Chirps from Center Ice

Penguins dressed a lineup of a lot of guys who will be shipped to Wheeling or flat out released tomorrow and actually play a much better game than the last two prior games. But again we are talking preseason games which mean diddly.

Brad Thiessen vs. Braden Holtby – both netminders played the whole game.

First Period: No goals this period. Very spirited back and forth. A name which stood out to me was Jayson Megna. Really was either creating chances or making chances for himself all game, really. Dominick Uher and Steve Oleksy fought and Uher dropped Oleksy after he switched hands. Teams traded a bunch of power play chances but neither was able to capitalize.

Second Period: Braden Holtby was in mid-season form denying good Penguin chances. Penguins and Bears were 4-on-4 when Brett Flemming was left unmarked in the slot and scored on Thiessen. To this point, the Bears had about five shots on goal this period.

Third Period: Two Bears goals in what seemed like a flash, Alex Berry corralled a rebound and scored and Jeff Taffe picked the pocket of Adam Payerl and scored shorthanded to make it 3-0. Penguins would tighten up, get a goal from jayson Megna off a 2-on-1 feed from Brian Gibbons but weren’t able to sneak anything past Holtby.

No three stars in Hershey for preseason, so I unofficially offer 3) Jayson Megna (goal) 2) Braden Holtby (27 saves on 28 shots) and 1) Alex Berry (game winning goal)

Now that’s out of the way. Cuts coming tomorrow at some point. Also, the much anticipated Chirps from Center Ice AHL Previews begin at midnight tonight (yes, midnight) with the AHL South Division. At noon tomorrow, the Midwest Division as I wedge the two divisions the Penguins will not see into one day. The rest of the schedule looks like this:

Monday: South / Midwest Divisions
Tuesday: North Division
Wednesday: Atlantic Division
Thursday: Northeast Division
Friday: East Division

Every day, except for Monday, a new division is previewed at noon. Regular Penguins news will be wedged in between the previews as warranted.

If you are a night owl, check back here at midnight.

Let’s Go Pens!

Pens jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes but cannot hang on the remaining 45 as the Hershey Bears come back tonight and win 3-2.

Jeff Zatkoff vs. Braden Holtby. Zatkoff played the whole game and radio said postgame that Brad Thiessen would play tomorrow. Who backs up remains to be seen.

Trevor Smith, Philippe Dupuis and Joey Mormina wore the A’s tonight.

First Period: Early bits of power plays for both sides see no scoring until the Pens finally get a goal on the power play courtesy of Joe Morrow, who rifled it crossbar and in past Holtby. After that, the Pens had another power play and Alex Grant shot a puck from the blue line which Jayson Megna got a stick on and deflected past Holtby to put the Pens up 2-0. Late, Julien Brouillette picked off a Pens D-zone pass and scored to put the Bears on the board at 2-1.

Second Period: While a delayed penalty vs. the Penguins was ongoing, Stanislev Galiev scored a low angle shot banking it in off of Zatkoff to tie things at two. I felt that the Penguins had the better chances this period but the Bears were up to task.

Third Period: Hershey scores at the end of a power play for them when Alex Berry bats a puck in from the air. Penguins wanted a high stick, but referee Keith Kaval ruled good goal. Looked good to me too. Jayson Megna was denied by the diving stick of Sabourin, which was probably the save of the game. Penguins get two straight power plays and do not convert. Warren Peters then gets a 4:00 penalty for arguing a hook, but the Bears did not score. Any chances of a comeback died when the Penguins were called for too many men trying to get goaltender Jeff Zatkoff off the ice.

Three stars were 3) Joe Morrow (goal) 2) Jayson Megna (goal) 1) Alex Berry (game winning goal)

Not what I wanted to see in a preseason game, but it’s just that, a preseason game.

Rematch tomorrow at 5 in Hershey. Penguins will probably dress a younger lineup against a more experienced Bears one.

Let’s Go Pens!

Not really going to go hard into this recap because there is other news and photos of the new toys inside the Mohegan Sun Arena I want to share.

Pens lose the rematch of the Wednesday game in Rochester to the Amerks 4-3. Wilkes-Barre dressed a more seasoned lineup from Friday, a lot of the names scratched made the game tonight. Only Keven Veilleux did not play. Jonathan tweeted that Dumoulin, Bennett, Kuhnhackl, Manderson Payerl and Zurevinski got second looks from Wednesday.

