Comments Off on Your Power Play is the Drizzling (bleep), Carl — Pens WIN 4-1
Posted by nafsnep on December 29, 2023
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I don’t think that, in any of the five power plays the Charlotte Checkers had in this game, a 4-1 Penguins win, that the home team was ever really troubled by being down a man.
Charlotte went 0-for-5 on the power play and that is what cost them this game in my opinion.
The two team do it all again Saturday, an hour earlier.
A goal and an assist for Colin White and 30 saves for Joel Blomqvist in this one as well.
Lineup Notes: First on ice, Matt Filipe was in for Raivis Ansons, who you can add to the injured list and Xavier Ouellet was in for Taylor Fedun in the vet for vet swap. The Pens recalled Taylor Gauthier because Magnus Hellberg and Garret Sparks are ill. They also recalled Dillon Hamaliuk, who skated as the extra. With Ty Smith playing for Team Canada in the Spengler Cup, good to have spare defensemen if you need them.
First Period: Penguins manage only four shots in the period, but one of them goes in when Corey Andonovski forces a turnover which finds its way to Will Butcher who scores to give the Penguins the early 1-0 lead.
Then Blomqvist was interfered with, goes down. Because there’s an unwritten rule that you can’t smash the goalie like that, there was a bit of a fracas. Ref Beau Halkidis, who makes a living flying by the seat of his pants everywhere he goes, lets the interference go and overcorrects when the team steps up to defend the honor of their goaltender. He puts Charlotte on the power play. Good thing that the power play for Charlotte was 💩 otherwise it would have been a different game.
Penguins get a power play of their own and cash on it when Colin White takes a deflection of a shot from the point for a 3-0 Penguins lead.
Matt Filipe would score an empty net goal to make if 4-1. They should never take him out of the lineup again.
Three Stars: 3) Joel Blomqvist (30 saves) 2) Peter Abbandonato (two assists) 1) Colin White (goal, assist)
The Good: 5 for 5 on the kill is good. 5 for 5 on the kill when it wins you the hockey game is even better.
The Bad: No, seriously, put a body on Carlsson next time.
Turning Point: White’s power play goal that made it 3-0 served the same purpose as when Hershey went up 3-0 on the Pens Wednesday. 2-0 is doable, 3-0 is impossible with the way both games went. Nice to be on the better end of this one.
Standings: Hershey 52 – Providence and Springfield 36 – Penguins and Hartford 35 – Charlotte and Lehigh Valley 31 – Bridgeport 20
How tight is this division minus Hershey, man?
Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.
Video Highlights:
Joel Blomqvist stopped 30 shots, and Colin White (1+1), Peter Abbandonado (0+2) and Corey Andonovski (0+2) each recorded multiple points, as the #WBSPens posted a 4-1 win over the @CheckersHockey on Friday night at the @MoSunArenaPA.
Comments Off on Mistakes Happen — Pens LOSE 4-1
Posted by nafsnep on December 27, 2023
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Gonna just jump into the game story tonight because it’s a work night and I baked what I’d put in the lede there instead of here. Penguins lose 4-1 in Hershey.
What, you are off this week? No, I didn’t take this week off. I really should. I have been gainfully employed for 20+ years and I think I have only taken the Christmas-New Year in between off just once.
Anyway…
Here’s how they lined up:
Tonight's projected lineup 📝
Bears captain Dylan McIlrath is coming off the second two-goal game of his career last weekend!
Lineup Notes: Raivis Ansons for Matt Filipe at forward and Taylor Fedun for Ty Smith on defense. Smith is playing in the Spengler Cup.
First Period: I told you in the Weekend Preview that you could not make a mistake against the Hershey Bears. You needed to make the most of your opportunities.
Well, the Penguins had three opportunities, a Sam Poulin Grade A chance, a quick lightning in a bottle two on none and a Corey Andonovski shot that rang the post that did not go in. On that Andonovski sequence, back the other way and wouldn’t you know it…
Rem Pitlick, who should know better, causally spills a puck away and tries to get it out of his zone, but there is Alex Limoges who rifles one home for a 1-0 Hershey lead.
