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With literally half of the team either injured or on recall to Pittsburgh, if I told you that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins would only lose one point off of their five point lead coming into this weekend, do you take it?

If you say no, you are a liar.

The Penguins defeated the Norfolk Admirals Sunday afternoon by a score of 2-1. The Penguins once again enjoyed the services of Nick Drazenovic, returning from illness and Brian Dumoulin, retuning from Pittsburgh. It was announced during the game that Dominik Uher was recalled to Pittsburgh. The Penguins play the New Jersey Devils Monday night.

So the lead on the Bears shrinks one point to four, with Hershey having two games in hand on the Penguins. Wilkes-Barre plays the Bears twice this upcoming week.

Matt Murray started the game and was sharp when he needed to be. He was beat in the second period by a low shot by Dave Steckel after a busted Penguin line change.

The Penguins got goals from Conor Sheary in the first period and Nick Drazenovic in the third. The Sheary goal was a rebound of shots that Drazenovic and Tom Kostopoulos were peppering Norfolk starting goaltender Jason LaBarbera with. The Drazenovic goal was a laser that he unleashed on the far wall that went crossbar and in.

The Sheary goal ended a shutout streak that lasted 173:33 going back to last Saturday in Binghamton and two shutouts this Friday in Binghamton and Saturday at home against Bridgeport.

The Penguins had to kill :54 of a 5-on-3 late in the first and kept the Admirals off the board on special teams all night.

Wilkes-Barre used a team effort of shot blocking in the third period. Matt Murray only faced four shots.

Drazenovic’s re-entry into the lineup was felt immediately. He had a goal and an assist and factored into all of the offense tonight. He was the first star of the game. The second star was Conor Sheary, who has really been the only steady presence that the Penguins have had all season. Matt Murray stopped 26 of 27 shots to take home third star honors.

No one else in the division played tonight.

Standings are Penguins with 39 points, Hershey with 35, Lehigh Valley with 33, Binghamton with 31 and Norfolk with 25.

Conference is Manchester and Springfield with 46 points, Wilkes-Barre with 39, Syracuse with 44, Hartford with 38, Hershey with 35, Albany and Bridgeport with 34 each.

The Nailers played three skaters short and lost to South Carolina by a score of 5-1. The Nailers lost Tyler Murovich to recall to Wilkes-Barre early this morning. Murovich was probably insurance for Drazenovic, in case he couldn’t go. He participated in warmups but didn’t dress.

The only other lineup change was Paul Cianfrini for Brian Dumoulin.

Highlights, via Youtube…

My Week 12 AHL Power Rankings hit the blog at 4 p.m. Monday. Unless the calvary returns in time for the New Years Eve bash with Hershey, expect the next blog update after Monday’s Rankings to be the Wednesday Gameday setup against Hershey at 11 a.m., for the special 3:05 start.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Anyone with any kind of hockey sense will realize that this type of outcome and this type of performance was inevitable, with the injuries that are crippling the Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

Let’s look around. Pittsburgh lost tonight to the Washington Capitals by a score of 3-0 with a lineup full of AHL caliber talent.

Wilkes-Barre meanwhile, loses this one by a score of 5-0 with a lineup full of ECHL caliber talent.

Wheeling finally, loses 3-1 to South Carolina with a lineup full of what’s left of an ECHL team and filled in with guys off the street and talent from the Southern Professional Hockey League.

Suffice to say, the results were typical and expected tonight.

You just hope that when the injury bug does hit, that you have build up yourself enough of a lead to sustain the rough times and endure the fall. For the Penguins, a five point lead coming into the weekend has been trimmed to two.

That’s the way that I as a fan looks at it. That’s the way anyone who doesn’t think that the Penguins of the NHL, the Penguins of the AHL or the Nailers of the ECHL should win every single game by ten goals should look at it.

Coaches are paid to win. So of course Mike Johnston, John Hynes and Clark Donatelli are going to give the Seth Rorabaugh’s, Jonathan Bombulie’s and Shawn Rine’s of the world some talk like, “we didn’t execute” or, “we don’t look at the lineup, we look at guys that can play and execute the system.” That’s what they are paid to say. Do you honestly expect John Hynes to say to Tom Venesky, “Tom, what they hell did you expect with half my team in Pittsburgh?” No.

Pittsburgh got Robert Bortuzzo and Bobby Farnham back from injury tonight but may have lost Patric Hornqvist and Kris Letang to injury in tonight’s setback to the Capitals. The hits keep on coming.

Anyway, this game. Wilkes-Barre has been scoreless now for 166:16 going back to their first period goal in Binghamton last Saturday night.

Personnel wise, Zack Torquato and Patrick McGrath joined the team today via PTO last night. Jayson Megna and Jeff Zatkoff were recalled to Pittsburgh this morning. Adam Payerl missed tonight’s game and is out, “a while” according to John Hynes as told to by Tom Venesky and Reid McNeill and Nick Drazenovic are, “sick.”

Bridgeport scored their first goal in the first period after an end-to-end start that resulted in Kael Mouillerat scoring off of a one timer that beat staring goaltender Matt Murray at 8:25.

Colin McDonald scored at the tail end of a Bridgeport 5-on-3 to make it 2-0 in favor of the Sound Tigers in the second period.

Then, Bridgeport scored two goals within :50 of one another.

