Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

GAMEDAY: vs. Lehigh Valley 11/22

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Lehigh Valley 11/22 Posted by on November 22, 2017

 

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Who: Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game: Friday in Binghamton, the Penguins won 4-3. Christian Thomas scored the game winning goal in the third period after returning from Finland after playing in the Karjala Cup. For Lehigh Valley, the Phantoms were in Laval, QC for a meeting with the Rocket and won 5-2. The Phantoms struck three times on the power play.

Last Meeting: A classic back on November 3 saw the Penguins win in a shootout 6-5. Ryan Haggerty scored twice and Garrett Wilson had two assists. Christian Thomas scored the only goal in the shootout round between the two teams.

Record: For WBS: 11-2-0-1 (23 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division) // For LV: 10-5-0-2 (22 pts., 2nd place Atlantic Division)

Referee(s): Peter Schlittenhardt / Pierre Lambert

Linesmen: Tom DellaFranco / Luke Murray

Why You Should Care: Can these two replicate that thriller on November 3? Penguins have points in eleven straight. Can they make it 12 in a row? The Phantoms will be getting up for this game and the Penguins better be ready to match Lehigh Valley’s intensity.

Promotion(s): None

Other Game to Watch: Springfield visits Hershey and the Thunderbirds are on the rise, winning three of their last four, so this should be an interesting matchup.

Next Five Games: @ SYR 11/24, SYR 11/25, MIL 12/1, RCH 12/2, @ HER 12/3

Gameday

AHL Power Rankings: Week 7

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 7 Posted by on November 20, 2017

Thanksgiving Week feels like a short week, doesn’t it?

Also, feels like we just started the season, doesn’t it? How did we get here, this fast?

Week 7 has come and gone in the American Hockey League and there is a new number on team. It’s the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

The Penguins have points in eleven straight games. They are followed by a Toronto Marlies team who have the most points in the AHL right now.

A pair of surprising Western Conference teams are third and fourth in Manitoba and Stockton and the top five is rounded out with San Antonio, who we feel have been here in the top five ever since Week 1.

Hop through the jump to see the rest of the teams after the Rampage if you didn’t link in direct and enjoy Thanksgiving week in the USA!

1

 Last Week: WBS 4 @ BNG 3
Points in 11 straight games. Mind you, Wilkes-Barre has only played 14 games so far. Busy Thanksgiving week coming with with some pre-turkey day action with Lehigh Valley followed by a home and home with Syracuse.

+1

 This Week: vs. LV 11/22, @ SYR 11/24, vs. SYR 11/25
Record: 11-2-0-1

2

 Last Week: SYR 1 @ TOR 2, SYR 1 @ TOR 3
Racking up points in the North, and but for a Rochester and Laval team keeping them honest, would be running away with the division.

+2

 This Week: @ UTI 11/22, vs. BEL 11/25, vs. BEL 11/26
Record: 13-4-0-0

3

 Last Week: CHI 2 @ MTB 3, CHI 4 @ MTB 6, LAV 2 @ MTB 5
Seven wins in their past eight games for a Moose side who is no longer a surprise, but a team you need to start taking seriously.

+4

 This Week: vs. LAV 11/21, @ GR 11/24, @ MIL 11/25
Record: 11-5-1-1

4

 Last Week: BAK 2 @ STK 4, BAK 2 @ STK 5
Swept the Condors this week, but now some real competition steps up with the Reign and the Roadrunners this week.

+6

 This Week: @ ONT 11/22, @ TUC 11/24, @ TUC 11/25
Record: 10-4-0-1

5

 Last Week: GR 6 @ SA 3, SA 3 @ TEX 4, TEX 2 @ SA 5
Thought that the Rampage were in trouble after Grand Rapids smacked them mid-week, then they split a series with the Stars. San Antonio may just be OK.

-2

 This Week: @ BAK 11/21, @ SJ 11/22, @ BAK 11/25, @ ONT 11/26
Record: 10-5-1-0

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

Power Rankings

Coming (Back) To America — Pens WIN 4-3

Comments Off on Coming (Back) To America — Pens WIN 4-3 Posted by on November 17, 2017

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Christian Thomas picked up right where he left off.

After scoring the shootout goal two weeks ago in Allentown against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Christian Thomas turned his attention to Finland in the Karjala Cup for the last week and a half. There, he was evaluated to be among the few chosen to represent Canada in the Olympics.

Back home, his Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins continued to rack up points while he was away.

Make it 11 straight games for the Penguins with at least a point, 21 out of a possible 22, as Wilkes-Barre gets by the Binghamton Devils tonight by a 4-3 score on the Southern Tier. Christian Thomas scored the game winning goal in the third period.

