Chirps from Center Ice

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

Second Quarter Grades

3 Comments Posted by on January 18, 2013

The Penguins hit the halfway pole after Tuesday’s win in Norfolk and the Second Quarter Grades are due. Due to me getting a late start on them, Pittsburgh’s training camp, the All-Stars being announced and the recent news of Brian Strait being claimed off of waivers by the New York Islanders this afternoon, here they finally are!

Different from seasons past, I am grading off of second quarter production only. Some guys that got A’s in the first quarter are getting D’s. I figure doing it this way paints a finer picture as to what a player did in the second quarter vs. looking at things overall.

At the one quarter pole, the Penguins were 11-7, good for third in the division and fifth in the conference with 22 points. They struggled in the second quarter, going 7-10-2-1 good for 17 points and are fourth in the division and ninth in the conference with an overall record of 18-17-2-1 and 39 points. They currently have a modest three game winning streak.

Below is my humble take once again. Remember, the points production, games played and +/- for the second quarter only are listed in parenthesis. To compare this quarters grades from last, click here for the First Quarter Grades. Here goes:

Forwards

Beau Bennett – (2-9-11, +2, 12 GP) – Was hurt for a spell and his absence was felt, especially on the power play. Is always in the right place, almost like the game is scripted for him. Had a chance to show Pittsburgh brass what he could do in camp this week. Will be the lone Penguin in Providence at the All-Star Classic at the end of the month. Grade: A+

Philippe Dupuis – (0-4-4, -8, 16 GP) – His minus-8 is the worst +/- on the team for the second quarter. I projected a big second quarter out of Dupuis and all I got was a bust of a quarter. I think that he is in Hynes’ doghouse, too. Grade D

Bobby Farnham – (1-1-2, -2, 18 GP) – Gives 100% on every play. He agitates. Sometimes he goes over the top. Is a better fighter when provoked then when staged. Scored a goal this quarter, which is one more goal scored than Philippe Dupuis during this time period. Grade: C+

Benn Ferriero – (3-2-5, even, 14 GP) – I projected a big second quarter from Ferriero and he, like others, flopped. Had he had a big quarter, I think he would have earned a look in Pittsburgh. He had a mediocre quarter and his grade is reflective of that. Grade: C

Brian Gibbons – (2-5-7, -7, 19 GP) – Everyone is in the same boat this quarter because of the losing and lack of offense. Gibbons is in this boat as someone who you either noticed in the lineup or you didn’t. Grade: C

Riley Holzapfel – (5-9-14, even, 20 GP) – Led the team in points for the quarter. The inconsistent Penguins were lead by the consistent Holzapfel. Could he be a replacement player and go to Providence at All-Stars at the end of the month? Grade: A+

Steve MacIntyre – (0-0-0, -2, 10 GP) – His two punch KO of Portland’s Joel Rechlicz in December may rank as one of the highlights for the struggling Pens in the quarter. There is no greater protector in hockey. Grade: B

Jayson Megna – (3-1-4, -7, 15 GP) – Megna’s first full quarter. Must be doing something right because he has earned an invite to Pittsburgh’s training camp, which came as a shock to me. Look at those numbers again and ask yourself if those would be good enough numbers to give an undrafted kid a look at in NHL camp. Grade: C

Warren Peters – (3-2-5, -3, 20 GP) – Has appeared in every Penguins game this season. Outside of that, pretty average quarter for Peters. He’s in the same boat as Gibbons, Ferriero, Dupuis, et. al. Grade: C-

Zach Sill – (0-1-1, -2, 17 GP) – Sill’s first full quarter, as he was sidelined after the second game of the season. Some nights I barely notice him. For Sill that’s a detriment, because he’s not asked to score. Grade: C

Trevor Smith – (6-6-12, +2, 20) – One of the bright spots for the Penguins in the quarter.  I don’t think we have seen the best out of Smith yet. Grade: A

Eric Tangradi – (1-7-8, -3, 16 GP) – We have seen the last of Tangradi now that the lockout is over. He will need to take what he has learned here and make the most of it in Pittsburgh. Grade: B-