Scott Mayfield shot the puck at the net but it deflected off of Barry Goers skates right to Sebastian Collberg in front to make it 3-0.

Scooter Vaughn then scored from a ridiculous angle to make it 4-0 fifty seconds later.

Penguins opened the third with a power play, closed with a power play but Wilkes-Barre was unable to capitalize. Late, with eleven seconds left, Colin McDonald scored to make it 5-0.

Three stars were, Sebastian Collberg with a goal and an assist and a +2, David Leggio with a 19 save shutout and Colin McDonald with two goals, an assist and a +3.

Bridgeport has shutout the weekend. Leggio tonight, Kevin Poulin last night against Providence.

Binghamton beat Hershey 4-3 in overtime and Lehigh Valley beat Norfolk in a shootout 3-2. Points for everyone in the division except Wilkes-Barre.

Division looks like this: Penguins with 37, Hershey with 35, Lehigh Valley with 33, Binghamton with 31 and Norfolk with 25.

Conference is Manchester with 46, Springfield with 44, Wilkes-Barre with 37, Syracuse with 43, Hartford with 38, Hershey with 35, Albany with 34 and Bridgeport with 34.

The Sound Tigers are in last place in the Northeast Division yet hold down the eight spot in the Conference. The East Division is no longer the best division in the AHL. The Northeast Division holds that distinction.

It could be worse. We could be all Iowa Wild fans and this blog could be named “Chirps from the Cornfield” or something. The Wild lost 9-2 in Grand Rapids tonight.

Back at it Sunday at 4 vs. the Norfolk Admirals. Gameday setup hits the blog at noon.

Let’s Go Pens!

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He didn’t get a star of the game tonight, but he should have. Jeff Zatkoff kept the Penguins in this game for about 50 minutes before Ryan Dzingel scored twice in 3:33 as the Binghamton Senators defeated the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in a bit of a role reversal by a score of 3-0.

The Penguins recalled Eric Hartzell and signed Paul Cianfirni to a PTO this morning. The initial thought with that move was that Jeff Zatkoff was heading to Pittsburgh, but that was not the case. He started tonight and opposed Scott Greenham.

Lineup looked like this…

Tom Kostopoulos – Carter Rowney – Adam Payerl
Conor Sheary – J-S Dea – Josh Archibald
Tom Kuhnhackl – Nick Drazenovic – Jayson Megna
Pierre Leblond – Matia Marcantuoni / Sahir Gill and Dominik Uher

I know what you are saying, that’s 13 skaters there. But, Drazenovic fell ill during warmups and was a late scratch.

Taylor Chorney – Barry Goers
Nick D’Agostino – Alex Boak
Clark Seymour – Paul Cianfrini

Add Reid McNeil to the ones who were ill that missed the game. Obie didn’t even tweet Cianfrini as part of the line rushes, so unless he was befuddled by who was in / out, he may not have taken warmups, thinking that McNeill was in.

Other news of the day was that the Penguins had signed center Jim O’Brien to an AHL deal out of the KHL, but it was announced at around 3 p.m. today that the Hershey Bears had claimed him off of AHL waivers. O’Brien, late of Binghamton, would have obviously helped the Penguins but he needed to stay on waivers for 72 hours for any other AHL team to get him. The Bears had been struggling of late to score goals so they claimed him. It is what it is.

First Period: Penguins played a strong period, but made one mistake. A Barry Goers exit pass to Matia Marcantuoni never connected and Max McCormick intercepted, snaked in and scored on a backhand shot that beat Zatkoff. Binghamton bent but didn’t break in the period. Dea led a charge with Sheary and he slid the puck on the goal line but not across and Jayson Megna found himself free for a second but fired high.

Second Period: As the period wore on, it was becoming more and more evident that Jeff Zatkoff was keeping the Penguins in the game. Wilkes-Barre was being outshot 14-5 this period and 31-14 aggregate for the game. What shots Greenham did face, he saved with ease. The one power play of the period was awarded to the Pens and Binghamton dealt with it handily.

Third Period: Pens could not manage to score on an early power play. Zatkoff made some more big saves before Dzingel sprung into action. Barry Goers fell down trailing him and he scored on to make it 2-0. Penguins would have to kill a Binghamton penalty and nearly scored their first shorthanded goal of the year with Dominik Uher and Jayson Megna doing work on the penalty kill. Later, Binghamton would lead an odd man rush up ice that developed into a 4-on-2 and Dzingel cashed again to ice the game at that point and make it 3-0.

Three Stars: 3) Darren Kramer (two assists, +3) 2) Ryan Dzingel (two goals, +2) and 1) Scott Greenham (31 save shutout)

Around the Division: Hershey defeats Lehigh Valley 4-2. Norfolk was idle.

Standings: Penguins 37 — Hershey 34 — Lehigh Valley 31 — Binghamton 29 — Norfolk 24

Conference: 1) MCH (44) 2) SPR (43) 3) WBS (37) 4) SYR (43) 5) HFD (36) 6) HER (34) 7) BRI (32) 8) PRO (32)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off. They play in South Carolina this weekend, meaning that Wilkes-Barre will likely need to look elsewhere for reinforcements if McNeill and Drazenovic are not healthy enough to go tomorrow or beyond.

SedToNews Highlights: Are packaged here.

No rest for the weary. Bridgeport is in tomorrow for a 7:05 start. Gameday for that will be up here on the blog at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!