Chirps from Center Ice

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Taylor Gauthier and Colin White deserved better.

With about 40 seconds left to play, Colin White blocks his second shot of the night, is hobbled again and goes back down the tunnel. Seconds later the Belleville Senators score to even the game at two.

In overtime Belleville scores to steal the extra point. Penguins lose 3-2 in overtime.

Taylor Gauthier was shelled in the third period by the B-Sens when it was 1-1. He singlehandedly kept the Penguins in the contest and was stellar.

3 points out of a possible 6 this week. They were tracking to 4. That lost point is going to come in handy come April I fear.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Forward lines unchanged from Friday. Jack St. Ivany for Libor Hajek on defense.

First Period: Austin Rueschhoff scores a power play goal on a deflection of a Xavier Ouellet shot through traffic to put the Pens on the board.

Belleville was held to not many shots on goal then started to turn it on. Foreshadowing.

Second Period: Colin White blocks a shot and goes to the locker room. He returns, then goes back to the locker room. He got beat up pretty bad in the game.

Meanwhile, Angus Crookshank scores a goal off of a face-off to make it 1-1.

Problem here is that the B-Sens weren’t getting a ton of shots, but were living in the offensive zone for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, you wear down your opponent enough and get a greasy goal.

Third Period: As I mentioned in the open, Taylor Gauthier was under bombardment.

His finest save of the period, right there.

Also, Belleville scored two other times in the game but they were waved off. First was on a high stick, second was on a tripping call.

Colin White scored a power play goal which was fitting, considering the absolute beating he took Friday.

Time dwindling, Belleville head coach David Bell pulls goaltender Leevi Merilainen for an extra attacker, uses his time out, and finds the equalizer.

Always has to be an ex-Hershey Bear.

It was then onto….

Overtime: Jack Rathbone gets caught on a two on one, tries to direct Marc Johnstone to cover Angus Crookshank, Crookshank gets the puck, shoots, shot blocked back to Jacob Larsson who scores.

Three Stars: 3) Colin White (goal) 2) Garrett Pilon (goal, assist) 1) Jacob Larsson (game winning goal)

The Good: They scored two power play goals, which you never say no to.

The Bad: I don’t want to start getting into the practice of having to learn how to close out games. They straight lost Wednesday against Providence. They scored with .5 seconds left Friday against Hershey and coughed up a lead with :34 to play Saturday against Belleville. Gotta finish!

Turning Point: Inevitably the Pilon goal which forced overtime gets it here because Belleville winning seemed like a formality after that and it was.

Around the Division: Cleveland exacts some revenge on Providence, beating them 5-4…Springfield wins in OT against Lehigh Valley 3-2….Charlotte wins 5-4 in overtime against San Diego…Hershey beats Bridgeport 3-1 and Hartford beats Utica 3-2.

Standings: Hershey 16 / Hartford 13 / Charlotte and Springfield 12 / Penguins 11 / Lehigh Valley 10 / Providence 9 / Bridgeport 5

Wheeling Update: Nailers win 3-2 in their home opener over the Reading Royals. Justin Addamo two assists.

Video Highlights: 

Home and home with Syracuse next week. Look for the Weekend Preview sometime Thursday or Friday.

Let’s Go Pens!

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I think I may have a new favorite player.

Not since Casey DeSmith was an AHL goaltender have I had a favorite player.

Wade Brookbank. Ben Lovejoy. Casey DeSmith.

That’s it. That’s my list.

They may have to make room for Marc Johnstone.

Saw it when they were on the road in Charlotte opening weekend. Guy busts his ass every shift and plays like he is 10 foot tall. Smart with the puck. Doesn’t make any errors. Goes and goes and goes.

Who else but Marc Johnstone, the hero, with .5 seconds left.

Wilkes-Barre wins 2-1 over Hershey Friday night.

