Chirps from Center Ice

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Hershey Bears goaltender Clay Stevenson is an AHL All-Star. His nickname is, “Mud” and he leads the AHL in every category you can think of.

Add another win, a boost to the save percentage and his league leading sixth shutout to the resumé.

Penguins lose 1-0. Looking back at this game, they didn’t really threaten Stevenson much and their power play, already struggling the way it is, ran into a wall with Stevenson and the Bears #1 penalty killing unit in the AHL.

It happens. You have to find a way to win a game like this.

On to a struggling Springfield team Sunday.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Radim Zohorna is back and Jonathan Gruden came out of the lineup. The word on Gruden is he’s day to day with an upper body injury. On defense, Taylor Fedun yielded for Owen Headrick. The Penguins recalled Dillon Hamaliuk earlier in the day and they also recalled Jordan Frasca, who I think I am going to start calling yo-yo, with all of the recalls he has endured these past two weeks.

First Period: No scoring. Clay Stevenson and Joel Blomqvist are AHL All-Stars for a reason, and that was on display in an overall even first period. Both teams killed the others penalties.

Second Period: Pens had the early jump in the period, lots of pressure and the like but then find themselves on the short end of a two man advantage for the Bears for 1:12 and it was elementary after that, Hershey would go ahead 1-0 on a Ethen Frank goal.

Brief review on account of a net slightly off the moorings, but that minor issue had no bearing on the play so the goal was considered good.

Wilkes-Barre continued to be the better team at even strength I thought throughout the period but it did not rear a goal.

Third Period: Penguins continued to pressure, and with under six minutes to play had to score on a power play that they were awarded but didn’t.

Later, with Blomqvist pulled for the extra attacker the Penguins iced the puck three times and never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Lucas Johansen (no goals, no assists, no shots, I…really don’t know) 2) Ethen Frank (goal) 1) Clay Stevenson (28 saves)

The Good: Argument can be made that the Penguins were the better team at even strength against the best team in the AHL.

The Bad: The last thing you want to be is on the wrong end of a two man advantage on the road in a  scoreless game against the defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears.

Turning Point: Frank’s goal gets it here. Duh.

Around the Division: Toronto beats Charlotte 5-2….Rochester thumps Springfield 7-3….Hartford shuts out Bridgeport 3-0….Lehigh Valley wins in Cleveland 4-3.

Standings: Hershey 64 – Providence 49 – Penguins 45 – Hartford 45 – Charlotte 44 – Springfield 41 – Lehigh Valley 40 – Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: Nailers sweep the Iowa Heartlanders in Iowa, beating them Friday and beating them again Saturday 3-1. Tanner Laderoute with a pair of goals.

Video Highlights: Bears may have them later. I may see if I can work an edit in but if not, check the AHL VideoCenter.

Back at it Sunday afternoon for the matinee against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Someone on Twitter just told me that the Providence Bruins have won 10 straight games at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. That’s pretty bad.

The Penguins put up a decent fight, but a boffo too many men on the ice while trying to get starting goaltender Magnus Hellberg off the ice do in Wilkes-Barre, who lose 3-2.

It’s now a four point gap to Providence for second in the division and they remain third. This may or may not be too early to fret over.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Radim Zohorna cleared waivers and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre. Ryan Shea was recalled. Jordan Frasca was re-assigned to Wheeling. On ice, Taylor Fedun was in for Will Butcher.

First Period: A Peter Abbandonato turnover at his own blue line. Bruins race up the other way and score. Who else but Georgii Merkulov.

But the Penguins respond in kind, netting two goals and outshooting the Bruins 14-4 in the period. They were everywhere that the Bruins were not. Jesse Puljujarvi and Ty Smith scored goals.

Nice setup by Sam Poulin to connect with Puljujarvi. Poulin is making a strong case for a call up. I am not sure that this would be of benefit for him just from a production level. He’s getting good minutes now in Wilkes-Barre. If he goes up it’s 7-13 minutes on a third or fourth line. Regardless, if he keeps producing the way he is, there’s no choice but to recall him when the need arises.

The Smith goal was a snipe.

