Chirps from Center Ice

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

GAMEDAY: vs. Albany 4/5

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Albany 4/5 Posted by on April 5, 2014

vs. 

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Home Game: 36

AHL Game: 1048

Who: Albany Devils

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Media Kit

Last Game: Last night at home vs. Bridgeport, the Pens won 3-0. Peter Mannino had a 17 save shutout. For Albany, the Devils were in Syracuse last night and lost 2-1. Harri Pesonen had the only goal for the Devils in the loss.

Last Meeting: March 23 in Atlantic City, the Pens won 3-2. Chuck Kobasew had two goals in the game, including the overtime game winner.

Record: For WBS: 39-22-3-5 (86 pts., 2nd place East Division) — For ALB: 35-22-4-8 (82 pts., 2nd place Northeast Division)

Why you should care: Key matchup late in the year with two teams battling for home ice for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Referee(s): Darcy Burchell

Linesmen: Bob Goodman / Bob Fyrer

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @WBSGameDay / @AlbanyDevils

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /albanydevils

Instagram: wbspenguins / albanydevils

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie / @Pete_Dougherty and @Bill_Cain_

Broadcasters: For WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / For ALB: Josh Heller @Josh_Heller

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep / @trace_1114

Radio: For WBS: 103.1-FM WILK / For Albany: 104.5 The Team

Television: AHL Live

Promotion(s): Tom Kostopoulos Bobblehead Night (first 5,000 fans)

Other Game to Watch: Norfolk is in Binghamton to play the Penguins Sunday opponent, the Binghamton Senators.

Next Five Games: @ BNG 4/6, @ SYR 4/11, BNG 4/12, TOR 4/13, @ BNG 4/18

Gameday

Shut Out the Sound — Pens WIN 3-0

Comments Off on Shut Out the Sound — Pens WIN 3-0 Posted by on April 4, 2014

BRI         vs.         WBS

0                                              3

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Jonathan’s tweets summed this one up nicely:

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So you can guess how this one would go.

A 17 save shutout by reigning AHL Goaltender of the Month Peter Mannino and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins roll the Bridgeport Sound Tigers by a score of 3-0. The Penguins, with a loss by the Binghamton Senators to the Rochester Americans tonight, pull into a tie with the B-Sens for first place in the East Division.

Peter Mannino vs. Kenny Reiter

Housekeeping: There appears to be a new radio home for the Penguins. It’s 103.1 WILK radio, announced this morning by Coal Street. In that press release, a bunch of AM radio stations added so the Penguins broadcast network grows to places like West Hazleton and Scranton and beyond…..Andrew Ebbett was recalled to Pittsburgh before the game but according to reports, it’s for insurance and nothing more.

First Period: Puck driven in deep. Caroms off of the back wall. Reiter goes out to play, misplays it, and Bobby Farnham scores on an empty net to put the Pens ahead 1-0. Later, Chuck Kobasew picks off a D to D pass and drives in to expend the lead to 2-0. Bridgeport would go without a shot for the games first 15:00 and it had the look and feel of a game that was going to get out of hand, quickly.

Second Period: Not so fast, my friend. Bridgeport would really take it to the Penguins at times during the period, but the Pens had a bend but not break mentality. Dominik Uher would score his second shorthanded goal in as many games on a pass off of the pads play to Harry Zolnierczyk, who shot the puck again at Reiter. Rebound laying right there for Uher to slam home to extend the lead to 3-0.

Third Period: Penguins protected a 3-0 lead. Really played more to protect Mannino’s shutout than anything else. Sound Tigers never had anything memorable that I could recall as far as a quality scoring chance.

Three Stars: 3) Chuck Kobasew (goal, +1) 2) Bobby Farnham (goal, +1) and 1) Peter Mannino (17 save shutout)

Around the Division: Binghamton loses 4-3 in Rochester…..Norfolk needs a shootout to get by Adirondack in a goaltending battle, 2-1…..Syracuse pays a favor to teams in playoffs by beating Albany 2-1. Hershey was off.

Standings: Binghamton 86 — Penguins 86 — Norfolk 79 — Hershey 78 — Syracuse 67

Conference: 1) MCH (94) 2) SPR (94) 3) BNG (86) 4) STJ (88) 5) WBS (86) 6) PRO (83) 7) ALB (82) 8) NOR (79)

Springfield punched their ticket to the postseason in a wild, wacky game up in St. John’s in my game to watch tonight. Falcons had a 5-1 lead in the first period and won 8-7. Falcons are tied with Manchester for tops in the Conference and are three points off Texas for best in the AHL overall.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers also won tonight by a score of 4-1 over the Evansville IceMen. Denver Manderson had a goal in that one. The Nailers are 2 points away from clinching playoffs.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here.

Pens welcome the Albany Devils tomorrow night at home. Gameday for this will be up at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: vs. Bridgeport 4/4

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: vs. Bridgeport 4/4 Posted by on April 4, 2014

vs. 

