Chirps from Center Ice

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I want to get something out of the way real quick. I have been ragging on the Tyrell Goulbourne goal that should not have counted Wednesday when the Penguins hosted the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. I was told pregame tonight that replay in the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza was not working. Thus, no review.

Now that’s out of the way, to more current events. A 5-1 Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins win against the Hartford Wolf Pack. A methodical takedown by the Pens of a very good, strong Hartford team which has been punching above it’s weight of recent and really primed to make a run in 2018.

But the Wolf Pack ran into a problem. His name being Daniel Sprong, who had a hat trick tonight, his second of the season.

A lot of chatter has been had on social media regarding the slump that the Pittsburgh Penguins are on and what might fix it. A name that has come up time after time is Daniel Sprong. Sprong, a highly touted prospect from the QMJHL, is still middling around here in Wilkes-Barre while the Pittsburgh Penguins lose game after game and are middling around in Metropolitan Division purgatory. “Bring up Sprong!” they say, “Call up Sprong!” they shout.

The issue here is not his offense. He’s an offensively gifted forward that can and will score at any level of hockey anywhere and will do so for years to come. The issue is his defense. His two-way game lacks in areas. It’s gotten better, but it lacks from time to time.

Pittsburgh wants to take their time with Sprong. The can do that and monitor him from Wilkes-Barre where every night there is a body in the box high above me watching down upon the action below.

Calling him up now could work. But calling him up now to stick him on the fourth line and bury him on the bench when a giveaway or a lax forecheck allows for an odd man rush the other way and a Grade A scoring attempt from the other team or a penalty taken isn’t going to do anything for him.

I know that fans want everything done in a microwave. They want to win every game 10-0 and have their favorite player get all the headlines. I’d be lying if I said that I am not in this group somewhat, but I like to look at everything from all sides.

It’s not a matter of if Daniel Sprong will be called up, it’s a matter of when.

Now, could the Penguins beaten the Hartford Wolf Pack tonight without Sprong? I think yes. Hartford was a mess tonight and it snowballed from there. Getting a four point night out of the opposing teams best prospect coupled with 27 saves out of the ECHL goaltender and you are going to have a rough night. The Pens, as a team, played a complete game. They insulated goaltender Anthony Peters, got the offense that they needed to win and Peters made the saves he needed to when called upon and that’s your ballgame.

Oh, it helps when you keep the AHL’s best road power play (25.7%) 0-6 on the night as well.

Geez, that was a long lede. Someone get me an editor!

Peters opposed Marek Mazanec.

Lines were…

Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Gage Quinney – Greg McKegg – Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Colin Smith
Freddie Tiffels – Jarrett Burton – Patrick McGrath

Jeff Taylor – Jarred Tinordi
Kevin Czuczman – Zach Trotman
Kevin Spinnozi – Chris Summers

Anthony Peters – Adam Morrisson

Lineup Notes: Jeff Taylor made his Wilkes-Barre debut for the Penguins in 2017-18…Kevin Spinozzi slotted in as well…Greg McKegg was in as well for the recently recalled Garrett Wilson. Ethan Prow skated the extra man in warmups.

First Period: On a delayed penalty, Daniel Sprong let one rip from the point that deflected off of bodies and Colin Smith got a stick on it to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Jeff Taylor picked up the secondary assist, his first AHL point.

Hartford would answer back a few minutes later when the Penguins overcommitted to one side, leaving Joe Whitney open with time and space, enough to beat Peters to make it a 1-1 game.

Second Period: Patrick McGrath would pick up 27 minutes in PIMs with a fight with Scott Kosmachuk, one that McGrath would win easy. Hopefully Coal Street has it in their video highlight package.

Anthony DeAngelo leaves a puck in his own zone for Adam Johnson, who pounced on it and then dropped it to Sprong who scored to make it 2-1 Penguins…

Nice to see some puck luck turn the way of the Penguins for once.

Sprong would add a second goal here…

Haven’t heard much from the, “Fire Donatelli” crowd in a while and I wonder why.

Third Period: Anthony Peters was dialing in. He stopped a centering bid on Vince Pedrie, limited rebounds and covered pucks. It helped that the Wolf Pack essentially were firing right at him or way past him or over him, but he was solid when he needed to be, including in one sequence a pad stop followed up by a glove save.

Then, with the game in the balance, Gage Quinney took a tripping penalty at 14:19. Hartford’s lethal road power play stepped over the boards and was looking to get on the board here down a pair.

:07 later, after Teddy Blueger won a defensive zone face-off, Zach Aston-Reese was sprung and scored on a breakaway that made it 4-1 Penguins. Ballgame.

Sprong got his third goal via empty net, with Mazanec vacated with his team down three late.

Three Stars: 3) Adam Johnson (two assists, +3) 2) Anthony Peters (27 saves on 28 shots) and 1) Daniel Sprong (hat trick, assist, +3)

Around the Division: Ex-Penguin assistant and one time head coach Jay Leach will be behind the Atlantic Division bench in a month’s time at the ALl-Star Classic in Utica, thanks to his Providence Bruins team winning 3-1 tonight in the very place he will be coaching in about a month, Utica, NY against the Comets….Lehigh Valley beats Charlotte 3-1 and Hershey beats Springfield 4-2. Bridgeport was off.

