Chirps from Center Ice

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

WBS Adds Loney and Krause

Comments Off on WBS Adds Loney and Krause Posted by on June 8, 2015

Some news out of Coal Street Monday afternoon.

Forwards Ty Loney and Adam Krause signed AHL contracts today, the team announced.

Loney is the son of long time NHL forward Troy Loney, who won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992. Loney played four years at the University of Denver and was once a teammate of Beau Bennett. He signed an amateur contract with Norfolk late last season and appeared in five games going 2-2-4.

While doing a search for Loney, I found this article on him and his brother Reed, who were featured by the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2008.

Krause had a bit of a head start, as he suited up for six games with the Wheeling Nailers in the regular season, where he too was 2-2-4. In the Kelly Cup Playoffs, Krause had a goal and three assists. He’s big too, listed at 6’3 and 210 pounds. He captained Minnesota-Deluth last season.

Admittedly, that’s all I know about these two. You are looking at AHL depth guys that have the pedigree to develop into the next Conor Sheary. Whether or not that happens, remains to be seen.

I have updated the 2015 Offseason Moves List with our first two signings for 2015-16.

WBS

In Just the Nic of Time — Monarchs WIN 2-1 (OT)

Comments Off on In Just the Nic of Time — Monarchs WIN 2-1 (OT) Posted by on June 7, 2015

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Blogger note: Special to Bob Howard and the Power Play Post Show.

Heading into Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals, the Manchester Monarchs were 8-0 at home while the Utica Comets were 7-0 coming off of a playoff loss.

Something had to give.

Nic Dowd from the Manchester Monarchs continued the trend for the home team as the Manchester Monarchs take Game 2 by a 2-1 score and lead the best of seven series two games to none.

There were lineup changes for both sides. Kevin Raine drew in for the injured Jeff Schultz on defense for the Monarchs and Nicklas Jensen drew in the lineup for Wacey Hamilton at forward.

No change in goal for either side, as it was Jacob Markstrom for the Comets and J-F Berube for the Monarchs in net.

A much tighter first period defensively for the Comets ultimately saw Zach O’Brien break though on a power play goal in the final minute of the first period at 19:05.

Utica brought the affair level with a goal by Nicklas Jensen unassisted at 1:12 of the second period on a Monarchs turnover. Jensen had been a scratch for the past three games for the Comets but made his appearance in Game 2 count in scoring the tying goal. Neither team was able to capitalize during long stretches of power play time awarded by the referees.

Machester outshot the visitors 8-3 in the third period, but were unable to solve Jacob Markstrom. Utica controlled pace in the first half of the third period, but the Monarchs wrested away the momentum and managed everything they had to re-gain the lead.

The Monarchs were gift wrapped a power play to open overtime when Peter Andersson cleared the puck over the glass in his own end with one second left in regulation. However, the Monarchs did not score.

Finally, Nic Dowd tracked down a David Van der Gulick clearing attempt and was in a foot race with Utica’s Cory Conacher in the corner, to the right of Markstom. Dowd out hustled Conacher, spun towards the net, threw a shot on goal the Markstrom stopped, but no one picked him up in front, Markstrom never corralled the rebound and Dowd poked the game winner home falling down.

Three stars were Zach O’Brien with a goal, J-F Berube with 24 saves on 25 shots and Nic Dowd with an assist and the game winning goal.

Now the Comets face an unenviable task of trying to beat the Manchester Monarchs four times with five tries remaining. For a Manchester team that has only lost back to back games in the Calder Cup Playoffs just once (Portland in the Conference Quarterfinals) the Cup is almost theirs.

But the Monarchs face a sellout crowd and a Utica fan base which will have the Utica Memorial Auditorium packed to the gills on Wednesday night when this series resumes in Utica, NY for Game 3.

Notes: This was Utica’s 8th overtime game, they were 3-4 in the previous seven contests…. Manchester was a perfect 2-0 in overtime coming into overtime tonight… Attendance for Game 2 was 6,078.

The AHL

Have Mersch-y!! – Monarchs Take Game 1 3-2 (OT)

Comments Off on Have Mersch-y!! – Monarchs Take Game 1 3-2 (OT) Posted by on June 6, 2015

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Blogger Note: I was asked by Bob Howard of the Power Play Post Show to throw together a few paragraphs on the Calder Cup Finals between Utica and Manchester. I obliged.

