Chirps from Center Ice

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

First Impressions – Pens WIN 3-1 (WBS leads series, 1-0)

Comments Off on First Impressions – Pens WIN 3-1 (WBS leads series, 1-0) Posted by on April 20, 2012

Wilkes-Barre comes out to an electric Mohegan Sun Arena in Game 1 and run the Bears 3-1 to take a 1-0 series lead in the best of five. Game 2 is tomorrow night in Wilkes-Barre.

Strong performance by Brad Thiessen. Strong performance by the Penguins power play, going 2-for-5. Strong performance by the Penguins defense, limiting the Bears to just 7 shots on goal halfway through the game and keeping the big guns off the scoresheet. Strong performance from Colin McDonald, who had two goals. Just strong performances everywhere you looked.

In hindsight, I should have used “Strong Performance” as my headline. Meh.

Brad Thiessen vs. Dany Sabourin, reassigned by Washington this morning to the surprise of no one.

First Period: :45 in, the Pens had to kill a too many men on the ice call. They did. In fact they didn’t allow a single Bears shot on net. Late, Zach Sill was entering the Penguins offensive zone and Tomas Kundratek stuck his leg out and tripped him. In the ensuing power play, Alex Picard fires a shot deflected by Colin McDonald and in :10 into the power play to put the Pens up 1-0.

Second Period: Hershey would take two consecutive penalties. Sabourin would snuff out most attempts. Finally with Kyle Greentree in the box for boarding Joey Mormina, Jason Williams would slap a pass to Cal O’Reilly who slammed home past Sabourin to put the Pens up 2-0. Then, Alex Picard fails to clear a puck and gives Hershey a two on one but Thiessen made the save which really was a big one at the time. He hadn’t seen many pucks to that point. Bears would really pick up the offense after this. In fact they would even up the shots at twelve for this period.

Third Period: Bears had 1:58 of power play to work with. Graham Mink boarded Robert Bortuzzo to put the side at 4×4 for :23. Nothing would come out of it, however. Bears would continue to pressure. Then, Colin McDonald would come down the wing and absolutely rifle a shot past Sabourin to put the Pens up 3-0. Mike Carman scored on a deflection with 1:56 left to bust up the Thiessen shutout. The Bears would pull Sabourin with under a minute left to play, Kundratek would be the only Bears defensemen out with five Hershey forwards but the Bears never scored a second.

Three Stars: 3) Alexandre Picard (2 assists, +1) 2) Cal OReilly (goal, even) and 1) Colin McDonald (two goals, +1)

I have to say, the most electric that the Mohegan Sun Arena was in my history of going start to finish, I think. Maybe the Calder Cup run in 2008 when Tim Brent scored in Game 6 vs. the Portland Pirates matched the electricity.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference: All Game 1’s. Norfolk staved off a Manchester run to hold on and win 3-2. St. John’s comes back 2-1 in the third to win 3-2 in Syracuse.

Game 2 is tomorrow night in Wilkes-Barre. This is the most important game in the series. If the Pens win, the Bears are on the brink of elimination. If the Bears win, it’s a 1-1 series and a best of three with Hershey with home ice advantage. I wouldn’t expect lineup changes for Wilkes-Barre.

Gameday will be up here on the blog at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game 1: Hershey Bears

Comments Off on Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game 1: Hershey Bears Posted by on April 20, 2012

vs. 

–

–

Eastern Conference Quarterfinal – Game 1

AHL Game: D1

Who: Hershey Bears

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

When: 7:05 p.m.

Series: Tied 0-0 (best of five)

Media Kit

Season Series: Oct. 8: HER 3 @ WBS 2 — Oct. 22: WBS 3 @ HER 1 – Nov. 4: HER 0 @ WBS 4 – Nov. 11: WBS 5 @ HER 4 (OT) – Nov. 25: HER 3 @ WBS 2 (SO) – Dec. 10: WBS 4 @ HER 2 – Dec. 27: HER 6 @ WBS 0 – Dec. 28: WBS 6 @ HER 5 (SO) – Feb. 3: HER 3 @ WBS 4 – Feb. 5: WBS 3 @ HER 4 (SO) – Feb. 12: WBS 1 @ HER 5 – Apr. 6: HER 2 @ WBS 4

Top four scorers for the Penguins vs. the Bears: 1. Bryan Lerg (12 GP, 3-8-11, +3) 2. Ben Street (12 GP, 3-8-11, +7) 3. Colin McDonald (10 GP, 3-7-10, +12) 4. Jason Williams (8 GP, 3-5-8, +1)