Close game that they nearly lost a dozen times and couldn’t win with multiple power plays late. They needed a hero and it came in the form of Marc Johnstone.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup was Matt Filipe for Corey Andonovski who took warmups and Taylor Fedun for Jack St. Ivany.

Bears score in the first on a power play goal from Mike Vecchione on a nice setup from Mike Sgarbossa and it was 1-0 Hershey.

I didn’t like the way referees Mike Dietrich and Jake Kamrass ran things early, and they stick around and will be the referees Saturday against Belleville.

Penguins get a goal the gritty way when Alex Nylander camps out in front of the net and Jansen Harkins sets him up for the tying goal in the final minute of the second period.

In the third, I became incredibly frustrated with the Penguins power play.

J.D. Forrest throwing things at the wall. Jonathan Gruden on the power play?

I figured their power play out, though.

Johnstone won it late, as documented above. Thought it was deflected in with a high stick, but it was not.

Three Stars: 3) Joel Blomqvist (19 saves) 2) Alex Nylander (goal) 1) Marc Johnstone (game winning goal)

A note about Blomqvist – I don’t want to say he stole the game cause he kept the team in it and his guys won it for him. I also don’t want to rush him, but I think he is quickly becoming the best goaltender in the organization, all things considered. Keep it up.

Also, Hershey has three regulation losses and the Penguins gave them two of those losses.

The Good: Marc Johnstone. What else can I say? What a player. Give me a team full of Marc Johnstone’s.

The Bad: Power play coulda used a goal.

Turning Point: Johnstone’s goal with .5 left gets it here. Obviously.

Around the Division: Cleveland has been in the AHL as the Monsters since  2007. This is the first ever meeting with the Providence Bruins, a team that plays in the same conference as them. Providence wins 7-3….Lehigh Valley beats Hartford 5-4 in overtime….Springfield beats Belleville 6-3.

Standings: Hershey 14 / Hartford 11 / Penguins / Charlotte / Springfield 10 / Lehigh Valley and Providence 9 / Bridgeport 5

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights:

Back at it Saturday against Belleville at 6:05.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Dictionary defines “providence” as timely preparation for future eventualities.

Well tonight, you can state that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins lacked providence because the team that bears the name came in and beat them 3-1.

First home loss for the Penguins, in what would best be defined as a feckless offensive effort.

Work night. School night. Let’s get into it.

Lineup Notes: Sam Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen (both injured) out for Austin Rueschhoff and Colin Smith. Smith returns from injury. Garret Sparks was the one injured, which explains why he didn’t come out for the third Sunday in Hershey and why Taylor Gauthier was recalled. On defense, Taylor Fedun was out. Libor Hajek stayed in. I think they still have veteran issues.

First Period: Shots were 9-3 Penguins in the period. Wilkes-Barre jumps out to a 1-0 lead on a power play goal from Rem Pitlick:

But Providence hits back 90 seconds later when John Farinacci, who sounds like a Pittston Area gym teacher, tips in a shot from the point that makes it 1-1.

Second Period: Providence ratcheted up the offense and gets a goal from Vincent Areseneau which I initially thought was an own goal from Dmitri Samorukov, that made it 2-1 Bruins.

Third Period: I waited for a comeback that never came. The Penguins took their second too many men on the ice call, the third time they had such an issue in the evening but that one time they didn’t have the puck. How does that happen? Twice one game?

Turning point of the game was when the Penguins had a power play with 4:28 left to play and failed to score.

Somewhere in there Brandon Buss made a ridiculous save to keep it a one goal game for the visitors. I don’t want to say that he won the game for the Bruins, but he was a big big part.

Providence hit an empty net, which essentially sealed their fate. Jesper Boqvist scored it.

Three Stars: 3) Brandon Buss (26 saves) 2) Rem Pitlick (goal) 1) Vincent Arseneau (goal)

The Good: Optimist says they held the Bruins close, offense wasn’t there when it needed to be against a really good AHL goaltender. Also, the penalty kill went 6/6.

