Pens win a strange one tonight 5-3 but not before a nearly 10 minute delay with less than a minute to play in the third period when the lights at the Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter went dim. Pens are perfect on the road this season so far.

Brad Thiessen vs. Iiro Tarkki.

First Period: With Mak Bell in the box for a holding the stick call, Jason Williams would score his first of the year through traffic. Later, Geoff Walker would absolutely just walk right past a Crunch defenseman and dish off to Colin McDonald to make it 2-0. It was all Penguins this period.

Second Period: Crunch would buzz, buzz and buzz and finally breakthrough at 9:33 of the second via a shot from Peter Holland which came on the power play with Robert Bortuzzo in the box on a tripping call in his first game of the year after suffering a knee injury in preseason. While AHL Live was in technical difficulties, Holland scored again. I have no idea how as I never saw it or never heard the description on radio. The second period was all Crunch.

Third Period: If you missed the opening two minutes, you missed two Penguins goals. Ex-WBS Penguin J-F Jacques was in the box from a hold over hook from the second period when Nick Petersen scored on the power play. Then, Brandon DeFazio scored to make it 4-3. Then, with the Pens on the power play, Jacques scored shorthanded. He picked off a pass from center ice and walked in all alone. Crunch would try to even the score but could not find the equalizer. The lights went dim with :48.5 left in the game and after about a ten minute delay play would resume. Tarkki would vacate his net for the extra attacker and Eric Tangradi would score the empty netter to seal the victory.

Three Stars: 3) J-F Jacques (goal, assist, +1) 2) Peter Holland (two goals, even) and 1) Nick Petersen (goal, assist, +1)

Around the Division: Springfield battles back to beat Hershey 4-3 in overtime. Binghamton beat Albany 4-2 at home and Norfolk doubled up Providence in the Divine City 4-2.

Standings: Norfolk 13, Hershey 12, Penguins 10, Syracuse 10, Binghamton 9. I sense a tight trend here.

Wilkes-Barre travels to Manchester overnight for a game tomorrow in New Hampshire. Gameday will be up here on the blog at 4 p.m.

Let’s Go Pens!

Penguins roll into Hershey tonight and win 3-1. A place that used to stymie the Penguins before in the past and look, eight straight wins in Giant Center if you go back to last year. Big win for Wilkes-Barre too. Statement win I think.

Brad Thiessen vs. Braden Holtby

First Period: Zach Miskovic held Ben Street and in the power play Jason Williams set up Brian Gibbons for the goal. Really the first half of the period was all Wilkes-Barre just dictating the pace and play. Then a scary moment with Eric Tangradi getting what looked like blindsided by Sean Collins. Long and short of this would see Tangradi go to the locker room but have no ill effects. First time this season that the Bears would be held scoreless in the first period.

Second Period: Pens would get a brief period of 5-on-3 hockey but the Bears would shake it off. Then, during four-on-four action, Simon Despres would score his first pro goal on a slapshot which beat Holtby. Bryan Lerg assisted on the goal and this is a five game point streak for Mr. Lerg. Then, Lerg would score to make it 3-0 after a nice tic-tac-toe pass from Paul Thompson. Bears would continue the undisciplined hockey with Patrick McNeill taking a cross checking penalty which the Bears would kill off. Then later after a whistle the Bears would try more rough stuff with Keith Aucoin and Philip Samuelsson being featured on the AHL Live feed.

Third Period: Pens would just puck possess the period to death. Not without Keith Aucoin getting robbed by a sitting Brad Thiessen and Christian Hanson ringing it off of two goal posts in on a breakaway. Matt Ford would finally break 100+ minutes of Brad Thiessen shutout hockey with a goal. Hershey would pull Holtby but not score and the Pens would deal the Bears their first regulation loss of the weekend and get four out of a possible four points this weekend.

Really a dominating performance by the Penguins. Radio was talking about the video scout for the Pens breaking down four hours of Bears tape on the ride in from Springfield last night. Give that man a raise!

Three Stars: Colin McDonald (2 assists, +2) Brad Thiessen (27 saves on 28 shots) and Bryan Lerg (goal, assist, +2)

If Lerg is not in the conversation for AHL Player of the Week or Player of the Month there is something amiss. Lerg has played five straight games where he has scored multiple points.

Around the Division: Binghamton beats Norfolk 3-2 in a shootout despite being outshot 15-5 in the third period. Lake Erie finally gets in the win column in overtime beating Syracuse in the Salt City 3-2.

Standings: Tight. Hershey and Norfolk have 9 points each. Syracuse and Wilkes-Barre have 8 points each and Binghamton has 7 points in last place.

Seven games in, if you are telling me I am going to be one point out of first, I take it. No matter how we get there.

Tomorrow: Wilkes-Barre and Binghamton are off. Norfolk travels to Charlotte and Syracuse to Hershey.

Pens play again next Friday in Syracuse. Updates this week as they come.

Let’s Go Pens!

Penguins play arguably the best game of the young season this evening getting a 26 save shutout from Brad Thiessen and playing a defensive, gritty, shutdown game getting goals from Geoff Walker and Eric Tangradi and a shorthanded empty net goal from Bryan Lerg, winning 3-0 tonight in Springfield.

Brad Thiessen vs. Manny Legace

First Period: Thiessen was in form early making saves off of set Springfield faceoff plays early. Then, Dane Byers hits Eric Tangradi in open ice. Soon after, Byers and Joey Mormina mix it up and Byers ended up with a double minor for roughing. The ensuing power play saw very little from the Penguins. Passes were received on the backhand and every time Wilkes-Barre entered the offensive zone they were dispossessed by Springfield. Penguins would not capitalize. Some good saves from both netminders late.

Second Period: Thiessen robs rookie sensation Cam Atkinson in close to start the period. Defense really clamped down despite some near misses with Dane Byers jumping in behind the defense but Thiessen made the saves. Then Legace made some saves of his own on a couple of Penguins shots, best in the sequence being a Geoff Walker shot to a Bryan Lerg rebound. Late, John Moore would sit for a cross checking call and Geoff Walker would score a power play goal to put the Pens up late.

Third Period: Quick moving first half. Brian Gibbons is quite the playmaker, beating out an icing call. Thiessen made some quality, big saves. After killing a Bryan Lerg trip, the Falcons would buzz but Eric Tangradi would score after Bryan Lerg broke away being marked by Dalton Prout for Springfield. Lerg would spin, fall and dish to Tangradi who had an open net. Springfield would pull Legace late being a man up on a power play and Bryan Lerg would score to send Wilkes-Barre away with the two points.

Three Stars: Manny Legace (20 saves on 22 shots) Bryan Lerg (goal, assist, +2) and Brad Thiessen (26 save shutout)

I think everyone who cheers for this team needed this game for the psyche.

Around the Division: Tomorrow’s opponent Hershey beat Albany 4-1 tonight in the New York capital. Norfolk beat Binghamton 7-0 allowing the defending champs 14 shots on goal while taking 53 of their own. Wow. Syracuse won in overtime 4-3 at home against Lake Erie.

Standings: Hershey 9 points, Norfolk 8 points, Syracuse 7 points, Wilkes-Barre / Scranton 6 points and Binghamton 5 points. Things are tight.

Pens bus straight to Hershey for the 7 p.m. game in Chocolatetown. Gameday will be up at 3:30 here on the blog Saturday afternoon.

Let’s Go Pens!