Second Period: The power play is officially crap again, going 0-for-3. I said in my Weekend Preview that they needed to score a power play goal if they wanted to beat Providence.

Justin Brazeau parks in front of Hellberg’s crease, puts his stick down and Alec Regula finds the stick and shoots right for it…

And a tie game.

They weren’t as sharp in the second. More eve and didn’t capitalize on their power play opportunities.

Third Period: Fabian Lysell with a roof job.

Had some chatter on Twitter about the play of Helberg. I think he should have stopped the first goal. The second goal was a total breakdown by his defensemen and I don’t think there are many goaltenders at this level that can stop a shot like Lysell’s.

The Penguins took the penalties now chasing a one goal lead. They killed the first one (a St. Ivany kneeing penalty five seconds after the Lysell goal) and then…

Turning Point: Wait what? Walk with me for a minute…

They go to pull Hellberg with about 2:30 left. Before he gets off, someone jumps on and linesman John Rey nabs them for too many men. They kill that penalty but don’t score to tie the game.

Just a boffo situation. You need to get the goalie off. You have to wait for the goalie to come off before the sixth man can get on. Yeah, I realize you are chasing a one goal lead and yeah I realize it’s a quick game, but that’s just embarrassing.

Three Stars: 3) Jesse Puljujarvi (goal, assist) 2) Justin Brazeau (goal) 1) Fabian Lysell (goal, assist)

The Good: The response after getting kicked in the pants was good but…

The Bad: I think it came at the wrong time. They coasted as the second period wore on and Providence got a goal and continued to coast a bit while Providence made adjustments and they lost on a weird sequence.

Around the Division: Charlotte beats the San Jose Barracuda 4-1. The Checkers played the Barracuda and the San Diego Gulls this year. Those guys have all the fun….Rochester blew out Lehigh Valley 6-0.

Standings: Hershey 60 – Providence 49 – Penguins 45 – Charlotte 44 – Hartford 43 – Springfield 41 – Lehigh Valley 38 – Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off but they will have a new opponent in their division next season provided they play in the Central Division. The ECHL is expanding to 30 teams and one of those teams is a team in Bloomington, IL. No name yet, but I hope it’s the Admirals. If you know, you know.

Video Highlights: 

More Saturday after the Hershey game, earlier if I have to.

Let’s Go Pens!

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J.D. Forrest has them humming in the right direction.

A 3-2 afternoon win in Springfield, and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins have another 5 out of 6 points weekend under their belt and are third in the Atlantic Division, two off of the Providence Bruins, whom they host on Wednesday.

They go down 0-2 and storm back for a regulation win against a game, understaffed Springfield team who are in a nosedive right now. Sam Poulin has goals in his last four games and Joel Blomqvist picks up another win.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup: Will Butcher in for Taylor Fedun was the only change. The lines from Saturday remained unchanged.

I was hoping for better news on the injuries guys in Sam Houde, Raivis Ansons and Avery Hayes. Houde is week to week undisclosed and Ansons is week to week lower body and Hayes is week to week upper body.

I gotta tell you, I am blown away by the level of detail in these injury reports.

First Period: They came out of the gate blazing, but their power play continued to sputter and with 65 seconds left AHL leading goal scorer Adam Gaudette scored on a wraparound that gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead.

Second Period: Pens seemed to get a bunch of breakaways in the game, more so than usual, and every time they found one of them they tried the five hole. Malcolm Subban was up to it though, and denied the bids.

Wyatt Kalynuk with an old school windmill slapshot that straight beats Joel Blomqvist and goes over the glove that gives Springfield a 2-0 lead.

The Penguins dug in, using a power play and Will Butcher was camped in front where Vinnie Hinostroza found him for a goal that cut into the Springfield lead.

Then Jesse Puljujuarvi scored his first of the season for Wilkes-Barre that tied the game.

Third Period: They hold Springfield to five shots in the period. Sam Poulin, who is starting to find his game now, scores a goal at the end of his shift.

That’s him at the end of his shift, trying to find space, gets caught, then rips the puck away and finds Austin Rueschhoff who shoots, gets block, follows his rebound like basketball and then dishes back to Poulin for the slam dunk near side. Everything about that sequence was heaven for the Penguins. Just a fantastic finish to a long shift for Poulin.