Paul Thompson – (6-3-9, +3, 17 GP) – When guys like Tangradi and Bennett are up in Pittsburgh, Thompson is going to be asked to carry the load. If he is involved in the offense (i.e. taking shots) then the Penguins are in good shape. If he’s disinterested, the Penguins suffer. It’s his time to step up and carry the load. Grade: B

Dominik Uher – (0-1-1. -3, 11 GP) – Is extremely good at drawing penalties. Will see more ice in the third quarter with the lockout ending. Grade: C+

Defensemen

Robert Bortuzzo – (1-1-2, -2 17 GP) – May have seen the last of Wilkes-Barre with the lockout ending. Like Tangradi, will need to take what he learned in the AHL and translate that to the NHL. Grade: B

Simon Despres – (2-0-2, -5, 9 GP) – We haven’t seen the last of Despres. Was hurt in the second quarter and missed games. Can be sent up and down between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre as many times as desired. Unless he wow’s in Pittsburgh, will assuredly be back at some point to continue to improve, as it’s needed. Grade: C+

Brian Dumoulin – (4-5-9, -5, 19 GP) – I wasn’t impressed with Dumoulin at all in the first quarter. He is slowly, and I mean slowly, winning me over. The lockout ending is benefiting him and he is continuing to develop. My most improved player of the second quarter. Grade: B+

Alex Grant – (1-2-3, -1, 9 GP) – The lockout ending will benefit Grant because finally, he will see full time ice. I’m almost tempted to give him an “incomplete” this quarter, just because of how inconsistent he’s been in and out of the lineup. Grade: C

Joey Mormina – (1-0-1, +6, 11 GP) – Was in the same boat with Alex Grant as far as being scratched over the guys here because of the NHL lockout. Now that its over, this veteran will be relied heavily upon. Grade: C-

Joe Morrow – (0-5-5, -4, 16 GP) – He’s in a transition period right now. Last year, he was the last cut from Pittsburgh’s camp in his final year of junior eligibility. This year, he’s toiling about the minors in the locked out NHL. Now that the labor strife is over, we should really see what Morrow is made of and if he flourishes. Grade: C+

Dylan Reese – (1-4-5, +4, 17 GP) – Numbers are down this quarter, but he’s in the same boat with everybody as the team didn’t have a memorable second quarter. Grade: C

Philip Samuelsson – (1-3-4, -1, 18 GP) – Was the teams best overall defenseman this quarter. Pairing with Dumoulin actually helped both players in this case. Grade: B+

Brain Strait – (0-0-0, even, 12 GP) – In and out of the lineup due to injury. When he’s not there he leaves a big hole defensively. He and Steve MacIntyre are the only players on the team which have played 20 or more games that have yet to record a point. Was claimed by the Islanders off of waivers Friday. Grade: B

 

Goaltenders

Blogger note: I am not smart enough to calculate GAA or SV% for the quarter for Thiessen or Zatkoff. If anyone wants to show me how, please do.

Brad Thiessen – (7-7-1, 2.64 GAA, 0.902 SV%) – I said in the first quarter grade for Thiessen that he would need to be stellar in order to regain number one status again. Well, he has started the last three games and won all three, including a shutout. For a team which has been doing more recent losing than winning, that’s enough to get him back to number one status. Grade: B

Jeff Zatkoff – (11-12, 2.21 GAA, 0.911 SV%) – After being named November Goaltender of the Month, the wheels fell off. He went 2-5, 3.13 GAA and 0.871 SV% in December. A forgettable month by this former AHL All-Star’s standards. Grade: C-

 

Get your scorecards here! Can’t tell a player without a scorecard!

Players with five or less games, unless otherwise noted. No grades, just blurbs.

Chris Barton and Paul Crowder  – (both 0-0-0, -1, 2 GP) – Were called up when Pittsburgh’s camp started to replace Beau Bennett and Jayson Megna at the forward position. Neither set the world on fire, but neither looked out of place either. Will probably be re-assigned to Wheeling soon.

Tom Kuhnhackl – (0-0-0, +1, 2 GP) – Had season ended when he was injured in the December 2 St. John’s game and recently had season ending upper body surgery. Will be back next year.