Top four scorers for the Bears vs. the Penguins: 1. Ryan Potulny (9 GP, 6-6-12, -2) 2. Chris Bourque (12 GP, 2-10-12, -9) 3. Patrick McNeill (12 GP, 1-9-10, -7) 4. Keith Aucoin (8 GP, 2-5-7, -8)

Referees: Jean Hebert / Jamie Koharski

Linesmen: Jud Ritter / Bob Fyrer

What to Watch For: The Penguins have been average at home this season and historically stumble in opening round games. Tonight is going to be important vs. a depleted Hershey team to jump on them early and snuff out the explosiveness the Bears offense contains. Also paramount is to stay disciplined and out of the penalty box because of the Bears excellent special teams.

Twitter: @wbspenguins / @TheHersheyBears

Beat Writers: @CVBombulie / @timleone

Broadcasters: WBS: Tom Grace @TGracePens and Mike O’Brien @MikeOBrienWBS / HER: Scott Stuccio @ScottStuccio and Randy “Rock” Johnson @RRJ_Hockey

Fan Bloggers: @nafsnep / @SweetestHockey

Radio: For WBS: 102.3 The Mountain / For Hershey: WHP 580

Television: AHL Live

When is Game 2?: Tomorrow night, April 19, at 7:05 from Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township.

Gameday

Penguins / Bears Series Preview

Comments Off on Penguins / Bears Series Preview Posted by on April 19, 2012

The Penguins open up the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs vs. their I-81 rival Hershey Bears tomorrow. It is time for me to do my best in breaking down the series.

Penguins were 7-3-0-2 vs. the Bears this season. The three regulation losses were a 3-2 loss opening night, a 6-0 whitewash after Christmas on December 27 and a 5-1 loss in Hershey February 12.

This series is going to be determined on variables. The most glaring one is the outcome of the Washington / Boston series currently underway in the NHL with the Bruins leading the series two games to one with Game Four tonight in the nation’s capital. If it goes Bruins in five or six, Braden Holtby, Dany Sabourin, Keith Aucoin, Dmitry Orlov and Cody Eakin (edit: Eakin was assigned to Hershey Thursday) could all potentially be dressed and in the lineup in time for Game 3; Game 4 if it goes seven games. Forget about the names above if the Caps win the series.

Another variable to consider is the fact that the Penguins have home ice advantage in the series and the fact that they are downright pedestrian at home, 18-16-2-2, which points wise is the worst home record amongst the sixteen teams participating in the Calder Cup playoffs. Meanwhile on the road, the Pens were 26-9-0-3 which was the second best record in the AHL amongst all thirty teams.

Let’s get to the breakdown.

Forwards

Hershey boasts perennial stars in Chris Bourque, Ryan Potulny and Jacob Micflikier buoyed by Kyle Greentree, Boyd Kane and Graham Mink. Tomas Kundratek came over from the Connecticut Whale and turned into a Penguin killer. Bourque won the scoring title. He and Potulny were the series leader in points vs. the Penguins (2-10-12 and 6-6-12 respectively) – Wilkes-Barre can’t stop all of these guys, they can only hope to contain them and limit their chances in key situations.

Wilkes-Barre has more of a balanced attack and never truly had a “top line” at any point in the season. Geoff Walker and Ben Street worked well as a pair on a line together. Lerg and Street both show 3-8-11 in the season series vs. the Bears.

Advantage: Hershey

Defense

Wilkes-Barre prides itself on defense. Led by Brian Strait, Robert Bortuzzo, Alexandre Picard and Joey Mormina with rookies Alex Grant and Simon Despres. The Penguins allowed the fewest shots allowed per game this season. They boast the fourth stingiest defense amongst the Eastern Conference Calder Cup contenders (based off of goals allowed.) The Bears have the seventh goals allowed average out of eight teams in the East. Simply, if the Bears had a better defense, they wouldn’t have lost their last eight games (0-6-0-2) and finished third in their division.

Advantage: Penguins

Goaltending

If it stays with Daren Machesney in goal for the Bears and Sabourin and Holtby stay up, it’s advantage Penguins with a capital P. The Pens boast experienced goaltenders in Brad Thiessen and Scott Munroe who have both been to the playoffs multiple times before. If by some chance Sabourin does return, he was 1-4-1 vs. the Penguins this season with a 4.07 GAA and a 0.855 SV%. Holtby, meanwhile, boasted a 4-2 record with a 2.00 GAA and a very respectable 0.926 SV%. Thiessen appeared in nine games vs. the Bears with a 5-3-1 record, 2.86 GAA and 0.884 SV%. Munroe was 2-0-1, 3.16 GAA, 0.889 SV%.