The Thunderbirds use a time out and pull Subban but are unable to find the equalizer.

Gotta feel for Subban, who had 50+ saves on Saturday and 32 here Monday.

Three Stars: 3) Will Butcher (goal) 2) Jesse Puljujuarvi (goal) 1) Sam Poulin (goal)

The Good: Needed to win a game against a depleted opponent (Springfield is dealing with injuries to top guys) and did. But it was ugly. Sometimes ugly works.

The Bad: Hard to find anything here since they came back from two down and used a power play goal to jumpstart the pushback.

Turning Point: The Poulin goal has to get it here, right? The kid wouldn’t be denied and it paid off.

Around the Division: Just one other game, Hershey was in Bridgeport and it’s the Islanders who win in a shootout and win 2-1.

Standings: Hershey 60 – Providence 47 – Penguins 45 – Hartford 43 – Springfield 41 – Charlotte 40  – Lehigh Valley 38 – Bridgeport 26

Wheeling Update: The Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

Weekend Preview comes at you Wednesday at around lunch time. Talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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So they nearly blew this one. Against a last place team in Bridgeport.

Wilkes-Barre races out to a 3-0 lead, but then Bridgport scores three unanswered of their own and its a tie game, but a shot that deflects off of Jonathan Gruen with under two minutes left stands up as the game winner and Wilkes-Barre wins 4-3 in Bridgeport Saturday night.

Don’t ask how, but they have points in five straight games.

That’s good, but the pessimist in us all will lose a few minutes of sleep wondering how a last place team in the Islanders could manage to come back against the Penguins, especially from down 0-3.

Again, don’t ask how. Also, Bridgeport won’t be in last for long if they continue to play like I saw them play against the Penguins Saturday.

Here’s how they lined up, note that the Islanders didn’t post lines…

Lineup Notes: Colin White was recalled and Ryan Shea was returned to and from Pittsburgh respectively about an hour and a half before the start Saturday. Jordan Frasca was recalled from Wheeling.

As far as on ice is concerned, Taylor Fedun replaced Will Butcher on defense and the forward lines were all jumbled up.

First Period: Seemed like the Penguins played mad, because they looked it and raced out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals from Jagger Joshua and Sam Poulin on a breakaway.

Ty Smith, who helped setup the Joshua goal, took a closing hand on puck penalty and Bridgeport’s power play, which is good, threatened but didn’t score. That was the only work that Magnig Hellberg really had to do in the period.

Second Period: Corey Andonovski with an absolute dart, made it 3-0 for the Penguins.

That was in and out quicker than you can say in and out.

Then they got sloppy. Well, both teams did really, but the Penguins had a power play and you know that you miss your trigger man when you ice it on a power play like the Penguins did here.

Wilkes-Barre with a massive 1:43 kill of a five-on-three against but Magnus Hellberg killed it all off with a yeoman like effort.

Off of a fantastic penalty kill, the Penguins could not get a power play goal to go.

Then William Dufour breaks through for the Islanders and scores to make it a two goal game again.

Third Period: Reese Newkirk rifles a shot over the glove of Hellberg and it’s a one goal game.

Hell of a way to score your first AHL goal.

The Islanders were absolutely buzzing after that Newkirk goal, cycle after cycle. But the Penguins got a power play and it looked threatening, but they didn’t score.

Then Trevor Cosgrove scores his first AHL goal.

Again, a hell of a way to score your first AHL goal and also eerily similar to the goal scored in Providence last night by Reilly Walsh.

But then, Corey Andonovski, who I thought had a decent game, took a shot that Jonathan Gruden got a stick on (or just his body) and the Penguins were back out in front.

Bridgeport wasn’t able to find the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Trevor Cosgrove (goal) 2) Robin Salo (two assists) 1) Jonathan Gruden (goal)

The Good: Found a way to win.

The Bad: Almost found a way to lose, too.

Turning Point: Massive goal by Jonathan Gruden gets it here.

