Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Lehigh Valley
Posted by nafsnep on December 23, 2017
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Who: Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
When: 5:05 p.m.
Last Game: Last night at home against Binghamton, the Pens won in overtime 4-3. Teddy Blueger scored the first and last goals of the game. For Lehigh Valley, the Phantoms played Wednesday at home against the Hartford Wolf Pack and lost 5-4 in overtime. Oskar Lindblom had a goal and an assist good for second star honors.
Last Meeting: December 6 in Allentown, the Pens were shutout 5-0. Dustin Tokarski had a 39 save shutout.
Record: For WBS: 16-8-2-1 (35 pts., 3rd place Atlantic Division) // For LV: 18-9-2-2 (40 pts., 40 place Atlantic Division)
Referee(s): David Banfield / Terry Koharski
Linesmen: Luke Murray / Jud Ritter
Why You Should Care: Pens look to make it a perfect weekend with a win later on against the Phantoms. Casey DeSmith will get the start, with Michael Leighton getting the start yesterday. Expect a hotly contested affair with these two in-state rivals.
Promotion(s): Festivus Celebration, Jersey Auction / Penguins Team Card Strip #3
Other Game to Watch: Utica and Syracuse air their grievances and participate in feats of strength tonight in Syracuse.
Next Five Games: LV 12/27, HFD 12/29, @ HER 12/30, BRI 1/3, SPR 1/5
Comments Off on High Times — Pens WIN 4-3 (OT)
Posted by nafsnep on December 22, 2017
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Teddy Blueger scored two goals tonight, one at 4:19 of the first period and another at 4:19 of overtime. In case you didn’t get the rub of the blog headline.
Penguins win 4-3 in overtime in a hotly contested, physical affair, like the teams from Wilkes-Barre and Binghamton of yore. That’s a fun hockey game.
Wilkes-Barre looked like it was going on cruise control when Binghamton took over, outshooting the Penguins 11-0 and scoring two goals in the process to tie the game at 2-2, then got an ugly shorthanded goal to make it 3-2.
I’m not going to blow the whole story here in the lede, just know that it was a good game that the Penguins battled through and they should come out of it a better team for it.
Michael Leighton (making his Penguins season debut) opposed Ken Appleby.
Casey DeSmith will get the start Saturday against Lehigh Valley. Donatelli told the media Thursday that the two net minders would split the starts this weekend.
Lines were…
Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Garrett Wilson – Gage Quinney – Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Colin Smith
Cody Wydo – Jarrett Burton – Patrick McGrath
Andrey Pedan – Kevin Czuczman
Jarred Tinordi – Zach Trotman
Chris Summers – Frank Corrado
Michael Leighton – Casey DeSmith
Lineup Notes: Third time this season that the Penguins ideal lineup on defense dress….Greg McKegg was a healthy scratch, Tom and Tyler reported after the game that he is away attending to a family matter and won’t be back until after Christmas. Jeff Taylor skated the extra in warmups.
First Period: Adam Johnson chases down a puck to beat out an icing, dishes to Teddy Blueger who scored to make it 1-0 Penguins…
🚨 GOAL! 🚨 Teddy Blueger's 7th goal of the season puts the #WBSPens up 1-0.
Leighton was making some good saves when called upon, but then John Quennville ripped a shot over Leighton’s glove to get Binghamton on the board and made it a 2-1 game.
Binghamton scored again on a goofy play where there was a lucky Devil bounce on a wraparound play. Leighton was caught looking the other way and Nick Lappin put it in to make it 2-2.
Penguins got a power play late in the period then give up a goal to Michael Latta on a 2-on-1 that no goalie in the world would stop. Take a look…
Things got physical. Zach Aston-Reese hit Nick Lappin which put Lappin out off the game. He fought Michael Latta who fought McGrath in the second.
Right after, Garrett Wilson laid a hit on a Devil which set off a mini brawl which put the Devils on the power play to close out the third as we headed to…
Overtime: Penguins killed the Devils power play easily. There was a stoppage and the teams when back to three on three. J-S Dea to Teddy Blueger at 4:19 of overtime…
Game. Set. Match. Maybe it takes a greasy win like this to break the Penguins out of the funk that they are in.
Three Stars: 3) Michael Leighton (28 saves on 31 shots) 2) Jarrett Burton (two goals, +2) and 1) Teddy Blueger (two goals, overtime game winner, +2)
Around the Division: The Hartford Wolf Pack may be the best team in the Atlantic Division at present. They methodically take down the Providence Bruins 6-4 at home. Springfield jumped out on Bridgeport and didn’t look back and won 5-2. Lehigh Valley, Hershey and Charlotte were all off.
