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Thought about the headline that the Pens used in tonight’s 3-2 shootout win over Binghamton tonight and figured I would run with it. The Pens did inch by the B-Sens tonight. It’s the Jekyll and Hyde of this team, really. They run with one of the best teams in the league in Providence last night and scrap and claw and find themselves with the “pesky” Binghamton Senators tonight. They are doing what it takes to get points right now, which, when battling for your playoff lives, is everything you can ask for.

I said Wednesday morning that the Pens needed to go 3-1 in these next four games. The first three were all better competition, a win Wednesday at home vs. Binghamton, a shootout loss Friday vs. Providence and a shootout win in Binghamton. Tuesday they go to Norfolk for another huge test.

Jonathan summed it up nicely in saying that one night you win, and everyone around you loses and you look golden. Another night you lose, everyone around you wins, and you look like a loser. He said, “buy the ticket, take the ride.”

Jeff Zatkoff vs. Nathan Lawson. No lineup changes for the Pens tonight.

First Period: Penguins with a decent power play would have blown Binghamton off the Southern Tier with all of the calls referee Mark Lemelin was making that favored Wilkes-Barre. Chad Kolarik and Shane Prince traded goals in the first. In the…

Second Period: … it was more of the same for the Penguins on the man advantage. The B-Sens were disappointed with every call made by Lemelin or, in the event that a Penguin player would get whistled for something, Lemelin would take a Binghamton player post whistle after pushing and shoving. This continued. Finally, with the Pens on a 4:00 double minor power play, Chad Kolarik shoots it and Trevor Smith deflects it for his 20th goal of the season, six seasons strong.

Third Period: Taking a page from last night, the Pens found themselves on the wrong end of a 2:00 5 on 3 against. But, with huge saves from Jeff Zatkoff, the Penguins special teams unit killed it. However, the B-Sens, who didn’t register their first shot of the game until twelve minutes into the first period and at that time were being outshot 8-1, had caught up to the Pens in the shots department and ultimately in the goal department when Danny New ripped home a one timer from the top of the slot to make it a 2-2 game.

The two teams would fight like dogs for the remainder of the period not to make a mistake and capitalize on one made. No further scoring would come about and it was onto….

Overtime: I got the sense that the Senators played like they wanted to win overtime and the Pens played like they didn’t want to lose overtime. A dangerous concoction. Nothing was decided so it was onto the…

…wait for it…

Shootout: Chad Kolarik, Riley Holzapfel and Trevor Smith score score in the first three rounds and Jeff Zatkoff stops Cole Schneider, Hugh Jessiman and Louie Caporusso to seal it for the Pens.

Three Stars: 3) Mark Borowiecki (+1) 2) Chad Kolarik (goal, assist, +1) and 1) Shane Prince (goal, assist, +2)

Around the Division: The Syracuse Crunch will have to wait another day to be the first team to clinch playoffs. The Norfolk Admirals shut them out in Virginia 2-0. The Hershey Bears, in a gotta have it game, come back from trailing after two periods for the first time this season and beat the unbeatable Niklas Svedberg and the Providence Bruins 3-2.

Standings: Syracuse 87 — Binghamton 87 — Penguins 76 — Hershey 73 — Norfolk 71

Conference: A four way tie at the top. 1) SPR (87) 2) PRO (87) 3) SYR (87) 4) BNG (87) 5) POR (79) 6) WBS (76) 7) CT (74) 8) HER (73)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers closed out their season at home vs. the Trenton Titans and lost 4-3 in a shootout. I’d anticipate a taxi squad of eligible players on their way to Wilkes-Barre fairly soon.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here. Nice packaging.

But for the aforementioned taxi squad of Nailers on the way to Wilkes-Barre, expect the next blog update to come Tuesday for the Gameday setup vs. the Norfolk Admirals that night. I expect Robert Bortuzzo to get called back up to Pittsburgh for good, but that’s hardly newsworthy, since we all knew it was happening anyway.

Happy Easter, everyone.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Pens should have had this one.

The good is that the Pens hung with one of the top five teams in the league tonight only to lose in the shootout 3-2. Brad Thiessen gets 85% of a Christian Hanson shot in the shootout and the puck falls in the net.

Dylan Reese had two power play goals, one in the first and another in the second. My, this power play looks great with Beau Bennett running things, that’s for sure.

Pens had to kill a full 2:00 of 5 on 3 when John Hynes did not particularly like the way that Chris Cozzan and Tremt Knorr were calling things. The Penguins did so successfully.

Providence is an extremely quick team that has highly skilled forwards. The Penguins did a fantastic job hanging with them tonight.

I got the sense that the coaching staff did their homework on the eighth ranked Providence power play unit. Pens were generating many shorthanded chances tonight and really had all the passing lanes bottled up.

