Brian Dumoulin’s second period even strength goal is enough to carry the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins to a 2-1 win over the visiting Adirondack Phantoms and the Penguins to a two game win streak. It’s Dumoulin’s second game winning goal in as many nights.

Wait. What? Penguins? Win streak? Dumoulin the hero again? Surely you jest!

It has happened before…

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Personnel news to get to tonight. In addition to Eric Tangradi and Simon Despres in Pittsbugh, Jayson Megna and Beau Bennett were also in Pittsburgh for the start of training camp starting Sunday. But wait, there’s more! Brian Strait and Robert Bortuzzo were also scratched and appear on their way up as well.

Brad Thiessen vs. Scott Munroe

First Period: I’ll have to look up the Penguins record when Paul Thompson scores a goal. For that matter I will have to look up the Pens record when Paul Thompson scores a power play goal like he did in the first period on a rebound of his own shot.

Phantoms couldn’t really get much of anything going tonight really for the whole game. They have been pillaged by call ups to Philadelphia and dressed a really inexperienced lineup.

Second Period: Bobby Farnham and Ian Slater fought one second into the game. Slater got the better of Farnham in the fight and it sparked the Phantoms. Oliver Lauridsen shoots a puck at the point that Marcel Noebels back hands home on a rebound. Some really great penalty killing by Brad Thiessen and the Penguins PK unit tonight as well. Late in the period, Brian Gibbons skates up the right wall and centers to a pinching Brian Dumoulin who lasered the puck in the net over Scott Munroe’s glove. It was a really pretty goal.

Third Period: Looked like a preseason game really in the opening ten minutes. Phantoms didn’t register a shot on goal in the first ten minutes and the Penguins only managed two of their own. Phantoms would get a power play with under a minute but never found the equalizing goal.

Three Stars: 3) Brad Thiessen (22 saves on 23 shots) 2) Paul Thompson (goal, even) and 1) Brian Dumoulin (game winning goal, assist, +1)

Paul Thompson had 7 shots on goal. I think he looks like the one who will carry the lion share of work while key guys are up in Pittsburgh for camp.

Around the Division: Binghamton beats Norfolk 4-2. Rochester beat Syracuse 4-1 and Hershey beat Connecticut 4-3 in a shootout.

Standings: Syracuse 53 — Binghamton 50 — Hershey 38 — Penguins 37 — Norfolk 31

Conference: 1) SYR (53) 2) SPR (46) 3) POR (46) 4) BNG (50) 5) WOR (41) 6) PRO (38) 7) MCH (38) 8) HER (38) 10) WBS 37

SendToNews Highlights: Are here. Include the goals and the end of the game.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers beat the Reading Royals tonight by a score of 2-1. Keven Veilleux assisted on both Nailers goals.

Want to thank Michael Cignoli from The Saratogian for giving me the opportunity to cover for him tonight. You should really check him out, he does fine fine work. My entry for his blog the “Rink Report” can be found here.

Pens are off until Tuesday in Norfolk and then play next Sunday outdoors in the AHL Outdoor Classic vs. Hershey. The lockout ending could not come at a better time for the Pens games wise.

I’ll try to keep things square here on the blog with guys going up and coming up in the East Division. Look for that probably Sunday with camps finally opening in the NHL.

Let’s Go Pens!

Pens score first.

A power play goal.

Scored by Brian Dumoulin.

In the first period.

Pens hang on the remainder of the game and get a 23 save shutout by Brad Thiessen and win 1-0.

Really had to check myself during both intermissions to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, with the losing funk that the Pens have been in of recent.

I said on the blog here this afternoon that this game vs. the Bears was a must win for the Penguins. The Pens certainly played like it tonight. The Bears, who won 7 straight road games, down two players due to in game injuries (Jeff Taffe and Evan Barlow, both first period) valiantly give the Penguins all they can handle in the third period. It seemed at times that you were waiting for things to go wrong for the Pens, but it never happened.

A great win, by all accounts. About time and long overdue.

Brad Thiessen vs. Dany Sabourin – Pens scratched Joe Morrow, Alex Grant, Eric Tangradi and Simon Despres. According to reports Tangradi and Despres are already in Pittsburgh for training camp.

First Period: Quick moving first half of the period. Then Boyd Kane sits for a tripping call. The Pens score a power play goal when Brian Dumoulin scores on a shot from the blue line to put the Pens up 1-0.

Second Period: Bears start to buzz. They get a power play. Penguins penalty kill does its job. Zach Sill’s line of he, MacIntyre and Dominik Uher had some great shifts this period. Pens blocked a lot of shots this period because there was a point where the Bears had a ton of offensive zone time but only 12 shots on goal to show. Ryan Stoa hit the top of Thiessen’s crossbar for a scare late in the period.

