Chirps from Center Ice

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Well, that was fun.

An epic 5-4 comeback from behind overtime win for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, who still have not lost to the Lake Erie / Cleveland Monsters on home ice.

But it was how they got there that tells the tale.

After a penalty marred first period that saw the Cleveland Monsters score on not one, but two five on three advantages, the Penguins were behind the eight ball and trailing 4-1.

It was like the whole world was against them.

I don’t want to blame the officials but Casey Terreri and Will Kelly weren’t it. Terreri was here Friday and seemed fine, Saturday too. Will Kelly seems overmatched at this level and sees things no one else sees and calls things no one else calls.

But the Penguins won the game, so let’s leave stripes be. Hold onto your butts whenever you see Kelly as the guy officiating your game, you are in for a hell of a ride.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Jesse Puljujarvi quit on the team and is having his contract terminated. Pens gave him a shot to re-establish himself, he did somewhat, then 31 other teams passed on him through waivers. That’s why I cheer for the front of the jersey and never the back. If he doesn’t want to be here anymore, get lost.

Vasily Ponomarev went up to Pittsburgh this afternoon.

On the ice, Corey Andonovski and Atley Calvert drew in for Ponomaraev and that quitter Puljujarvi. Thank god this is the last time I have to spell Puljujarvi.

First Period: At the expiration of a Dan Renouf penalty, Joseph LaBate got Cleveland on the board first.

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Penguins respond quickly with a goal from Jack St. Ivany that tied the game at one.

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Through a screen. And a St. Ivany goal? That’s what you want to see.

But as they were announcing the goal, Rocco Grimaldi scored :36 later and the Monsters re-took the lead.

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Trey Fix-Wolansky and LaBate added two more Cleveland goals while the Penguins were down two men.

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The Penguins took five straight penalties to open the period and got burned for four goals, two of them on the power play.

They looked bad the night prior against Bridgeport and won. Cleveland offered stiffer competition and this? Oh boy.

Second Period: A Valtteri Puustinen shot banks off of Joona Koppanen’s leg and the comeback was seemingly on.

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Kelly and Terreri dialed back the penalties in the period.

Third Period: Okay, so they settled a bit and started to play Penguin hockey. They torched Jet Greaves’ net with 17 shots in the period and with every passing shot and shift, momentum started to turn.

Nifty hands by Jonathan Gruden in close from a hell of a pass from Sam Poulin and the Penguins are back to within one.

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Then after a time out and with Murashov pulled for the extra attacker, the Penguins would indeed find the equalizer when none other than Sam Poulin scored to tie the game at four.

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Free coffee!

But the celebration would be a bit short-lived as linesman Jud Ritter adjudged that Marc Johnstone threw a puck over the glass, thus assessing a delay of game penalty.

Ritter sucks and I think he has a vendetta against the Penguins going back years. But that’s beside the point.

Overtime: After 22 skaters in Cleveland jerseys and four idiots with striped shirts and whistles, here we are.

Wilkes-Barre would kill the Johnstone penalty thanks to four really good saves from Sergei Murashov and then Owen Pickering scored with 23.1 seconds left to clinch the epic comeback for the Penguins.

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Another angle…

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Three Stars: 3) Sergei Murashov (29 saves, four in overtime) 2) Sam Poulin (goal, two assists) 1) Owen Pickering (game winning overtime goal)

The Good: They never seemed out of it despite how things were going after the first. That’s coaching. That’s leadership. That’s determination.

The Bad: Besides the officiating, what planet was Mac Hollowell on? Not a good game at all by Hollowell in my eye, somehow credited with 7 shots. He would have had double that if those attempts were actually on target.

Turning Point: In a game that chased it to the end, the Pickering goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Bridgeport wins just their third game on home ice this season, beating Charlotte 5-1….Syracuse roughs up a depleted and ill Hershey team 5-0 that skated a man short because of it….Hartford beats Lehigh Valley 4-2 and Springfield beats Providence 5-2.

Good night out of town for the Penguins. Here’s why:

Standings: Hershey 61 – Penguins 56 – Charlotte and Providence 55 – Lehigh Valley 50 – Springfield 49 – Hartford 43 – Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: Nailers win 4-3. Jordan Martel with a goal and an assist. Jaxon Castor stops 23.

Video Highlights: 

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Late Breaking News:

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Pittsburgh and the rest of the NHL are on break for whatever the hell Four Nations is for two weeks, so this is expected.

The Power Rankings will be out Monday, don’t forget the Pens have a road trip to Hershey where they can draw to three points of the Bears lead with a win. Important game.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Your mileage may vary, but I didn’t like the way they played Friday.

