Chirps from Center Ice

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

AHL Power Rankings: Week 26

1 Comment Posted by on April 4, 2016

There are two weeks left in the AHL regular season and still a lot to be decided for the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Seven teams have qualified. There are nine spots left; five in the East and four in the West.

Crossovers. Percentages. Games in hand. We try to make sense of it all in the Week 26 version of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings.

Hit the jump if you didn’t link in direct.

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Power Rankings

You May Get In, But You Can’t Stay Long — Pens LOSE 5-3

Comments Off on You May Get In, But You Can’t Stay Long — Pens LOSE 5-3 Posted by on April 3, 2016

POR            vs.          WBS

 5                                                3

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The Penguins will probably clinch a spot in the playoffs this week. They could have today with a win. They didn’t. They lose 5-3 to the Portland Pirates. 

When they do, with the style of play that they have been exhibiting of recent, it doesn’t look like they will be in it for long.

Call ups. Injuries. Riding Tristan Jarry like a rented mule. No viable backup they trust. The beat goes on.

Hopefully the problem gets fixed and soon or else the Penguin will be looking at a very early exit out of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Lines were…
Dominik Simon – Dustin Jeffrey – Kael Mouillerat
Jake Guentzel – Jarrett Burton – Tom Kostopoulos
Mattias Plachta – J-S Dea – Josh Archibald
Tom Sestito – Teddy Blueger – Adam Krause

Tim Erixon – Steve Oleksy
Will O’Neill – Barry Goers
Reid McNeill – Niclas Andersen

Tristan Jarry – Brian Foster

Lineup Notes: Jarrett Burton was in for Carter Rowney. Rowney is day to day with an upper body injury. He took warmups and was 50/50 to play and couldn’t. Head Coach Clark Donatelli shook up the lines a bit otherwise.

First Period: Had the feeling that if the Pens were going to reverse fortune from last night, they would need to strike first. That they did.

Tom Kostopoulos drove to the net and Brittain made the initial save. Jake Guentzel swiped home a rebound for his first goal as a professional.

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Later, Dustin Jeffrey busted down the near side, threw a pick at the net that deflected off of a Pirate skate and into the net for a 2-0 Penguin lead.

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That was Jeffrey’s 100th AHL goal.

Dylan Olsen cut the Penguins lead to one on a nice shot on the power play that made it 2-1 late in the first.

The Pens were the better team as played a better period. Shots after one were 9-5 Pens.

Second Period: Pens could score on a power play early on then could stop Portland from scoring on their second power play of the game when Connor Brickley finished off a tic tac toe play that tied it at two.

Pens would jump ahead when J-S Dea knocked one home on a nice rush by the Pens that made it 3-2.

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Pirates weren’t going away. Brett Olson scored when he finished off a cross ice pass on a shot that bled through Jarry that re-tied the game at three a piece.

The game hit a dangerous lull. Neither team was standing out. Then Logan Shaw got in behind everyone and scored to make it 4-3 for the Pirates.

Was that the death knell in the game for the Pens?

Third Period: Yes. The Pens could not score on a power play to open the period and Portland extended it to 5-3 when Shane Harper finished yet another cross ice pass. The Pens defense was getting worked.

Wilkes-Barre had the majority of shots in the period but never could get anything past Brittain to make a game of it.

Three Stars: 3) Logan Shaw (goal, +1) 2) J-S Dea (goal, assist, +2)  1) Connor Brickley (goal, two assists, +1)

Around the Division: The Hershey Bears sew up a Calder Cup Playoff berth with a 2-1 overtime loss up in Providence. Springfield beat Bridgeport 3-1. Hartford and Lehigh Valley were idle.

Standings: Hershey (.643 percentage points) — Penguins (.621) — Providence (.607) — Portland (.593) — Bridgeport (.593) — Hartford (.550) — Lehigh Valley (.493) — Springfield (.414)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers lost to the Toledo Walleye 2-1 in overtime. Anton Zlobin had the only goal for the Nailers in the loss.

Coal Street infographic…

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I’ll have an update to my charts tonight and the Week 26 AHL Power Rankings Monday at 4.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: vs. Portland 4/3

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Portland 4/3 Posted by on April 3, 2016

vs.     por15_200

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Home Game: 35

AHL Game: 1034

Who: Portland Pirates

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 4:05 p.m.

Media Kit

Last Game: Last night at home against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Pens lost 5-2. Despite putting up 40 shots, only Mattias Plachta and Dominik Simon were able to find the back of the net for the Pens. The Portland Pirates were in Hartford last night and beat the Wolf Pack 4-1. Mike McKenna stopped 43 of 44 shots.

Last Meeting: February 26 in Portland, the Pens won 3-2. Dominik Simon and Kael Mouillierat each had a goal and an assist.