Reiterating, you cannot make a mistake against this team.
Second Period: They continued to make mistakes.
Magnus Hellberg did his damndest to keep them in it, but then Ethen Frank tipped one past the Penguins netminder and it was a 2-0 Hershey lead.
Soon after that, Corey Andonovski gets tagged for a five minute boarding major when he just runs like a runaway train against Alex Limoges on the boards and in the ensuing power play Joe Snively (LOL, who else?) scores to make it 3-0.
Here are the goals.
Tape. To. Tape. @efrank_98 redirects home his 14th of the season!
The Penguins lost Raivis Ansons to injury back in the first when he took what looked like a knee on knee hit from Dylan McIlrath. No penalty was called, it didn’t look egregious by any means.
Third Period: Wilkes-Barre had an early power play but couldn’t score. Would it have been a different result if they could have got one to go there? I think so, but they didn’t so we will never know.
Quieter period. I think Hershey was waiting for a counterpunch but it didn’t come until Austin Rueschhoff scored while the Bears were in the midst of a line change that broke up the Shepard shutout bid.
With 4:30 left, J.D. Forrest pulls Magnus Hellberg. Then Aaron Ness blocks a Jack Rathbone shot and Pierrick Dube scores into the empty net to make it 4-1 Bears.
Three Stars: 3) Mike Sgarbnossa (two assists) 2) Alex Limoges (goal, assist) 1) Joe Snively (goal, assist)
The Good: Struggling here. They had a decent first but couldn’t finish, got deflated a bit when Limoges scored.
The Bad: Too many mistakes against a team you just can’t make mistakes against.
Turning Point: The Snively power play goal that made it 3-0 put the game out of reach for the Pens. 2-0 is manageable, 3-0 is impossible.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview — What Are You Made Of?
Posted by nafsnep on December 27, 2023
So they are 6-3-1 in their last ten but lost their last game in Laval in what I called a scheduled loss, but now the doubt starts to creep back in as the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are now going back into divisional play with a game in Hershey on Wednesday before hosting Charlotte for a weekend set of games Friday and Saturday.
The Bears are a machine. It looks like they will get stronger. Their coach is already headed to All-Stars. Do you smell that? It’s the scent of a repeat.
We will get to that in a minute.
Music to set the Mood…
Happy New Year, one and all.
A Quote…
What are little boys made of? What are little boys made of? Snips, snails And puppy-dogs’ tails That’s what little boys are made of
What are little girls made of? What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice And everything nice That’s what little girls are made of
— Nursery Rhyme
The Setup
So getting back to Hershey, they have been destroying everything in their path. They are 24-6. No OT losses. No shootout losses. They have 48 points, an .800 winning percentage and a machine. A wagon. An absolute beast of a hockey team. You need to be perfect, as in, you cannot make any mistakes, in order to beat this team.
And it just isn’t the Penguins. They beat everybody. Everybody.
So is it a measuring stick if you are the Penguins and can compete with the Bears? If you beat them are they crowning you the next Calder Cup Champions? Hardly. Go in with low expectations. Hope for the best, expect the worst, especially coming off of a Christmas break and after an ugly loss in Laval.
Charlotte is the other team on the schedule this week for the Pens. They hosted Bridgeport two weeks ago and split, a shutout win and an OT loss then split with Lehigh Valley with an OT loss and a shootout win.
Seems like they spill points all over the place and play fast and loose. I think the bigger tell on what type of team the Penguins are is told against Charlotte then it is against Hershey.
Records
The Penguins are 15-10-3 and have 33 points and sit third in the Atlantic with 33 points, two off Hartford for the two spot, but also two points out of a playoff spot altogether. It’s razor thin.
The Bears are in their own stratosphere. 24-6, 48 points and the number one team in the AHL.