Casey DeSmith opposed Ken Appleby.

Lines were…

Dominik Simon – Colin Smith – Christian Thomas
Jarrett Burton – Gage Quinney – Daniel Sprong
Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Adam Johnson – Teddy Blueger – Thomas Di Pauli

Chris Summers – Lukas Bengtsson
Kevin Czuczman – Ethan Prow
Jarred Tinordi – Zach Trotman

Casey DeSmith – Colin Stevens

Lineup Notes: Garrett Wilson was at home taking care of a family matter, so Jarrett Burton took his spot on the second line. Lukas Bengtsson was pack and paired with Chris Summers. Andrey Pedan served Game 1 of a three game suspension.

First Period: :12 in, Ryan Haggerty scored to make it 1-0..

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Binghamton would respond later with a power play goal when Brandon Gignac knocked in a rebound of a blocked shot to tie the game at one a piece.

In the games final minute, Thomas DiPauli scored with 17.2 seconds left to make it 2-1 Penguins…

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Blunger there with the hustle to the wraparound shot / pass to DiPaui who was in the right place at the right time.

Wilkes-Barre would get outshot 13-4 in the period but in keeping with the theme Sunday in Hershey, it was all about quality over quantity.

Second Period: Binghamton would score, again on a power play, to tie the game at two a side. Bracken Kears deflected a shot in that made it 2-2 for the only scoring in the period.

The Penguins, to this point, did not have a single power play. They finally opened the third period with one when ex-Penguin Brian Strait boarded a Penguin at the buzzer.

Third Period: Adam Johnson scored on a bomb of a shot via one timer to push the Penguins back out ahead midway through the third…

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Christian Thomas scored on a breakaway minutes later and the floodgates were opening for the Penguins….

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But the Devils would score their third power play of the game when Jacob McDonald made it a little too close for comfort for the Penguins as the score would be cut to one.

Binghamton would hit a cross bar, DeSmith would make a save on his back, the Devils would pull Appleby for an extra attacker but never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Jacob McDonald (goal, assist, -1) 2) Christian Thomas (goal, +2) 1) Teddy Blunger (two assists, +2)

Around the Division: Hershey continues to win, winning Game 1 of their two game set in Providence by a 4-1 score. The two teams rematch Sunday… Hartford loses 4-2 in Rochester… Springfield blanks Charlotte 4-0… Lehigh Valley beats Laval 5-2. Bridgeport was off.

Standings: Penguins (.821 percentage points) — Lehigh Valley (.647) — Charlotte (.625) — Providence (.571) — Hershey (.529) — Bridgeport (.500) — Hartford (.441) — Springfield (.361)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were in Norfolk tonight and crushed the Admirals 6-2. Garrett Meurs had a goal and two assists for first star honors. Sean Maguire picked up the win, stopping 36 of 38 shots.

I didn’t see any video highlight package that the Devils put out.

That’s it for the weekend for the Penguins, who are off Saturday and Sunday and back in action Wednesday at home against Lehigh Valley before their home and home series with the Syracuse Crunch starting next Friday.

AHL Power Rankings will hit the blog Monday at 4.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: @ Binghamton 11/17

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: @ Binghamton 11/17 Posted by on November 17, 2017

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Who: Binghamton Devils

Where: Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game: Sunday in Hershey, the Penguins scored five goals on just thirteen shots on goal and throttled the Hershey Bears 5-1. Casey DeSmith was named first star of the game stopping 31 of 32 Bears shots. Daniel Sprong and Zach-Aston Reese both collected goals as well. For Binghamton, the Devils were shutout by the Rochester Americans in Rochester on Wednesday 3-0. The Devils have not scored a goal in 109:01

Record: For WBS: 10-2-0-1 (21 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division) // For BNG: 5-7-1-0 (11 pts., 5th place North Division)

Referee(s): Terry Koharski / Michael Sheehan

Linesmen: Matt Brady / J.P. Waleski

Why You Should Care: The Penguins have one game on the schedule this weekend and this is it. Binghamton hasn’t scored in over 100 minutes and are at home. Expect a fired up Devils team. The Penguins will need to match that intensity if they want to win the week in what is sure to be a tough environment in Binghamton.

Other Game to Watch: Resurgent Hershey visits Providence for a pair of games this weekend, starting tonight in the Rhode Island Capital.

