Chirps from Center Ice

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

RAPID RECAP: Pens WIN 3-1

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP: Pens WIN 3-1 Posted by on March 14, 2015

A quick blurb here of the Penguins 3-1 win tonight over rival Hershey. Two first period goals by Jayson Megna and Conor Sheary, 26 saves out of Matt Murray was enough to get the win tonight. You can check out the box here. 

It seemed that the Penguins had an answer for everything that the Bears threw at them tonight. A dominating first period to open, bend but not break second that saw the Bears close to within one on a Mike Moore shot but minutes later Dominik Uher cleaned up a Carter Rowney shot to make it 3-1 then a dominating third period of defensive shutdown hockey. 

Penguins pull within three of the Bears with the win. They burn off that game in hand tomorrow with Sunday’s afternoon game with Hartford.

Providence, the 5 seed, won 5-0 in Springfield tonight.

Tomorrow’s opponent Hartford was in Binghamton and won 4-3. 

Full recap will follow later on.

Rapid Recap

GAMEDAY: vs. Hershey 3/14

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Hershey 3/14 Posted by on March 14, 2015

vs. 

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Home Game: 31

AHL Game: 913

Who: Hershey Bears

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Media Kit

Last Game: Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre, the Penguins scored three third period goals en route to a 5-3 win over Hershey. Several players had two point games. For Hershey, the Bears were in Binghamton Friday and won 2-1. Hershey scored two quick first period goals and held on from there.

Record: For WBS: 35-19-2-4 (76 pts., 2nd place East Division) — For HER: 37-17-5-2 (81 pts., 1st place East Division)

Why you should care: Penguins rematch against the Bears, who played last night in Binghamton and won. While Wilkes-Barre can’t overtake the Bears for first in the division this weekend, a regulation win tonight would keep the heat on the Bears and would be ideal for the Penguins if they are going to win the East Division.

Referee(s): Dave Lewis

Linesmen: Leo Boylan / Luke Murray

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @WBSGameDay / @TheHersheyBears

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /TheHersheyBears

Instagram: wbspenguins / thehersheybears

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie / @TLTomVenesky // @timleone

Broadcasters: WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / HER: Scott Stuccio @ScottStuccio

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep / @ChocHockey

Radio: For WBS: WILK News Radio / For Hershey: 1460 The Ticket 

Television: AHL Live / WQMY-TV in Wilkes-Barre, simulcast in Pittsburgh.

Promotion(s): Player Bobblehead, courtesy of Dodge Ram

Other Game to Watch: Keep tabs on Hartford at Binghamton. B-Sens have been hot lately and you know they will be looking to rebound from last nights setback. Wolf Pack are in Wilkes-Barre Sunday afternoon.

Next Five Games: HFD 3/15, @ SYR 3/20, BNG 3/21, @ LV 3/22, @ BNG 3/27

Gameday

How Many Men Again? — Pens WIN 5-3

1 Comment Posted by on March 11, 2015

HER        vs.        WBS

3                                         5

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I tweeted a stat last night that I’ll bring back here on the blog because reflecting on it, given the rivalry between these two teams, it really is something:

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/575458504099520512]

Edit: It’s actually December 7-12.

Well, start the clock again, because the Penguins beat the Bears by a score of 5-3 tonight. Wilkes-Barre scored three goals in the third period to seal up the two points and draw to three points of the Bears for the division lead. The rematch is Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre, not before the Bears travel to Binghamton Friday.

The Penguins have points in 17 of their last 19 games and are 15-2-1-1. Hershey has all of a sudden lost two straight, and three of four. Are they cooling off? No. I don’t think so. It’s a regression to the mean that you see in mathematical speak from time to time.* Does it benefit the Penguins? Heck yeah, dude, because we now have a realistic chance to take the division and possibly more.

Anyway, Matt Murray opposed Phillipp Grubauer.

Lines and stuff were the same. New guy Danny Syvret was in for Harrison Ruopp on the third pairing with Nick D’Agostino. D’Agostino’s usual D partner Barry Goers moved up to the second pairing with Scott Harrington.

First Period: Penguins penalty kill was put on early and easily killed a Brian Dumoulin high stick. Then Jayson Megna makes a move on Philipp Grubauer and appears to hit the crossbar and bounce out. Referee Terry Kowarski was right on top of the play and washed it out immediately. Play continued to the point where Dumoulin found Andrew Ebbett with a thread pass that sprung Ebbett on a breakaway. Erik Burgdoerfer hooked him and a penalty was called. Replay showed that the Megna shot actually hit the inside of the crossbar and bounced out and the goal was awarded. The time was put back on the clock but the Burgdoerfer penalty stuck. Reason was it’s in the rules. Rule 79.1 of the AHL Rule Book:

[tweet https://twitter.com/nafsnep/status/575801317760729089]

So I was confused, but VP of Communications Jason Chaimovitch was kind enough to tweet in and clarify:

[tweet https://twitter.com/JChaimo/status/575813335930826754]

[tweet https://twitter.com/JChaimo/status/575814597069905920]

We here at Chirps from Center Ice aim to educate as well as inform.

