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You know that one weakness that we all have that, when exposed to what it is that we want to avoid, we ultimately succumb to it?

For example, a smoker that wants to quit for health reasons. They’ve smoked for years and the stench of the countless packs of cigarettes are embedded deep in their upholstery at home that every time they sit down, they smell the smell of the cigarettes and crave just one more drag?

Ultimately, they do, and ultimately they die.

That’s what’s happening to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins. Minus the cigarette inference.

What’s been the biggest problem all year for this team? Failed defensive clears, sketchiness in their own zone defensively, a tireless or lucky forecheck by a team and then, BOOM! puck is in the back of the net and you are trailing by a goal.

It happened tonight. Again, and again, and again, and again.

The Syracuse Crunch skate out of Wilkes-Barre with a 4-2 win and a commanding 3-1 series lead. They can win the Eastern Conference tomorrow in Game 5.

The setup was nice. Hynes & Co., shook up the lines. D Scott Harrington was in. Alex Grant was out. Jasyon Megna was back. Adam Payerl skated on the top line. Chad Kolarik played on the fourth line. Derek Nesbitt was a scratch.

Thiessen vs. Desjardins was the only semblance of normalcy.

The Penguins would score on the power play just past halfway in the first. Scott Harrington scores on his first shot in his first pro game.

Later, Brendan Mikkelson scored from the blue line when Thiessen was screened after, you guessed it, another failed WBS clear.

Relentless Syracuse forecheck. Penguins can’t clear. Adam Payerl forced into a hooking penalty. It was either this or an ice or a clear out into the neutral zone, a Syracuse defenseman with a take away and right back in the Syracuse attack zone.

Out of no where, literally, Adam Payerl works a puck up and out to Warren Peters. A Crunch defenseman is back and hems him along the wall. The puck squeaks to a suddenly wide open Jayson Megna. Megna skates in, nearly turns it over, but the puck goes in and it’s a 2-1 Penguins lead in the second period.

But wait. Answer goal by Syracuse. Brett Connolly. Tie game again.

I tweeted this before the start of the third:

Gotta believe this is the most important period of the season for Wilkes-Barre. Under two minutes away.

— Jason Iacona (@nafsnep) June 1, 2013

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The very next tweet after that, which would be 1:50 in to the period:

Tyler Johnsin scores. 3-2 Crunch.

— Jason Iacona (@nafsnep) June 1, 2013

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Misspelled Johnson there, it happens.

Anyway, the defense was left chasing. The Crunch wheeled around the net and well, this was the play:

photo credit: Scott Thomas @sthomasphotos (www.sthomasphotos.com)

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It was that bad.

The rest of the period was extremely frustrating to watch. Syracuse came with rush after rush after rush up ice. Pens chased all period. They only managed one shot on goal immediately after the Johnson goal. They finally had some semblance of jump after the ten minute mark but Desjardins and the Crunch kept it a one goal lead in their favor.

Then the Penguins were gifted a power play.

They manage no shot on net, pull Thiessen during it for a six on four, Crunch kill it and pot the kill shot empty netter to make it 4-2.

Bright side: The Pens are undefeated while on the brink of elimination.

Dark side:

Tampa Bay Lightning AHL affiliates (Norfolk last year, Syracuse this year) are now 20-1 in their last 21 playoff games. The 1 was WBS in G1.

— DJ Abisalih (@Nailers_PXP) June 1, 2013

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Game Five is tomorrow in Syracuse. Do the Pens have what it takes to force a Game 6? Game 7???

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

To the end………

Let’s Go Pens!!!!

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It wasn’t for lack of effort tonight. It was there.

It wasn’t for lack of shots tonight. They were 22 a side.

Power play? Nope. Neither team capitalized.

Goaltending? I defy you to hang this loss on Brad Thiessen.

I have watched enough minor league hockey to say with confidence that games come down to plays. In the second period of the game tonight, Pens D Alex Grant coughs up a puck on his own blue line. Syracuse gets it, goes the other way, cycles, and Vladislav Namestnikov scores to put the Crunch ahead 1-0.

You can’t let the Crunch score the first goal. They are insanely hard to beat when you do, having the best record in the regular season when scoring first.

