The Norfolk Admirals tweeted something which really rubbed this 4-2 loss in tonight. That is, that the Pens have lost 5 times this year and Norfolk is responsible for 40% of those losses.

In case you have been sleeping all day and are just now waking up, Dustin Jeffrey was recalled to Pittsburgh today as Mike Comrie was placed on injured reserve.

Dustin Tokarski vs. John Curry tonight. Curry starts his second straight game of the year.

No lineup changes from Wednesday. With Jeffrey recalled, Geoff Walker was back in the lineup. Bryan Lerg centered Tim Wallace and Chris Collins in the place of Dustin.

First Period: Before the game was :12 old, there were three fights. Tim Wallace and Tim Marks got the fisticuffs started at :05, Jesse Boulerice and Pierre-Cedric Labire at :08 and Geoff Walker and Chris Durno at :11. Finally things settled down and after a Robert Bortuzzo hook at 1:41, Alex Berry deflected a Mike Vernace point shot to put the Admirals up 1-0 before the game was three minutes old. Paul Szczechura would get caught hooking Eric Tangradi after he crashed the net and Nick Johnson would cash in on the power play. The Big Dog has 7 points in 3 games for the Penguins. AHL Live had some early technical difficulties, and during the blackout, Mike Angelidis would score to make it 2-1.

Second Period: Lots of chances by WBS in the first half of the period with two 2 on 1’s for the Pens but no conversions. Looking like we have all the momentum in Eastern Virgina, Troy Milam scores to make it 3-1. We’d get within one again quickly as Ty Wishart would sit for interference. Corey Potter would blast one from the blue line which would find its way to Nick Johnson’s stick and in the back of the net to make it 3-2. At this point, the Pens are sitting back playing rope-a-dope. The Admirals are flying all over the ice to start the game, the Penguins are just sitting back, letting the game come to them. Period 2 would end 3-2 for the Admirals.

Third Period: Stefano Giliati scores on a backhanded shot which John Curry was not expecting apparently, as AHL Live showed a lot of space for Giliati to shoot at on the back side to push it to 4-2 Admirals. That shot and goal was Norfolk’s first of the period at 6:21 of the third. To that point, the Pens had been controlling pace of play. Nothing really of substance happened after that. Wilkes-Barre would pull Curry late but Norfolk just played full on shutdown hockey to hold on for the win.

Lots of chirping post whistle. Tomorrow is going to be fun. The game is almost a sellout at this point, with less than 500 tickets remaining. WBS has not lost two games in a row, but has not beaten Norfolk yet this season. The Admirals are now more of a threat to us than Hershey is at this point in the season. How we respond tomorrow night is going to be huge.

Around the Division: Hershey beat Charlotte in a shootout, 2-1. Injuries and call-ups piling up for the Bears. Binghamton shutout Albany 5-0. The Adirondack Phantoms beat the Syracuse Crunch 5-2 this evening for their fourth win and their 10th point.

Standings: Norfolk creeps up on the Penguins, closing the gap to 5 points for tops in the league with Wilkes-Barre’s 42 points to Norfolk’s 37. Hershey gets a point up on Charlotte good for third and 33 points to Charlotte’s 32 points. Binghamton gets to 25 points in fifth. If the playoffs started today there would be no crossover for the Sens as fifth place Springfield in the Atlantic has 26 points. Syracuse is sixth and Albany seventh, both have 22 points and Adirondack is still in the East Division cellar but have 10 points.

Tomorrow by far is the biggest game of the year for both teams, actually. A regulation win by Norfolk puts them three points behind us and the psyche that we can’t beat them is instilled in the Penguins players and fans minds. If we win, it’s a push for the weekend. If you don’t have a ticket for tomorrow’s game what are you waiting for? 570-208-PENS. Do it!

Gameday post for tomorrow’s rematch will drop at 3 p.m. Let’s Go Pens!

Real quick postgamer out of me tonight because I have work in the morning. Eric Tangradi had a break out game tonight with the first hat trick of the season for WBS in a 5-1 romp over the Toronto Marlies.

John Curry vs. Jussi Rynnas this evening. Geoff Walker was the scratch as Keven Veilleux was back in the lineup.

First period: Tangradi got the party started at 1:17 when he went five-hole on Rynnas. I didn’t realize at the time but Wilkes-Barre really dominated the Marlies tonight in all aspects of the game. At 7:54 of the first Jess Boulerice scored from the high slot to make it 2-0 and, at the time, the shots on goal were 15-3 in favor of the Penguins. Later, Brett Sterling scored a goal which should be on the AHL highlight reels for the rest of the season. A shot blocker-side of Rynnas which struck his water bottle and sent it flying. Not just that, but the top came off! With 3:58 left to play in the game, Wilkes-Barre already put 20 shots on Rynnas. As soon as I noticed that, Justin Hodgson for the Marlies scored to give the Marlies life. That goal was due to yet another defensive breakdown by Steve Wagner. The worst possible time for the Penguins and the best possible time for the Marlies. Brett Sterling went to the box for tripping and the Pens and their 16th ranked penalty kill disposed of it and the period would end 3-1, with a 20-8 shots advantage for WBS.

Second period: Ben Scrivens would relieve Rynnas in goal. Tangradi again at 6:46. Joe Vitale dispossessed a Marlie defenseman and went down on a 2 on 1 with Eric and the Big Dog buried it. Later in the period Darryl Boyce for Toronto would sit on a rough and Eric Tangradi would cause the lids to fly in Wilkes-Barre with a power play, hat trick goal. The period would end with the Pens leading the shot category by a 31-14 advantage.

Third period: No scoring. No penalties. Toronto had a bevy of opportunities to score, missing wide open net after wide open net. Other than the 5-1 lead, an otherwise boring period of hockey.

Joe Vitale, Brett Sterling and Eric Tangradi were +3 tonight and were your three stars in that order. Vitale is near the top of the league in +/- so I will have to see tomorrow where he shakes out. Dustin Jeffrey’s goal and point streak ended. It appears Toronto focused on him tonight and forgot about the rest of the Penguins. This is depth in action friends: Tangradi a four point night (3-1-4), Sterling a three point night (1-2-3). Vitale three assists.

Ex-Penguins Luca Caputi and Danny Richmond were pointless tonight. Caputi registered one shot on goal.

Around the East: Norfolk scores three goals in the third to tie the score at three only to lose in overtime to the Crunch 4-3. Hershey beat Albany 3-2. Referee Chris Brown’s arm got a workout tonight as there were 71 PIMs in that game.

Standings: With the win, WBS improves to 21-4 and 42 points, good for 1st in the division and conference. Overall tops by five points over the West Division leading San Antonio Rampage. Norfolk picks up the losers point with the OT loss to the Crunch, I think they overlooked Syracuse tonight for the meeting this weekend versus Wilkes-Barre / Scranton. Hershey is all of a sudden relevant again (when weren’t they?) in third with 31 points. Charlotte is idle with the same 31 points and sit fourth. Bingo is eight points back in fifth with 23 points. Albany has 22 points in sixth, Syracuse seventh with 22 points and Adirondack has been stuck on 8 points.

Travel day for the team tomorrow to Norfolk. Likely no updates from Bombulie or any other entity. I’ll try to think of something creative, but if not check us out here Friday afternoon for the Gameday post for Norfolk.

Let’s Go Pens!