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The Penguins didn’t give their goaltender any run support Friday in Providence and were unceremoniously shutout on Friday by their rivals, the Providence Bruins.

After the first period Sunday, down 2-0, it looked like the same story, just a different verse.

But in the second period, kicked off by a goal by Gage Quinney, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins claw back, tie the game and ultimately win in a shootout, 3-2.

They got there, largely due in in part to their goaltender, Casey DeSmith.

DeSmith came up huge with saves in the second and third period and again in overtime to preserve the score at 2-2 the way it was and J-S Dea’s goal in the bottom of the first round of the shootout was the only action in the bonus round.

Big win for the Penguins, who when they next step on the ice competitively this Friday in Rochester, they will have four games in hand on rival Lehigh Valley. The Phantoms play on Tuesday this week.

DeSmith opposed local thorn in the shoe, Zane McIntyre.

Lines were…

Thomas Di Pauli – J-S Dea – Reid Gardiner
Garrett Wilson – Gage Quinney – Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson – Greg McKegg – Jarrett Burton
Troy Josephs – Patrick McGrath

Kevin Czuczman – Frank Corrado
Jarred Tinordi – Chris Summers
Andrey Pedan – Ethan Prow
Lukas Bengtsson

Casey DeSmith – Anthony Peters

Lineup Notes: Penguins rolled out 11 forwards and 7 defensemen for the second straight game with the only lineup change being Patrick McGrath in for Colin Smith.

First Period: First half of the period was a defensive gem, where neither team registered a shot on goal until 5:15 of the contest that came from Providence. The Penguins ended up seeing the Bruins take the games first five shots on goal before registering their own.

Penalty trouble was the early issue that was crippling the Penguins. Penguin killer Tommy Cross unleashed this shot from the high slot after Jordan Swarz took the puck in deep and found Cross at the top of the slot for the 1-0 Bruins lead…

Bruins add another quickly when ex-Penguin Adam Payerl puts a shot off the pads of DeSmith and followed up his shot to push it across go give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.

Shots ended up being 13-5 Bruins, with most coming on the two power plays that Providence had, heading into the…

Second Period: Totally different period for the Penguins in terms of offense. Providence played the night before in Bridgeport and maybe some of that started to wear through because the Penguins started to eat into the lead that the Bruins enjoyed.

Gage Quinney scored the first goal for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton since Derrick Pouliot scored in overtime for the Pens last Spring in the playoffs. Quick developing 2-on-1.

Penguins started to eat into the shots and finally tied the game with this sequence that sees Jarred Tinordi even the score in the game…

McIntyre, swimming in his crease, isn’t able to get back u and Tinordi pounds it home. Resilient pressure from Reid Gardiner, also.

Casey DeSmith comes up huge on this save on Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson point blank to keep the game even at two late in the period.

The bar wasn’t very high to start, having been shutout in two prior games in this regular season, but Wilkes-Barre outshot the Bruins 16-7 in the period to take a 21-20 shot advantage heading into the third period in arguably their best period played at the Dunkin’ Donut Center all season.

Third Period: Slowly developed into the Casey DeSmith show after this save…

Both goalies were sharp in the period, but DeSmith was needed more as the Bruins had a late power play to edge ahead but were denied by the penalty kill and DeSmith.

Overtime: After the drop of the puck, reigning AHL MVP Kenny Agostino skated in on a naked breakaway but DeSmith shut the door. The Bruins then found themselves on a power play in the overtime period, but DeSmith was again timely in his saves to preseve the 2-2 deadlock.

Shootout: J-S Dea’s goal in the bottom of the first round was all the scoring in the shootout round.

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Ballgame.

Three Stars: 3) Jordan Swarz (assist, even) 2) Tommy Cross (goal, even) and 1) Jarred Tinordi goal, +1)

Around the Division: Syracuse outlasts Bridgeport 3-2 in Connecticut…Hershey gets a late goal with under five seconds to play in regulation force overtime and new acquisition Joe Whitney, traded to Hershey this past Friday, wins it for the Bears against the Penguins next opponent the Rochester Americans. Bears win 3-2 in overtime.