Advantage: Penguins, but that can shift to Hershey as the series goes on, depending on personnel moves.

Intangibles

The Bears had the best power play all season long in a runaway. The Penguins power play was anemic at times, but still finished tenth overall. The Bears had the fourth best penalty kill in the AHL, the Penguins only managed 22nd best. Hershey has a huge advantage on special teams. Coach John Hynes has only lost twice in Hershey. Some fans in Hershey have called for Mark French’s job this year. How can a lineup like the Bears’ finish third in its division? The Penguins get the advantage in coaching.

Coverage on Twitter

Penguins Official: @WBSPenguins
Radio: @MikeOBrienWBS / @TGracePens
Beat Writer: @CVBombulie
Fan Blog: @nafsnep

Bears Official: @TheHersheyBears
Radio: @ScottStuccio / @RRJ_Hockey
Beat Writer: @timleone
Fan Blog: @SweetestHockey

The Penguins must take advantage of something they took for granted this season and that is home ice. If they do not win BOTH games this weekend they face the potential of having the Washington cavalry returning to the Bears next week and no one wants to face that uncertainty. While the season series with both teams at full capacity has been almost even, Aucoin, et. al will not be available for the first two games. His absence is huge by itself. The Pens have to make sure they capitalize on the regulars not being in the lineup and win early.

Prediction: Penguins in four. They win both games Friday and Saturday, lose Wednesday, get it together and dispose of Hershey next Friday night at Giant Center.

It all unfolds tomorrow night. The blog Gameday setup will be up tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!

WBS

Calder Cup Playoff Preview – Eastern Conference

Comments Off on Calder Cup Playoff Preview – Eastern Conference Posted by on April 18, 2012

Welcome to the second day of Calder Cup Previews here at Chirps from Center Ice. Yesterday I looked at the Western Conference. Today, here is the Eastern Conference Playoff Preview:

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Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Record: 41-26-3-6 // 91 pts., 1st place Northeast Division (3 seed)

Power Play: 14th // 17.5%

Penalty Kill: 19th // 81.8%

Top 3 Scorers: Rhett Rakhshani 20-29-49 // Casey Cizikas 15-30-45 // Matt Donovan 10-35-45

Overview: Light switched on after the first of the year when the Sound Tigers ascended from the basement of the East Division to the top of the Northeast Division and into the playoffs.

First Round Matchup: Connecticut Whale

Record against the Whale: 6-2-1-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 12:1

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Connecticut Whale

Record: 36-26-7-7 // 86 pts., 2nd place Northeast Division (6 seed)

Power Play: 16th // 17.4%

Penalty Kill: 5th // 84.3%

Top 3 Scorers: Kris Newbury 25-39-64 // Jonathan Audy-Marchessault 24-40-64 // Casey Wellman 23-24-47

Overview: Were class of the Northeast Division, sputtered, then got overtaken by a hot Bridgeport team. Opening round series with the Sound Tigers could be one for the ages, as both teams are very good at home.

First Round Matchup: Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Record against the Sound Tigers: 4-2-3-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 24:1

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Hershey Bears

Record: 38-26-4-8 // 88 pts., 3rd place East Division (5 seed)

Power Play: 1st // 25.5%

Penalty Kill: 4th // 84.4%

Top 3 Scorers: Chris Bourque 27-66-93 // Keith Aucoin* 11-59-70 // Ryan Potulny 33-32-65

Overview: Struggled at times and when they did, it cost them. Many chose Hershey as the East Division Champion pre-season and odds favorite to win Calder Cup. Injuries depleted those expectations. Fun fact: Winner of first round WBS-Hershey matchup has made it to the Calder Cup Finals in years past.

First Round Matchup: Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Record against the Penguins: 5-5-1-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 11:1

* – Aucoin is currently on recall to the Washington Capitals

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Manchester Monarchs

Record: 39-32-2-3 // 83 pts., 2nd place Atlantic Division (8 seed)

Power Play: 21st // 15.5%

Penalty Kill: 8th // 84%

Top 3 Scorers: Justin Azevedo 28-22-50 // Brandon Kozun 20-26-46 // Linden Vey 19-24-43

Overview: Made it in on the last weekend of the regular season. Have big powerful forwards and a stout tandem of Martin Jones and Jeff Zatkoff in net.

