning from injury, playing in his 700th AHL game, had two assists and Daniel Sprong had a goal and an assist as well. Prow led the way with three points.

News of the night is the trade that Pittsburgh made with two other teams. The Penguins sent Ryan Reaves to Vegas in exchange for Tobias Lindberg and Ian Cole to Ottawa for Derrick Brassard and Vincent Dunn. Picks were also involved and the Penguins also part ways with Filip Gutsavsson, which makes the Anthony Peters signing inclusive of next season more clearer now.

It is not yet know what will happen with Dunn and Lindberg. Tom had this…

Lindberg is tenth on the Chicago Wolves in points with 18 (8-10-18) – Dunn is a scrapper type, bounced between AHL and ECHL. They could report here and play or be pawns in another trade that Jim Rutherford and the Pens have cooking. I think that the Pens are done, personally. The talk all along was a center for Pittsburgh, and they have their guy in Brassard. They are also at or near the salary cap, so unless other prospects move, Rutherford may be done well before the trade deadline.

Stay tuned, I guess.

OK, so Casey DeSmith opposed Jeff Glass tonight in Wilkes-Barre.

Lines were…

Thomas Di Pauli – J-S Dea – Reid Gardiner
Garrett Wilson – Gage Quinney – Tom Kostopoulos
Tom Sestito – Greg McKegg – Joseph Cramarossa
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Daniel Sprong

Kevin Spinozzi – Ethan Prow
Jeff Taylor – Kevin Czuczman
Jarred Tinordi – Kevin Schulze

Casey DeSmith – Anthony Peters

Lineup Notes: Tom Kostopoulos and Tom Sestito both returned from injury. Kostopoulos played in his 700th AHL game. Teddy Bleuger was back also and Kevin Schulze made his Penguins debut.

First Period: Joseph Cramarossa pounded home a rebound left by Glass off a shot from Prow early and it was 1-0 Penguins…

On a power play, Daniel Sprong picked a corner with Kostopoulos setting a screen and it was 2-0 Penguins…

Rockford got its right back when John Hayden put a shot on from the far wall that Tyler Sikura deflected in that cut the Penguins lead to one.

Penguins would quickly reestablish their two goal lead when Kevin Czuczman puts a shot or pass towards the net that defects off of a Rockford stick right to Gage Quinney who loads up and scores to make it 3-1 heading into the….

Second Period: Casey DeSmith had a fine game for himself which will probably be lost amongst the trade news and the game that Prow had. On one Rockford power play, DeSmith made save after save to keep the game a two goal cushion for his side.

Garrett Wilson would score off of a face-off play with Teddy Blueger screening in front to make it 4-1…

Third Period: Adam Johnson scored with ex-Penguin Adam Clendening draping him like a cheap suit to make it 5-1 Penguins…

Reid Gardiner would get in on the scoring action off a nice feed form Thomas DiPauli to put home his first of the season for Wilkes-Barre that turned it into a laugher. 6-1 Penguins…

But Rockford didn’t want it to end like that. They get two goals rather quickly. Chris DiDomenico deflects in a shot from the point from Viktor Svedberg to make it 6-2 on a power play then Anthony Louis made it 6-3 with a nice give and go and goal. Here they are…

But time was the enemy of the pig and ran out on the visitors.

Three Stars: 3) Tom Kostopoulos (two assists, +2) 2) Daniel Sprong (goal, assist, +1) and 1) Ethan Prow (three assists, +3)

Adam Johnson also recorded a multiple point night with a goal and an assist.

Around the Division: Syracuse beats Lehigh Valley 2-1…Providence beats Bridgeport 5-3…Springfield shuts out Charlotte 4-0 and Hershey wins their fifth straight with a 4-2 win over Hartford.

Standings: Lehigh Valley (.670 percentage points) — Penguins (.657) — Providence (.632) — Charlotte (.573) — Bridgeport (.528) — Hartford (.509) — Hershey (.482) — Springfield (.464)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers are off until Sunday when they play the Adirondack Thunder.

Video Highlights: 

Penguins are bussing up to Syracuse overnight to stay as fresh as possible this weekend. It makes sense in a three in three. Wake up tomorrow in Syracuse then bus home and wake up in your own bed Sunday for a 3:05 start against Hershey.

Gameday setup for the game against the Crunch will hit the blog Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!