Standings: Penguins (.681 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.660) — Providence (.622) — Charlotte (.570) — Bridgeport (.541) — Hartford (.539) — Springfield (.451) — Hershey (.441)

The Penguins will have four games in hand on Lehigh Valley when they set foot on ice competitively this Friday in Rochester. Phantoms play Tuesday in Bridgeport.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were in action earlier today (by that I mean a 9:30 a.m. start time) and hung on for a 6-5 win in Orlando against the Solar Bears. Garrett Meurs had a pair of goals for the Nailers in the morning win.

My Week 19 AHL Power Rankings hit the blog Monday at 4. Please do check them out then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The mayor of Wilkes-Barre is a man by the name of Tony George.

If there is a snarky person who is a fan of the Providence Bruins, they may change that fact on Wikipedia to Providence Bruins goaltender Zane McIntyre.

McIntyre, you will recall, was the hero in Game 5 last Spring in the Quarterfinals of the Calder Cup Playoffs and sent the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins to an early Spring after a 50 save performance in April 2017.

He has now shutout the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in back to back games. 4-0 tonight. The Providence Bruins win their fifth straight game on home ice. The Penguins four game win streak goes out with tomorrow’s trash.

Styles may make fights. Recalls to Pittsburgh may or may not have something to do with it. But as said time and time again, if you do not score, you have no chance at winning. I mean it’s just that simple.

Zane McIntyre will likely get Saturday off as the Providence Bruins head to Bridgeport Saturday while the Penguins have the night off meaning that we may be seeing McIntyre Sunday afternoon again in the rematch. Wilkes-Barre will need to concoct something to get pucks past him if they wish to end the Bruins winning streak at home.

McIntyre opposed Casey DeSmith

Lines were…

Thomas Di Pauli – J-S Dea – Reid Gardiner
Garrett Wilson – Gage Quinney – Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson – Greg McKegg – Colin Smith
Troy Josephs – Jarrett Burton

Kevin Czuczman – Frank Corrado
Jarred Tinordi – Chris Summers
Andrey Pedan – Ethan Prow
Lukas Bengtsson

Casey DeSmith – Anthony Peters

Lineup Notes: Lukas Bengtsson was back in the lineup for the first time since December 8. Troy Josephs made his Wilkes-Barre season debut. The Penguins went with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen because Teddy Blueger was recalled to Pittsburgh yesterday.

First Period: The Penguins faced a blitzkrieg of shots by the Bruins. 22 in total, and only trailed 1-0 after the break. This wild sequence by reigning AHL MVP Kenny Agostino was the only blemish on Casey DeSmith, on an otherwise yeoman like period by the Penguins netminder.

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The Penguins had the only power play of the period, but that was the only positive to come out of this one sided period, other than the play of their goaltender.

Second Period: A better period for the Penguins in terms of offensive zone time from the drop of the puck. Ex-Penguin Adam Payerl picked up on this and dropped the gloves with Jarred Tinordi.

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Both goalies traded some big saves in successive sequences.

The Penguins later found themselves on a penalty kill, their first of the night, and all was going well until Andrey Pedan decided to play the hero….

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Instead of going for the straight up clear, Pedan tries to make moves past two Bruins, is stripped, and Colton Hargrove scores to make it 2-0 Bruins.

Third Period: Here’s where the game was lost for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. After a bright start for the Penguins, down a pair looking to get something going, they get a power play early. Then, Anton Blidh blocks a shot and then clears it from his own defensive zone to give the Penguins a 5-on-3 for :20. Turkey is on the table for the Penguins here to get back into the game.

So what do they do?

Fail to register a single shot on goal, and the power play comes and goes.

Insult to injury, Tommy Cross scores from the high slot to make it 3-0 which essentially put the game away for the Bruins.

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Not for going down without a fight, Clark Donatelli double or triple shifted Daniel Sprong as the Penguins rookie prospect was out there for virtually every shift at the end of the game.

Ex-Penguins Adam Payerl scores to make it 4-0 to turn it into a laugher for the Bruins.