Next Five Games: LV 11/22, @ SYR 11/24, SYR 11/25, MIL 12/1, RCH 12/2

Gameday

Andrey Pedan Suspended Three Games 11/13

Comments Off on Andrey Pedan Suspended Three Games 11/13 Posted by on November 13, 2017

Word came down Monday afternoon from Springfield that Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins defenseman Andrey Pedan has been suspended three games for an incident stemming from a charging incident on Saturday, November 11 against the Providence Bruins.

Here’s the video I ripped from video highlights Coal Street put forth Saturday night…

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Suspension verbiage from the league release went as follows…

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Andrey Pedan has been suspended for three (3) games as a consequence of a charging incident in a game vs. Providence on Nov. 11.

Pedan was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline). He will miss Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s games Friday (Nov. 17) at Binghamton, Nov. 22 vs. Lehigh Valley and Nov. 24 at Syracuse.

Rule 28.1 in the AHL Rulebook reads as follows…

28.1 Supplementary Discipline – In addition to the automatic fines and suspensions imposed under these rules, the President may, at his discretion, investigate any incident that occurs in connection with any Pre-season, Exhibition, League or Playoff game and may assess additional fines and/or suspensions for any offense committed during the course of a game or any aftermath thereof by a player, goalkeeper, Trainer, Manager, Coach or non-playing Club personnel or Club executive, whether or not such offense has been penalized by the Referee.

If an investigation is requested by a Club, it must be initiated within twenty-four (24) hours following the completion of the game in which the incident occurred. In addition, teams are required to fill out a request for supplemental discipline form along with a two hundred fifty dollar ($250) deposit refundable if further action is taken by the League.

There was no penalty called for charging at the time and no penalty assessed on the play at all other than the fight between Pedan and Kenny Agostino. Essentially, Providence asked that the League review the hit because Zboril did not return to the game nor did he play Sunday in Springfield when the Bruins visited the Thunderbirds.

Pedan will miss this Friday in Binghamton, next Wednesday at home against Lehigh Valley and Friday, November 24 at Syracuse.

Pedan’s game, I felt, was rounding into form. I don’t know if the suspension will hinder that or what.

Out the door, some other news…

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/930118757468573696

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Pittsburgh has the right of first refusal in the case of a re-claim…

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We will see what Pittsburgh decides to do Tuesday at noon. Niemi could, now hypothetically, be assigned to Wilkes-Bare and tandem with Casey DeSmith and Wilkes-Barre could send Colin Stevens back to Wheeling. Stay tuned I guess.

The AHL, WBS

AHL Power Rankings: Week 6

1 Comment Posted by on November 13, 2017

Say hello to Week 6 in the AHL and the Chirps from Center Ice Power Rankings are due.

This week was a challenge putting together. There was a shuffle to the top five teams, where they all remain in the top five, but then after that, there was a lot of teams at the bottom pulled from the top heading to the top fifteen, and a lot of teams in the top fifteen heading to the bottom of the Rankings.

You can flesh it out after you hit the jump after the Charlotte Checkers, who remain in fifth this week after another strong week. The Toronto Marlies fall from first to fourth after a tough loss to the Penguins but a nice bounce back in a pair of games against the Devils in Binghamton. The San Antonio Rampage slip to third after a torrid week themselves, but then the Penguins, who are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, are bested by one loss Tucson who are just lighting the League on fire.

Here’s the full list, click past the Checkers to see 6 through 30 if you didn’t click in direct.

1

 Last Week: BAK 3 @ TUC 6, BAK 1 @ TUC 4
Roadrunners are playing with a swagger and it’s fun to see. Only lost one regulation game so far and are overall #1 team in AHL and tops where it matters most, the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings for Week 6.

+3

 This Week: @ SD 11/17, @ SD 11/18
Record: 8-1-2-0

2

 Last Week: TOR 2 @ WBS 4, PRO 3 @ WBS 4 (OT), WBS 5 @ HER 1
Went toe to toe with the Marlies Wednesday, clawed back against the Bruins on Saturday then dismantled and embarrassed the Bears on their home ice Sunday, with just 13 shots on goal to show for it. Will the one game this week against Binghamton be a momentum killer?

+1

 This Week: @ BNG 11/17
Record: 10-2-0-1

3

 Last Week: SA 4 @ GR 7, SA 6 @ RFD 0, SA 2 @ CHI 1
The Politburo argued into the night to put San Antonio in first over the Roadrunners after yet another positive week, then Sunday afternoon the Penguins went out and scored 5 goals in Hershey on 13 shots.

-1

 This Week: vs. GR 11/14, @ TEX 11/15, vs. TEX 11/18
Record: 9-3-1-0

4

 Last Week: TOR 2 @ WBS 4, TOR 4 @ BNG 1, TOR 4 @ BNG 1
Loss to Penguins coupled with the winning ways of the Roadrunners and Rampage drop the Marlies out of the top three this week, but not to far out. Regroup with a pair against Syracuse this week.

