Chirps from Center Ice

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The corner, the corner, the corner. We have been talking for a few weeks whether the Penguins have turned the corner.

Well, this week you will find out. Tonight, they are off to a positive start, a 4-3 overtime win off Jordy Bellerive’s game winner.

I didn’t like giving away a point to a team that you are chasing in the standings, but that’s discounting the opponent and you should never do that.

After falling in a 2-0 hole, they battled back to take a 3-2 lead but gave away an extra attacker goal with under a minute to play.

Alex D’Orio got the start, looked like he was getting shelled when they went down 2-0, but shut it down and made key stops to keep the Penguins in it.

Wilkes-Barre got an influx of talent back from Pittsburgh. P.O. Joseph, Kasper Bjorkqvist, Michael Chaput and Juuso Riikola all were returned this morning.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Jan Drozg for Filip Hallander. I saw on Pens social media a photo of him practicing in a red sweater. He’s day to day.

First Period: Tommy Cross beats Alex D’Orio to give the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead then Calle Rosen went bar down on a cannonading shot for a 2-0 lead. The Penguins were sleepwalking to start and the Thunderbirds were off to the races.

P.O. Joseph scores this coast to coast goal on a power play to give the Penguins some jump going into the second period:

Second Period: No scoring in this period but the Thunderbirds took back to back to back penalties and the Penguins weren’t able to score on any of them.

Third Period: Michael Chaput 8 seconds in. If you were late back to your seat at the Arena you missed it.

Chaput would be lost to the locker room with an apparent injury. I think it was in the area of the upper body.

They went back and forth for a bit, then Jan Drozg scored on a rebound to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead.

(Pens didn’t GIF that one….slackers)

But then with Joel Hofer pulled for Springfield, a puck pinballs around near D’Orio to Will Bitten left unmarked on the far side. Bitten slams it home to tie the game with under a minute to play.

If that would have held up as a game winner the headline would have read, “Bitten off more than you can chew.”

Thank goodness it didn’t, your puns are bad and you should feel bad.

Here’s the goal:

Overtime: I had a feeling a few seconds into the session that the game would be decided here. Springfield had a chance but then Bellerive ended it.

Three Stars: 3) P.O. Joseph (goal) 2) Michael Chaput (goal, assist) 1) Jordy Bellerive

The Good: I like they way they battled back. Springfield is good, but the Penguins were resilient and got timely saves from their goalkeeper when needed.

The Bad: I think you all know where I am going here, the power play went 1/5, but three straight in the second getting one, maybe two, would have buried the Thunderbirds and you could have gotten those clean points you were after when you came in.

Turning Point: In a game that chased it all night, it settles on Bellerive and his game winner.

Around the Division: Bridgeport beats Lehigh Valley 4-1 in a kids day game in Connecticut…Hartford clips Hershey 3-2 in a shootout…Rochester thumps Charlotte 5-1.

Standings: Hartford .618 percentage points — Springfield and Hershey .600 — Providence .588 — Charlotte .564 — Penguins .500 — Lehigh Valley .486 — Bridgeport .476

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Video Highlights: 

Bridgeport in for the first time all season on Friday. Don’t underestimate this Islanders team, please.

Let’s Go Pens!

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I see a lot in Cleveland that I saw in the Penguins last month.

A decent team that just ran into bad luck.

It was the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins that had all the luck this weekend as they sweep the Monsters in Cleveland and pick up all four points in Ohio after defeating the Monsters 5-2 Saturday night.

Alex D’Orio started again and picked up the win.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Felix Robert was back from his illness and went right to the top line, replacing Jan Drozg. Matt Bartkowski replaced Will Reilly.

First Period: Key to any team playing back to back games on the road after they won the night before is the hot start. Need a hot start to get things going.

The Penguins got the hot start they were looking for from the guy returning from illness.

This came on a power play. The Penguins were peppering Cam Johnson with shots on the power play and finally got one to go.

Cleveland had a bit of an expected push to conclude the period with a power play bu the Penguins were able to negotiate through without a problem.

Second Period: Momentum swings were the theme here in the second.

Penguins get two goals :33 apart from Nathan Legare (their second power play of the night) and Kyle Olson had the Monsters stunned.

But it was on another power play that the Penguins saw the momentum swing against them.

Brendan Gaunce scores a short handed goal and the Monsters were off to the races in the period.