Adam Payerl – ( 0-0-0, even 1 GP) – Just getting back from injury while with Wheeling. It remains to be seen whether or not he sticks in Wilkes-Barre or returns back to the ECHL.

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That is everybody. No mentions of Carl Sneep or Keven Veilleux because they did not play in the quarter.

Feel free to agree / disagree with me in the comments. They are open for business.

Quarterly Grades

Not a Strait Path Back to Wilkes-Barre

Comments Off on Not a Strait Path Back to Wilkes-Barre Posted by on January 18, 2013

Some news this afternoon….

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Damn.

Second Quarter Grades will be later today. All the best to Brian Strait with his new employer.

WBS

All-Stars, Re-Assignments, Waivers, Oh My!

Comments Off on All-Stars, Re-Assignments, Waivers, Oh My! Posted by on January 17, 2013

Lots of stuff going on today. My Second Quarter Grades are done, and would have run in this time slot, but instead will get bumped to Friday at noon.

Pittsburgh sent Jayson Megna and Beau Bennett back to Wilkes-Barre today. Philippe Dupuis, Alex Grant, Warren Peters, Riley Holzapfel, Trevor Smith, Dylan Reese, Benn Ferriero and Brian Strait were placed on waivers today. They have until noon tomorrow to clear.

Strait is the only one that runs the highest risk of being claimed. Jonathan Bombulie blogged his thoughts earlier today. We’ll see if he clears tomorrow.

Bennett was named to the 2013 AHL All-Star Team this afternoon. You can check out the Penguins press release here and the rest of the names that made the team here. Bennett was a slam dunk to make the team in my opinion. Honorable mentions would have included Riley Holzapfel and Trevor Smith.

The Outdoor Game Sunday will not be shown on local TV in Wilkes-Barre.

People have asked if the Penguins are going to have a special jersey for the Outdoor game. My thought is no. They’ll just go with the standard road black jerseys. If they do announce it, it would have to be soon. I’ll have pictures of it in some form of social media if it happens.

Check out the blog tomorrow for the Second Quarter Grades at noon.

The AHL, WBS

Carl and Cody’s Reunion Tour

Comments Off on Carl and Cody’s Reunion Tour Posted by on January 16, 2013

News out of Coal Street this morning was the return of defenseman Carl Sneep and the signing of defenseman Cody Wild from the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers.

Two depth recalls, which to me mean that Simon Despres may be getting an extended look in Pittsburgh at least through this weekend. The alternative could mean that a trade is in the works for one of the three D-men that went up (Brian Strait, Robert Bortuzzo and Despres) or an existing Pittsburgh defenseman. We just don’t know.

Here’s the lineup for the Black and Gold game tonight. An interesting name that jumps out at me is one of Patrick Killeen. It’s interesting because Killeen has been injured and hasn’t played for the Wheeling Nailers in quite some time. It’s equally  shocking to me because the Nailers left this afternoon for Orlando, where they play the Solar Bears this weekend.

The scrimmage will be shown live on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.

Keven Veilleux was suspended 10 games for his use of inappropriate racial comments on Sunday. Per Nailers beat writer Shawn Rine, Veilleux has been ordered sensitivity training.

My Second Quarter Grades are still being put together. My plan is to put the finishing touches on them tomorrow and have them here. Stay tuned for that.

Pittsburgh, WBS, Wheeling

In Thiess We Trust – Pens WIN 4-2

Comments Off on In Thiess We Trust – Pens WIN 4-2 Posted by on January 15, 2013

WBS          @          NOR

4                                                2

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Selfishly, I wanted the NHL lockout to go all season long. I really cannot stand millionaires arguing with millionaires over billions of dollars.

But the way that the first half of the season was developing for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins, it looked as though playoffs were a long shot at best.

The lockout ended about 10 days ago.

Since, a completely different Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins team.

John Hynes touched on this topic in the papers this past weekend. With the labor strife, you have guys playing in the AHL who belong in the NHL. Thus, you have guys playing in the ECHL and lower leagues who belong in the AHL and the new blood that resurrects when the lockout ends are hungry, to say the least and ready to prove they belong.