Oh, Connor Carrick tipped a Dustin Gazley shot past Matt Murray and in for a tie game heading into the….

Second Period: Penguins started to clamp down on the Bears, forcing them into many icings and Hershey Head Coach Troy Mann into using his time out. But Gazley scored on a two on one to make it 2-1 for the Bears anyway shortly after. The first time that Murray has allowed more than one goal since January 31 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Barry Goers got his first goal of the year off a nice deflection shot from a pass from Jayson Megna to make it 2-2. Tight checking hockey in the first half of the game followed by wide open end to end theatrics with two goals scored.

Third Period: Mike Moore got space, made a couple of moves that shook Murray down and scored to push the Bears ahead 3-2.

Thirteen seconds later, Pierre Leblond puts a shot in on Grubauer. A trailing Matia Marcantuoni scores on the rebound to make it a tie game yet again.

Time dwindled down to under five minutes. Finally Tom Kostopoulos scored on a tip shot from a Conor Sheary pass to make it 4-3 Pens.

Oh, now would be a good time to explain my silly headline. The Bears were caught with too many men on the ice on three separate occasions. The third time really cost them because they were trailing 4-3 late and were looking to pull Grubauer for the extra man when they got caught with one too many for the third time. Conor Sheary scored on his own rebound with under a minute to ice it away and guarantee the two points for the Penguins.

Three Stars: 3) Dustin Gazley (goal, assist, +1) 2) Jayson Megna (goal, assist, +2) and 1) Tom Kostopoulos (goal, assist, -1)

Around the Division: Lehigh Valley was the only other game in the division and they were in Toronto taking on the Marlies and won 4-3.

Standings: Hershey 79 — Penguins 76 — Lehigh Valley 61 — Binghamton 58 — Norfolk 51

Conference: 1) MCH (81) 2) HER (79) 3) SYR (74) 4) WBS (76) 5) PRO (72) 6) WOR (70) 7) POR (70) 8) SPR (70)

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off. The Penguins recalled Alex Boak before the game for some reason though.

SendToNews Highlights: YouTube instead….

[youtube https://youtu.be/W04GbXon6Q0]

Pens off until Saturday and will actually have a game in hand on Hershey come Saturday but will quickly burn it off Sunday against Hartford. Unless there is anything breaking, look for the next blog update either Friday night after the action in the East Division concludes or Saturday afternoon for the Gameday setup for the rematch.

Let’s Go Pens!!!

* – I am no expert. Trust me.

Postgamer

RAPID RECAP: Pens WIN 5-3

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP: Pens WIN 5-3 Posted by on March 11, 2015

Another quick rapid recap on this work / school night. The Penguins hosted the Bears tonight and scored three third period goals and won 5-3.

Another closely contested game here, tied 2-2 going into the third period.

Bears were sloppy with three too many men on the ice calls. The third one cost them because they were down late and were trying to get starter Philipp Grubauer off but instead were nabbed for too many.

Strong games by Megna 1-1-2, Kostopoulos 1-1-2, Goers 1-1-2 and Sheary 1-1-2. Adam Payerl had two assists. Secondary scoring was there.

Danny Syvret debuted on the third pairing with Nick D’Agostino.

Pens close to three on the Bears. Hershey plays Friday in Binghamton while the Pens rematch against the Bears Saturday.

Full recap coming in about an hour or so. Just something quick for those who weren’t at the game that wanted to pop in quick to see who won. Wait up, or go to bed, the full recap will be there in the morning for you.

Let’s Go Pens!!!

Rapid Recap

GAMEDAY: vs. Hershey 3/11

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Hershey 3/11 Posted by on March 11, 2015

vs. 

–

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Home Game: 30

AHL Game: 890

Who: Hershey Bears

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Media Kit

Last Game: Sunday in Springfield, Matt Murray shattered the all-time shutout streak with 304:11 of shutout hockey. The Penguins beat the Falcons 4-1. For Hershey, they hosted the Portland Pirates Sunday and lost 5-1. Stan Galiev scored the only goal for the Bears in the loss.

Last Meeting: February 7 in Hershey, the Pens lost 4-3 in overtime. Wilkes-Barre scored three straight goals before Bears D Mike Moore scored at 3:24 of overtime.