Standings: Providence (.710 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.676) — Charlotte (.621) — Penguins (.617) — Bridgeport (.550) — Hershey (.485) — Hartford (.485) — Springfield (.412)

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 5-2 in Fort Wayne. Cam Brown and Reid Gardiner scored for the Nailers in the loss.

Video Highlights: 

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Pens take on the Hershey Bears Saturday night and Anthony Peters will get the start, per Clark Donatelli to the Wilkes-Barre media. Gameday setup hits the blog here Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Work night games are rough. I left my editing utensils home instead of in a cold vehicle in single digit temperatures, so it’s a stripped down version of the post game recap tonight. Apologies to those who get my post notifications via e-mail. You can check out the blog later when I get home for a more dressed up version of tonight’s game with links, and boldface type you have come to enjoy.

Tweet embeds need a computer to edit them in, so they too will be added in a bit here while I high tail it home to get in at a reasonable hour so I can get up and go back to my big boy job in the morning without dragging monsters you-know-what.

But enough about me, here’s what happened tonight.

Penguins lose 5-4. As the blog headline reads, when it rains it pours. It was probably the most unluckiest game that the Penguins played in some time based off of bounces and small snaps in luck that played in the Phantoms favor.

Lineup wise, no changes on defense. Casey DeSmith got the start. The Pens now switch to black uniforms at home the rest of the way. I would rather the rule be totally eradicated or just move the jersey switch ahead to the end of January. I’m getting off track. Freddie Tiffels was in for Patrick McGrath. Thomas DiPauli did not dress, neither did Greg McKegg.

In the first, the Phantoms scored two fluke goals. Nic Aube-Kubel cross checked Jarred Tinordi into Casey DeSmith, knocking him down. TJ Brennan knows how to skate with his head up, saw that sequence and shot the puck on net and with no goalie there to stop it, it went in.

Their second goal came on a power play. Referee Olivier Gouin set an inadvertent pick on J-S Dea, who lost Mike Vecchione. Vecchione then banked his shot off of Frank Corrado and in to make it 2-0.

Shots after one were 11-10 Penguins. It was about as hard luck a period for a team bit by hard luck of recent you could find.

In the second, Wilkes-Barre pulls within a goal when Daniel Sprong puts a shot on net that Garrett Wilson gets out of the pads of Tokarski and sweeps it over to a waiting Colin Smith. One goal game now.

Penguins later tie it when Gage Quinney plays a bank off the boards behind Tokarski and puts it behind him.

A few minutes later, Tyrell Goulbourne fights through a pair of players and a hook and muscles the puck past DeSmith as the players were crashing the net, which became dislodged in the process. Question was whether the puck crossed legally or under the net. Neither referee cared to look at replay, confident enough in their eyes. To say that the officiating was poor tonight would be a huge understatement.

From bad to worse, a linesman sets a pick on Kevin Czuczman and Chris Conner bats in a DeSmith rebound to make it a two goal Phantom lead. The wheels were coming off!

Hold up. :17 later, Garrett Wilson scores a goal scorers goal to make it a one goal Lehigh Valley game again.

Things would settle a bit from an official making a questionable call or a linesman running a pick on a Penguin; Wilkes-Barre would finish strong to end the period.

In the third, the Penguins pushed the Phantoms defense and forecheck for that tying goal, referees kept their whistles in their pockets and stayed out of the way but the Phantoms, to their credit, bended but never broke.

With DeSmith vacated for the extra attacker late, Lehigh Valley hit an empty net to make it 5-3. Adam Johnson scored a goal with 11 seconds left to make it a one goal game again and that was all for the scoring.

Three Stars: 3) Garrett Wilson (goal, assist, +2) 2) G. Quinney (goal, assist, +1) and Chris Conner (goal, -1)

Around the Division: Bridgeport scores three power play goals at home and down the Hershey Bears 3-1…Providence takes down Utica in a wild one, 5-4 in a shootout…Binghamton catches Charlotte on a bad night and crush the Checkers 6-2 on the Southern Tier.

Standings: Providence (.700 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.667) — Charlotte (.641) — Penguins (.603) — Bridgeport (.550) — Hartford (.500) — Hershey (.470) — Springfield (.424)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

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Goulbourne goal should not have counted. There is no reason why there should not have been a review of the goal. First, here it is with the benefit of slow motion.

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From the AHL Rulebook on video review… In part, Rule 79.3, subsection vii…

79.3 Situations Subject to Video Review – The following are the only situations subject to video review by the Referee:

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(vii) To determine whether the puck entered the net from underneath the net frame.

I would be interested to know if Tom or Tyler asked Clark after the game what explanation he was given on that play.

Penguins practice Thursday for their meeting with Hartford Thursday. But for any news pieces, look for the next update to come Friday with the Wolf Pack setup at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!