The post-lockout Penguins have won three in a row and look to be heading in the right direction. Brad Theissen has guided the Penguins to all three victories.

Finally.

A 4-2 win in Norfolk tonight against a patchwork Admirals team completely left barren by call-ups to parent Anaheim. If the Penguins did not win this game, a real cause for concern would set in in my mind.

Brad Thiessen vs. Viktor Fasth – a decorated Swedish goalie assigned to Norfolk today making his first North American pro start.

Lineup Notes: Philippe Dupuis was “dinged up” in practice yesterday and was not on the trip. Benn Ferriero was held out again, and will likely play Sunday in Hershey, per Tom Grace. Tom Kuhnhackl is out for the rest of the season after surgery, so this is probably the last time I mention him in lineup news.

First Period: Matt Kennedy boarded Joey Mormina. Or at least it appeared that way, as referees Fred Leblanc and Steve Patafie called no penalty. As a result, ex-Admiral Trevor Smith fought Kennedy. Mormina was fine and returned for his next shift. Later, Nick Schaus thunders down the ice with Brian Dumoulin providing interference. Shaus lets go or a wrist shot that somehow eludes Thiessen. There was no traffic in front of Thiessen or anything, the puck just beat him. Late in the period, the Pens finally turned up the intensity and got a 4:00 power play out of it when a Gabe Guentzel high stick drew blood from Paul Thompson.

Second Period: On a five on three for a Troy Bodie trip on Alex Grant, Grant gets two slap shots from the point on net at Fasth. He stops them both. The third time would end up being the charm, as Grant’s shot would end up being deflected by Riley Holzapfel to tie the game at one. Not a whole lot happened this period. Chris Barton had time and space and missed the net entirely. The Penguins successfully killed two penalties late. The shots in the period were 10-3 Penguins, so they picked it up in the sandwich stanza. The one of the Norfolk shots came from John Mitchell when he picked off a pass at the WBS blueline and came in on a breakaway but Thiessen made the save.

Third Period: A puck bloops around the front of Fasth’s net. Paul Thompson whacks it home to put the Penguins out front 2-1. The remainder of time would be spent by the Penguins in the offensive zone with the Admirals trying to push back. Finally, the Admirals get a late power play, and only took four shots on goal since the start of the second period. Mentioning that is an automatic jinx. Josh Brittain scores a goal that ties the game on a wrist shot. Then, Dom Uher draws a rough on Rod Pelley. Uher is awesome at drawing penalties against the opposing team.

Alex Grant has been a victim of the NHL lockout. I literally scratch my head some nights asking myself why he is not in the lineup. With the lockout over, Grant is a staple. He scores a power play goal on a bomb from the blueline to put the Penguins up 3-2. Riley Holzapfel takes a delay of penalty call. The Admirals pull Fasth for the 6-on-4. Brian Gibbons blocks a shot at the blueline and skates in and pots the empty net goal to put the game on ice.

It would be the first time since December 7 that the Penguins would score four goals, an overtime home loss to the Hershey Bears which, oddly enough, began the spiral downwards. Hopefully, karma turns and this is the start of something good.

Three Stars: 3) Viktor Fasth (25 saves on 28 shots) 2) Riley Holzapfel (goal, two assists, +1) and 1) Alex Grant (game winning goal, two assists, +1)

Brian Dumoulin, who was quickly falling into Jon D’Aversa territory in my book is now 2-3-5 in his last three games. He is certainly a beneficiary of the lockout ending.

Notes: Tom Grace said in the second intermission that 14 players will be in Pittsburgh for the scrimmage tomorrow. No goalies. From what I gathered from what he said, all 14 players will be back Thursday. So it leads me to believe that the players won’t be “called up” tomorrow, just “there for a scrimmage” and then return back to Coal Street the next day. Pittsburgh will probably announce the players featured at some point tomorrow. The game will be shown live on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh tomorrow.

Around the Division: Nothing doing. No other divisional foes skated.

Standings: Syracuse 53 — Binghamton 50 — Hershey 40 — Penguins 39 — Norfolk 31

Conference: 1) SYR 53 2) SPR (48) 3) POR (48) 4) BNG (50) 5) WOR (41) 6) PRO 40) 7) HER 40) 8) BRI (40) 9) WBS (39)

SendToNews Highlights: Are here.