The Bad: They essentially have a fourth line that consists of Jagger Joshua and Marc Johnstone, who bust their ass on every shift every game, and Jonathan Gruden who does the same, but plays third and sometimes second line minutes. That’s all. Jansen Harkins has shown flashes of brilliance but the defense is out to lunch half the time. Samorukov ain’t it. Jack Rathbone I don’t think is either. Ty Smith is in the wrong system, jury is out on Hajek and Ouellet does what he can with who he’s paired with. St. Ivany has flashes. He’s young, cut him some slack.

Every team has clunkers every once in a while. This Penguins team is not championship caliber, so you are going to have more.

Maybe they get the proper coaching and accountability. Hershey is here Friday. It better come quick.

Around the Division: Hershey beats Lehigh Valley 4-3 in overtime and are 7-2. I didn’t think the Bears could somehow be better than last year, yet here we are. They are in Friday.

Standings: Hershey 14 / Hartford 10 / Charlotte / Penguins / Thunderbirds 8 / Lehigh Valley and Providence 7 / Bridgeport 5

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: You may have to go hunt and peck for them yourselves if you are so inclined. I am off Thursday and not going to be near a computer for most of the day.

Back at it Friday against Hershey.

Let’s Go Pens!

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I don’t think they are a very good team on the road.

A 6-1 pasting Sunday afternoon by the Hershey Bears. They give up the first two shots faced, and it was all really downhill from there.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: It was the WBS debut for Libor Hajek as the Penguins went 11 forwards, 7 defensemen. Avery Hayes drew the short stick.

First Period: Disaster start for the Penguins and Garrett Sparks in general.

Hershey scores twice before Sparks records a save. Ethen Frank scores twice, starting at 1:11 into the contest, and this was the first goal allowed in the first period by the Penguins.

Then the Bears strike on a power play and Frank notches his second.

Couple things here. First, Sparks needs to be better here, especially on the second goal by Frank. There’s time and space and a goaltender as experienced as Sparks has to make that save.

Jack Rathbone continues to really unimpress me, being on the ice for the first of Frank’s goals here. Be better.

Speaking of, just what in the sam hill is this disaster?

A 2-on-0? Really?

The Penguins as a whole, were out to lunch that period and the defending champion Bears punished them rightly for being so unprepared.

Second Period: Penguins have a would be Corey Andonovski power play goal swiped off the board when referees Alex Lepkowski and Patrick Hanrahan adjudge that the puck was deflected in on a high stick. It is not a reviewable call (it should be) but on the few replays I did see, it looked borderline.

Later, Sam Poulin scores a legal power play goal the traditional way with a hack and whack slam dunk.

But Hershey would respond in kind when Joe Snively scores his second goal of the game on a power play goal left unmarked on the far post.

Third Period: Joel Blomqvist came in for relief of Garrett Sparks and it mattered little.

A loose puck put in by Jimmy Huntingdon made it 5-1.

Later, Bogdan Trineyev scores his first AHL goal on the trot.

Seriously, the guy never loses a step and just charges at the net where Nic Aube-Kubel sets him up for a goal that makes it 6-1.

Three Stars: 3) Ethen Frank (two goals) 2) Jimmy Huntingdon (goals, two assists) 1) Joe Snively (two goals, assist)

The Good: Somehow Valtteri Puustinen, Xavier Ouellet and Taylor Fedun ended the day even.

The Bad: Jack Rathbone was a -3. Gotta tighten up there buddy.

Turning Point: The second shot of the game for Hershey gave the Bears all the momentum necessary for what turned into a blowout win for the 12 time league champions.

Around the Division: Springfield beats Providence in overtime 3-2 and sweeps the weekend….Hartford salvages theirs with a 4-1 win in Allentown.

Standings: Hershey extends their lead over the Penguins by four points at the top of the division. Bears have 12 points, Hartford 10, Charlotte, Penguins and Springfield have 8, Lehigh Valley 6, Providence and Bridgeport 5.