Record: For WBS: 41-23-4-1 (87 pts., 2nd place Atlantic Division) — For POR: 37-25-5-2 (81 pts., 5th Atlantic Division)

Why you should care: Pens can lock up their fourteenth straight trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs with a win of any kind this afternoon against Portland. The Pirates are battling the Wolf Pack for the crossover spot to the North Division with Hartford and today is their game in hand on the Wolf Pack. You know they are going to bring everything they have at the Pens this afternoon.

Referee(s): Terry Koharski

Linesmen: Ryan Knapp / Tom George

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @WBSGameDay / @portlandpirates

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /PortlandPirates

Instagram: wbspenguins / piratesahl

Beat Writers: @CVSethLakso / @TLTomVenesky // @Chris_MHJ

Broadcasters: WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / POR: Jeff Mannix @JeffMannix

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep 

Radio: For WBS: WILK NewsRadio / For Portland: News Talk 1310 WLOB

Television: AHL Live

Promotion(s): Kids FREE (14 and under, with paid adult ticket) | $2 hot dogs

Other Game to Watch: The Bears rematch with the Providence Bruins today in Rhode Island.

Next Five Games: LV 4/8, @ HER 4/9, HER 4/10, @ LV 4/15, PRO 4/16

Gameday

Pearls Before Quine — Pens LOSE 5-2

Comments Off on Pearls Before Quine — Pens LOSE 5-2 Posted by on April 2, 2016

BRI         vs.         WBS

5                                              2

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I called the Sound Tigers, ‘dastardly’ in this afternoons Gameday setup on the blog.

Name me three teams that you don’t want to face come playoff time. Hershey is one, Toronto is one and likely Providence the other. You are forgetting about Bridgeport. Something about this Sound Tigers team gives the Penguins fits.

The Pens put 40 shots up on Sound Tigers goalie Chris Gibson tonight and still lost. It wasn’t even close. Here was a tweet that summed up the night, pretty much…

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Pens couldn’t do anything with the presence that they had in the offensive zone. Every shot was blocked. Every pass deflected. Every would be shot stopped by Gibson.

One of those nights.

The Penguins lost 5-2 to the Sound Tigers. With Portland, in tomorrow, beating Hartford tonight, the magic number drops to two. A win of any kind Sunday by Wilkes-Barre and they are in.

Tristan Jarry started his ninth consecutive game and was pulled after two periods when the score was 4-0 and well out of reach for the Penguins. Not for nothing, head coach Clark Donatelli tried different line combinations and replaced Jarry in net with Brian Foster. Foster’s only blemish was a puck that got away from him from behind his net that caromed to James Wright which at the time made it 5-1. Dominik Simon scored :32 into the third to cut the lead to 4-1.

The damage was done in the second period. The Penguins, already trailing 1-0 after the first period on an Alan Quine rebound he followed on a Sound Tigers power play, saw Bridgeport score three times.

And it was probably the best period that the Penguins played.

Quine added his second goal of the game finishing a nice cross ice pass from Mike Halmo that made it 2-0.

Quine completed the natural hat trick when he busted by three Penguins watching him and threw a seemingly weak backhanded shot at Jarry that hit the bar and went in for a 3-0 lead.

The Penguins, frustrated by what the Sound Tigers were giving them, couldn’t score on the periods only power play then saw a shot get blocked which led to a rush the other way for the Sound Tigers and a goal when a Pat Nullity shot from the blue line hit Connor Jones on the way in for a 4-0 Bridgeport lead.

The rout was on. If playoffs started today, the Penguins would be facing off against Bridgeport in the opening round. The Sound Tigers went 5-1 against the Penguins in the seasons series.

Mattias Plachta scored his first as a Penguin on a nice wrist shot late in the third with the game already decided. Donatelli used his time out to draw something up with Foster pulled but the Penguins could not get any closer.

Three Stars: 3) Connor Jones (goal, assist, +2) 2) James Wright (goal, two assists, +2) and 1) Alan Quine (natural hat trick, +2)

Around the Division: Hershey sees the first two shots against go in, fall behind 2-0 at Providence but come back and win in a shootout 4-3. The reverse of what happened here tonight in Wilkes-Barre happened up in Providence, the Bears won with just 18 shots on goal to Providence’s 38….Albany lost to Springfield 5-4. Ex-Penguin Matia Marcantuoni scored the game winning goal for the Falcons in the win. Marcantuoni was dealt in the trade which got the Pens Plachta. So both trade pieces score first goals for their respective teams. Nice….Lehigh Valley blanked St. John’s 4-0, the Phantoms were officially eliminated from playoffs tonight…Portland beats Hartford 4-1 which drops the Penguins magic number to 2.

Standings: Hershey (.645) — Penguins (.630) — Bridgeport (.601) — Providence (.601) — Portland (.587) — Hartford (.550) — Lehigh Valley (.493) — Springfield (.406)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers won a big one tonight over the Manchester Monarchs by a score of 2-1.

I’ll post any visual candy from Coal Street if they publish it in a morning edit.

Portland in tomorrow at 4. Gameday setup Sunday at noon.

Oh, if you are wondering where the pun headline came from, it’s a play on the term, “Pearls Before Swine” which has a biblical meaning and is also my favorite comic strip. I consider Stephan Pastis (also a big fan of puns himself) one of the greatest thinkers of our time.

Let’s Go Pens!

Deliberately Uncategorized

RAPID RECAP: Pens LOSE 5-2

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP: Pens LOSE 5-2 Posted by on April 2, 2016

Final shots on goal for this one was 40-24 for the Penguins who did everything they could and threw the kitchen sink at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers but an Alan Quine hat trick and a lot of blocked shots is enough for the visitors to get out of town with a 5-2 win over the Pens tonight. 

Pens magic number drops to two with the Hartford Wolf Pack losing to the Portland Pirates who are in tomorrow to face off against the Penguins. Hershey Bears were in overtime agains the Providence Bruins last I looked so the Pens will fall out of first by one point if not more. 

Full recap in a bit. 

Rapid Recap

GAMEDAY: vs. Bridgeport 4/2

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Bridgeport 4/2 Posted by on April 2, 2016

vs.     bri14

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Home Game: 34

AHL Game: 1027

Who: Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Media Kit

Last Game: Tuse day at home against Springfield, the Pens won 4-3. Dustin Jeffrey had a goal and two assists against his former team. For Bridgeport, they hosted Portland Tuesday morning and won 5-2. Mike Halmo had two goals and Alan Quine had three assists.

Last Meeting: March 13 in Bridgeport, the Sound Tigers won 3-2. Justin Florek had a hat trick and Ben Holmstrom had three assists.

Record: For WBS: 41-22-4-1 (87 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division)  — For BRI: 37-24-4-3 (81 pts., 4th place Atlantic Division)

Why you should care: The Pens can lock up a playoff spot tonight with a win and a Hartford loss to Portland tonight. In order for that to happen, Wilkes-Barre has to beat the dastardly Bridgeport Sound Tigers who have given the Penguins fits this season. A win and some help and the Pens are in for the fourteenth consecutive time.

Referee(s): Ryan Hersey

Linesmen: Tom George / Scott Pomento

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @WBSGameDay / @TheSoundTigers

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /soundtigers

Instagram: wbspenguins / thesoundtigers

Beat Writers: @CVSethLakso and @TLTomVenesky / @fornabaioctp

Broadcasters: For WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / For BRI: Paul Ryan @PaulRyanPaul

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep

Radio: For WBS: WILK NewsRadio / For BRI: I don’t think Sound Tigers games are on radio. Here’s the link to AHL Live where you could here the game if you want to.

Television: AHL Live and locally on MyNetworkTV and on 22 The Point in Pittsburgh

Promotion(s): Star Wars Night | Rebel Alliance Jersey Auction benefiting the CEO Weinberg Food Bank | Girl Scout Night

Other Game to Watch: No other choice here. Hartford hosts Portland. A Portland regulation win coupled with a Penguins win of any kind and Wilkes-Barre sews up a playoff spot.

Next Five Games: POR 4/3, LV 4/8, @ HER 4/9, HER 4/10, @ LV 4/15

Gameday

Carter Rowney Named AHL Player of the Month

Comments Off on Carter Rowney Named AHL Player of the Month Posted by on April 1, 2016

In a well deserved nomination, it was announced by the American Hockey League on Friday that Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins forward Carter Rowney was named AHL Player of the Month for the month of March.

Rowney’s March production saw him score 7 goals and assist on 10 others. He had a career high 9 game point streak and a hat trick during March and was far and away the Penguins best player.

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Rowney told Seth after practice today…

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In other news….

— Pittsburgh recalled Oskar Sundqvist on Wednesday after learning that Bryan Rust is sidelined with a lower body injury, day to day.

— Coal Street swapped back up goaltenders Thursday. Brian Foster up while Franky Palazzese went down. Head Coach Clark Donatelli told reporters Wednesday that this was a planned move to let Foster find his swagger down in Wheeling. In March, Foster put up a 3-1-1-1 record with a .920 SV% and a 2.16 GAA. He also had a 30 save shutout.

— Will O’Neill was named the Penguins nominee of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. There were four other ex-Penguins also nominated, Matt Carkner (Bridgeport) Brandon DeFazio (Providence) Ben Street (San Antonio) and Ryan Craig (Lake Erie)

— Sahir Gill is on track for an April 15 return. Ethan Prow is in town but couldn’t practice because his gear got lost.

The Penguins will likely sew up a playoff spot this weekend. With the Penguins off tonight, their magic number can shrink to two if Hershey beats Hartford tonight. There is a caveat, however. A Bears win puts them back in first place over the Penguins. When I queued some of the fan base on Twitter, the results were mixed. Basically the tone being that playoff seeding is going to be paramount and that the Pens want to avoid Providence at all costs.

It ain’t supposed to be easy.

Gameday for Saturday’s home game with Bridgeport goes up on the blog Saturday at 3.

Let’s Go Pens!

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

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