Chirps from Center Ice

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

Mannino to Wheeling

Comments Off on Mannino to Wheeling Posted by on October 8, 2013

Announced today that G Peter Mannino was assigned to Wheeling of the ECHL.

Color me shocked that this transaction occurred. I would have never imagined this to come to fruition.

Jonathan had some quotes today from John Hynes on the goaltending competition.

It’s actually a good thing, really. If Jeff Deslauriers or Eric Hartzell falter in Wilkes-Barre and Mannino dominates in Wheeling (like I expect him to) then you have that option of a call-up and you can feel good about it. So we will see. When was the last time that anyone felt confident with a goaltender in Wheeling as a reliable call-up option?

With two games this weekend vs. Hershey Saturday and at Syracuse Sunday, expect Deslauriers and Hartzell both to get a game. Wheeling is in preseason right now.

Some Page Two’s….

— Out of the same Bombulie from today, Brian Dumoulin is practicing again. Dumoulin is also involved in a case of mistaken identity. (h/t, Russ Hryvnak)
— Carter Rowney was assigned to Wheeling Monday.

That’s all for now. Take a look at the first ever AHL Power Rankings I put together yesterday. I’m hoping these become a regular thing every Monday.

The AHL, WBS, Wheeling

Week 1 AHL Power Rankings

Comments Off on Week 1 AHL Power Rankings Posted by on October 7, 2013

So I have been kicking around the idea of an AHL Power Rankings feature for the blog for a while now. I figure that with the start of a new season, now is as good a time as ever to start a “power rankings” and see how it goes. Throw it at the wall and see if it sticks, etc.

This will probably be a fluid feature that runs on Mondays. I really have no idea how this is going to go. Let’s wing it.

In fairness, Portland, Milwaukee, Iowa, Worcester, Hamilton and Utica haven’t played yet so they cant be ranked yet. They all play next week.

Here goes nothing. Let me know what you think in the comments…

Read more of this post

Power Rankings

Catch a Tiger by his Toe — Pens WIN 5-2

2 Comments Posted by on October 5, 2013

   button_adk200       @       BRI

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After a deadlocked 40 minutes, the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins score two goals in :11 and cruise to a 5-2 victory in Bridgeport and are on pace for a 76-0 record.

Alright, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Chris Conner and Harry Zolnierczyk both scored two goals a piece and are on pace to score 152 goals this season.

Okay, now I am just being silly.

Pens played a fundamentally sound game all night, caught the Sound Tigers napping for :11 in the third period, and won the hockey game. Jeff Deslauriers was sharp when he needed to be. Defense looked sharp. Promising start to the very young year.

The aforementioned Jeff Deslauriers vs. Anders Nilsson

Lines looked like this:

Kuhnhackl-Ebbett-Conner
Kostopoulos-Drazenovic-Thompson
Zolnierczyk-Gibbons-Megna
Leblond-Sill-Uher

Despres-Samuelsson
Harrington-Mikkelson
McNeill-D’Agostino

Deslauriers-Hartzell

Scratches were Peter Mannino, Peter Merth, Brian Dumoulin, Mike Carman, Anton Zlobin, Dustin Stevenson, Harrison Ruopp,, Bobby Farnham and Adam Payerl.

Payerl was an interesting scratch. After being arguably the best player for the Penguins in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs last season, he found himself a scratch in Game 1. Jonathan had some thoughts on this, indicating that Dom Uher essentially beat out Payerl for the spot.

First Period: Penguins jumped all over the Sound Tigers in the the opening twenty, they got an early power play but weren’t able to score. Unfazed by taking a penalty of their own, they continued to pressure Bridgeport. Then, Scott Harrington scored the first goal of the season then Tom Kostopoulos won a faceoff to Harrington’s left. Harrington jumped on the loose puck and had only the goaltender in front of him, shot and it went in.

Pierre Leblond fought Brett Gallant. Leblond was bloodied in the fight which was a draw.