First Round Matchup: Norfolk Admirals

Record against the Admirals: Did not play.

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 45:1

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Norfolk Admirals

Record: 55-18-1-2 // 113 pts., 1st place East Division (1 seed)

Power Play: 2nd // 21.7%

Penalty Kill: 15th // 82.3%

Top 3 Scorers: Cory Conacher 39-41-80 // Trevor Smith 26-43-69 // Tyler Johnson 31-37-68

Overview: Got hot and stayed hot after Super Bowl Sunday, winning 28 straight games. Is the perfect storm team. Has the top rookie and League MVP in Conacher up front, Defenseman of the Year in Mark Barberio on the blue line and Coach of the Year in Jon Cooper on the bench. Goaltending ain’t shabby either. May tear through playoffs like they did regular season.

First Round Matchup: Manchester Monarchs

Record against the Monarchs: Did not play.

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 2:1

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St. John’s IceCaps

Record: 43-25-5-3 // 94 pts., 1st place Atlantic Division (2 seed)

Power Play: 3rd // 20.6%

Penalty Kill: 13th // 82.8%

Top 3 Scorers: Spencer Machacek 18-32-50 // Paul Postma 13-31-44 // Jason DeSantis 11-32-43

Overview: Was the leagues best road team in the first half of the season. May have won the Eastern Conference if Norfolk didn’t obliterate the schedule in the last half of the season. Will be a tough out.

First Round Matchup: Syracuse Crunch

Record against the Crunch: 1-2-0-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 10:1

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Syracuse Crunch

Record: 37-29-5-5 // 84 pts., 4th place East Division (7 seed)

Power Play: 9th // 19%

Penalty Kill: 30th // 77.5%

Top 3 Scorers: Patrick Maroon 32-42-74 // Peter Holland 23-37-60 // Kyle Palmieri 33-25-58

Overview: Team no one wanted because of the Binghamton model from last year. That team was the crossover team last year and won the Calder Cup. Probably the best first round matchup with St. John’s. Underestimate this team at your own risk.

First Round Matchup: St. John’s IceCaps

Record against the IceCaps: 3-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 25:1

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Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Record: 44-25-2-5 // 95 pts., 2nd place East Division (4 seed)

Power Play: 10th // 18.8%

Penalty Kill: 22nd // 81.6%

Top 3 Scorers: Ben Street 27-30-57 // Bryan Lerg 27-26-53 // Colin McDonald 14-35-49

Overview: Unreasonable expectations if you expected a duplicate of the 58-21 season last season. Still, one of the best teams in the league. Struggled at home. No one superstar on this team, it’s a collective effort night after night.

First Round Matchup: Hershey Bears

Record against the Bears: 7-3-0-2

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 7:2

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Tomorrow, we roll with a full look at the Penguins / Bears series and I offer a prediction. That will be out Thursday at noon.

The AHL

Calder Cup Playoff Preview – Western Conference

Comments Off on Calder Cup Playoff Preview – Western Conference Posted by on April 17, 2012

Another year has gone by and another Western Conference Playoff Preview for you. I’d like to thank all the Western Conference fans and bloggers I follow on Twitter first and foremost. Your observations this year really helped me in trying to sound like I am talking about here. Not like the Penguins play any of these teams on a regular basis. So if you see a capsule for a team and it’s the complete opposite of reality, drop me a line in the comments and correct me.

Full schedule of playoff games can be found here.

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Abbotsford Heat

Record: 42-26-3-5 // 92 pts., 2nd place West Division (4 seed)

Power Play: 19th // 16.9%

Penalty Kill: 10th // 83.5%

Top 3 Scorers: Krys Kolanos 30-31-61 // Ben Walter 19-40-59 // Brian Connelly 6-46-52

Overview: Feasted on North Division opponents, going 14-4-2-0, which really helped them in making the playoffs. Krys Kolanos healed from hip problems which plagued him and roared back as an All-Star selection and Abbotsford’s leading scorer.

First Round Opponent: Milwaukee Admirals

Record against the Admirals: 1-3

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 20:1

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Chicago Wolves

Record: 42-27-4-3 // 91 pts., 1st place Midwest Division (3 seed)

Power Play: 23rd // 15.4%

Penalty Kill: 6th // 84.2%

Top 3 Scorers: Mark Mancari 30-28-58 // Darren Haydar 21-36-57 // Jordan Schroeder 21-23-44

Overview: Always steady Wolves have two veterans in Haydar and Mancari showing the way. Reinforcements from parent Vancouver could be on the way if Los Angeles dispatches the Canucks this week.