Sure, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins shutout the Bridgeport Islanders 3-0, and a team on the rise beat a team that’s been in last place all season. It kind of had to happen this way, but I didn’t think they played well at all.

Bridgeport, save for a few shorthanded instances and maybe the first five to seven minutes of the game, never threatened. You take the two points and the game in hand on Hershey and move on.

Here’s how they lined up…

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I don’t know this guy, but you can’t convince me otherwise they aren’t the great Mike Fornabaio.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1888007646562931181

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Lineup Notes: Jesse Puljujarvi and the returning Tristan Broz for Corey Andonovski and Emil Bemstrom up front and Filip Kral for Scooter Brickey on defense.

First Period: Bridgeport wanted a hot start and got it, but didn’t get any goals to show for it.

Sam Poulin with a dart at 11:22 and the Penguins are on the board.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1888022049375010883

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Upper 90, as they say in soccer.

Then the Penguins put on a passing clinic and Tristan Broz tipped in a Ville Koivunen shot that made it 2-0 late.

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Second Period: Islanders go about half the period without a shot on goal but then get a few good looks and even better ones killing a penalty. Tristan Jarry didn’t have a lot to do in the period but stayed sharp.

Third Period: Jonathan Gruden lays a big hit on Isaiah George and fights Riley Piercey which delighted some of the casuals in attendance. Later, Gruden banged bodies again with Piercey in open ice.

Bridgeport had more of the desperation and if you were watching you were waiting for them to score. The Penguins got sloppy taking two penalties in the period but got out of those OK.

Islanders head coach Rick Kowalsky signaled his 6’8 goaltender Henrik Tikkanen to the bench and a few seconds after that Ville Koivunen setup Boris Katchouk for an empty net goal that sealed it.

https://twitter.com/WBSPenguins/status/1888055153741242678

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Three Stars: 3) Trisan Broz (goal) 2) Sam Poulin (goal) 1) Tristan Jarry (31 saves)

The Good: Handled business and beat a team they are on paper and in all facets better than, used game in hand to inch closer to Hershey.

The Bad: I was expecting more, especially on the power play which went 0/2. Was it a down night? Rust after All-Stars? Who knows. They could have been better, and maybe I am nitpicking a bit after a 31 ave shutout.

The Bad Deux: We have reached the point of the season that they start wearing dark jerseys at home. This is one of the stupidest things the League has done in quite some time. First of all you don’t see enough variety come through when you constantly play the same handful of teams over and over. It isn’t worth it. Whites are clean, whites should be worn at home. Period. Like, look at this…

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Do. Less.

Turning Point: No coming back from a three goal deficit late, the Katchouk goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Charlotte shuts out Hartford 3-0….Lehigh Valley coughs up a two goal lead at home against Cleveland but wins 3-2 in a shootout….Providence beats Springfield in the shootout 3-2. Hershey was off.

Standings: Hershey 61 – Charlotte 55 – Providence 55 – Penguins 54 – Lehigh Valley 50 – Springfield 47 – Hartford 41 – Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers double up the Indy Fuel 6-3 in Indiana Friday. Matty De St. Phalle with a pair of goals and an assist. Taylor Gauthier stopped 16. Nailers host the Reading Royals Saturday.

Video Highlights: 

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Back at it Saturday when they host the Cleveland Monsters.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Just 16 shots on goal for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins Saturday night but it’s enough to turn the tables on the Charlotte Checkers and results in a 3-2 Penguins win.

Sergei Murashov is 5-0 in the AHL. Wilkes-Barre has important stretches of games over the final half of the season. Murashov is positioning himself as the number one goaltender.

They will break now for the All-Star game. During the third period, it was announced that Owen Pickering was added to the games, joining his teammate Emil Bemstrom.

It ain’t that deep, but Vasily Ponomarev deserves it more. He just does, but it’s a showcase for guys that will be playing in the NHL someday and Pickering has already been there and will be there again. It ain’t that deep.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Avery Hayes for Atley Calvert up front; Dan Renouf for Filip Kral.

First Period: Four goals in the period, all before the game was eight minutes old. Vasily Ponomarev, still not an AHL All-Star, scored just :16 in, with this goal…

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Penguins power play after that. Easy, right?

Wrong.

Patrick Giles scores the Checkers 12th shorthanded goal of the season, Charlotte’s fourth against the Penguins alone, to tie the game at one.

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Corey Andonovski scored to push the Penguins back ahead to make it 2-1.

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What a pass right there. Andonovski getting hot is something you want to see.

Will Lockwood would score on back to back nights on the Penguins to even the game at two at 7:31.

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Whew. And I don’t know what Lockwood saw there because Sergei Murashov sure didn’t. Gotta have that.