First period was all Penguins really. Anything that the Sound Tigers threw at the Pens, Wilkes-Barre had an answer for.

Jeff Deslauriers had a heck of a save on a Ryan Stome shot when Simon Despres turned the puck over.

Second Period: Complete opposite of the first. All Sound Tigers. Anders Lee scored when Jeff Deslauriers was thinking poke check. Then, Kirill Kabanov finishes off a tic tac toe pass to him to push the Sound Tigers up 2-1 on a power play. Penguins go on a power play late, Brendan Mikkelson shoots from the top of the blue line and Chris Conner is right out in front to deflect the puck home to tie the score at two with 2.1 left in the period.

Third Period: Penguins didn’t register a shot 8:23 in the period in what I called at the time a winnable game for both sides at the time. Then, Chris Conner and Brian Gibbons work a 2-on-1 and Conner finishes off a pass from Gibbons to make it 3-2 Penguins. It’s going to be nice to see these two speedsters work together all season long.

Then, :11 later, Andrew Ebbett wheels around the Sound Tigers net, passes to Harry Zolnierczyk who scores to make it 4-2. Two quick bang-bang goals by the Penguins. Zolnierczyk then scored again when he looked off Tom Kuhnhackl on another 2-on-1 and shot it past Nilsson to make it 5-2 Penguins.

Three Stars: 3) Jeff Deslauriers (21 saves on 23 shots) 2) Harry Zolnierczyk (two goals, +2) and 1) Chris Conner (two goals, +1)

So a good win to start the year. A winnable game for both teams half way through the third period. Penguins step on the gas and blow it open. You want to see this trend continue.

Around the Division: Norfolk wins 3-2 up in Hartford in a shootout. Binghamton, down 3-1 at home vs. Syracuse, rally and win 4-3 in overtime. Hershey loses in overtime to the Adirondack Phantoms 4-3.

Standings: With points for every team tonight, it’s WBS / NOR and BNG with 2 points and SYR and HER with 1 point.

Conference: Will not recap a bunch of 2’s and 1’s and 0’s until the first team in the conference reaches 10 points.

SendToNews Highlights: Will throw a late edit up Sunday if they go up.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are in preseason. They lost 5-4 to the Elmira Jackals. Wilkes-Barre native Patrick McGrath had a goal and a fight in the loss.

Pens get a week off to rest and ready for their home opener next Saturday vs. Hershey.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: @ Bridgeport 10/5

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: @ Bridgeport 10/5 Posted by on October 5, 2013

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Away Game: 1

AHL Game: 7

Who: Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Where: Webster Bank Arena

When: 7:00 p.m.

Media Kit

Record: This is the first game for both clubs.

Why you should care: The Pens open up the 2013-14 season on the road up in Bridgeport with a few large questions yet to be answered. How will they be in goal? Defense? Scoring? Special teams? We may not know for weeks or months, but tonight is going to provide some insight against a decent Bridgeport Sound Tigers team.

Referee(s): Mark Lemelin / T.J. Luxmore

Linesmen: Jim Briggs / Derek Wahl

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @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: Sports Hub 102.3 / For BRI: I don’t think Sound Tigers games are on radio.

Television: AHL Live

Other Game to Watch: It’s going to be a recurring theme this year, but I’m going to keep tabs on the Hershey Bears tonight as they open at home vs. the Adirondack Phantoms. The Bears are re-tooled from top to bottom, so it’s going to be an interesting season for the Chocolate and White.

Next Five Games: HER 10/12, @ SYR 10/13, ADK 10/18, @ WOR 10/19, @ MCH 10/20

Gameday

East Division Preview

Comments Off on East Division Preview Posted by on October 4, 2013

Regular AHL

Welcome to the final day of the Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews. You can check out the five divisions discussed previously via handy drop down menu at the the top of the blog.