First Round Opponent: San Antonio Rampage

Record against the Rampage: 0-3-0-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 17:1

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Houston Aeros

Record: 35-25-5-11 // 86 pts., 4th place West Division (8 seed)

Power Play: 13th // 17.8%

Penalty Kill: 24th // 80.7%

Top 3 Scorers: Jon DiSalvatore 28-33-61 // Justin Fontaine 16-39-55 // Jeff Taffe 18-35-53

Overview: Defending Western Conference Champions made it in on the last day of the regular season.

First Round Matchup: Oklahoma City Barons

Record against the Barons: 1-4-0-3

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 40:1

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Milwaukee Admirals

Record: 40-29-2-5 // 87 pts., 2nd place Midwest Division (5 seed)

Power Play: 5th // 19.5%

Penalty Kill: 17th // 82.1%

Top 3 Scorers: Chris Mueller 32-28-60 // Kyle Wilson 22-32-54 // Taylor Beck 16-24-40

Overview: Milwaukee was on the verge of missing playoffs and came into the last weekend of the regular season controlling its own destiny. They got 5 of 6 points backstopped by G Jeremy Smith. Smith for his efforts earned AHL Player of the Week honors Monday.

First Round Matchup: Abbotsford Heat

Record against the Heat: 3-0-0-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 25:1

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Oklahoma City Barons

Record: 45-22-4-5 // 99 pts., 1st place West Division (1 seed)

Power Play: 24th // 15.4%

Penalty Kill: 2nd // 85.6%

Top 3 Scorers: Ryan Keller 21-28-49 // Mark Arcobello 17-26-43 // Philippe Cornet 24-13-37

Overview: Before Norfolk went on a 28 game winning streak, the Barons were the best team in the AHL. They have two excellent goaltenders in Yann Danis and David LeNeveu. Danis won the Baz Bastien Award for Most Outstanding Goaltender this year. Many favor Oklahoma City to make it to the Calder Cup Finals.

First Round Matchup: Houston Aeros

Record against the Aeros: 7-0-0-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 5:1

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Rochester Americans

Record: 36-26-10-4 // 86 pts., 2nd place North Division (7 seed)

Power Play: 26th // 15%

Penalty Kill: 23rd // 81.4%

Top 3 Scorers: Phil Varone 11-41-52 // Paul Szczechura 21-25-46 // Derek Whitmore 28-16-44

Overview: Up and down year for the Amerks. Everyone looked forward to working with parent Buffalo again, but it came with some bumps along the way.

First Round Matchup: Toronto Marlies

Record against the Marlies: 3-4-3-0

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 30:1

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San Antonio Rampage

Record: 41-30-3-2 // 87 pts., 3rd place West Division (6 seed)

Power Play: 28th // 14.4%

Penalty Kill: 28th // 80%

Top 3 Scorers: Jon Matsumoto 23-37-60 // Bill Thomas 27-25-52 // Bracken Kearns 22-30-52

Overview: Roller coaster year for the Rampage. Every night it seemed that you didn’t know what you were getting. Perfect first round matchup for the Rampage vs. the Wolves, they were 4-0.

First Round Matchup: Chicago Wolves

Record against the Wolves: 4-0

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 35:1

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Toronto Marlies

Record: 44-24-5-3 // 96 pts., 1st place North Division (2 seed)

Power Play: 27th // 14.6%

Penalty Kill: 1st // 88.1%

Top 3 Scorers: Mike Zigomanis 19-42-61 // Ryan Hamilton 25-26-51 // Marcel Mueller 14-33-47

Overview: Leagues stingiest team defensively. The Marlies stayed at the top of the North Division pretty much all season. Will be a tough out.

First Round Matchup: Rochester Americans

Record against the Americans: 7-2-0-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 8:1

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So there you have it. If I am completely off my nut with these, let me know in the comments. I try to watch and pay attention to all 30 teams in the league. Tomorrow we will roll with the Eastern Conference Playoff Preview.

The AHL

Fourth Quarter Grades

Comments Off on Fourth Quarter Grades Posted by on April 16, 2012

The Penguins closed out the season with a 3-2 loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers yesterday and a 44-25-2-5 record good for 95 points, second place in the East Division and slotted fourth in the Eastern Conference Finals where they will open Friday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Hershey Bears.