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off tonight.

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With this, the Penguins are at the halfway point of the season. That means that the second quarter grades are due. Look for them here on the blog by this weekend.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

GAMEDAY: @ Norfolk 1/15

Comments Off on GAMEDAY: @ Norfolk 1/15 Posted by on January 15, 2013

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Away Game: 17

AHL Game: 557

Who: Norfolk Admirals

Where: Norfolk Scope

When: 7:15 p.m. EST

Media Kit

Last Game: Saturday at home vs. Adirondack, the Pens won 2-1. Paul Thompson and Brian Dumoulin had the goals. For Norfolk, the Admirals were in Binghamton Saturday and lost 4-2. Ryan Lasch and Josh Brittain had the goals in the loss.

Record: For WBS: 17-17-2-1 (37 pts., 4th place East Division) For NOR: 14-18-2-0 (31 pts., 5th place East Division)

Why you should care: Pens look to ride the momentum from the two wins at home this weekend at Norfolk. Offense remains a concern though, as the Penguins only scored three goals in two games this past weekend.

Referee(s): Fred Leblanc / Steve Patafie

Linesmen: Kyle DeMaggio / Mike Sheehan

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @NorfolkAdmirals / @AdsGameUpdates

Facebook: /WilkesBarreScrantonPenguins // /NorfolkAdmirals

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie

Broadcasters: For WBS: Tom Grace @TGracePens and Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / For NOR: Pete Michaud @AdmiralsVoice

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep / @VBKen

Radio: For WBS: 102.3 The Mountain / For Norfolk: 102.1 The Game

Television: AHL Live

Other Game to Watch: Light night in the league tonight. Nothing divisionally. Manchester hosts Springfield. Connecticut is in Portland and Abbotsford hosts Hamilton. Take your pick.

Next Five Games: @ HER 1/20*, STJ 1/23, @ RCH 1/25, @ TOR 1/26, MCH 2/1

* – AHL Outdoor Classic at Hersheypark Stadium – Hershey, PA

Gameday

Dribs & Drabs 1/15

1 Comment Posted by on January 14, 2013

Some things to catch you up on if you haven’t seen them already:

— Steve MacIntyre, Brad Thiessen and Jeff Zatkoff cleared waivers today. That’s great news, because we have muscle and guys that are very good at stopping opponents pucks headed their way.

— Jonathan Bombulie’s entry today touched on the above and also mentioned Tom Kuhnhackl had season ending upper body surgery. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? Season ending upper body surgery. At this point, the Penguins should just come out and say what he had operated on and be done with it. But, if you don’t have to, the Penguins don’t. We all have to live with that.

— Jonathan also mentioned Benn Ferriero practiced today, joined the team this morning on the bus to Norfolk and may or may not play tomorrow. My guess is he doesn’t, but we will see.

— Pittsburgh is planning on calling a few more guys up after the Norfolk game tomorrow for a scrimmage Wednesday which will be shown on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh. Some AHL teams are doing this with their NHL parents. Even some ECHL teams too, so it’s not a surprise to me that the Pens are among the ones that have this planned.

— Regarding call ups, Carl Sneep is still a Wheeling Nailer according to today’s ECHL Transactions.

— This next story is not feel good at all. Keven Veilleux was suspended indefinitely by the Wheeling Nailers yesterday for the alleged use of a racial slur in a game yesterday vs. the South Carolina Stingrays. You can read Nailers beat writer Shawn Rine’s story here. If the ECHL gets involved and suspends him, the AHL reviews any players status automatically should Veilleux get recalled back to WBS. I’m not about to turn my blog into a social studies lecture, so this is all I will offer on the matter.

— On a much lighter note, Eric Majeski has been writing about the Penguins and training camp since when I had hair. Here are his Day One and Day Two thoughts on Pittsburgh’s NHL training camp complete with practice lines.

Gameday for tomorrow’s game vs. Norfolk will be here on the blog at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

Let’s Go Pens!

Pittsburgh, WBS, Wheeling

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