But D’Orio stood on his head and kept Cleveland’s charges at bay. Honestly, this was a lead that they probably see go up in smoke a few weeks ago but this was a good stand that the Penguins put on and you could say they were lucky to get out of the period with the score the way that it was.

Third Period: The Penguins needed a response after the wave of momentum which shifted away from them and got in the form of a Jordy Bellerive goal just :29 in.

But it was Liam Foudy, short handed, that brought the Monsters back within two which gave Cleveland life.

D’Orio withstood a relentless charge by Cleveland to keep the lead at two. Then, with Cam Johnson pulled for an extra attacker. P-O Joseph hits an empty net for a 5-2 Penguin lead.

Three Stars: 3) Brendan Gaunce (goal) 2) Kyle Olson (goal) 1) Nathan Legare (goal, assist)

The Good: Two power play goals for.

The Bad: Two short handed goals against.

Turning Point: Bellerive’s goal :29 into the third re-establishing the three goal Penguin lead put it out of reach for the Monsters.

Around the Division: Hershey bests Bridgeport in overtime 2-1…Charlotte thumps Syracuse 6-1…Springfield beats Providence 3-2 in a shootout…Lehigh Valley shuts out Hartford 4-0.

Standings: Hershey .618 percentage points – Springfield .603 – Hartford .597 – Providence .591 – Charlotte .579 – Penguins .486 – Lehigh Valley .486 – Bridgeport .463

Wheeling Update: Nailers up big in Toledo. Box here.

Penguins did the video highlights last night so when they upload those I will work the edit in here.

Pens are back home this Wednesday against the Thunderbirds. The answer on whether they turned the corner yet or not will be answered next week. I’ll mention it in the Weekend Preview which will drop Wednesday morning. Power Rankings on Tuesday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Let’s Go Pens!

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It took him till January, but Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins goaltender Alex D’Orio finally picked up his first win of the season last Friday against the Toronto Marlies.

Looking at D’Orio’s body of work leading up to it, the Penguins didn’t really give him any run support in the five decisions he lost.

Maybe it wasn’t so much about run support vs. workload because D’Orio, appearing in six of the last seven games and his sixth straight D’Orio shuts out the Cleveland Monsters with an 18 save effort and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins win 4-0.

A yeoman like effort for D’Orio, who has all the confidence in the world right now and maybe, singlehandedly pulling the Penguins back into contention. If I am head coach J.D. Forrest, I go right back to D’Orio in the Saturday rematch with the Monsters.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Tommy Nappier is out of COVID protocols and backed up…Michael Chaput returned from injury and Jan Drozg was back in up front for Felix Robert (out with non-COVID illness) and Sam Houde (week to week with upper body injury)

First Period: Decent first period for the Penguins who raced out to a 2-0 lead.

I thought that Cleveland had the better quality of shots if that makes any sense, forcing D’Orio into a few clutch saves, but it was the Penguins getting some dirty goals that put them ahead at the first intermission.

Valtteri Puustinen’s shot, rebound, shot caromed off of Sam Poulin and in for a 1-0 lead.

Later, Taylor Fedun’s goal from the blue line and from way downtown went in to make it 2-0 with under a minute to play.

Second Period: Nothing in the way of scoring here. Late in the period every stop by a goalie was met with pushing and having and linesmen Joe Sherman and Dan Kovachik had their hands full trying to separate the players. Referees Sean Fernandez and Brandon Blandina did a fine job in keeping out of it.

Here’s a nice save by Alex D’Orio from the period.

Both teams had power plays in the period (the Penguins took a too many men and Cleveland took an interference call) but neither team did anything memorable on the man advantage.

Third Period: Goals by Anthony Angello and Jonathan Gruden buried the Monsters. Angello was set up by Alex Nyander from a nice pass in the corner and for Gruden, his first AHL goal of the season which came on a 4-on-1.

Penguins then got a 7:00 power play after Brett Gallant jumped Michael Chaput. No penalty was assessed on the Penguin in the fracas and Gallanty received an instigating and fighting penalty along with a misconduct and aggressor penalty.

Not only did the Penguins not score on this extended power play, but they took a too many men penalty to boot.

The whole night, the Penguins didn’t take any stick or physical penalties, just too many men and puck over glass penalties.

