Chirps from Center Ice

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The dream start continues after a 4-1 win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Wednesday night at home. The Penguins are the first team to 10 points in the AHL this season.

Let’s get slamming here, some of us have work in the morning.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: One defensemen comes off injury (Brickey) and another goes on (Sebastian Aho) but that eases up the veteran logjam they have for a bit. Aaron Huglen and Aiden McDonough came out for Boko Imama and Joona Koppanen up front and Finn Harding and the aforementioned Scooter Brickey drew in for Alex Alexeyev and Aho.

First Period: :19 into a power play Danton Heinen continues his hot play with a rebound goal that puts the Penguins ahead 1-0.

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Avery Hayes followed with a rebound goal of his own, this time at even strength when a Chase Pietila shot was stopped ad pinball in front and finally put home by Hayes that made it 2-0.

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Second Period: Alexis Gendron slams home a rebound on a power play that puts the Phantoms on the board at just :56 of the period and made it a one goal game.

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What’s with all the rebounds? Oh, yeah, the NBA is back this week, I forgot.

I think that goal woke them up a bit because they accelerated and tightened things up. Atley Calvert stuffed home a pass from Tristan Broz on a power play that made it 3-1 and then Ville Koivunen scored a pretty penalty shot goal that made it 4-1.

I wonder if the saves that Sergei Murashov made in this period made the highlight package below because ehe was dialed in after getting scored on.

Anyway here are the goals.

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Third Period: Breezed by and there was nothing to report. Referees Liam Maaskant and Rob Hennessey understood the assignment.

Three Stars: 3) Atley Calvert (goal, assist) 2) Ville Koivunen (goal, assist) 1) Sergei Murashov (26 saves)

The Good: I hesitate to use the term “wagon” here but the Penguins were in control of the game from the drop, and when they were scored on they got mad and scored more. Big test coming in the form of Charlotte and Providence so ask me in a week round this time if it is okay to start using the term “wagon.”

But it’s okay if you do it and it’s fun to see. Oh, and they were 2/2 on the power play.

The Bad: Can’t think of anything off the top of my head so let’s just move on.

Turning Point: The Koivunen penalty shot goal gets it here. A three goal lead seems insurmountable for opponents against this team at this time.

Around the Division: Hartford is in the win column with a 3-0 shutout of the Springfield Thunderbirds in the only other divisional action in the Atlantic on this Wednesday.

Standings: Penguins 10 – Providence 8 – Charlotte and Lehigh Valley 6 – Bridgeport and Hershey 3 – Hartford and Springfield 2.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are off until Saturday. They will be in Maine to take on the Mariners.

Video Highlights: 

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Back at it Friday from Charlotte, talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Six unanswered goals from six different players see the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins storm back in a big way over the Bridgeport Islanders and win 6-3 to start the 2025-26 season 4-0.

They looked completely out of sorts to open the game, falling down 3-0 in a span of 6:17 and looked out to lunch. But a Ryan Graves goal late in the second period kickstarted a third period comeback for the ages.

I don’t know what it means yet, but if you made me guess, usually a ton of good. Bridgeport had the look of a team that would give the Penguins fits that they will see eight times this season but the Penguins swatted them away in the third period like flies. A lot to like in these first four games.

Here’s how they lined up, the Islanders didn’t post a lines graphic. Where have you gone, Mike Fornabaio?

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Lineup Notes: But for the shuffling of bodies in and out, Sam Poulin moved up from 2LW to 3C, Danton Heinen and Avery Hayes to second line with Atley Calvert; Valtteri Puustinen in at 3RW. Sebastian Aho made his debut on defense for Finn Harding.

First Period: Could not have gone worse.

First power play of the game, Sam Poulin tries to force a pass at Ryan Graves and Adam Jeffries starts a two on none and scores to open the scoring for the Islanders.

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Adam Beckman scored on the backdoor and that was followed by Hunter Drew with Alex Alevyev standing by and watching. Oof.

Three goals in 6:17. Not good!

Ville Koivunen was denied by Parker Gahagen, who still had his Phantoms goalie mask on from last year when he stymied Wilkes-Barre in the Calder Cup Playoffs and then a late little push for the Penguins at the end of the period.

Second Period: The Islanders didn’t score any goals and the Penguins had a lot of chances to get back into the game, including a two man advantage for 1:26 but weren’t able to score. They looked like a team that didn’t have it.

But Ryan Graves put them on the board with this screaming shot over the teams of Gahagen.

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Third Period: How’s the saying go? A 1,000 mile journey begins with a single step?