Third Period: Bobby Farnham takes what will probably go down as the dumbest penalty of the year. Joey Mormina is lugging a puck up the ice in the neutral zone. Tomas Kundratek comes over and puts a check on him and puts Mormina on his wallet. Farnham comes in and cross checks Kundratek. Easiest penalty call referee Dave Lewis will make all season. Thankfully, the Penguins killed it behind Brad Thiessen’s two saves on Ryan Potulny, one with his mask and the other with his glove. Penalty kill was spot on, because the Penguins would have to kill a Riley Holzapfel interference. Credit the Bears, down two men in the game due to injury, for playing the Penguins all the way to the end.

Three Stars: 3) Beau Bennett (assist, even) 2) Brian Dumoulin (goal, even) and 1) Brad Thiessen (23 save shutout)

Around the Division: Points for everyone else in the division tonight. The Binghamton Senators lost 3-2 in a shootout to tomorrow’s opponent the Adirondack Phantoms and the Norfolk Admirals lost in overtime at home vs. the Syracuse Crunch 3-2.

Standings: Syracuse 53 — Binghamton 48 — Hershey 36 — Penguins 35 — Norfolk 31

Conference: 1) SYR (53) 2) SPR (44) 3) POR 4) BNG (48) 5) WOR (41) 6) PRO (38) 7) MCH (38) 8) BRI (38) 10) WBS (35)

Wheeling Update: The Nailers won in a shootout down in Reading by a score of 5-4. Keven Veilleux was assigned there this morning, played and was pointless.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here. Will probably be added to as time goes on.

I’ll be in the pressbox tomorrow night freelancing for Michael Cignoli who does a tremendous job covering the Adirondack Phantoms for The Saratogian. So my tweets will be reporting on the game vs. cheering on the game.

Gameday for that affair will be here on the blog Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!

No, you can’t win a Calder Cup in January.

But you can sure lose one.

The Penguins drop another game to an East Division rival, this time 3-1 to the Binghamton Senators. This despite dressing a full lineup with Robert Bortuzzo, Eric Tangradi and Beau Bennett in the lineup after being held out on Sunday in Hartford.

If the Pens continue to keep this up, an early Spring beckons. Plain and simple. It has to be figured out and fast. No more excuses.

Jeff Zatkoff vs. Robin Lehner

First, a stat from Pens beat writer Jonathan Bombulie:

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First Period: A Binghamton two on one becomes a Binghamton three on one and Stephane DaCosta scores to put the B-Sens up 1-0. Zatkoff virtually had no shot at the save. Later, Pens get a power play. I tweet this:

Followed up by Jonathan tweeting this:

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Pens would fail to convert.

Second Period: Many power plays to both teams which would overlap at times. Both teams would come out of them unscathed. I think Jayson Megna was the best player on the ice for the Pens this period and you may say all game. He had chances but wasn’t able to convert.

Third Period: Friend of the blog Bob Howard from the Power Play Post Show caught up with me after the game to make fun of me give his condolences on the loss and offer some thoughts. He said something to the extent of when the Penguins threw away the playbook and simply ad-libbed the offense, they scored. (Paul Thompson, on a rebound) – but that wasn’t the tying goal, Eric Gryba shot a puck from the point which made it past Zatkoff, off the post, off Zatkoff’s back again and into the net. The Pens buzzed this period when, as Howard observed, they simply threw away the playbook and simply tried to get in close on Lehner and get dirty goals. It worked to some extent, but the final execution was not there. With Zatkoff pulled, Simon Despres tries to go D to D and Mike Hoffman hit the empty net to put the game on ice.

Three Stars: 3) Paul Thompson (goal, +1) 2) Robin Lehner (31 saves on 32 shots) 1) Eric Gryba (game winning goal, even)

Notes: This was trainer Patrick Steidle’s last game behind the Wilkes-Barre bench. He was promoted to head trainer of the Pittsburgh Penguins and acknowledged in the third period……. Zach Sill and Corey Cowick fought in the second period with Sill getting the better of Cowick……. Ray Shero was in the building tonight and told Tom Grace during first intermission that four to six players from Wilkes-Barre will be given invites to Pittsburgh Penguins training camp which opens Sunday. Common knowledge would then say that Wilkes-Barre will at least be able to dress a full lineup for this Friday vs. Hershey and this Saturday vs. Adirondack.

I talked puck with Jesse Marshall from the Faceoff Factor yesterday. The link to that Q&A session can be found right here.

Around the Division: Syracuse beats Rochester in Rochester 5-3.

Standings: Syracuse 51 — Binghamton 47 — Hershey 36 — Penguins 33 — Norfolk 30

Conference: 1) SYR (51) 2) POR (44) 3) SPR (43) 4) BNG (47) 5) WOR (39) 6) BRI (38) 7) PRO (36) 8) HER (36) 12) WBS (33)

Wheeling Update: There is none. The Nailers were off tonight.

SendToNews Highlights: Are here. Includes the Zach Sill fight.

Pens are off tomorrow in preparation for Hershey Friday.If hell should break with call-ups, Twitter will have it first, then Facebook then here.

I’ll leave you with one last Bombulie parting shot: