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Here’s how I keep my sanity.

I don’t expect the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins to win every game.

I do expect the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins to be prepared and compete every game.

When the Penguins lose and aren’t prepared and don’t compete, I get really disappointed.

When the Penguins lose but are prepared and compete, I don’t get disappointed.

Tonight was one of those nights.

The St. John’s IceCaps take Game 4 tonight by a score of 2-1 and have a commanding 3-1 series lead in this best of seven and can close the series out Saturday in Wilkes-Barre.

None of the heroes named Andrew Ebbett or Chuck Kobasew came out of the tunnel for Wilkes-Barre for warmups. Bobby Farnham and Mike Carman were in for Pierre Leblond and Adam Payerl. For St. John’s, Kris Fredheim was in for Josh Morrissey as a late scratch. Peter Mannino opposed Michael Hutchinson.

Penguins came out hitting everything that moved in an IceCaps jersey. St. John’s was without a shot for the first ten minutes of the period.

If you are a fan of special teams, tonight was the night for you. The St. John’s IceCaps was 2/9 on the power play, and the Penguins continue the 0-for-the-series tonight as they were 0/6.

The Penguins never were able to capitalize on their man advantage. Take away the fact that Ebbett and Kobasew are sidelined, the Penguins just could not have any puck luck on the power play this evening.

Shots in the first were an even 5 a side. In the second, it was a different tale.

The IceCaps take 19 shots to Wilkes-Barre’s 2. One of those for the IceCaps went in, a Will O’Neill had shot from the point that got through Mannino while the Penguins were on a 5-on-3 disadvantage.

The Penguins finally get one by Hutchinson in the third period, a Dumoulin slap shot from the point that deflects off of Brenden Kichton’s skate and in. Tie game.

A minute later, Brendan Mikkelson takes a roughing penalty. St. John’s power play. Josh Lunden would corral a puck behind the Wilkes-Barre net and stuff it past Mannino for a 2-1 lead for the IceCaps.

Mannino would deny Josh Albert on a breakaway. The Penguins then sought to tie the game to force overtime, but never were able to establish enough time in the offensive zone to get Mannino off in time to get going. Finally, after an IceCaps hand pass, Mannino was off, but there was a scant 38.1 seconds left and the Penguins never got the equalizer.

The three stars were: 3) Michael Hutchinson (17 saves on 18 shots) 2) Peter Mannino (29 saves on 31 shots) and 1) Josh Lunden (game winning goal)

SendToNews Highlights are here.

I smell something. Let’s see….a team that cannot score on a power play, down 3-1 in a series. Hmmm…where have I seen this before…. oh, right! The New York Rangers were in this very same position that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are in now, and are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Again, this is how I keep my sanity.

Game 5 is Saturday in Wilkes-Barre. I have no idea what I could have Friday for the blog. I may just run the charts that I have been infatuated with recently and link off of Jonathan’s Friday update if there is one.

Let’s Go Pens!

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A lineup devoid of Chuck Kobasew (12 points in 12 playoff games) Andrew Ebbett (power play point man) and Nick Drazenovic (power play point man) and you are left with this debacle tonight, a 5-0 whitewashing by the St. John’s IceCaps who take a 2-1 series lead in this best of seven series.

It was frustrating. You could feel it when you watched players pour onto the ice for warmups and you didn’t see Drazenovic (who we knew yesterday was ruled out) Kobasew and Ebbett (still listed as day to day) step out onto the ice for warmups. You could then see it on the players faces when they were down 2-0, 3-0, and beyond.

There was a sequence late in the second period that goes like this…

Already down 4-0 with less than five seconds to play in the period, Harry Zolnierczyk (I think) ices a puck. It was a blatant icing, as he fired the puck the length of the ice at the top of the rings in his own zone.

4.4 seconds left. Faceoff to goaltender Peter Mannino’s left.

With .1 second on the clock, Mannino doesn’t get all of a Zach Redmond shot from the point and it trickles past him for a 5-0 St. John’s lead. Review upheld the call, and they officially put one second back on the clock.

Prior to the setup for the icing, the Arena played “Breakdown” by Tantric. I don’t know if that band is still even together these days, but the song was popular when I was in college, some 13 years ago.

Anyway, a “Breakdown” by the Penguins and a 5-0 shutout on home ice. That kind of night.

No time to wallow in your sorrows. Game 4 comes at you tomorrow night at 7:05.

Peter Mannino vs. Michael Hutchinson.