Charlotte is 14-10-3, 31 points and in sixth in the Atlantic.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
Pittsburgh: Jansen Harkins, Vinnie Hinostroza (he cleared waivers last week, was assigned but is still with Pittsburgh?) and Valtteri Puustinen.
Up from Wheeling: Owen Headrick, Raivis Ansons.
Injured: Avery Hayes and Sam Houde.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
If they want to get anywhere, they have to go through Hershey. Are they going to play well enough to just be a playoff team only to be obliterated by Hershey en route to back to back Calder Cups? The Penguins are one of the few teams to have beaten Hershey. It was frustrating watching them play Hershey the last time out. But, it’s still December (January soon) and there is still a lot to figure out. Are the Penguins a team playing two points out of second place or two points from out of a playoff spot? Depends on who you ask.
Personally I think they will be fine. I think.
They should beat Charlotte. Charlotte plays like an average to above average North Division team, in my opinion, for comparison sake. They should beat Charlotte, but I have a feeling that the Checkers lull you into playing fast and loose and then all of a sudden you find yourself in overtime or in a shootout.
Who’s in Goal?
Interesting conundrum in my opinion. I think they were shifting away from Joel Blomqvist as the stone cold lock number one but I don’t know now. I think it’s Blomqvist Wednesday and Saturday with Magnus Hellberg going Friday.
I don’t think it matters for Hershey. Clay Stevenson and Hunter Shepard are the Bears 1A-1B. If the Bears have a weakness, it isn’t in goal. Either one of these two goaltenders will be tough nuts to crack.
Toss a coin for Spencer Knight and Ludovic Waeber Friday or Saturday for the Checkers.
Who is running the show?
Mason Riley and Peter Schlittenhardt are the referees Wednesday with John Rey and Bill Lyons on the lines.
Friday sees referees Beau Halkidis and Laura White and linesmen Jud Ritter and Chandler Yakimowicz.
Saturday sees Casey Terreri and Adam Tobias in orange, black and white with Bill Lyons from Wednesday and Jud Ritter from the night before on icings, offsides and face-offs.
Looking Ahead…
A trip to Springfield next Friday, then a Saturday and Sunday (💆♂️) home game against Lehigh Valley for the first time all season on Saturday and then Hartford at 3:05 on Sunday. It’s the first three in three of the season.
Comments Off on Scheduled Loss? — Pens LOSE 5-2
Posted by nafsnep on December 22, 2023
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Looking back at this game on the schedule back in August, you could point to this game and say it would be a scheduled loss for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.
You know, it is a stark contrast playing in Belleville, Ontario, which looked like a high school auditorium in front of maybe 500 fans Thursday night vs. Friday in Laval. They had a band, lasers, a packed house and it’s not far from Montreal. A lot of players aren’t making the trip back home to Wilkes-Barre, opting to stay in Canada for the Christmas holiday. A lot of players family were in attendance as well.
So, yeah, I guess you could say this was a scheduled loss.
You may look at the AHL standings coming into this and see Laval at the bottom of the North Division. Well, the Rocket are not playing like a last place team. Bellville played like a last place team. This Laval team had won 3 out of their last 4 coming in to the bash with the Penguins.
First Period: A penalty marred first period was a harbinger of what was to come. No scoring.
Second Period: Rocket connect for three, yes, three power play goals. These all came in consecutive order but before William Trudeau scored at even strength to give the Rocket a 1-0 lead.
Penguins second overall penalty kill looked bad, very bad, there. Shots from the point that should not be taken without interference in the form of a player wearing black.
Third Period: Wouldn’t you know it, but more shots from the slot taken unabated as Sean Farrell scores from there to extend the Rocket lead to 5-1.
Three Stars: 3) Arber Xhekaj (goal) 2) Logan Mailloux (goal, assist) 1) Philippe Maillet (three assists)
The Good: Not going to lie, not a lot of good to come out of this.
The Bad: Three straight power play goals against was bad, man.
Turning Point: Those three straight power play goals will be keeping the coaching staff up on the trip back home Friday.