Brad Thiessen vs. Connor Knapp

First Period: On a power play, defenseman Nick Crawford was a step in from his own blue line and lasered a shot through bodies to put the Amerks up 1-0. Later, Eric Tangradi would come thundering down the far side of the ice and beat Knapp with a wrister to even things.

Second Period: Frederick Roy (son of famous goalie Patrick) scored just as a Rochester power play expired. Later, a turnover deep in Amerks territory benefited Philippe Dupuis as he was in close on new goaltender Nathan Lieuwen to make it 2-2 heading into the…

Third Period: Patrick Killeen played this period for the Pens. On a power play, Trevor Smith scored in the slot to make it 3-2. Later, Nick Crawford again would step in and laser a shot over Killeen’s glove to even things at three.

Overtime was uneventful. Onto the shootout.

Nick Crawford had quite the game netting the decider for the Amerks in Round 4. Shooters for Wilkes-Barre were Trevor Smith (scored) Benn Ferriero (no score) Beau Bennet (no score) and Tom Kuhnhackl (no score)

I think Head Coach John Hynes wanted to give his rookies a look in a shootout.

Three stars were 3) Eric Tangradi 2) Philippe Dupuis and 1) Nick Crawford.

Penguins face off against the Hershey Bears at 7:05 in Wilkes-Barre tomorrow night.

Other news:

–> Robert Bortuzzo left tonights game with an apparent injury. It was not noted by me until the second intermission when I was speaking with some fans that they brought it to my attention. Apparently it happened in the first period. Derek Graffius tweeted in that radio said he walked off the ice in the first and did not return.

–> The Penguins signed Steve MacIntyre today answering the “where will the toughness come from” with a resounding answer.

–> AHL games will be heard on satellite radio until October 24 with the NHL lockout. No Penguins games scheduled, due to probably in large part that our season opener isn’t until October 20, but you can check out who will be featured here.

–> We had our first looks at the new hybrid icing rule. It is too early for me to give an opinion on it because I do not fully understand it. My blog pal Steven who runs the Texas Stars fan blog 100 Degree Hockey had an immaculate explanation which I am going to study diligently.

Photos:

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Back at it tomorrow night at home vs. Hershey. No Gameday for these things, but live updates on Twitter as always.

Let’s Go Pens!

No silly headlines for games which don’t count. No box score either.

Wilkes-Barre wins its preseason opener on the road up in Rochester by a score of 4-3.

Jeff Zatkoff vs. David Leggio. Starters for WBS were Dumolin – Sneep and Uher – Chupp – Payerl. Riley Holzapfel wore the lone “A”

First Period: Penguins found themselves on penalty kill early. Brian Gibbons had a shorthanded chance twice in one kill. Penguins created enough pressure which lead to at least four Penguin odd man rushes. Paul Thompson scored the first goal of the preseason skating out of a corner and firing up on Leggio then whacking twice and finally by the Amerks netminder for the 1-0 lead. Penguins had a late 5-on-3 but weren’t able to score.

Second Period: Brian Gibbons had another shorthanded chance. Later, Jayson Megna scored to make it 2-0 Penguins off a rebound from a Brian Dumoulin shot which hit the post. Amerks fired right back getting two power play goals from Luke Adam and Phil Varone.

Third Period: Patrick Killeen took over for Zatkoff. Uneventful opening fifteen minutes. Adam Payerl scored to make it 3-2. His initial shot was blocked, rebound right back to him and he fired it through a crowd. Rochester pulled Leggio with under a minute. Philip Samuelsson would sit for delay of game putting the Amerks up 6-on-4. Brian Gibbons, from his own faceoff dot 160′ away, buries an emptynetter to make it 4-2. It would serve as the game winning goal as Brayden McNabb would score with :02 left.

Three stars were 3) Mark Pysyk (RCH) 2) Adam Payerl (WBS) and 1) Mark Mancari (RCH) — I have no idea what the thought process was in naming Pysyk and Mancari stars, as they weren’t mentioned at all tonight, but again it’s only preseason.

The two teams rematch Friday in Wilkes-Barre.

Other news to note:

–> Observer Jason B. chirped in and mentioned that the nets weren’t anchored in tonight. Interesting.

–> The Wheeling Nailers announced a training camp roster.

–> Norfolk signed tough guy Jay Rosehill to a PTO. Fellow blogger Ken Peacock who runs Vultures Row, has details.

Many thanks to the descriptive tweets of Mike O’Brien and Kevin Oklobzjia which, without, this summary would have read, “Pens win 4-3, thanks and good night.”