Chirps from Center Ice

vs.

1                                    4

–

Jack St. Ivany’s postgame interview with in arena host Rachel Malak gave me the headline idea tonight.

Malak asked St. Ivany what led to a 4-1 Penguins win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday night and he answered the question by stating the team started on time.

Two goals before the game is 3:45 old and the Penguins race out to a hot start and again ride another strong performance by Joel Blomqvist but fall short of getting him his first career shutout, and they are two off of Providence and four clear of the aforementioned Wolf Pack who now have a five and a half hour drive out to Cleveland for a pair of games with the North Division leading Monsters.

Work night, school night. let’s get this show on the road already!

Here’s how they lined up. Hartford is one of the few teams in the AHL who don’t post lines.

Lineup Notes: Matt Filipe for Dillon Hamaliuk up front and Will Butcher for Xavier Ouellet. Still no Jonathan Gruden, classified as day to day last I heard.

First Period: 65 seconds in and Jesse Puljujarvi scores to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

Hell of a shot here and one that you’d think Domingue makes the save on.

Assault continues and as pretty as a play you will see with the passing of the puck and Alex Nylander scores to make it 2-0.

Look at all the space and the time Nylander has here. You give him all that space and a sniper like him is going to score and he did.

Shots were 9-1 Penguins to this point. Looked like they were going to run it up.

It leveled off from there, however.

Second Period: Jack St. Ivany is feeling his oats.

That’s a hell of a shot right there from a guy you don’t expect that from. If you get a guy like St. Ivany, a defensive defenseman, warm on the offensive side, look out!

Another pretty play as Jesse Puljujarvi and Sam Poulin connect to make it 4-0.

A great first step by Puljujarvi, a pass to Poulin he doesn’t connect with entirely but stays with, stabs at the puck and it flips into the air and past Louis Domingue.

Domingue did not have a great game, by his standards.

If they could pull a move to where they recall both Poulin and Puljujarvi at the same time, they have to keep them together because they are better on the ice as a pair. Puljujarvi has lifted Poulin’s game tenfold of recent and these two are steering the team up the standings.

Third Period: Corey Andonovski takes too many damn penalties.

His second of the game costs Blomqvist a shot at a shutout, as Brennan Ohtmann scores to put Hartford on the board.

That minor blemish spoiled what was overall a complete game by the Penguins who showed up and got the job done.

Three Stars: 3) Joel Blomqvist (27 saves) 2) Jesse Puljujarvi (goal, assist) 1) Jack St. Ivany (goal, assist)

The Good: They started on time, and not just because it was a work / school night, but because they were up against a team that has five games in hand on them and are breathing down their necks for third in the division. They smacked back at that Wednesday, and you want to see them ascend up the standings even more.

The Bad: Seriously Andonovski has 63 PIMs and takes way too many. Four more minutes tonight.

Turning Point: The St. Ivany goal turned it into a laugher.

Around the Division: Hershey hosted Springfield and beat them 4-1.

Standings: Hershey 66 – Providence 51 – Penguins 49 – Hartford 45 – Charlotte 44 – Springfield 41 – Lehigh Valley 40 – Bridgeport 27

Wheeling Update: Just down the road, the Nailers were in Reading and took on the Royals and beat them 5-4 in overtime. Big night for Lukas Svejkofsky, who had a pair of goals including the OT game winner. Taylor Gauthier, who is tearing up the ECHL this season, was in goal and got the win. Gauthier was named ECHL Goaltender of the Week for the second time this season on Monday.

Video Highlights: 

Back at it Friday in Allentown at an advertised start at 7:05, but more like 7:18. The Phantoms, unlike the Penguins Wednesday night, never start on time,

Let’s Go Pens!

vs.

1                                     2

–

Have to feel for the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Reeling, three game losing streak coming in, come to Wilkes-Barre and are dealt a 2-1 setback. Now losers of four straight, 2-7-0-1 in their last ten.

The Penguins have been there and will be there again someday.

Only today ain’t that day.

They took care of business in what could be described as an ugly win, and got the two points to solidify themselves third in the Atlantic.

Massive game Wednesday with Hartford, two points off the Pens for third and with an astonishing five games in hand. Gotta make these head to head matchups count.

But that’s for Wednesday.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: As the graphic says above, it was Dillon Hamaliuk’s debut. Matt Filipe came out of the lineup for him. No other changes.

First Period: They played too cute with the puck all night, and it was on full display when Jacob Vrana scores on a breakaway.

But then Owen Headrick scored at 16:33 when Vinnie Hinostroza dropped a pass for him and he one timed it in.

I thought they were the better team at 5 on 5 last night against Hershey. They sleepwalked through the first period Sunday and were lucky to only be tied.

Second Period: 94 seconds in and Vinnie Hinostroza scored to push the Penguins ahead.

Malcolm Subban was spilling rebounds all over the place, but was vulnerable five hole. Go figure.

They were less careless with the puck but it’s still a one shot contest.

Third Period: Thunderbirds had a power play about midway through and couldn’t cash, taking a penalty. They couldn’t score after a timeout and with Subban pulled either. The Pens walked a fine line of pushing for the insurance but protecting a one goal lead.

Referee Appreciation: Give me more of Jack Young and David Elford. We had them in Hershey Saturday and again Sunday and I thought they ran a great game, letting the players essentially dictate play, get after it within the rules and didn’t make themselves the stars. More of this, please and they are welcome back anytime.

Three Stars: 3) Alex Nylander (two assists) 2) Owen Headrick (goal) 1) Vinnie Hinostroza (goal, assist)

The Good: They took care of business, as the headline reads, and took two points away from a team gifting them nowadays.

The Bad: Didn’t score a power play goal. Eventually, the time is going to come and they will need one.

Turning Point: The kill midway through the third is what its going to get it here. You had that “oh no” thought when the referees halted play and called a penalty and had another “oh no” moment when it was going against the home team. They navigated out of it and played, as I said above, a fine game of looking for insurance while protecting a lead.

Around the Division: Providence plays last place Bridgeport three times in a row, and in Game 1 beat the Islanders 2-1 in overtime….Toronto does the Penguins a solid and sweep the Checkers 4-1.

Standings: Hershey 64 – Providence 51 – Penguins 47 – Hartford 45 – Charlotte 44 – Springfield 41 – Lehigh Valley 40 – Bridgeport 27

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

More Wednesday around lunch for the Weekend Setup. Sooner if needed. I haven’t gone for a walk in a week with how cold it’s been. That changes Monday.

Let’s Go Pens!

@

0                                  1

–

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!

vs.

3                                     2

–

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!

@

3                                   2

–

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!