Second Period: Another slow start for the Penguins, just four shots in the period. Sergei Murashov kept things level, stopping all 11 shots faced. Teams traded power plays but no one scored.

Third Period: Penguins sweat through a Dan Renouf delay of game penalty. I thought Adam Tobias and Mike Sullivan were generally okay this weekend which makes it more frustrating whenever you see Sullivan’s name assigned to the games. He’s so inconsistent.

Anyway, during the penalty kill, Jonathan Gruden won a foot race and stole the puck off goaltender Ken Appleby’s stick and it went straight into the net to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead on a shorthanded goal.

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Later the Checkers would pull Appleby for an extra attacker but they would never find the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Patrick Giles (goal) 2) Corey Andonovski (goal) 1) Jonathan Gruden (goal, assist)

The Good: Nice to see them turn the tables on Charlotte. I think these two teams are headed for a collision course in late April / early May.

The Bad: 16 shots? Really? That. won’t get you very far on most nights but like I said Friday, styles make fights.

Turning Point: Go back and watch that Gruden goal. That’s dogged determination if there ever was any.

Around the Division: Laval clips Hartford in overtime 5-4….Cleveland bests Providence 3-2….Hershey again survives Bridgeport 5-4 and Springfield crushes Iowa 7-2. Lehigh Valley had the weekend off.

Standings: Hershey 61 – Providence and Charlotte 53 – Penguins 52 – Lehigh Valley 48 – Springfield 46 – Hartford 41 – Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers were out in Fort Wayne and lost 5-3. Matthew Quercia had a pair of goals in the loss.

Video Highlights: AHL VideoCenter is your best bet.

AHL Power Rankings will be out Monday. I will be able to finish them Sunday at a reasonable time which is nice with no games.

Enjoy All-Stars and the week off. Talk next Friday for the Weekend Setup.

Let’s Go Pens!

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They didn’t have it tonight.

Down 3-1 to start the third period, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins don’t register a shot until 9:56 into the third period. That shot, taken by Ville Koivunen, did go in.

But the Penguins would not get any closer and lost 3-2.

They lacked that same killer instinct that they had Wednesday at home against the Hershey Bears.

It happens. You can’t get mad at them, when they have this many games in hand on the rest of the division and the Checkers are their kryptonite this season.

They will rematch Saturday at 6. Don’t be late.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: Up front Corey Andonovski was in for Avery Hayes. Atley Calvert jumped up to the second line. On defense, Scooter Brickey for Dan Renouf. Avery Hayes and Renouf are ill and if that’s the case, likely not on the trip.

First Period: Penguins had a pair of power plays but didn’t score on them. Instead, John Leonard scored this, highlight reel worthy goal, to give the Checkers their League leading 11th shorthanded goal and the Checkers a 1-0 lead.

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I mean it was pretty nice. Nothing Mac Hollowell could really do there either as Hollowell was playing Leonard tight. Leonard straight up spun off him and flung a backhander at Jarry that beat him.

Second Period: Charlotte put the puck in the net three times in the period but two times it didn’t count.

Will Lockwood did put the puck in the net early in the period when there were three Penguins watching it pinball around off of each other.

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Tilt!

Penguins connect on a power play goal when Sam Poulin scores to put the Penguins on the board and cut the deficit to one.

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But the flatfooted-ness continued for the Penguins and the Checkers would score in the final minute when Sandis Vilmanis scores to push the lead back out to two for the Checkers.

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Third Period: As I mentioned at the top, the Penguins didn’t record a shot until four seconds to half way but that attempt by Ville Koivunen did give the Penguins another lifeline.

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But, as also mentioned in the jump, the Penguins never had it and, despite pulling Tristan Jarry for the extra man, never got set in their zone and thus, never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Sandis Vilmanis (goal) 2) John Leonard (goal) 1) Will Lockwood (goal, assist)

The Good: Power play stays hot, getting a goal.

The Bad: Charlotte gives them fits. Styles make fights and all. They need to find a way to beat the Checkers because they are a team they will undoubtedly have to go through in late April, early May if they should qualify for a playoff berth.

Turning Point: The Vilmanis goal gets it here. Just a back breaking goal to give up in the final minute that sent them reeling to open the third.

Around the Division: Springfield is out in Des Moines playing the Iowa Wild in a game that started an hour later then the Penguins. That box is here. All the other Atlantic Division teams are final as this goes up around 10 p.m. on Friday. Providence beats Cleveland 4-2….Hershey survives Bridgeport 5-4…Laval beats Hartford 3-1. Lehigh Valley was one of two AHL teams (Bakersfield the other) not in action on Friday.