The Penguins, for the most part, were pretty much undented this year with major injuries or massive call-ups. In the rough times when they had to call in guys from outside the organization (see: Henningson, Dan) they weathered the storm. Would things had been different if Norfolk didn’t win 28 in a row to close out the season for the Division lead? Who knows. That Admirals team looks unbeatable right now and the odds on favorite to win the Calder Cup in June.

But it’s a new day. All 16 teams in the Calder Cup Playoffs are 0-0, with a magic number of 15.

Before we look ahead to the Playoffs opening this weekend, it’s time to pass out final regular season grades. As has been the case all year long, anyone who played in a game this season gets a grade. Here we go… after the jump:

Read more of this post

Quarterly Grades

Pens Drop Season Finale – LOSE 3-2

Comments Off on Pens Drop Season Finale – LOSE 3-2 Posted by on April 15, 2012

In a game that was meaningless in the large scope of things, really a good game to watch as a fan. Back and forth, fluid action with little stoppages. The Penguins lose this one 3-2 and look forward to the “second season” opening Friday in Wilkes-Barre vs. Hershey.

The Penguins and Bridgeport Sound Tigers have had wars in the past with one another when the Sound Tigers once resided in the East Division. I wasn’t around for any of it, but wouldn’t it be fun to see these Sound Tigers again this season?

That paragraph is disrespectful to both Hershey Bears fans and Connecticut Whale fans alike. Both are formidable clubs and will not be pushovers for the two teams which played today.

Scott Munroe vs. Kevin Poulin – laundry list of lineup changes with Black Aces shuffling in for a lot of regulars who weren’t on the trip.

First Period: Lots of good flow, back and forth action to open the game. It appeared to me that both clubs were playing good, conservative hockey. A shot saved by Munroe trickled away from him and very slowly towards the net but was shoved away by Peter Merth. Teams would eventually go 4 on 4 with no scoring in the period.

Second Period: Brandon DeFazio would open things in the scoring department when he picked the pocket of a Sound Tiger at his blue line, skated in and scored top shelf on Poulin falling down. Later, Penguin killer Tyler McNeely would tip home a Steve Oleksy shot from the blue line. McNeely has 4 goals and an assist in the series with the Penguins. Later, Tomas Marcinko scored a really weird goal. He fanned on a shot, didn’t get what he wanted on it and the puck just rolled past everyone and into the net. Then Zach Sill was high sticked and cut open and the Penguins had a 4:00 power play to toy with but soon after Cal O’Reilly took a penalty.

Third Period: All that penalty mess from the second period was killed off then Bryan Lerg scored in a scrum to even things. Then, Robert Bortuzzo high sticks David Ullstrom and in the power play Matt Donovan shot a pass to Rhett Rakhshani and Rakhshani scored from a ridiculously low angle. Penguins had a power play late, best chance coming when Andrew Hotham stickhandles through a couple of guys and dishes to Ben Street who fanned on an open net. Penguins never got Munroe to the bench and the game was over.

Three Stars: 3) Kevin Poulin (31 saves on 33 shots) 2) Tyler McNeely (goal, +1) and 1) Rhett Rakhshani (goal, assist, +1)

Around the Division: Hershey loses in Worcester 3-2. The Bears finish the season on a 0-6-0-2 streak but none of that matters come Friday. Norfolk finishes off a season with it’s 28th consecutive win. Cory Conacher scores late to push the Admirals to victory over the Adirondack Phantoms 4-2. Syracuse wins and is in, defeating Albany 2-1 this afternoon.

Final East Division Standings go as follows: Norfolk 113, Penguins 95, Hershey 88, Syracuse 84, Binghamton 65.

Playoffs are set in the East. They look like this. 1-Norfolk vs. 8-Manchester; 2-St. John’s vs. 7-Syracuse; 3-Bridgeport vs. 6-Connecticut and 4-Wilkes-Barre / Scranton vs. 5-Hershey.

Four East Division teams make the playoffs. One likely to make it to the Calder Cup Finals. Maybe one to win the Calder Cup?

Schedule for content this week is lively! Original content from me each day with piggybacking any major news from the professionals. Schedule will look something like this:

Monday: Final Grades
Tuesday: Western Conference Calder Cup Preview
Wednesday: Eastern Conference Calder Cup Preview
Thursday: Penguins / Bears Series Preview with a prediction.
Friday: Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Gamday vs. Hershey!

Now the real fun starts. Buckle up.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

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