Oh, Providence goaltender Niklas Svedberg’s right pad should be registered as a lethal weapon. It stopped Jayson Megna on a 2 on 1 shorthanded rush. Several other times it was flashed.

Bobby Farnham and Alden Hirschfeld had a memorable fight. I have a link to it on my Pheed page here.

Oh, it’s here on YouTube too:

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The above is unconventional, yes, because the majority of it was typed on my iPhone after the game watching a high school all-star game that occurred immediately following the Penguins game.

Here’s the rest of the conventional stuff:

News: Reid McNeill was recalled to WBS according to ECHL transactions and Jeff Zatkoff was back from Pittsburgh and backed up Brad Thiessen. The Peoria Rivermen are no more, starting AHL affiliation “silly season” early.

Around the Division: Hershey lost up in Albany 5-3. The Bears play these same P-Bruins tomorrow in Hershey. The Norfolk Admirals and Syracuse Crunch squared off in Virginia. The Admirals battled back down 4-1 to win 5-4 in overtime. The Binghamton Senators avoid losing three in a row for the tenth time this season, winning 5-2 at home vs. Adirondack.

Standings: Syracuse 87 — Binghamton 86 — Penguins 74 — Hershey 71 — Norfolk 69

Conference: 1) PRO (87) 2) SYR (87) 3) SPR (85) 4) BNG (86) 5) POR (77) 6) CT (74) 7) WBS (74) 8) HER (71)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers lost 8-5 at home to Toledo tonight. Wheeling closes out its season tomorrow.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here. Has everything you like in one highlight package.

Pens travel to Binghamton tomorrow. Gameday for that will be up at 3.

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Finally, a result that renders a positive.

Pens get three goals in the first from goal scorers and go on and roll the Binghamton Senators 4-2. 

Well, not exactly roll. The score was 3-0 at one point. Binghamton chipped to make it 3-2 before the Pens got a power play goal late to extend it to 4-2.

Wait, what? A power play goal?!?! What planet am I on.

That kind of night.

Jeff Zatkoff vs. Nathan Lawson. Robert Bortuzzo, sent down for conditioning, was in the lineup. Christiaan Minella took warmups but was scratched.

First Period: Lots of hits to open the game, as would be expected when these two teams play. Pens would get a power play and not score on it. Then, Pens first line of Kolarik, Smith and Holzapfel take the ice, cycle a puck. Holzapfel passes to Kolarik who one times it, rebound kicks to Smith who bangs it home. Off the ensuing faceoff, the Pens nearly get another one. Finally, Two bang-bang goals from Kolarik in the slot then Thompson off a wrister that Lawson could have had.

3-0 after one period. There was talk before the game and in the papers in the morning of a strong start. Message sent, message received.

Second Period: Bit of a down period. Pens would get extended five on three but not score one. Late, Pens lose a faceoff, Corey Cowick stick lifts Joey Mormina, gets Zatkoff out of position and backhands it home to put the B-Sens on the board at 3-1. You could see from the body language of the B-Sens that they were not out of it.

Third Period: The B-Sens weren’t out of it. They hustled and set up shop in the offensive zone. Hugh Jessiman scores from the blue line. Uh oh. 3-2 Pens. You could feel it slipping. But, the Penguins played disciplined hockey, were beneficiaries of two straight power plays, one they scored on when an Alex Grant point shot deflected off of Brian Gibbons and had a “bend but not break” mentality that won them the hockey game.

Three Stars: 3) Trevor Smith (goal, +2) 2) Paul Thomspon (goal, +1) 1) Chad Kolarik (goal, assist, +2)

Kolarik had seven of the teams 34 shots. Thompson five. Robert Bortuzzo was a +2.

Around the Division: Norfolk and Hershey were off, Syracuse lost in Rochester in new head coach Rob Zettler’s debut 1-0 to the Americans. The shots on goal that game was 38-14 Crunch.

Standings: Syracuse 86 — Binghamton 84 — Penguins 73 — Hershey 71 — Norfolk 67

Conference: 1) SYR (86) 2) PRO (85) 3) SPR (83) 4) BNG (84) 5) POR (73) 6) WBS (73) 7) CT (72) 8) HER (71)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers have been eliminated from the playoffs and are playing out the string. They hosted the Elmira Jackals and won 6-2. Keven Veilleux scored a goal and had an assist. Newly signed 2009 Pittsburgh draft pick Alex Velischek had two assists. Nailers wrap up their season on Saturday.

SendToNews Highlights: Here they are.

Penguins most likely practice tomorrow. I may have a photoblog for you here from Monday with other newsier items. Providence is in Friday. That will be a Grade A test for the Pens.

Let’s Go Pens!