Around the Division: Utica beats a slumping Springfield team 6-3….Lehigh Valley beats Hershey in a shootout 4-3….Hartford beats Providence 3-2 in overtime and Charlotte beats Rochester 5-2 in an outdoor game at the home of the AAA Charlotte Knights.

Standings: Hershey 59 – Providence 45 – Penguins 45 – Hartford 43 – Springfield 41 – Charlotte 40 – Lehigh Valley 38 – Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers had a 7-2 lead at one point in the third period but their opponent, the Indy Fuel, some back for six unanswered and win 8-7. These types of loses crush hockey teams.

Video Highlights: Check the AHL VideoCenter for these.

They will remain in Bridgeport Sunday, then make their way to Springfield for the MLK Day 3 p.m. start on Monday. Talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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I think the writing was on the wall here.

The Providence Bruins kept shooting, and shooting and shooting at Penguins All Star goaltender Joel Blomqvist.

40 shots. You can’t pin this 3-2 overtime loss on Blomqvist.

It’s a team sport, yadda yadda. The Penguins simply didn’t do enough to generate offense to get themselves over the hump in this game.

Sure, they lead 2-0 on goals by Sam Poulin and Ty Smith, but they only managed 24 shots.

Providence is a good team. The Penguins, if they want to have any kind of success as the page turns to the second half of the season after tomorrow’s match in Bridgeport, they are going to have to find ways to close these games out.

Yes, they get the point and take the overtime loss and it’s a game they probably lose 4-1 last year. But they gotta close these games out.

Onto Bridgeport Saturday.

Here’s how they lined up…

Lineup Notes: Alex Nylander in, Colin White out. Peter Abbandonato top line up front. On defense, Jack Rathbone and Will Butcher back in for Owen Headrick and Taylor Fedun.

First Period: I had a thought that this period had a playoff like intensity. Lots of action, few penalties. I also felt that there was going to be a goal in the period and there was.

Vinnie Hinostroza, who Nick Hart on radio stated has never played in the building before (because he played primarily in the AHL’s Western Conference) opened the scoring.

Joel Blomqvist was sharp for the Penguins, stopping all 12 Bruins shot which headed his way.

Second Period: The first Penguins goal was changed to Sam Poulin, who got a piece of the Hinostroza goal on the way through.

The Penguins power play misses Rem Pitlick, because the first one they received in the second period was an abject disaster. So much so that Blomqvist had to stack two pads old school stopping Marc McLaughlin here on this stellar save.

Sam Poulin is thriving on the top line, and nearly nabbed his second goal of the night on a breakaway but ran out of room.

But Ty Smith broke through and scored for the Penguins, doubling their lead.

Felt like a heavyweight bout with these two teams. Had a feeling that the Penguins hadn’t yet been dealt Providence’s best blow.

Third Period: I’m not going to bother to try to look for the Bruins goals because the production in Providence is comical.

Reilly Walsh scored at 12:50 on a shot from the point that Blomqvist was screened on. Then Justin Brazeau scored at 18:35 on a deflection that tied it.

Penguins lost Matt Filipe who went to the locker room before the Brazeau goal that tied it.

Overtime: Ian Mitchell 1:13 into overtime ended it. The Pens had possession and a shot deflected out of play. Bruins win the face-off and Mitchell spun his magic.

Three Stars: 3) Reilly Walsh (goal) 2) Justin Brazeau (goal) 1) Ian Mitchell (overtime game winning goal)

The Good: It probably would have been a clean loss had it not been for Blomqvist.

The Bad: The Penguins power play is in a funk, going 0/2 Friday. They miss Rem Pitlick. They need to figure that out because with a power play goal tonight, it’s probably a different story.

Turning Point: The Mitchell OT GWG gets it here.

Around the Division: Rochester beats Charlotte 3-2….Springfield doubles up Syracuse 4-2….Lehigh Valley beats Hartford 4-1.

Standings: Hershey 58 – Providence 44 – Penguins Hartford and Springfield 41 – Charlotte 38 – Lehigh Valley 36 – Bridgeport 24

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 5-2 at home to the Indy Fuel.

Video Highlights: LOL, you really think Providence knows how to edit and cut up highlights?

More Saturday after Bridgeport.

Let’s Go Pens!