Standings: Providence (.679 percentage points) — Charlotte (.661) — Penguins (.648) — Lehigh Valley (.645) — Bridgeport (.518) — Hartford (.516) — Hershey (.468) — Springfield (.422)
Wheeling Update: The Nailers hosted the Brampton Beast tonight and lost 3-1. Garrett Meurs scored for the Nailers. These two teams rematch tomorrow in West Virginia.
Video Highlights:
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Don’t forget that Saturday’s game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms starts at 5:05, to get it out of the way so teams and their families can make it home in time fro Christmas on Monday. With no games on Sunday, look for the Week 12 AHL Power Rankings some time on Christmas Eve then. I will probably mention it again Saturday after the Phantoms game as well.
Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Binghamton 12/22
Posted by nafsnep on December 22, 2017
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Who: Binghamton Devils
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
When: 7:05 p.m.
Last Game: Saturday in Bridgeport, the Pens lost 3-2 to the Sound Tigers. Greg McKegg and Zach Aston-Reese scored for the Pens in the OT loss. For Binghamton, the Devils beat Belleville 5-2 last Saturday. Ken Appleby had a light night in goal, stopping 20 of 22 shots. Five different Devils scored.
Last Meeting: November 17 in Binghamton, the Pens won 4-3. Teddy Blueger set up two goals, earning himself first star honors.
Record: For WBS: 15-8-2-1 (33 pts., 4th place Atlantic Division) // For BNG: 9-14-3-1 (22 pts., 7th place North Division)
Referee(s): Peter MacDougall
Linesmen: Jud Ritter / Tom DellaFranco
Why You Should Care: Pittsburgh did some retooling with things and that netted Wilkes-Barre the services of future AHL Hall of Famer Michael Leighton and the return of Kevin Czuczman. With a full week of practice, how will the Penguins do against a last place Binghamton team? Who starts in goal?
Late Tuesday, there were other moves made effecting the roster here in Wilkes-Barre besides the blockbuster trade involving Michael Leighton covered here Tuesday afternoon.
Initially thinking that there was something up impacting Pittsburgh’s roster, it was revealed after practice on Coal Street the following.
Updates from Coach Donatelli…
– Leighton a possibility to start on the games this weekend. – Bengtsson is week-to-week with an upper body injury. – DiPauli back home tending to a family matter and will not be available this weekend. -MO'B
Later, Christian Thomas was named to the Team Canada roster for the Spengler Cup. The tournament runs from December 26 through the 31st. You couple this with DiPauli being absent through Christmas and there is the need for the Wydo and Tiffels recalls this morning. Take Bengtsson’s injury and the status of Ethan Prow (no outlet I follow mentioned anything about him today and I didn’t ask) and there is the need for Jeff Taylor’s recall from Monday.
Wilkes-Barre would have two extras at forward and defense if you consider that Bengtsson, Prow, , Thomas, DiPauli, Tom Kostopoulos and Tom Sestito are all unavailable.
There is a possibility that one or two get bounced back to Wheeling for the Nailers games at home this weekend against the Brampton Beast.
I will leave you with Michael Leighton’s media availability after practice. Santa should send Tux a boom mike for Christmas. Sound up for this one if you can.
If nothing happens Thursday, and I don’t expect it to, check back Friday at 3 for the Gameday setup against Lehigh Valley Binghamton. (thanks Kram for the heads up)
* – it’s what I do everyday at my big boy job of pushing paper. Or painting houses.
Michael Leighton is one of the greatest AHL goaltenders to put on a pair of pads.
Here is his resume, from the League release on the trade….
Leighton, a five-time AHL All-Star, had been acquired by the Coyotes on Nov. 14 in a trade from Tampa Bay. In 14 AHL games between Syracuse and Chicago this season, Leighton has a record of 4-4-4 with a 3.16 goals-against average, an .869 save percentage and one shutout.
The AHL’s career leader in shutouts (50), Leighton has appeared in 479 career AHL games with a record of 236-176-48, ranking fifth all-time in victories and eighth among goaltenders in games played. He was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2001-02 and won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender in 2007-08.
In postseason play, Leighton owns the AHL records for saves in a single game (98, in a five-overtime loss on Apr. 24, 2008) and for lowest GAA in a single playoff year (1.18, in 2008). He shows a 1.67 GAA, a .946 save percentage and five shutouts in 28 career Calder Cup Playoff contests (13-12).
He’s been around the AHL this season, initially starting with Syracuse, with a stop in AHL Chicago, he did not appear in a game with the Coyotes AHL affiliate, Tucson. He was loaned to Chicago from Arizona.