The two best teams in the AHL all season long locked horns for the first time all season up in Manchester, NH for Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals in front of 8,155 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The home crowd went home happy, as they have every game they have witnessed this postseason. Michael Mersch’s game winning goal at 4:10 of the first overtime ensured that the Monarchs extend their record to 8-0 at home in the Calder Cup Playoffs with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 1 of the 2015 Calder Cup Finals.

For the visiting Comets, who vanquished the Chicago Wolves in five, Oklahoma City in seven and Grand Rapids in six, they may have had a bit of tired legs coming into Game 1. They were outshot 37-17 for the game and were run all over the rink tonight.

First Period: Monarchs opened with some early pressure but Utica accomplished what so few before them couldn’t, and that was keep the Monarchs out of their nets in the very early goings. Utica settled and then had some chances in close on Berube, but he was up to task.

Manchester defenseman Jeff Schultz was injured in the opening sequences of the game and did not return.

The first period of a game where two teams who have not seen each other usually features lots of hits and lots of scrums. This game was no different, with both teams playing playoff hockey for nearly two months and reaching the pinnacle, neither wanted to be knocked off early.

As they have done to so many teams before, the Michael Mersch, Jordan Weal and Brian O’Neill line struck again. A shot from Jordan Weal was slammed home by Brian O’Neill at 16:00 of the first period.

But 1:01 later, Utica responded with a Sven Baertschti power play goal to bring the Comets back even.

Second Period: First ten minutes in there were no goals, but the Monarchs held a 7-1 shot advantage and the game had a feel like Manchester was on an extended power play. That shot advantaged crept to a 10-1 advantage and the Monarchs headed to an actual power play but did not register a shot. Manchester really took over and dominated the pace of the game. They play fast and if you can’t keep up then it’s usually to your peril.

The goaltenders were becoming the story of the game. Jacob Markstrom of Utica, denied the virtual firing squad of rubber sent his way from Manchester shooters and then J-F Berube, who didn’t see much action, was called into action with a dazzling glove save as Alexandre Grenier walked in a ripped one but Berube snared it with the glove.

Third Period: Manchester cashed on a power play as Michael Mersch scored his twelfth goal of the playoffs at 2:23. But the resiliency of the Utica Comets was on full display as Cory Conacher unleashed a slick wrist shot that Berube had no chance on 3:01 later at 5:24.

Just like the second period, time was in fast forward mode. Neither team wanted to make an error to cost their team. Both goaltenders were up to the challenge with Markstrom seeing more rubber than his counterpart Berube.

In the final minute of the period, the Monarchs took a delay of game penalty when Colin Miller cleared a puck over the glass from his own zone. Utica didn’t have any time to draw anything up in regulation so it was off to…

Overtime: Manchester continued to push the pace, and it paid off. A Weal shot at the net was pushed in by Mersch for the game winner. After a video review for possible net dislodgment, it was ruled a good goal.

Three Stars: 3) Jacob Markstrom (34 saves on 37 shots) 2) Brian O’Neill (goal, assist, +1) and 1) Micheal Mersch (two goals, one a game winner, assist, +2)

Game 2 goes Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. in Manchester.

The AHL

Deal with Devils Made; John Hynes Named Coach of New Jersey

1 Comment Posted by on June 2, 2015

You could see the writing on the wall when it was announced a few weeks ago that Ray Shero was taking the GM position of the New Jersey Devils.

Or, maybe you could see the writing on the wall when he wasn’t named head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

John Hynes is an NHL Head Coach.

It was announced at a press conference today in Newark, NJ that Hynes, late of Wilkes-Barre / Scranton of the AHL will become the seventeenth head coach in the history of the New Jersey Devils.

Hynes, at age 40, will also become the youngest head coach in the NHL, surpassing another former Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins head coach, Mike Yeo who is 42 years old.