The only thing that you hope is that they rest and recover, wash this one out of their systems, regroup and get ready for Hershey Wednesday in Hershey. Huge game.
Comments Off on B-Sen Beatdown — Pens WIN 5-1
Posted by nafsnep on December 21, 2023
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Sometimes it’s nice to watch a game and know that the issue is never in doubt. This was one of those games.
A 5-1 walloping of the Belleville Senators by the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. The power play went 3/6, Rem Pitlick scored again and Joel Blomqvist was sharp as a tack. Not much more you could ask for in this one.
Lineup Notes: Jonathan Gruden and Marc Johnstone were back for Lukas Svejkovsky, who they went to Wheeling earlier in the week and Raivis Ansons. On defense, Ryan Shea made his WBS debut and Will Butcher was back in for Taylor Fedun and Xavier Ouellet.
First Period: They didn’t waste any time, scoring at the expiration of an early power play when Jonathan Gruden scored to open the scoring for Wilkes-Barre.
Second Period: Before you could say Bay of Quinte, the Penguins were down two men for 1:56 and Max Guenette blasted home a one timer to put the B-Sens on the board and broke up any prospective Joel Blomqist shutout bid.
But the Penguins answered right back on a power play when, guess who, Rem Pitlick scored a power play goal to re-establish the two goal lead for the Penguins.
Third Period: Sam Poulin scores on the back end of a 4:00 double minor for his second of the game for the third power play goal scored for the Penguins in the game.
Penguins didn’t let off at all in the period, outshooting the Senators 13-4 in the period.
Three Stars: Max Guenette (goal) 2) Colin White (goal, assist) 1) Sam Poulin (two goals)
The Good: A better team in the Penguins should wallop a last place team like Belleville. The Senators seemed directionless, and the Penguins made them pay. It was good to see.
The Bad: I’m nitpicking, but they gift wrapped Belleville nearly two minutes of a two man advantage and lost a shutout bid for their goaltender.
Turning Point: Poulin’s first goal, that made it 4-1 at the time, erased any hope of Belleville mounting anything close to a comeback in this one.
Comments Off on Weekend Preview — So, Canada
Posted by nafsnep on December 21, 2023
The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins head to Canada for a Thursday and Friday pair of games against more North division foes in Belleville and Laval before breaking for Christmas.
Music to set the mood…
From me and the cats, Merry Christmas!
A Quote…
Consistency is what transfers average into excellence.
— Unknown
The Penguins are 6-3-1 in their last ten, winning more than losing and finally, just maybe, settling into a consistent winner. You want to see this continue this week with more North Division opponents on the plate.
The Setup
Trip to the Bay of Quinte on Thursday for a visit with the Belleville Senators and then a Friday in Laval to take on the Rocket.
Last week, the Penguins swept all three games, beating the Syracuse Crunch, Utica Comets and Rochester Americans. Rem Pitlick is red hot with nine points in his last eight games. Alex Nylander is scoring goals and they got a goal from a returning Sam Poulin on Saturday.
The Belleville Senators last played on Friday in Cleveland and were swept by the Monsters. They have not won in three games.
The Laval Rocket got pasted in Hershey 7-1 on Saturday. They beat Lehigh Valley the night before on Friday. They played Syracuse yesterday in Syracuse and won 3-2.
Records
The Penguins are 14-9-3-0, good for 31 points and third in the Atlantic Division.
Belleville is 10-10-2-2, good for 22 points and fifth in the North Division.
Laval is 8-13-3-2, good for 21 points and in last place in the North Division.
Who’s Up? Who’s Down? Who’s Out?
Pittsburgh: Jansen Harkins, Vinnie Hinostroza (he cleared waivers over the weekend but was not immediately assigned) and Valtteri Puustinen.
Back from Pittsburgh: Marc Johnstone and Jonathan Gruden. Also assigned was Ryan Shea.
Justin Addamo was returned to Wheeling on Friday. Lukas Svejkovsky and Tanner Laderoute followed suit on Tuesday.