Yes, the East Division! Where the big boys play. For example, just yesterday the Northeast Division was previewed. That division sent one team, the division winner Springfield Falcons, to the Calder Cup Playoffs. The East Division sent FOUR, and very possibly could have sent all five. This is the best division in the American Hockey League.

The Penguins play everyone in this division multiple times (obviously) with all home games listed in bold.

Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators)

Last Year: 44-24-1-7 (96 pts., 2nd place East Division)

Playoffs: 4 seed — Lost in three games to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in the East Division Quarterfinals.

Head Coach: Luke Richardson

Arena: Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Elmira Jackals2012_BNG

Offseason Moves: Haven’t found any.

The case for: No one did more with less last year than this team on the Southern Tier of New York. Luke Richardson gets a lot out of his players night in and night out.

The case against: Someone forgot to tell the Sens that it’s OK to sign players in the offseason. That inactivity will doom this team in this division.

Media Coverage: Press & Sun-Bulletin — Matt Weinstein and Matt Verderame (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: Don Reiber for examiner.com (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @BSens_Hockey

Facebook: /binghamtonsenators

Instagram: bsens_hockey

Broadcaster: Grady Whittenburg (twitter)

vs. WBS: @ 10/25, 11/29, 1/5, @ 2/14, 2/19, @ 4/6, 4/12, @4/18

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Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals)

Last Year: 36-31-3-6 (81 pts., 4th place East Division)

Playoffs: 8 seed — Lost in five games to the Providence Bruins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

Head Coach: Mike Haviland

Arena: Giant Center

ECHL Affiliation: Reading Royals2012_HER

Offseason Moves: Jamie Johnson, Derek Whitmore, Josh Brittain, David Leggio, David Kolomatis, Brandon Segal

The case for: A new age in Hershey. A new coach that wins. A new captain to be named in the Fall. Watch out for the Bears this year.

The case against: No one is afraid of the Bears anymore. The moves they made this offseason you can say only caught them up to the competition.

Media Coverage: Tim Leone for PennLive.com (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: Sweetest Hockey on Earth (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @TheHersheyBears

Facebook: /TheHersheyBears

Instagram: thehersheybears

Broadcaster: Scott Stuccio (twitter)

vs. WBS: 10/12, 11/1, @ 11/2, 11/16, @ 11/30, 12/13, @ 12/28, @ 1/26, @ 2/9, @ 2/15, 2/16, 2/25

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Norfolk Admirals (Anaheim Ducks)

Last Year: 37-34-4-1 (79 pts., 5th place East Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify

Head Coach: Trent Yawney

Arena: Norfolk Scope

ECHL Affiliation: Utah Grizzlies2012_NOR

Offseason Moves: Alex Grant, Stefan Noesen, Jakob Silfverberg, Zack Stortini, Nolan Yonkman

The case for: The Admirals were a lot like the B-Sens last year in that they did a lot with less. The results weren’t there in the win column. I have the Admirals as a playoff team this season.

The case against: Just like the Western Conference team with the same name, it can’t be that hard to name eight teams better than Norfolk in this Conference.

Media Coverage: Virginia Pilot

Fan Blog: I don’t think there is another team out there that has so many fans blogging them up. You have Shawn Dulin for AdsAftermath (twitter / blog), Ken Peacock for Vultures Row (twitter / blog), and Beneath the Scope (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @NorfolkAdmirals

Facebook: /NorfolkAdmirals

Instagram: norfolkadmirals

Broadcaster: Pete Michaud (twitter)

vs. WBS: 10/26, 12/27, @ 1/24, @ 1/25, 1/31, 3/15, @ 3/28, @ 3/29

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Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Last Year: 43-22-6-5 (97 pts., 1st place East Division)

Playoffs: 3 seed — Lost in six games to the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Calder Cup Finals.

Head Coach: Rob Zettler

Arena: Onondaga County War Memorial Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Florida Everblades and the Brampton Beast of the Central Hockey League.2012_SYR

Offseason Moves: Geoff Walker, Joey Mormina, Evan Rankin

The case for: The Crunch can repeat as division winners.

