Chirps from Center Ice

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

GAMEDAY: @ Lehigh Valley 10/14

1 Comment Posted by on October 14, 2017

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Who: Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Where: PPL Center

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game / Last Meeting: Last night in Wilkes-Barre, the Penguins won 5-0. Casey DeSmith picked up a 33 save shutout, his first of the season and second career against the Phantoms.

Record: For WBS: 1-1-0-0 // For LV: 1-1-0-1

Referee(s): Reid Anderson

Linesmen: Luke Murray / Jason Mandroc

Why You Should Care: Phantoms looking to exact a bit of revenge tonight while the Penguins are looking to continue the weekend with another win against their in-state rivals. Tristan Jarry is scheduled to start in goal for the Pens, who should not be making any lineup changes.

Other Game to Watch: Utica visits Syracuse in a good, clean, old fashioned rivalry game between two Central New York teams.

Next Five Games: SYR 10/15, LAV 10/20, HFD 10/21, HER 10/27, @ BRI 10/28

Gameday

DeSmith DeShutout Gets DeWin — Pens WIN 5-0

Comments Off on DeSmith DeShutout Gets DeWin — Pens WIN 5-0 Posted by on October 13, 2017

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It’s a good thing knowing that you have an insurance policy in a goaltender that is good, strong and confident.

It’s better when you take about half the shots as the other team and still win by multiple goals.

It also helps when your penalty killing unit goes 7-for-7, like the Penguins did tonight.

A 33 save shutout by Casey DeSmith, Penguins get goals from Tom Sestito, Daniel Sprong, Frank Corrado, J-S Dea and Dominik Simon and steamroll the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tonight by a 5-0 score.

Casey DeSmith opposed Alex Lyon.

Lines were…

Zach Aston-Reese – Teddy Blueger – Daniel Sprong
Dominik Simon – Adam Johnson – Christian Thomas
Garrett Wilson – J-S Dea – Tom Kostopoulos
Tom Sestito – Jarrett Burton – Thomas Di Pauli

Andrey Pedan – Lukas Bengtsson
Zach Trotman – Kevin Czuczman
Dylan Zink – Frank Corrado

Casey DeSmith – Tristan Jarry

Lineup Notes: Freddie Tifferls skated as the extra body in warmups. Dylan Zink slotted in for the recalled to Pittsburgh Chris Summers.

First Period: Sleepy start for the Penguins, who were being outshot by the Phantoms 5-0 through the first media break. Out of that, Thomas DiPauli beat out a Phantoms defender, I think it was Philippe Morin, may have been Sam Morin, and wheeled around the net of Lyon and passed to a wide open on the opposite side Tom Sestito who topped the goal home to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

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Daniel Sprong connected on the power play a little over three and a half minutes later to make it 2-0.

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Nice setup by Dylan Zink that set the whole thing up.

Penguins had this stretch tonight where they would go on the power play then give away a silly penalty to Lehigh Valley and skate anywhere from :20 to :40 at four on four. They didn’t allow the Phantoms to score, but it was annoying to see the Penguins earn a penalty and hand it away while on the man advantage.

Second Period: Frank Corrado threw a shot from the point that found its way past Lyon for a 3-0 lead. The puck ate up Lyon from my vantage point. Bad goal to give up in my opinion. You be the judge….

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Penguins went to the penalty kill and the Phantoms hemmed them in the whole time but Wilkes-Barre was able to get out of it unscathed. Casey DeSmith had some fine saves.

Later, Tom Kostopoulous had a nice backhand pass to J-S Dea that connected for a 4-0 Penguins lead that chased Alex Lyon…

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Shots through two periods were 25-15 Phantoms heading into the…

Third Period: How dialed in was Casey DeSmith tonight?

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Chris Conner (remember him?) took a high sticking call that drew blood that put the Penguins on a 4:00 power play. Dominik Simon connected on this shot by Zach Trotman that made it 5-0 past Dustin Tokarski who entered in relief of Alex Lyon after the Dea goal in the second. The Phantoms acquired Tokarski from the San Diego Gulls on Monday.

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Video highlights…

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Three Stars: 3) Dominik Simon (goal, assist. +1) 2) Tom Sestito (game winning goal, +1) and 1) Casey DeSmith (33 save shutout)

This is the second shutout of Casey DeSmith’s AHL career, the other one coming against this same Lehigh Valley team. In four games against the Phantoms, he has just allowed two goals.

Around the Devision: Hartford with an impressive 5-2 victory over Toronto at home tonight…Bridgeport beats Charlotte 5-3 in North Carolina…Providence stays hot beating Springfield 3-2. Hershey was off.

