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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!!!

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If I am a Crunch fan, this is a bad loss.

I’m not a Crunch fan, I am a Penguin fan and this win was a necessity.

You are not winning this series if you are Wilkes-Barre down 0-2.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins hand the Syracuse Crunch their first loss of the post season, and first loss for a Tampa Bay affiliate in playoffs since May 7, 2012 with a 4-2 win and now have home ice advantage in the series.

Two goals by Alex Grant, a goal from Trevor Smith and an unlikely goal for Christiaan Minella proved to be too much for the Crunch, who beat goaltender Brad Thiessen twice only on goals when he was screened.

The aforementioned Brad Thiessen vs. Cedrick Desjardins.

Lineup Notes: Christiaan Minella was in for Jayson Megna who, per radio, will be unlikely to play Game 2 and is questionable at best to play in the series. Bobby Farnham is off of the injured list but is is probably not going to play tomorrow. Dylan Reese did not play.

First Period: Penguins could not clear the D zone. Really dangerous moments for the Penguins in this regard. Suddenly, Alex Grant scores a goal to put the Pens up 1-0. This was the first shot on goal for the Penguins and the first time the Crunch trailed in any game in the playoffs since Game 3 of Round One in the Portland series. More dangerous D zone non-clears by the Pens. The fourth line for the Pens was huge this period and for the game overall. Then, Brendan Mikkelson scored through a screen to even the score at one.

The next shift, Radko Gudas boards a Penguin. Wilkes-Barre would set up, go tic tac toe, and Trevor Smith would push the Pens back to the lead 2-1. An answer goal to answer all answer goals.

Second Period: Joey Mormina takes a delay of game penalty. MVP Tyler Johnson picks a spot and it’s a tie game again. Warren Peters, I guess mad at the initial call on Mormina or mad that the Crunch scored, took a slashing call and the Crunch were back on the power play as soon as they dropped the puck to resume play after the Johnson goal. Pens kill it.

Remember that fourth line I was talking about earlier? They came up huge again. Dominik Uher chases a puck down into the Pens zone on a Crunch player. Christiaan Minella slaps down a clearing bid, finds himself alone with Desjardins and scores to make it 3-2 Pens. Backbreaking goal to give up for Syracuse. They’ve hemmed the Pens in their zone all night, battle back to even the score at two and let the Wilkes-Barre fourth line outwork them and score a goal.

Pens felt it, too. They were honing in on another goal. After some power play exchanges, Alex Grant steps into his second goal of the night to put the Pens up 4-2 heading into the…

Third Period: Pens played a solid defensive period. Knowing they were up two goals on an offensively dangerous Syracuse Crunch team, Wilkes-Barre took no chances defensively and rode that to a 1-0 lead in the series.

Three Stars: 3) Brendan Mikkelson (goal, +1) 2) Trevor Smith (goal, assist, +1) and 1) Alex Grant (two goals, +1)

Game 2 is right back here Sunday night in Syracuse.

Gameday for that proceeding will be up Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!