They call Penn State University, “Linebacker U” for their reputation of cranking out great linebackers like Jack Ham, LaVar Arrington and Paul Posluszny. They may as well dub Coal Street, “NHL Head Coach U” for the names of ex-Penguin coaches who have managed the bench here in Wilkes-Barre. Michel Therrien (Montreal) Mike Yeo (Minnesota) Dan Bylsma (Buffalo) Todd Richards (Columbus) and now Hynes (New Jersey) – and you can also include Todd Reirden who is an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals and Joey Mullen who is an assistant with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Hynes leaves Wilkes-Barre in a better place than he found it, which is all you can ask for as a head coach of an AHL team. Hynes had a record of 231-126-17 in five years and is the Penguins’ all-time winningest coach. His teams led the AHL in defense for four out of his five years with six different goalies (Brad Thiessen, John Curry, Jeff Zatkoff, Jeff Deslauriers, Eric Hartzell, Matt Murray)

As for replacements, the search is on. You can start in house and start with the man that stood right next to Hynes, assistant coach Alain Nasreddine. You can call up Wheeling Nailers head coach Clark Donatelli. The options are going to be limitless because it’s going to be a hotly contested job, as it is probably one of the premier jobs in all of North American pro hockey. Say what you want about Calder Cups or lack thereof around here. There are five NHL head coaches now that served as a head coach here in Wilkes-Barre. No other AHL team comes close (Hershey, 2) – so Penguins fans worried that the 2015-16 edition of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins will be a pushover needn’t worry.

Why?

The next head coach that comes in will be expected to eventually leave Wilkes-Barre in a better place than he found it.

WBS

This is Your Captain Speaking…

Comments Off on This is Your Captain Speaking… Posted by on May 27, 2015

And signing…

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins announced this afternoon that they have re-signed Tom Kostopoulos for another season. It’s an AHL deal, just like this past season.

Kostopoulos hasn’t lost a step yet and it’s clear that the fire still burns and that he is dedicated to the Penguins. He could have retired but didn’t.

Hopefully this is just the first step in what will be a great offseason of news for the Penguins.

While I have you here, some other news to clean up.

– The AHL All-Star Classic will be held in Syracuse next season. Tickets on sale already. Details here.
– Hershey re-signed Dustin Gazley and Erik Burgdoerfer to AHL deals a few weeks ago.
– The Flyers added Aaron Palushaj last week. Palushaj spent last season in Russia’s KHL. He’s seen more AHL than NHL over here, so it’s possible that he ends up back in the AHL in the East Division Atlantic Division at some point with Lehigh Valley.

That’s about it. I updated the 2015 Offseason Moves List.

The AHL, WBS

2014-15 Year in Review

1 Comment Posted by on May 20, 2015

I know what you are thinking by reading the headline.

It wasn’t a success.

That’s because the sixteenth campaign of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins ended with another dismissal in the Calder Cup Playoffs, this time to the Manchester Monarchs in five games last week.

It wasn’t a success!

Technically, if you base your definition of “success” off of the Calder Cup Playoffs, then no, it wasn’t a success. But you need to define a season based off of its entirety, so you need to paint with a broader brush.

The purpose of the American Hockey League is to develop players, coaches and officials for the next level, the National Hockey League. The purpose of an AHL team is to develop and win at the same time. Some franchises just develop and don’t win. Others win but don’t develop. What you have on Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is the perfect balance of development and winning. Scott Wilson, Bobby Farnham, Bryan Rust, Scott Harrington, Derrick Pouliot and Dominik Uher all made their NHL debuts this season. The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins made playoffs in the AHL for the thirteenth consecutive season, the longest current run for any AHL team in the 30 team league. The Penguins led the AHL in defense for the fourth time in five years, something unheard of in a team with 30 teams.

The fact of the matter is, the 2014-15 Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins season was a success.

The season opened Saturday, October 11 at home against the Phantoms, who were playing their first game under the banner of the Lehigh Valley. It ended in a 5-2 loss. The next afternoon against Manchester wasn’t any better, a 4-1 loss and in retrospect, a bit of foreshadowing for the Penguins as it was the Monarchs that gave the Penguins fits that day and ultimately gave them fits in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

A trip to St. John’s, where the prior seasons campaign ended four months ago, resulted in a two game sweep. After getting shutout by Albany on the return trip home, the Penguins would shutout the Springfield Falcons backstopped by a 21 save shutout by some wet behind the ears kid by the name of Matt Murray, making his second professional start.

The shutout against Springfield that day would be the first step for Murray towards his re-writing of the AHL record books.

Battles with familiar foes in Binghamton, Hershey and Norfolk would carry the Penguins to the top of the East Division at the quarter pole of the season. Wilkes-Barre would remain at the top of the East Division through November.