The case against: They will have serious company this year. Hershey and Wilkes-Barre aren’t going to play the roles of an overachieving Binghamton team like last year.

Media Coverage: The Post-Standard — Lindsay Kramer (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: Chairman How’s Glorious Army (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @SyracuseCrunch

Facebook: /syracusecrunch

Instagram: officialsyracusecrunch

Broadcaster: Dan D’Uva (twitter)

vs. WBS: @ 10/13, 11/6, @ 11/15, 12/21, 12/31, 1/8, 1/29, @ 2/28, @ 3/21, @ 4/11

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Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Last Year: 42-30-2-2 (88 pts., 3rd place East Division)

Playoffs: 5 seed — Lost in five games to the Syracuse Crunch in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Head Coach: John Hynes

Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

ECHL Affiliation: Wheeling Nailers2012_WBS

Offseason Moves: Tom Kostopoulos, Peter Mannino, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Chris Conner, Andrew Ebbett, Nick Drazenovic, Brendan Mikkelson

The case for: Instead of signing flashy, household AHL names in seasons past, the Pens went out and signed more veteran guys who know how to win.

The case against: Goaltending. The Penguins may have the fifth best goaltending duo…..in the division. If Tomas Vokoun’s injury is more long term and Jeff Zatkoff stays up, the Pens could be in deep trouble in goal this season.

Media Coverage: The Citizens’ Voice — Jonathan Bombulie (twitter / blog) and The Times Leader — Tom Venesky

Fan Blog: I’m not bragging, but I don’t know anyone that does it any better. (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @WBSPenguins

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins

Instagram: wbspenguins

Broadcaster: Mike O’Brien (twitter)

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So there you have it. If you have a team that’s playing tonight in the AHL opener, Happy New Year and good luck this season. The Penguins kick off Season Fifteen tomorrow night in Bridgeport. The Gameday setup will be up on the blog at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

The AHL

Captain Obvious

1 Comment Posted by on October 3, 2013

Today, the Penguins announced that Tom Kostopoulos has been named team captain for the 2013-14 campaign.

Zach Sill and Brendan Mikkelson will serve as Kostopoulos’ alternate captains.

Official press release here. Reaction from Jonathan Bombulie here.

The choice of Kostopoulous as captain was obvious from when he signed in the offseason, so this comes as absolutely no surprise whatsoever.

In other news, Carter Rowney and Cody Sylvester have signed AHL pacts with the Penguins. Also, in the same release, Coal Street makes official the 25 game PTOs of Jeff Deslauriers and Mike Carman.

Warren Peters has himself a 25 game PTO with the Iowa Wild.

I’m off now to collect my 2013-14 season tickets. Maybe I will post some pictures on Instagram.

Make sure you check out the AHL Previews, currently ongoing on the blog. East Division Preview wraps it up tomorrow at noon.

The AHL, WBS

Northeast Division Preview

Comments Off on Northeast Division Preview Posted by on October 3, 2013

Regular AHL

We are almost wrapped up here in the annual Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews. To get caught up on the Western Conference Divisions from a few days ago and the Atlantic Division from yesterday, use the drop down box at the top of the blog and select your division.

No affiliation or realignment changes with the Northeast Division. The Penguins play everyone in this division with home games in bold.

Adirondack Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers)

Last Year: 31-38-3-4 (69 pts., 5th place Northeast Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Terry Murray

Arena: Glen Falls Civic Center

ECHL Affiliation: Greenville Road Warriors2012_ADK

Offseason Moves: Steven Delisle, Yann Danis, Kris Newbury

The case for: The Danis and Newbury signings were huge for Adirondack this offseason. The Phantoms can contend in this division.

The case against: Did you laugh as you read that last sentence?

Media Coverage: The Post Standard — Diana Nearhos (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: None — or I haven’t found it yet.