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Three Stars: 3) Jordan Swarz (two assists, +2) 2) Zane McIntyre (22 save shutout) 1) Kenny Agostino (goal, +1)

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley trounces Hershey 5-1. Hartford clips Syracuse 4-3 in a shootout. Charlotte pounds Springfield 5-2. Bridgeport was off.

Standings: Penguins (.674 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.653) — Providence (.617) — Bridgeport (.564) — Charlotte (.561) — Hartford (.530) — Springfield (.460) — Hershey (.439)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers lost 5-2 in Orlando. Cody Wydo and Freddie Tiffels scored for Wheeling in the loss.

I doubt Providence will put highlights up. If they do and I can work an edit in they will go here.

Pens are off Saturday and rematch with the Bruins Sunday at 3 p.m. Gameday setup hits the blog Sunday morning at 11.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The last time that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins won in Springfield was two years, two days ago.

February 5, 2016. A 4-3 overtime win for the Penguins where names like Steve Oleksy and Anton Zlobin scored for the Penguins and Carter Rowney scored the overtime game winning goal.

Fast forward to Wednesday night, and the Penguins are winners in Massachusetts again.

3-1 is the final score. A battle all night with a better than advertised Springfield side who probably deserved better and will eventually. The Thunderbirds were 7-3 in their last ten games coming into tonight and on a three game winning streak. They were finally getting good goaltending out of the backup spot with their number one called up to parent Florida.

But better goaltending from the away team, coupled by power play success and its the Penguins who win their fourth straight to maintain the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Casey DeSmith opposed Evan Cowley.

Lines were…

Thomas Di Pauli – J-S Dea – Reid Gardiner
Garrett Wilson – Gage Quinney – Daniel Sprong
Jarrett Burton – Greg McKegg – Patrick McGrath
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Colin Smith

Kevin Czuczman – Frank Corrado
Jarred Tinordi – Chris Summers
Andrey Pedan – Ethan Prow

Casey DeSmith – Anthony Peters

Lineup Notes: There were no recalls to Pittsburgh in the wake of Tom Kuhnhackl and Carter Rowney leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins games Tuesday night. Also, no one was preserved tonight in the wake of an impending recall Thursday. For the lineup tonight, there was some shuffling, but no roster changes.

First Period: Biggest play in the period came at the end of the period, where the Penguins found themselves on the wrong end of the 5-on-3 power play. Casey DeSmith made this save to preserve the scoreless period…

Second Period: Penguins had a double minor power play that they could not score on. Game was slowly starting to open up with good chances on both sides. Finally, Gage Quinney broke the 0-0 deadlock to give the Penguins the 1-0 lead on this nice pass by Reid Gardiner…

2:04 later, led by the Thunderbirds fourth line, Springfield tied it up. They kept the Penguins hemmed in the defensive zone and Dryden Hunt scored from the slot to tie the game back up at 1.

Daniel Sprong was hooked on a breakaway but lost the handle. Instead of awarding a penalty shot, the Penguins went on a straight 2:00 power play. Thomas DiPauli scored his first goal since December to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead heading into the…

Third Period: Casey DeSmith again, making saves that mortals can only dream of, keeps it a one goal game.

Penguins ice the game away with a power play goal on an empty net that was scored by Garrett Wilson that iced the game away…

Three Stars: 3) Evan Cowley (37 saves on 39 shots) 2) Gage Quinney (goal, +1) and 1) Thomas DiPauli (goal, even)

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley fights off Charlotte 4-3 at home to maintain their thorn in the side of the Penguins…Hartford beat Springfield earlier in the day 5-4 in overtime. Everyone else was off.

Standings: Penguins (.689 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.646) — Providence (.609) — Bridgeport (.564) — Charlotte (.552) — Hartford (.520) — Springfield (.469) — Hershey (.448)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off. They play again on Friday.

Video Highlights: Coal Street put their own out on Thursday morning. Check it out…

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Penguins are going to stay in New England and likely bus to Providence Thursday where they will set up shop for the weekend with games Friday and Sunday there. Gameday setup for Friday’s game will hit the blog Friday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!