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights:

Back at it Wednesday at home against Providence. Weekend Preview will be up Wednesday morning.

Let’s Go Pens!

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In Memoriam: There was news last night that was devastating to learn regarding ex-Penguin Adam Johnson, who tragically passed away during a hockey game overseas. Johnson played the bulk of his AHL time in Wilkes-barre but also had stints in Lehigh Valley and Ontario. The Hershey Bears held a moment of silence for Johnson before the start of the Sunday afternoon game against the Pens.

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Getting on a bit of a roll here.

The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins won their third straight game at home, defeating the suddenly slumping Hartford Wolf Pack 4-2 Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre.

Special teams carried the day for the Penguins, who did all of their scoring in the first period with a shorthanded goal and a power play goal. They held the Wolf Pack to just 8 shots through the two periods before Hartford nudged a little closer, but not too close to the point to where it may become uncomfortable.

Hershey Sunday and a chance to sweep the week.

Here’s how they lined up:

Hartford didn’t post lines and never does.

Lineup Notes: Vinnie Hinostroza went up Thursday, Corey Andonovski came back. That was it, D pairings stayed the same.

First Period: A blitzkrieg for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

Valtteri Puustinen receives a nice stretch pass and doesn’t miss for a 1-0 Penguins lead.

I don’t know if Puustinen reads the blog (please don’t) but ever since I said he should be scratched, he’s responded with goals.

Penguins go on the penalty kill and Joona Koppanen skates in all alone and scores a shorthanded goal.

Jonathan Gruden on a hack and whack job and the rout was on.

And then Rem Pitlick scores a power play goal for the cherry on top.

Now I was expecting Hartford starting goaltender Dylan Garland to get the yank but Kris Knoblauch stayed with him. After the Pitlick goal, Garland shut it down from there.

I really thought that had the Penguins scored a fifth, Garand’s night would have been over.

Second Period: Seemed at times a bit tamer, which I think played more in favor for Hartford and less so for the Penguins.

Jack Rathbone and Xavier Ouellet cross wires and Turner Elson scores to put the Wolf Pack on the board.

Third Period: Hartford had a leftover penalty from the second, and Jonny Brodzinski rifles one home just :39 into the period to make the game a lot closer.

Said this at the time…

Sometimes I tweet things to set things up for the blog. If Hartford scores again, then yeah it’s a lot tigher and I use foreshadowing to set up the rest of the blog entry, If the Penguins score to make it 5-2, it’s likely an easy win for the Penguins. Either way, the tweet still stands.

Only no one scored again.

Jansen Harkins came close on a breakaway, but Dylan Garand was a completely Dylan Garand in the second and third periods then he was in the first.

Hartford had a few chances late with Garand pulled and a power play, but never got any closer.

Three Stars: 3) Ty Smith (assist) 2) Valtteri Puustinen (goal) 1) Jonath Gruden (goal)

The Good: Jump all over the opponent in the first and send them scrambling. The Penguins have not allowed the opponent to score at all in the first period so far this season. It’s a good trend, you’d like to see it continue.

The Bad: Boy oh boy, they nearly blew that one until the didn’t. Take the two points and move on.

Turning Point: Turns out that Gruden power play goal was big at the time back in the first period as it stood up as the game winning goal.

Around the Division: Charlotte shuts out Bridgeport 2-0 at home….Hershey does the same to Lehigh Valley 4-0.Lehigh Valley had eight power plays…Springfield beats what looks like a bad Providence team 5-2. The Thunderbirds scored three power play goals.

Standings: Hershey 10, Penguins, Charlotte and Hartford 8, Lehigh Valley and Springfield 6, Bridgeport 5 and Providence 4

Wheeling Update: Nailers are down big in Fort Wayne. Box here.

Video Highlights: 

Hershey Sunday at 3 in Hershey. Don’t be late. Talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!