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Home Game: 35

AHL Game: 1035

Who: Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Media Kit

Last Game: Last Saturday in Norfolk, the Penguins won 2-1. Dominik Uher scored a shorthanded goal in the third perion which stood up as the game winner. For Bridgeport, they played Tuesday at home vs. the Springfield Falcons and lost 3-1. Andrew Pedan scored the only goal for the Sound Tigers in the loss.

Last Meeting: It was the first game of the year for both teams back on October 5. The Penguins won 5-2. Chris Conner and Harry Zolnierczyk both had two goals a piece.

Record: For WBS: 38-22-3-5 (84 pts., 2nd place East Division) — For BRI: 27-34-2-5 (61 pts., 4th place Northeast Division)

Why you should care: Penguins come into a very important weekend with a lot to play for. The Sound Tigers, on the other hand, were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend and don’t have a lot to play for other than to play upset. Penguins cannot overlook this team and just think that the two points are in the bag before they step on the ice.

Referee(s): Terry Koharski

Linesmen: Matt McNulty / Jud Ritter

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @WBSGameDay / @TheSoundTigers

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /soundtigers

Instagram: wbspenguins / thesoundtigers

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie / @fornabaioctp

Broadcasters: For WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / For BRI: Phil Giubileo @philgpbp

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep

Radio: For WBS: 103.1 FM – WILK / For BRI: I don’t think Sound Tigers games are on radio.

Television: AHL Live

Promotion(s): Anything Goes Friday

Other Game to Watch: Springfield opens an important weekend up in St. John’s this weekend. Penguins are chasing the IceCaps for the 4 seed.

Next Five Games: ALB 4/5, @ BNG 4/6, @ SYR 4/11, BNG 4/12, TOR 4/13

Gameday

Peter Mannino Named Goaltender of the Month

Comments Off on Peter Mannino Named Goaltender of the Month Posted by on April 1, 2014

Flashback to the evening of February 28. The Penguins had just been shutout by the Syracuse Crunch in Syracuse and were reeling.

Jeff Deslauriers had a terrible month in goal. He put up a 2-4-1 record with a robust 3.43 goals against average and a tepid 0.863 save percentage.

Rookie Eric Hartzell, the reigning January Goaltender of the Month, fared worse. A 1-3 record, with an even higher goals against average (4.45) and lower save percentage (0.838).

The Penguins as a whole, went 3-5-3 and were in fourth place in the East Division with 65 points and in a three way tie with the Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Playoffs, seemed like a longshot.

Enter Peter Mannino.

Mannino, suspended by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in November for failing to report to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers, later reported to the Nailers in January and was re-assigned to the Penguins on February 28 in a swap for Eric Hartzell.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Mannino was named the March AHL Goaltender of the Month today. His March numbers are nothing short of staggering: 7-2-1 record, 1.09 goals against average and a 0.950 save percentage. In the 11 games Mannino appeared in, he never allowed more than two goals. The two losses to Utica and Providence were 2-1 defensive setbacks where, had the offense clicked better, we would have been talking about a goaltender that plays 10+ games in a month without losing a single one, with those numbers.

The Penguins now? Two points off of the division lead and solidly in playoff contention, sitting in the 5th seed in the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference. The magic number the night of the 4-0 blanking at the hands of the Crunch was a robust 43. Mannino’s magical month trimmed that number to a paltry 10.

The Penguins can, with help, wrap up their 12th consecutive trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs this weekend and enter the postseason with the League’s hottest, best goaltender. Other teams better take notice.

Let’s Go Pens!

The AHL, WBS

Week 26 AHL Power Rankings

Comments Off on Week 26 AHL Power Rankings Posted by on March 31, 2014

So we have two different situations in the East and West.

One Conference, the East, is as competitive as ever. 9 teams for 10 spots. Winners, losers and streakers.

In the other Conference, the West, no one wants the 8 seed. It changes nearly every day like the stock market. Rochester? Lost 9 straight. Utica? Get real. Oklahoma City, Rockford, Charlotte? Let’s pass the hot potato! You take it! No, you take it!

We have three reservations for playoffs. Playoff tickets were punched in Texas, Manchester and Grand Rapids. Those three are at the top of the Week 26 AHL Power Rankings this week.

Biggest gain this week are the 11-time Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears, who handled their business this weekend winning both their games and got help from an unlikely source. The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins swept the Norfolk Admirals this weekend allowing the Bears to close the gap within a point of the Admirals for the eighth and final spot in the Playoffs.

Biggest free falls this week belong to the Utica Comets and the St. John’s IceCaps. The IceCaps may get passed for the 4 seed and lose out on home ice. The Comets are putting up a fight but may look back to this weekend if they do not make playoffs.

To see where everyone else ended up this week, click through the jump if you didn’t link in direct.