The Pens recalled Owen Headrick from Wheeling. Headrick was acquired in the Peter Abbodonato trade.
Sam Poulin returned from injury and played Saturday.
The Libor Hajek experiment is over, the Penguins released him from his PTO and he returned to his native Czechia.
Still up from Wheeling: Raivis Ansons.
Injured: Avery Hayes and Sam Houde.
What can we learn about the Penguins this week?
They should easily beat a slipping Belleville and a last place Laval team. But if they start to wallow in their past successes, they can and likely will get caught and lose to Belleville in a tight 2-1 game or get caught already into the egg nog and lose by five in Laval. It can happen. It shouldn’t if you are a believer in J.D. Forrest and his coaching staff.
Looks like they may be shifting away from Joel Blomqvist as their rock solid #1 and going more and more to Magnus Hellberg, who started two games last week.
Also they look like they are getting healthier, with just Avery Hayes (who I have to assume is close to a return) and Sam Houde out with injuries.
Finally these points they are accumulating have them ascending the Atlantic Division. Hershey and Hartford look like the class of the field right now. It’s a dogfight between the three through six seeds.
Who’s in Goal?
I’d go Hellberg Thursday and Blomqvist Friday. I’m hoping to see leviathan Mads Sogaard, all 6’7 of him, for Belleville on Thursday and maybe more towers of power with 6’5 Jakub Dobeš for the Rocket on Friday.
Who’s Running the Show?
Dre Barone and Mathieu Menniti have the referral duties on Thursday with Justin Johnson and Dustin McCrank on the lines. On Friday, Dre Barone will follow the team to Laval and be joined by Alex Normandin with Antoine Bujold-Roux and Anthony Lapointe on the lines.
Looking Ahead…
We will see if there is any lessons learned with this little win streak when the Hershey Bears come back calling and the Pens travel there next Wednesday. The Penguins close out 2023 with a pair of games against the Charlotte Checkers Friday and Saturday.
Give us a bold prediction…
They will finish out the year without a regulation loss.
Comments Off on Falling Comets — Pens WIN 4-1
Posted by nafsnep on December 15, 2023
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Wilkes-Barre / Scranton’s mastery of the North Division continues, with a 4-1 win in Utica Friday night.
It was not a close affair.
The Comets had only six shots after two periods and only registered their third shot with 4:21 to play in the period, after the Penguins were already up 2-0.
Peter Abbandonato scored in the third and made it 3-0. Utica finally breaks through shorthanded to get on the board but it was far too little far too late.
Lineup Notes: The Penguins sent Justin Addamo back to Wheeling and released Libor Hajek. Addamo got shuffled out and Hajek never really had an impact and was taking up a veteran spot.
First Period: No scoring, tons of penalties. The AHL’s top two penalty kills were getting a workout. Penguins by some miracle outshot the Comets 13-4.
Second Period: Goals in this period were scored by defensemen.
Will Butcher’s first as a Penguin then a nifty play, move and shot by Jack Rathbone.
The Comets didn’t have a shot on goal for well over 15 minutes into the period. When they did manage their first shot, it was too raucous cheers by the Utica faithful. You thought Penguins fans were rough?
Third Period: Penguins notch another goal when Peter Abbandonato, who has been the Penguins most consistent player, scored to extend the lead to 3-0.
Three Stars: 3) Ryan Schmelzer (goal) 2) Colin White (goal, assist) 1) Jack Rathbone (goal)
The Good: They seem to be on a roll right now and that’s a good thing.
The Bad: Would have like to have seen them get a shutout for their goalie, but it was a good night at the office for the road team.
Turning Point: Abbandonato’s goal in the third squashed any hopes for a Utica comeback. You knew the Comets would respond (they had 16 shots in the third) but having to dig from three down after a sleepwalking start is a daunting task for any team, anywhere.
Housekeeping: I will be out of town tomorrow and not at the Saturday home game against Rochester. I may not have a full writeup, but will try to recap something.
WBS News
Chirps from Center Ice 