Lineup Changes: Apparently Tom Kuhnhackl, Peter Merth and Dustin Stevenson were added to the WBS lineup at some point because Kuhnhackl was in and Merth and Stevenson were announced as healthy scratches. I missed that press release if Wilkes-Barre issued it, somehow. Carter Rowney and Pierre Leblond were also inserted into the lineup for Mike Carman and Josh Archibald (healthy) and Dominik Uher (injured) For St. John’s, they dressed the same lineup. It was tweeted by Brendan McCarthy that Jerome Samson was out with food poisoning else he would have dressed for the IceCaps. Samson missed Game 2.

First Period: The Penguins went 0-for-6 on the power play tonight and now are 0-for-the-series on the man up. Coach John Hynes was experimenting with a four forward and one defenseman setup and it just wasn’t working. Rookie Conor Sheary was acting as the “defenseman” on the back end and he was turning over pucks that led to chances the other way for St. John’s.

IceCaps score on a power play. Patrice Cormier the recipient of two-touch passing by Andrew Gordon and Josh Morrissey. Then, the IceCaps score again. Turnover behind Mannino, Jason Jaffray makes it 2-0.

Penguins get a 5-on-3 power play for 1:05. Obvious turning point of the game, right? They get no goal out of it. I don’t even think they registered a shot.

Second Period: More confusion behind the Wilkes-Barre net and Eric O’Dell makes it 3-0. Then, the Penguins take two consecutive penalties. Initial call was a Zach Sill trip. Tom Kostopoulos, who looked like he had a burr under his saddle all night, takes a silly after the whistle penalty and it’s a full 2:00 power play for the IceCaps. After some nice clears by the Pens, Kael Mouillierat picks a corner and it’s 4-0 IceCaps.

Seemed like the Penguins couldn’t establish a good offensive setup, and when they did it was rushed and saved by Hutchinson.

Wilkes-Barre fails to capitalize on two power plays late and then the late score by Redmond as referenced in my open.

Third Period: Rookie Matthew Murray replaced Peter Mannino and stopped all eight shots faced. Pens had to kill a 4:00 Zach Sill double minor. That was it. Murray, for what it’s worth, looked solid in net for the Pens in mop up.

Three Stars: 3) Eric O’Dell (goal, assist, +2) 2) Andrew Gordon (three assists, +1) and 1) Michael Hutchinson (30 save shutout)

Last year it was a buzz saw Syracuse team. The year before that was this very same IceCap team but the Category 5 hurricane known as the Norfolk Admirals waiting in the wings. Before that was the Hershey dynasty. Seems like the Penguins are facing the same issues, but from within, at the infirmary. Big names are missing and it is starting to show.

But it’s only a 2-1 IceCaps lead in the series. Button up a couple of things with what you have and come back Thursday a better team. If not, then it’s another exit. Players know this, coaches know it too.

SendToNews Highlight package is here, if you want to see it.

Game 4 tomorrow. Gameday setup hits the blog at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Ping.

Ping.

Ping.

Ping.

Ping.

When IceCaps goaltender Michael Hutchinson goes to bed tonight a happy man, he will have those pining noises in his head.

Why? The Penguins lost this Game 2 tonight by a score of 2-1, but Wilkes-Barre must have hit about five posts in this game.

— Brendan Mikkelson on a 4×3 power play for Wilkes-Barre in the first.

— Spencer Machacek off a post bulling in after St. John’s made it 2-0 in the second period.

— Zolnierczyk feeds Megna cross ice and Megna hits the iron in the second.

— Brendan Mikkelson, again on the power play and again, off the post in the third.

— Penguins in a late flurry in front of Hutchinson, off the iron.

Puck luck. Sometimes you need it when you are vying for a title. The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are competing strongly for a Calder Cup but didn’t have any puck luck this night.

Another thing, St. John’s never loses two games at home on back to back nights. It rarely happens. You wanted a split walking out of Mohegan Sun Arena after a nail biting Game 7 win vs. the Providence Bruins and got it. I don’t think anyone could be unhappy with the result this weekend.

Peter Mannino vs Michael Hutchinson.

Lineup Notes: Chuck Kobasew was out with a lower body injury. Josh Archibald took his spot in the line up. No other lineup changes for the Penguins. For St. John’s, 27 goal scorer Jerome Samson was out of the lineup for St. John’s. Kris Fredheim was out also for the IceCaps. Josh Lunden and Jordan Hill were in for each, respectively.

Kobasew’s status is officially, “day to day, lower body injury, status to be determined.”

First Period: Brendan Mikkelson was tripped at the blue line and Kyle MacKinnon got a step and scored to put the IceCaps up 1-0.

Second Period: Penguins tried to score in a pile of bodies but Hutchinson, stickless, was able to keep the puck out of his net. Simon Despres made a sprawling save to keep the score at just 1-0 for the IceCaps.