-3

 This Week: vs. SYR 11/18, vs. SYR 11/19
Record: 11-4-0-0

5

 Last Week: CHA 5 @ UTI 2, CHA 5 @ UTI 2, CHA 3 @ SYR 5
Were the first team to ten wins this season. Competition isn’t up their level yet, but that doesn’t matter when the points are tallied at the end of the day.

n/a

 This Week: @ SPR 11/15, @ SPR 11/17, @ BRI 11/18
Record: 10-4-0-0

Click through here to see teams 6 through 30

Power Rankings

Quality Over Quantity — Pens WIN 5-1

2 Comments Posted by on November 12, 2017

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins went into Hershey Sunday and made the most of their scoring opportunities, beating the Bears 5-1 with a paltry 13 shots on goal.

No, you read that right, five goals on just 13 shots on goal all game.

Hershey fired 32 at starting goaltender Casey DeSmith and but for a fluke bounce on a power play in the second period, it could have been a shutout.

One other back of the envelope stat about this game, the Penguins only had one power play that they made count, to the Bears five.

The Penguins sweep the week and have points in ten straight games now and 19 out of a possible 20.

DeSmith opposed Vitek Vanecek, making his season debut for the Bears.

Lines were…

Zach Aston-Reese — J-S Dea — Ryan Haggerty
Garrett Wilson – Jarrett Burton – Daniel Sprong
Adam Johnson – Colin Smith – Dominik Simon
Thomas Di Pauli – Teddy Blueger – Patrick McGrath

Andrey Pedan – Ethan Prow
Chris Summers – Kevin Czuczman
Jarred Tinordi – Zach Trotman

Casey DeSmith – Colin Stevens

Lineup Notes: Jarrett Burton replaced Gage Quinney and Patrick McGrath, making his season debut, replaced Tom Sestito. Lukas Bengtsson was a bit under the weather, and given his history with POTS, the coaching staff rested him today in favor of Ethan Prow.

First Period: Penguins jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead with goals through the five hole of Vanecek. Jarred Tinordi with his second goal of the season here…

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And then Daniel Sprong found Zach Aston-Reese for an easy tap in goal for a 2-0 Penguin lead…

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Tinordi’s goal gave him back to back goals and doubled his output from last season when he was with the Tucson Roadrunners. Aston-Reese scored his second goal of the season, both coming against Hershey. Ethan Prow had the assist.

Good flow to the game, with both teams going up and down the ice and not a lot of stoppages. Casey DeSmith made this ten bell stop that caught the League’s attention…

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Second Period: Bears get a goal from Dustin Gazley on the power play off a weird carom that snuck past DeSmith to cut the lead to one.

But just :58 later, the Penguins answer right back with a goal by Thomas DiPauli that re-established the two goal Penguin lead…

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One minute later, Daniel Sprong toasted a Bears defense and made it 4-1…

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Rout was on after that.

Third Period: Quick moving period for both teams with a lot of back and forth but a ton of zone time for Hershey, who outshot the Penguins 12-3 in the period and had two power plays to play with but could not get anything past DeSmith for however hard they tried. Daniel Sprong was awarded a penalty shot in the opening moments of the period but hit the post.

 

Three Stars: 3) Daniel Sprong (goal, +2) 2) Zach Aston-Reese (goal, +1) and 1) Casey DeSmith (31 saves on 32 shots)

Around the Division: Providence coughs up another two goal lead and loses in overtime, this time against the Springfield in Massachusetts this afternoon and lose 4-3. Laval beat Hartford 3-2 in overtime in Connecticut. Everyone else was off.

Standings: Penguins (.808 percentage points) — Charlotte (.714) — Lehigh Valley (.667) — Providence (.615) — Hershey (.467) — Hartford (.467) — Bridgeport (.462) — Springfield (.281)

Wheeling Update: beat the Norfolk Admirals at Wesbanco Arena this afternoon 5-3.Nailers Goalie Will King picked up the win and first star honors, stopping 39 of 42 Admirals shots. Garrett Meurs had two goals and Cam Brown had a goal and two assists. Reid Gardiner was held without a point. Nailers are back in action Tuesday in a kids day game against the Adirondack Thunder in West Virginia. Bring your earplugs.

As for the Penguins, they have one game this coming week, Friday in Binghamton and then have off the rest of the weekend.

Video Highlights: 

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Week 6 AHL Power Rankings hit the blog Monday at 4.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

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