Record: For WBS: 34-19-2-4 (74 pts., 2nd place East Division) — For HER: 36-16-5-2 (79 pts., 1st place East Division)

Why you should care: These two teams are as evenly matched as two teams can be. They both haven’t lost much recently (Bears: 17-3-1-1 Penguins: 14-2-1-1) and have goaltenders (Philipp Grubauer and Matt Murray) who are premier AHL goaltenders. They both don’t like each other and this matchup has divisional championship implications.

Referee(s): Pierre Lambert / Terry Koharski

Linesmen: Ryan Knapp / Jud Ritter

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @WBSGameDay / @TheHersheyBears

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /TheHersheyBears

Instagram: wbspenguins / thehersheybears

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie / @TLTomVenesky // @timleone

Broadcasters: WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / HER: Scott Stuccio @ScottStuccio

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep / @ChocHockey

Radio: For WBS: WILK News Radio / For Hershey: 1460 The Ticket 

Television: AHL Live

Promotion(s): None

Other Game to Watch: Lake Erie has been on a bit of a surge. The Monsters are in Texas taking on the defending champion Stars tonight.

Next Five Games: HER 3/14, HFD 3/15, @ SYR 3/20, BNG 3/21, @ LV 3/22

Gameday

AHL Power Rankings: Week 22

1 Comment Posted by on March 9, 2015

Note: The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins signed defenseman Danny Syvret to a PTO this afternoon. Details on this can be found here.

There is a new number one in the Week 22 offering of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Power Rankings. It should come as no surprise to anyone that it’s the Grand Rapids Griffins, who have points in their last 15 contests.

But there is a lot going on outside of Grand Rapids. Take the Northeast Division for example. Syracuse is the top team there. The Crunch are the team that the Politburo says will not make playoffs this season. In second, it’s the Springfield Falcons, who have lost three in a row. Next is the Hartford Wolf Pack, who have a six game losing streak. The best team in the Northeast Division may actually be fourth place Albany, who split two with the St. John’s IceCaps in a weekend battle between two teams that are desperately trying to get back into the playoff discussion.

Oh, an easter egg for you to find in this weeks rankings. The Politburo said last week that Syracuse would miss playoffs. There is a team that is not in playoffs currently that the the Politburo says will make the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.

In order to find out who, and to see where your favorite team ranks, please click through the jump if you didn’t link in direct….

Read more of this post

Power Rankings

He Ain’t No Syv — Penguins Sign D Danny Syvret

1 Comment Posted by on March 9, 2015

Programming Note: I am pushing back the Week 22 AHL Power Rankings back an hour. They will be out at 5 instead of their standard 4 p.m. time. 

The Penguins announced they have signed defenseman Danny Syvret to a PTO today. Syvret had previously been on a PTO with the Iowa Wild, but was released this morning.

Syvret is an excellent pickup for Wilkes-Barre. Here are a few examples of why I make that claim:

[tweet https://twitter.com/MikeOBrienWBS/status/575009437405999104] [tweet https://twitter.com/MikeOBrienWBS/status/575010356591861760] [tweet https://twitter.com/CVCignoli/status/575012240019030018] [tweet https://twitter.com/CVCignoli/status/575013058151587840]

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In 58 games with Iowa this season, Syvret is 4-14-18. But don’t look at those numbers and run away screaming. The Wild have been piss poor all season long. Last season with Hartford, Syvret was seventh overall in defensemen scoring and led Hartford overall in scoring. He’s probably happy that he is heading to a contending team that can make another deep run into the playoffs.

[tweet https://twitter.com/ASaunders_PSN/status/575010700545798144]

That is easily fixable. Not only is Drazenovic still out week to week, but Pierre Leblond’s services probably won’t be needed come late April and beyond once Drazenovic does return.

This was probably a match made in heaven for all parties involved. For Syvret, he was on a PTO with an Iowa team that wasn’t going anyplace. He was more than likely headed to a contending team for the stretch run anyway. For the Penguins, they lost Reid McNeill to injury this weekend, so the need for a defenseman over a forward was a priority. On top of all that, with today being the AHL trade deadline, there haven’t been many moves at all. Technically this wasn’t a trade, but there weren’t many teams willing to swap AHL contracts with so many teams both in the Eastern and Western Conference still in the hunt for the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs.

I am guessing that Syvret will make it to town and be available for Wednesday’s meeting with Hershey.

Also announced today, Penguins Goaltender Matt Murray was named AHL Player of the Week (again) after his history making weekend.

Let’s Go Pens!

The AHL, WBS

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