Standings: Hershey 59 – Providence and Charlotte 53 – Penguins 50 – Lehigh Valley 48 – Springfield 42, but they are still in action when this goes up, Hartford 40 – Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers are in Cincinnati and won in overtime 4-3. Matt Koopman got the goal, Taylor Gauthier stopped 31. Matty De St. Phalle had a goal and an assist.

Video Highlights: AHL VideoCenter may be your best bet for you sickos.

Back at it Saturday at 6. Who do you have winning the Royal Rumble?

Let’s Go Pens!

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0                              9

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Yes, you are reading it all right. Both the scoreline and the headline. Vasily Ponomarev leads AHL rookies in points (35) and is yet somehow not an AHL All-Star. Baffling, and maybe downright insulting.

And yes, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins beat up the Hershey Bears like they owed them money to a tune of 9-0.

It’s just the second regulation road loss for the forward depleted Bears, who are missing a ton of offensive firepower but are generally OK on defense on goaltending.

Not tonight, though.

Four goals for Vasily Ponomarev, a hat trick also for Ville Koivunen and 27 saves for Sergei Murashov, his first AHL shutout and he wasn’t even named a star of the game.

Valtteri Puustinen, Colton Poolman, Owen Pickering, Marc Johnstone and Dan Renouf were held off the score sheet for the Pens Wednesday. Only Bogdan Trineyev, Chase Priskie and Garrett Roe for the Bears weren’t on the ice for any even strength goals scored.

Historic night.

Biggest margin of victory over the Bears….biggest margin of victory ever….seven hat tricks this season shatters the franchise record of five, and they had two in one game, also first time ever.

I said in the Weekend Preview that if they beat Hershey then the rest (with Charlotte this week) takes care of itself.

I think we are getting to the point to where a win should be expected. Not given, but expected.

The Penguins jumped on the Bears from the outset with Ville Koivunen scoring at 4:39 off a nice feed from Boris Katchouk.

Vasily Ponomarev would net a power play goal at 6:42 and it was 2-0.

Ponomarev again at 9:12 and that was all for Clay Stevenson in net for the Bears, enter Hunter Shepard.

It didn’t matter.

Ville Koivunen netted the free coffee goal at 14:15.

This was just the first period.

More in the second.

Koivunen for his hat trick at 1:36 at the expiration of a Penguins power play made it 5-0, Sam Poulin creeping behind the defense off a very nice pass from Joona Koppanen to make it 6-0 at 7:02,  Koivunen for his fourth at 13:09 and then Filip Kral, who had four assists, tucked in a goal that made it 8-0 at 17:28.

The only question is would the Penguins score ten and would Ponomarev get a hat trick of his own?

Ponomarev would at 3:17, back on Clay Stevenson who went back in net for the Bears to start the third, but the Penguins would not continue shattering franchise records by scoring a tenth goal, something they have never done.

Here they are, in all their glorious glory. Pick your favorite and let me know in the comments.

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That goal was my favorite, by the way.

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Whew.

Lost in the ether was a strong effort in net from Sergei Murashov whom I thought was a good call to go in net against the Bears. What offensive mustard the Bears put on Murashov when they weren’t having to put out fires on the backs their defensemen or fishing pucks out of the net or scheduling audiologist visits after Todd Nelson gave them an earful in intermission, were all shut down rather easily by the Russian rookie net minder.

But again, buyer beware, Hershey has a lot of forwards hurt.

Lineup wise, Atley Calvert made his AHL debut on the fourth line in place of Corey Andonovski and Colton Poolman was in Scooter Brickey.

Three Stars: 3) Filip Kral (goal, four assists) 2) Vasily Ponomarev (hat trick) 1) Ville Koivunen (hat trick plus one)

The Good: Again, they jumped on Hershey like they owed them money. I said in the Power Rankings earlier this week I don’t think the Bears win the division this season. I think the Penguins are the best team in the division but they just haven’t played enough games to have people notice yet.

The Bad: They didn’t get ten?

Turning Point: I think the power play goal scored by Ponomarev back in the first set the ball in motion and it was downhill from there for the Bears and just a runaway train for the Penguins.

Around the Division: You won’t believe this, but there was another team that scored nine goals. Lehigh Valley throttles Bridgeport 9-2…Hartford loses 6-5 in overtime in Belleville.

Standings: Hershey 57 – Providence and Charlotte 51 – Penguins 50 – Lehigh Valley 48 – Springfield 42 – Hartford 40 – Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

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They fly to Charlotte Thursday and we will be back here Friday.

Seriously, Vasiliy Ponomarev isn’t an AHL All-Star.

Let’s Go Pens!