Head Coach John Hynes would collect his 200th AHL win on teddy bear toss night about an hour south of here in Hershey, PA. A goal by Steve Oleksy :39 in to the game set off more than 17,000 bears onto the Giant Center ice which led to a lengthy delay while all of the furry toys were cleaned up off the ice. But the Penguins would win the day and re-claim first place in the East Division and net Hynes his bicentennial win.

The Penguins rang in 2015 at home  with the Bears on New Years Eve with a 2-0 win backstopped by a 24 save performance by Jeff Zatkoff, who had a tremendous December.

Let me remind you that this was a Penguins team that led the East Division in January that was filled by guys that were called up from the ECHL. Names like Sahir Gill, Zack Torquato and more familiar names like Matia Marcantuoni, J-S Dea and Josh Archibald.

But a six game losing streak hit the Penguins and eventually the personnel losses caught up with them. They lost the division lead to rival Hershey, something the Bears would never relinquish, and were spiraling.

Right before the All-Star break, the Penguins would end the six game skid and turn things around with a four game winning streak. The Penguins all-star representatives were Tom Kostopoulos (playing as the Eastern Conference Captain) Derrick Pouliot and Jeff Zatkoff. Zatkoff would miss the game due to injury.

The month of February would see the Penguins rip off a 7-0-1-1 record and go without a single regulation loss. It was a month that they didn’t want to see end and really solidified them as a playoff contender but not a division contender because the Hershey Bears were as equally as hot as the Penguins.

But February would set the table for March and Matt Murray, who cemented himself as the number one goaltender in Wilkes-Barre and the number one goaltender in the AHL.

Murray would collect the AHL Goaltender of the Month Award in February and again in March, back to back months which was aided by his shattering of the AHL’s shutout streak of 304:11 in a game against Springfield, obliterating the streak set by Barry Brust of Abbotsford of 268:17. Consecutive shutouts against Portland, Providence, Bridgeport and Manchester would be footnotes for Murray’s remarkable, remarkable run.

But he wasn’t done. Two more shutouts, back-to-back, running the total to twelve and getting the Penguins to the playoffs for the thirteenth consecutive season on April 8 in Lehigh Valley.

The Penguins would dismantle the Syracuse Crunch en route to a three game sweep in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs and got reinforcements back from Pittsburgh in the form of Taylor Chorney, Brian Dumoulin, Derrick Pouliot and Scott Wilson.

But the cadre of talent down from Pittsburgh wouldn’t be enough to topple a Manchester team which would bounce the Penguins in five games. Matt Murray could not stop the onslaught of offense that Manchester rolled in waves towards him and the Penguins were done in five.

Graduations happen in the Spring. High Schoolers look towards college and collegians look towards adulthood and the real world. The same story goes for the Penguins. Jonathan Bombulie, who has covered the Penguins since their inception in 1999, announced that he was “called up” to Pittsburgh and took a job with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. There is speculation swirling about John Hynes’ future, as his days behind an AHL bench are short and some NHL GM is going to want to give him a shot at running an NHL team sooner rather than later.

On the ice, there are many players that played in Wilkes-Barre that are ready for the NHL next season and plenty of players that are ready for full time AHL work next season and are one step closer to playing in the NHL in 2015-16. Brian Dumoulin, Taylor Chorney, Bobby Farnham, Derrick Pouliot, Scott Harrington, Scott Wilson, Bryan Rust are names that saw NHL action this season and are strong cases to see more NHL games next season. Names like Carter Rowney, Nick D’Agostino, Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl, Josh Archibald, J-S Dea and Reid McNeill  are ready for a full AHL workload in 2015-16 and will be looking at NHL opportunities if they continue their ascent in developing.

So it doesn’t end with a trophy and a celebration for Penguins for the sixteenth season. But there was a lot to celebrate as a Penguins fan in the past and a lot to look forward to as a Penguins fan in the future.

WBS

2015 Offseason Moves Chart

3 Comments Posted by on May 17, 2015

It ended sooner than we would have liked, but the offseason is here and the players have gone home.

How many of those same players that just left Wilkes-Barre return in the Fall is up for debate.

So I put up this handy chart that I gave its own page at the top of the blog in the menu that I will continually update as the summer gets going, free agency starts and all the way up to camp opening in September.

Don’t forget about my survey page. I am looking to get your input on how I can better improve the blog. Direct link here.

I’ll get ripping on the Year in Review and have it up later on this week.

WBS

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