Standings: Still early days. Providence, Charlotte and Hartford with four points. Lehigh Valley with three, Wilkes-Barre and Bridgeport with two and Springfield and Hershey with zero.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers kicked off their season on the road in Greenville, South Carolina and won 5-4. Reid Gardiner had the game winning goal. He also had an assist. Garrett Meurs had two goals. Sean Maguire picked up the win, stopping 43 of 47 shots.

Coal Street should have video highlights. If I see them I will work in an edit.

These two teams rematch tomorrow in Allentown. Gameday setup hits the blog Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 5-0

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 5-0 Posted by on October 13, 2017

33 save shutout by Casey DeSmith and two power play goals by the Penguins special teams coupled with being perfect on the penalty kill propel the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins to their first win of the season, 5-0 over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Goals by Tom Sestito, Daniel Sprong, Frank Corrado, J-S Dea and Dominik Simon.

Full piece in a bit.

Rapid Recap

GAMEDAY: vs. Lehigh Valley 10/13

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Lehigh Valley 10/13 Posted by on October 13, 2017

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Who: Lehigh Valley Phantoms

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Last Game: Last Saturday at home against the Charlotte Checkers in the home opener, the Penguins lost 5-2. Daniel Sprong and Thomas DiPauli scored goals for the Penguins but Wilkes-Barre allowed Charlotte to score twice shorthanded. For Lehigh Valley, the Phantoms were in Hartford on Sunday and lost in a shootout 2-1. Alex Lyon turned away 35 of 36 shots presented to him.

Record: For WBS: 0-1-0-0 // For LV: 1-0-0-1

Referee(s): Keith Kaval / Corey Syvret

Linesmen: Tom DellaFranco / Tom George

Why You Should Care: The Penguins had a week to stew on the egg that they laid at their home opener last Saturday. The Phantoms blew out Hershey in theirs then went to play a tougher Hartford team then they thought and lost in a shootout. So it’s two teams that either didn’t like the way they played or aren’t sure of their style of play. Should be an interesting game and miniseries between these two heated rivals this weekend.

Promotion(s): Postgame Autographs

Other Game to Watch: Binghamton visits Laval. Both teams are coming off great opening weekends.

Next Five Games: @ LV 10/4, SYR 10/15, LAV 10/20, HFD 10/21, HER 10/27

Gameday

Summers Up – No, Literally

Comments Off on Summers Up – No, Literally Posted by on October 10, 2017

With Ian Cole taking a full slap shot off of his two front teeth in Pittsburgh’s last game against Nashville on Saturday night, the Penguins today recalled D Chris Summers from Wilkes-Barre this afternoon.

In the aftermath, Cole tweeted a picture of his repairs that is as graphic as you can think of. He had swelling and is doing better than expected per Mike Sullivan.

Summers isn’t expected to play in Pittsburgh’s games in Washington Wednesday and Tampa Bay Thursday but the Penguins needed to make a recall because historically they like to roll with seven defenseman.

Summers wasn’t my first choice as a player to go up in a role of the seventh defenseman, I expected Frank Corrado to get that call. But I just blog about the team, I don’t make hockey decisions.

On Coal Street, the Penguins defense is already stretched thin with the recall of Summers. Jeff Taylor, Zach Trotman and Jarred Tinordi are all out and most likely ruled out for the weekend. The skinny on Trotman, who left the game Saturday, is that he is day to day but is unlikely to play in this weekends games. (Isn’t that week to week?) So that leaves some combination of Andrey Pedan, Ethan Prow, Kevin Czuczman, Kevin Spinozzi, Frank Corrado, Dylan Zink and Lukas Bengtsson for Clark Donatelli and his staff to choose from. With a three in three coming up for the Penguins, expect to see a recall from Wheeling at some point before Friday, one would assume.

In other news, the Colorado Eagles will become the AHL’s 31st team in 2018-19 serving as the primary affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. The Eagles are already the ECHL affiliate of the Avalanche so they are stepping up a league. They are going to play in the Pacific Division. That means you are probably going to see the Texas Stars and San Antonio Rampage head to the Central Division and most likely the Cleveland Monsters head to the Eastern Conference and the North Division. All yet to be determined, but we do know that the Eagles are coming next season and will play in the Pacific. What we don’t know is if they will play 76 like the rest of the AHL or 68 like the California teams and the Tuscon Roadrunners.

Oh, in case you were wondering what happened with the Avalanche’s current AHL affiliate the San Antonio Rampage, the St. Louis Blues announced that they have signed the Rampage up as their primary affiliate beginning in 2018-19.

Still waters run deep in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre.

More news as it comes this week, if not, check me out Friday for your Penguins / Phantoms Gameday setup.