Twitter: @PhantomsHockey

Facebook: /ADKhockey

Instagram: phantomshockey

Broadcaster: Bob Rotruck (twitter)

vs. WBS: 10/18, @ 11/27, @ 1/10, 2/8

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Albany Devils (New Jersey Devils)

Last Year: 31-32-1-12 (75 pts., 4th place Northeast Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Rick Kowalsky

Arena: Times Union Center

ECHL Affiliation: None2012_ALB

Offseason Moves: Rostislav Olesz, Riley Boychuk, Rod Pelley

The case for: The majority of the corps returns, including leading scorer Joe Whitney. Rookie Reid Boucher broke Steven Stamkos’ OHL goals scored record (62)

The case against: Consistency. The Devils just aren’t consistent in the AHL’s known “back to back games” league. Also, the Devils were a league worst in shootouts last season with 12 losses. Those 12 points lost add up at the end of the season.

Media Coverage: Albany Times Union – Pete Dougherty (twitter / blog) and The Daily Gazette – Bill Cain (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: Thoughts Inside the Box (twitter / blog)

Twitter: @AlbanyDevils

Facebook: /albanydevils

Instagram: albanydevils

Broadcaster: Josh Heller (twitter)

vs. WBS: 11/8, @ 3/1*, @ 3/23, 4/5

* – at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ

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Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders)

Last Year: 32-32-7-5 (76 pts., 3rd place Northeast Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Scott Pellerin

Arena: Webster Bank Arena

ECHL Affiliation: Stockton Thunder2012_BRI

Offseason Moves: Justin Johnson, Shane Harper, Chris Bruton

The case for: The Sound Tigers will improve on last seasons mistakes under Pellerin and should be expected to contend.

The case against: The above is easier said than done.

Media Coverage: Connecticut Post — Michael Fornabaio (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: None — or I haven’t found it yet.

Twitter: @TheSoundTigers

Facebook: /soundtigers

Instagram: thesoundtigers

Broadcaster: Phil Giubileo (twitter)

vs. WBS: @ 10/5, 4/4

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Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers)

Last Year: 35-32-6-3 (79 pts., 2nd place Northeast Division)

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Head Coach: Ken Gernander

Arena: XL Center

ECHL Affiliation: Greenville Road Warriorshartford wolf pack

Offseason Moves: Brendon Nash, Danny Syvret, Danny Kristo

The case for: Someone has to win this division. Why not the Wolf Pack?

The case against: The answer for the Wolf Pack may be the Springfield Falcons.

Media Coverage: The Hartford Courant — Paul Doyle (twitter / blog) and Mitchell Beck for Howlings Today (twitter / blog)

Fan Blog: None — or I haven’t found it yet.

Twitter: @WolfPackAHL

Facebook: /HartfordWolfPack

Instagram: hartford_wolfpack

Broadcaster: Bob Crawford (twitter)

vs. WBS: @ 1/3, 1/11

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Springfield Falcons (Columbus Blue Jackets)

Last Year: 45-22-5-4 (99 pts., 1st place Northeast Division)

Playoffs: 2 seed — Lost in four games to the Syracuse Crunch in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Head Coach: Brad Larsen

Arena: MassMutual Center

ECHL Affiliation: Evansville IceMen2012_SPR

Offseason Moves: Joe Lavin, Mike McKenna, Jeremy Smith, Frédéric St. Denis

The case for: The Falcons look like the class of the Northeast Division. I don’t see a reason why the Falcons can’t repeat as division winners.

The case against: Instead of getting younger, the Falcons added two aging goaltenders in McKenna and Smith. Last year may have been a flash in the pan.

Media Coverage: Francis Sypek for MassLive.com — (twitter)

Fan Blog: None — or I haven’t found it yet.

Twitter: @TheFalconsAHL

Facebook: /falconsahl

Instagram: thefalconsahl

Broadcaster: Mike Kelly (twitter)

vs. WBS: @ 11/10, 12/11

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We wrap up the Fourth Annual Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews with the East Division, Friday at noon.

The AHL

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