Read more of this post

Power Rankings

No, Not a Repeat — Pens WIN 2-1

Comments Off on No, Not a Repeat — Pens WIN 2-1 Posted by on March 29, 2014

WBS          @          NOR

2                                             1

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An exact 2-1 Wilkes-Barre win Saturday night just like the same 2-1 Wilkes-Barre win from the night before.

While it wasn’t a repeat of what happened last night, it sure looked awful similar. Pens jump out to a 2-0 lead. Admirals cut the lead in half with a goal by Devante Smith-Pelly.

Regardless, the Pens travel to Norfolk and take all four points away from the Admirals. A needed perfect weekend for the Pens, with a lot of jockeying behind them. It doesn’t matter what happens behind you as long as you keep winning.

Peter Mannino vs. John Gibson

The only lineup change tonight was Nick Drazenovic for Spencer Machacek, veteran for veteran.

First Period: A predictably more stronger period for the Norfolk Admirals as they are in a mix with other teams battling for their playoff lives. Shots were 10-4 Norfolk this period, in a real defensive battle.

Second Period: Brendan Mikkelson breaks the scoreless deadlock with this shot from the blue line to put the Pens on the board first. Chuck Kobasew didn’t have a point in the game, but he did have a fight, tangling with Kevin Gagne.

Third Period: If you tried to watch this game or any other game on AHL Live tonight and had difficulty, it wasn’t you, it was them. I managed to get a piece of this nice Dominik Uher shorthanded goal before it went out to pasture completely on me. Then, Devante Smith-Pelly scores a power play goal when the Penguins took a delay of game call. Pens would get two power plays but up against the top rated penalty kill in the AHL would not get a goal. Two Norfolk power plays bookended the Penguin power plays but the Pens did not allow a game tying goal. With Gibson pulled late, they never found the equalizer.

Ice Chips: Tonight was Tom Kostopoulos’ 400th game as a member of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins….With the secondary assist on the Brendan Mikkelson goal, Andrew Ebbett extended his point streak to 11 games….The Penguins are 19-3-4 when Ebbett tallies a point in the game.

Three Stars: 3) Brendan Mikkelson (goal, +1) 2) Devante Smith-Pelly (goal, -2) and 1) Dominik Uher (goal, +1)

Around the Division: Shootouts dominated the East Division tonight. Hershey wins a 12 round shootout against the St. John’s IceCaps and keep their playoff hopes alive with a 2-1 win tonight…..Binghamton just uses the standard five rounder to get by Syracuse 4-3 in a shootout up in Central New York.

Standings: Binghamton 85 — Penguins 84 — Norfolk 77 — Hershey 76 — Syracuse — 65

Conference: 1) MCH (94) 2) SPR (90) 3) BNG (85) 4) STJ (87) 5) WBS (84) 6) PRO (81) 7) ALB (80) 8) NOR (77)

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off tonight.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here for your viewing enjoyment. I am actually interested to see what happened in the third period because I couldn’t see it on AHL Live.

The B-Sens burn one of their two games in hand on the Penguins tomorrow when they face off against the Albany Devils in the Capital District tomorrow. The Penguins will want an Albany regulation win and so will you. I will have a blurb on that final score Sunday afternoon on Twitter.

Week 26 AHL Power Rankings will be here Monday at 4 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!!!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: @ Norfolk 3/29

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: @ Norfolk 3/29 Posted by on March 29, 2014

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Away Game: 34

AHL Game: 1001

Who: Norfolk Admirals

Where: Norfolk Scope

When: 7:15 p.m.

Media Kit

Last Game / Last Meeting: Last night in Norfolk, the Pens won 2-1. Chuck Kobasew continued his white hot pace and Josh Archibald scored his first pro goal. Emerson Etem scored the only goal for the Ads in the loss.

Record: For WBS: 37-22-3-5 (82 pts., 2nd place East Division) — For NOR: 34-23-2-7 (77 pts., 3rd place East Division)

Why you should care: Admirals looking for payback after last night’s setback. If the Pens don’t play another solid 60 minutes, they are coming back to Wilkes-Barre with a split instead of a sweep.

Referee(s): Dave Lewis

Linesmen: Mark Hamlett / Luke Murray

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @WBSGameDay / @NorfolkAdmirals /
@AdsGameUpdates

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /NorfolkAdmirals

Instagram: wbspenguins / NorfolkAdmirals

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie

Broadcasters: For WBS: Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / For NOR: Pete Michaud @AdmiralsVoice

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep / @BeneathScope / @ShawnDulin

Radio: For WBS: Sports Hub 102.3 / For Norfolk: 102.1 The Game

Television: AHL Live

Other Game to Watch: Let’s go with St. John’s and Hershey. Bears fans were happy to see the Pens win last night. Penguins fans will be happy to see the Bears win (as long as Wilkes-Barre does) because it will draw the Pens closer to the four seed in the East.

Next Five Games: BRI 4/4, ALB 4/5, @ BNG 4/6, @ SYR 4/11, BNG 4/12

Gameday

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