But then the Pens fail on a clear and a long shot from the blue line by D Carl Klingberg handcuffs Mannino and it was 2-0 IceCaps.

Teams would trade consecutive breakaway chances but both goaltenders would make fine saves.

Third Period: Penguins get two power plays this period. You almost know that if the Penguins score on the power play that they will be successful and likely win the game. That didn’t happen tonight.

Anton Zlobin would score with 1:04 left to cut the deficit to one and things got interesting.

6-on-4 with Mannino out and the Pens on a power play, Brian Gibbons has a puck passed to him in the slot but never gets a good shot off, and the IceCaps take the game and even the series.

Three Stars: 3) Kyle MacKinnon (goal, +1) 2) Carl Klingberg (goal, +1) and 1) Michael Hutchinson (34 saves on 35 shots)

Game 2 goes Wednesday from Wilkes-Barre.

Reid McNeill, Andrew Ebbett and Nick Drazenovic did not make the trip, but the sense that I am picking up is that one of, if not all of, will be ready to go for Game 3. I will keep an eye out for any information out of St. John’s regarding Jerome Samson, as well as hope for the best regarding Chuck Kobasew. Josh Archibald didn’t look out of place for the Pens tonight, generating chances.

St. John’s YouTube highlights….

[youtube http://youtu.be/_nE_eEmEB_E]

I’ll refresh the charts that I have been playing with this week and will maybe make a blog post out of one of them. Stay tuned.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Worried that the Penguins spent it all trying to defend a 5-0 lead against a rushing Providence Bruins team in Game 7 Wednesday?

Worried that a rested St. John’s team would run a Penguins team that just got into Newfoundland 24 hours ago?

You don’t have to.

[tweet https://twitter.com/AHLPR/status/470321556376530944]

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Make it 12-2, after the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight in St. John’s by a score of 3-2.

Game 2 goes Sunday at 6 p.m. Wilkes-Barre time, in St. John’s.

Peter Mannino vs. Michael Hutchinson

Lineup Notes: Bombulie blogged yesterday that Reid McNeill, Andrew Ebbett and Nick Drazenovic are out for the first two games for the Penguins. From what Mike O’Brien said on the radio today on pre-game, it sounded to me that the trio will be ready for Game 3 in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Mike Carman was in for Nick Drazenovic, Bobby Farnham was scratched again for the Penguins. For the IceCaps, Captain Jason Jaffray returned from injury as he missed Game 6 vs. Norfolk last round.

First Period: Brian Gibbons cuts down the ice and centers a pass to Chuck Kobasew who gets a stick on it to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

IcedCaps really poured it on after the Kobasew score. Ex-Bear Andrew Gordon scores when the Pens had problems tracking the puck from behind Mannino’s net. A couple of chances for both teams after that, Kobasew swings and misses on a knee-drop one timer then the IceCaps hit a post.

Second Period: Conor Sheary cuts in and gets a shot in on Hutchinson, then tracks his own rebound and whacks it in for a 2-1 Penguins lead. Penguins were outshooting the IceCaps 7-0 at one point. Later, Spencer Machacek tracks a puck on his own wall and centers it to Tom Kostopoulos cutting in and Kostopoulos scores to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead.

Third Period: Penguins took penalty after penalty after penalty, but managed to keep the IceCaps off the board on the power play.

Four on Four though was a different story. Andrew Gordon scores off of a face-off on the James Neal Play™ to cut the deficit to one for the IceCaps. This period was all St. John’s it seemed, a polar opposite of the second period where it seemed like the Penguins controlled the pace.

Adam Payerl shattered a pane of glass trying to bank a puck out and there was a seven minute delay. I tweeted at the time an open question as to who I thought the delay would favor, the trailing IceCaps or the leading Penguins?

Turns out, in the end, it benefitted the leading Penguins as with Hutchinson pulled the IceCaps never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Brian Gibbons (assist, +1) 2) Andrew Gordon (two goals, +2) 1) Tom Kostopoulos (game winning goal, even)

Ice Chips: Andrew Gordon, the ex-Hershey Bear, is 7-3-10 against the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in his postseason career….Conor Sheary has a seven game point streak going.

SendToNews Highlights: IceCaps do it right, YouTube!

[youtube http://youtu.be/wzNkWoNeLQ0]

Game 2 goes Sunday evening at 6 p.m. local time. You’d love to bring home a 2-0 lead back to Wilkes-Barre if you are the Penguins. Expect the IceCaps to come out guns blazing tomorrow night. My Gameday setup will hit the blog at 2 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!!!