Three Stars: 3) Taylor Fedun (goal) 2) Sam Poulin (goal) 1) Alex D’Orio (18 save shutout)

The Good: They are turning a corner I think. The answer on whether they really have or not may get answered next week when it’s a menu full of divisional opponents.

The Bad: They couldn’t score a goal during a 7:00 power play? Really? Then they took a too many men call? Wow.

Turning Point: Gonna go with Angello’s goal. Monsters were looking for a spark and instead of a spark they got a rainstorm. After that it was elementary for the Penguins, with just the only question left unanswered being whether D’Orio would preserve his clean sheet.

Around the Division: Charlotte beats Utica in OT up in New York 4-3….ex-Penguin Jeff Taylor scores a goal in regulation and in the shootout as the Hartford Wolf Pack take down the Providence Bruins 5-4 in a shootout….Springfield thumps Lehigh Valley 6-2.

Standings: Penguins move to sixth in the Atlantic over idle Bridgeport and after Lehigh Valley lost. They have a .472 win percentage.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are out in Cincinnati and losing to the Cyclones. Box here.

Video Highlights: 

These two teams rematch Saturday at 7. More after that contest.

Let’s Go Pens!

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I am not blaming this loss, a 6-2 Bears win, on fatigue. Here’s why.

Penguins went up 2-0 in the first. Doing everything right, scored a power play goal and looked great.

But Hershey is a good team, and a great team when they play the Penguins for some reason, and pushed back to lead 3-2 after the end of the second. The Penguins has no answer for Hershey in the second period.

But a 3-2 deficit is not insurmountable, and they looked better in the third. But, Wilkes-Barre’s special teams has been an abject disaster all season and it was a Joe Snively shorthanded goal that made it 4-2. What happened after that was really insignificant.

So it’s 1-7 against Hershey so far this season with four meetings left.

Alex D’Orio opposed Pheonix Copley.

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Sam Houde for Jan Drozg was the only change for the Pens for Monday vs. Cleveland.

First Period: Pens opened with relentless pressure, outshooting the Bears 8-1 at one point and were given a power play. Well, just five seconds into said power play Juuso Riikola rips a shot that goes in for his first ever AHL goal.

Penguins would tack on another goal when Nathan Legare leads a two on one, keeps it himself and scores to make it 2-0.

Hershey slowed things down in the final six minutes of game play which seemed to drag on a bit as they worked a plan to try to respond for maybe a goal.

Second Period: They got flattened in the second.

They went over 10 minutes without a shot on goal, and Hershey runs them over and takes a 3-2 lead.

Garrett Pilon scores on a wraparound when he peels a puck off of D’Orio, races around the net and scores to put the Bears on the board.

Marcus Vela scores to tie the game with another rebound taken off of D’Orio.

Was only a matter of time. The Penguins were hanging on and Hershey was coming in waves.

Ex-Penguin Chris Brown wins a race to a puck and scores on a snipe to push Hershey ahead and made it 3-2.

Brown’s first AHL goal.

One note of the first two goals by the Bears, they almost scored again seconds after the drop of the puck after the goals.

Another note, good on referees Justin Kea and Jeremy Tufts for staying out of the way and letting them play, legally.

Third Period: Better response, Penguins finally go on a power play after a delay of game call on Hershey. But it was Joe Snively with this goal that buried any chances of a comeback.

Ballgame.

Bears get a goal from Kale Kessy crashing the net then an empty net goal by Snively to run it up to 6-2.

There were shenanigans, as there sometimes are when tensions boil between these two sides. I’m not going to give it the attention it craves. Here’s my description of it real time.

Three Stars: 3) Christopher Brown (goal) 2) Dylan McIlrath (two assists) 1) Marcus Vela (goal, assist)

The Good: The start. They caught Hershey flat footed and had a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

The Bad: They forgot hockey has three periods? No response to the relentless push that Hershey put on them in the second to go up one.

Turning Point: Snively’s shorthanded goal that pushed it to 4-2 ended any hopes of a comeback for the Penguins.

Around the Division: One other game in the AHL, Providence was shutout in Utica 4-0.

Standings: Back to last for the Penguins with a .457 winning percentage.

Wheeling Update: Nailers were off.

Bears will probably put up video highlights which I will run in a later edit.

Much needed rest before a bus trip Thursday out to Cleveland. I’ll have the Weekend Preview either Thursday or Friday for you here on the blog.

Let’s Go Pens!