That was the only blemish on an overall even Game 3 in Wilkes-Barre tonight. Starting goaltender Brad Thiessen stopped 21 of 22 shots. Crunch goaltender Cedrick Desjardins stopped all 22 shots put in his way. J.T. Brown for Syracuse scored a meaningless empty net goal with under ten seconds to play.

Penguins put ten shots on Desjardins in the first period then just twelve the rest of the way. They had a period in the first half of the game of extended five on three power play time but were not able to capitalize. The game went back and forth and ebbed and flowed as a playoff hockey game would. Syracuse would get their chances, the Penguins would get their chances. It seemed though, that Syracuse had more of the chances and better looks and the Penguins had more hastened rushes up ice and hurried shots at Desjardins, who made the saves he needed to preserve the shutout.

One thing that had me scratching my head late in the game was the constant  rolling of the third and fourth lines for the Penguins. Seemed every time I looked up Dom Uher or Warren Peters were out to take a shift and no where to be found were the top line guys like Trevor Smith, Derek Nesbitt or Chad Kolarik.

Olli Maatta made his pro debut tonight on defense, taking the spot for Reid McNeill. The 18 year old didn’t look out of place and played about as well as an 18 year old making his professional debut in the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals in the American Hockey League playoffs could play. He had a shot from the slot late in the third that Desjardins went into the splits on and make a glove save on.

Dylan Reese, Bobby Farnham, Cody Wild and Jayson Megna did not play for the Penguins tonight.

Game 4 will be Friday in Wilkes-Barre. A must win for the Penguins if they want to advance to the Calder Cup Finals. A comeback down 0-3 against the top seeded Providence Bruins was nice, but cannot be expected again against the core of what won the League Championship in Norfolk last season.

I’ll leave you with this tweet from the AHL’s PR department:

In @caldercup Playoff best-of-sevens that are tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner goes on to win the series 70.9 percent of the time (129 of 182)

— AHL Communications (@AHLPR) May 30, 2013

Like I said before, if it were easy, we’d all have Calder Cups.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Say what you want, the Pens were tired.

Syracuse has played only its second game in the past nine days. The Penguins have played four games in the last seven games with two of those seven being elimination games.

If I tell you, Sunday night at 11 p.m. that the series would be tied heading back to Wilkes-Barre, do you hug me or punch me?

Actually, don’t answer that.

The Penguins lose Game 2 tonight 3-2 and continue their futility in the second game on the road, now 3-13 in Game 2s on opponents ice.

Game 3 is Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.

Brad Thiessen vs. Cedrick Desjardins — no lineup changes either way for either team.

First Period: Blitzkrieg period by the Crunch, who outshot the Penguins 15-1 and went up 1-0 on the scoreboard on a Dan Sexton power play goal.

Second Period: More pressure by the Crunch. Matt Taormina scores a goal in a pile to make it 2-0 Crunch. I think shots were 22-2 Crunch at this point. Then, Philip Samuelsson was hooked and the Pens were on the power play. Joey Mormina wastes no time. 2-1 Crunch. Riley Holzapfel nearly tied the game but fanned on an open net. 

For some reason, the Syracuse Crunch became very frustrated with the Penguins, as they would take silly penalty after silly penalty. The Pens would get a power play again.

Hold your horses. The Crunch have the most shorthanded goals this postseason. Dimitry Korobov lights the lamp to make it 3-1 Crunch. Truly a backbreaking gaol for the Penguins and likely the turning point in the game. 

More frustration though by the Crunch, as Tyler Johnson butt ends Joey Mormina and gets an automatic 4:00 double minor. However, at the end of the second, Brian Gibbons would take a penalty.

Third Period: Tyler Johnson and Chad Kolarik go knee on knee. Kolarik returns. Johnson does not. Possible game changer in the series, especially if Johnson’s injury is serious as he is an important part of what the Crunch are about.

Riley Holzapfel scores a goal late. That would be all the offense the Penguins would muster. 

Three Stars: 3) Dan Sexton (goal, even) 2) Dmitry Korobov (goal, even) and 1) Ondrej Palat (assist, +2)

Syracuse looked frustrated despite dominating the Penguins. Desjardins has been pedestrian thus far. The Pens looked worn down. Again, I am running to Wednesday with a series split. What is the status with Tyler Johnson’s knee? Expect a dogfight Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.

Let’s Go Pens!!!