So the crease in Wilkes-Barre looks like Casey DeSmith and Michael Leighton. Unless there is another move coming down the pike which would see Tristan Jarry coming back down and Leighton going to to backup Matt Murray, which is entirely plausible.
Sean Maguire needed the change in scenery. He will a great asset for the Tucson Roadrunners. He was kind of lost in the shuffle here in Wilkes-Barre.
Josh Archibald wasn’t going to make it through waivers the thought process was by the brain trust up in Pittsburgh.
Jonathan had an interesting take…
Here's how I interpret the Leighton deal: Penguins weren't satisfied with DeSmith as the No. 3 on the depth chart and didn't think Archibald would crack their lineup in the near future.
I disagree with that thought process entirely. Casey DeSmith played his way up from ECHL obscurity a few seasons ago to an NHL contract this past summer. He is as about as solid a #1 AHL goaltender you can find, anywhere, just like Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray before him.
But like I tell people all the time, I don’t manage or coach the organization, I just blog about it.
Oh dear, as I was about to hit publish on this, a second trade was made with another implication affecting Wilkes-Barre.
Penguins acquire Jamie Oleksiak from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2019 conditional fourth round draft pick. As a part of the move, Kevin Czuczman was re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.
The conditional end of it is explained here…
The condition on the fourth round pick is this: the Penguins have two fourth-rounders. The Stars will get which ever one is earlier in the draft.
Out the door, Wilkes-Barre recalled Jarrett Burton and Jeff Taylor from Wheeling Monday. With Ethan Prow’s status up in the air and Wilkes-Barre playing with just one extra forward last weekend, the need for those recalls were justified. Elsewhere, ex-Penguin Stuart Percy signed an AHL deal with the Rochester Americans.
Is there a third move up the sleeve of Penguins GM Jim Rutherford? We have to wait and see.
Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 11
Posted by nafsnep on December 18, 2017
We are at Week 11 in the AHL Power Rankings and a week away from the New Year.
Teams are jockeying for positioning as we head there. Others are establishing themselves as forces to be reckoned with while others are simply fading into obscurity.
This past weekend, the heavyweight matchup was the Manitoba Moose meeting up with the Toronto Marlies. It was billed as a test for the Moose heading into Toronto to take on an established Marlies team.
The Moose pass with flying colors and are again your number one team this week.
They are followed by a Rochester Americans team which you need to start taking seriously. The Texas Stars, slowly creeping into the top spot of the Pacific round out the top three. In fourth is the Atlantic Division leader Providence Bruins followed by the Marlies, who don’t fall too far because there aren’t that many teams that have won at least 20 games in the AHL just yet.
Hop past the Marlies if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up this week.
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Last Week: MTB 7 @ BEL 3, MTB 2 @ TOR 1, MTB 5 @ TOR 1
Moose just running away with things. 14 straight games, a franchise record, without a regulation loss. Head Coach Pascal Vincent punches his ticket to Utica in January to head up the Central bench. Rampage stopping by this weekend could be a test.
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This Week: vs. SA 12/21, vs. SA 12/22
Record: 21-5-1-2
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Last Week: UTI 1 @ RCH 3, TOR 3 @ RCH 2, RCH 3 @ UTI 2 (OT)
Amerks appear to be for real, not letting a tight setback to the Toronto Marlies bother them at all, shaking it off and taking down the Utica Comets the next night.
+3
This Week: vs. BEL 12/20, @ LAV 12/22, @ LAV 12/23
Record: 16-6-3-3
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Last Week: ONT 4 @ TEX 2, CLE 4 @ TEX 5 (OT)
Sweep the week, are 8-2 in their last ten. This run will have the Stars at the top of the Pacific in no time.
+3
This Week: @ ONT 12/20, @ SJ 12/22, @ BAK 12/23
Record: 17-10-0-1
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Last Week: PRO 3 @ HER 0, PRO 3 @ SYR 5, PRO 6 @ HER 2
Eight game winning streak ended in Syracuse on Friday, but The P-Bruins still lead the Atlantic Division as we head into the Christmas break.
+3
This Week: @ HFD 12/22, @ SPR 12/23
Record: 18-7-2-0
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Last Week: TOR 3 @ RCH 2, MTB 2 @ TOR 1, MTB 5 @ TOR 1
Can’t really fault the Eastern Conference’s best team for losing to the AHL’s overall best team this weekend, so the Marlies stay in the top five for now. Two this week with the Comets in New York.
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WBS News
Chirps from Center Ice 