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

AHL Power Rankings: Week 1

Comments Off on AHL Power Rankings: Week 1 Posted by on October 9, 2017

After a long summer for some and a shorter one for others, the first weekend of the 2017-18 AHL season is in the books.

Some teams are 2-0, other teams are 0-2. There are a bunch of teams in the middle somewhere because no one played three games this weekend.

Usually in the first weeks of the season here at the Rankings you see teams riding the elevator up and down. I don’t expect anything different here as we get rolling on the season. One weekend does not a season make, but you would rather start off on the right foot rather than the losing one.

New look to the Rankings this year, hope you like it. Please leave input below.

The Texas Stars are on top of the Power Rankings after week one after two wins against a very strong Chicago Wolves team. For a Stars team that missed playoffs last season, you probably couldn’t draw it up any better in Cedar Park.

Jump through if you didn’t link in direct to see where your favorite team ended up.

Read more of this post

Power Rankings

Foegele Bout It — Pens LOSE 5-2

Comments Off on Foegele Bout It — Pens LOSE 5-2 Posted by on October 7, 2017

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If you have been coming to this blog for any number of years you will often read me write that there are great teams in the AHL, good teams and bad teams. Charlotte, a team that hasn’t been seen in the Eastern Conference since 2011, is a great team. They were a playoff team last year in the Central Division and were not intimidated by this new look, revamped Wilkes-Barre-Scranton Penguins team. The Checkers spoil the Penguins opener with a 5-2 win.

No, my lede did not include a diatribe against referees Evgenii Romasko and Terry Koharski. They called what they saw and they happened to call a lot of it. The Penguins got burned twice shorthanded by Warren Foegele, who by all accounts should be AHL Player of the Week this Tuesday. Koharski / Romasko called it down the middle, six penalties a side for each team, and the Penguins gave up a power play goal to Charlotte and also allowed Foegele to score twice shorthanded. You don’t win many hockey games that way no matter if its opening night or not.

The only reason it wasn’t a Checkers runaway was due to the play of Tristan Jarry, who stopped 31 of 35 shots.

Jarry opposed Jeremy Smith. Here’s a look at the lines…

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Sure beats me hammering out the lines like the old days no?

First Period: Pens nearly got on the scoresheet first with this nice setup and play by Tom Sestito. Yes, Tom Sestito.

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Real quick, want to thank Taylor for putting these GIFs out there on Twitter and being so nice to allow me to embed them on my blog for you all. I think it enhances the read.

Penguins struck first with a goal boy Daniel Sprong on the power play. Get used to seeing a lot of this this upcoming season…

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That release is sickening, by the way.

Checkers would get on the board after an intentional offside call from the Penguins put the draw down in the Penguins zone to Jarry’s right. After the face-off Valintin Zykov turned around and fired at Jarry and it went in….

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Second Period: All out Checkers blitzkrieg, 23 shots to the Penguins 9, put Charlotte ahead of Wilkes-Barre 3-2 after things ended in the second.

Penguins jumped out to a 2-1 lead when Thomas DiPauli follows his own shot while shorthanded and beat Smith to push the Penguins ahead.

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Ferocious forechecking by Teddy Blueger set up the whole thing. DiPauli takes advantage.

Undeterred, Phil Di Giuseppe cashed on a power play when he put a shot on Jarry then followed the rebound off of Tristan’s shoulder and put a backhand in to tie it at two for Charlotte.

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Penguins then found themselves on the power play looking to make something happen, but J-S Dea turned the puck over to Roland McKeown who found Foegele who scored his first shorthanded goal of the night….

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Again, shots 23-9 for Charlotte and nary a goal scored even strength for the Checkers.

Third Period: Foegele again, shorthanded again….

https://twitter.com/CheckersHockey/status/916835910033051649

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Shots were an even 6-6 this period including a not shown 175′ empty net goal by the Checkers with Jarry vacated from Di Giuseppe.

Charlotte, already leading coming into the period, get another shorty from Foegele to make it 4-2 then get an empty netter. Ballgame.

After the game, Tom tweeted this…

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Three Stars: 3) Thomas DiPauli (goal, even) 2) Lucas Wallmark (two assists, +1) and 1) and Warren Foegele (two shorthanded goals, +2)

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley pounds Hershey 7-2 in Allentown….Bridgeport loses 2-1 in Binghamton….Providence beats Springfield 5-2. Hartford was off, they host Lehigh Valley Sunday afternoon.

Too soon for a Standings look. Lehigh Valley, Charlotte and Providence all won so they are on top of the division, the rest of us, Wilkes-Barre included, have 0 points. Still early days.

Wheeling Update: Nailers get ripping on their season next weekend.

I don’t think that the Penguins will post video highlights but if they do, I will edit them in.

Power Rankings debut Monday at 4. Check them out then. Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

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