Step 1. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.

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Hell of a setup here. Harbinger of things to come.

Step 2. Sam Poulin.

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Initial Owen Pickering shot but Poulin there following the rebound.

Step 3. Ville Koivunen for the lead!

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Just spilling pucks in front of the Penguins is not going to end well for teams in the Atlantic Division.

Step 4. I think you get the point here, but Danton Heinen.

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I mean the Penguins weren’t putting any bodies on the Islanders in the first period, and Bridgeport was reciprocating the effort in the third.

Step 5. Shorthanded Atley Calvert.

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With a release like that you are crazy if you consider taking him out of the lineup or even think of sending him back to Wheeling.

Comeback complete.

Three Stars: 3) Adam Beckman (goal, assist) 2) Sam Poulin (goal, assist) 1) Danton Heinen (goal, two assists)

The Good: Never out of it, they finally woke up and took care of business.

The Bad: These starts aren’t sustainable once teams get film on you. Kirk MacDonald can’t be happy with that start but has to be thrilled with the finish.

Turning Point: Boy it seemed like the game chased it all night, but let’s give it to Ville Koivunen for the lead. Bridgeport was on tilt at that point and this goal here sealed their fate.

Around the Division: Charlotte beats the still winless Iowa Wild 4-1….Hershey gets their first win of the season with a 5-1 throttling of the Springfield Thunderbirds….Providence is still undefeated with a 5-2 thrashing of the still winless Hartford Wolf Pack. Lehigh Valley sweeps the Cleveland Monsters out in Ohio with a 3-2 shootout win.

Standings: Penguins and Providence 8….Charlotte 6, Lehigh Valley 5, Hershey and Bridgeport 3 and Springfield and Hartford 0.

Wheeling Update: I am actually typing up the recap while watching the Nailers and Cincinnati Cyclones on Flo. It’s 3-3 late in the third but probably over by the time you read this. Box here.

Video Highlights: AHL Video Center is normally your best bet in these road games.

Back at it Wednesday when they return home to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, then hit the road again for a weekend series in Charlotte.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Two goals by Atley Calvert, including one in the third period which gives the Penguins a cushion again and a power play goal snipe by Avery Hayes in the second see the Penguins start the season 3-0 with a 5-2 win Friday night in Hartford.

They were in control in the first period, going up 2-0 on a goal from Calvert and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, go up 3-0 in the second on the Hayes power play goal then Hartford makes it too close for comfort by getting tip in goals from Gabe Perrreault in the second and Adam Sýkora in the third before Calvert scores a big goal to make it 4-2. Tristan Broz’s 180′ empty netter ices the affair.

I don’t want to call it battle tested three games into a 76 game haul, but it seemed that way Friday. We will see how they do Saturday in Bridgeport.

Here’s how they lined up. The Wolf Pack didn’t post a lines graphic.

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Lineup Notes: Gabe Klassen, Matty DeSt Phalle and Valtteri Puustinen drew out for Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Raivis Ansons and Aaron Huglen. Pinard replacesd Puustinen, Ansons; Klassen and Huglen; DSP. No changes on defense.

200th AHL game for Sam Poulin.

First Period: Wild early sequence. Penguins had :59 of two-man advantage. Hartford killed that off and then Sergei Murashov had to make a shorthanded stop on a breakaway.

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Right after that, Chase Pietila finds a streaking Harvey-Pinard down the slot and he scores.

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I want to see him get going and make it impossible to take him out of the lineup. He counts as a veteran and the Penguins have a ton of them.

Then Hartford gets loose in trying to clear and then Atley Calvert makes them pay.

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But for that little shorthanded blip, a good start!

Second Period: Avery Hayes continues to stay hot with another power play goal to show for his young season early in the period…

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NHL type release there. It will not be long until he’s playing there too.

I don’t know if Hartford slowed the game down by speeding it up or if this sentence makes a lick of sense, but the momentum started to shift a tad as the period wore on and then Gabe Perreault scored on a tip in front that put Hartford on the board at 16:24.

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First five-on-five goal allowed by the Pens this season.

A strong finish was not only needed but required.

Third Period: A bit of a stronger response by Hartford was the result to start the final frame when Adam Sýkora scored on a double deflection in front to bring the Wolf Pack to within one.

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Fifteen seconds later, Phil Kemp was in the box for a high sticking infarction. I thought Matt Mannella and Riley Brace were fine by the way the way they ran things. Careless penalty by Kemp, but Wilkes-Barre manages to get through unscathed.

Atley Calvert with a big, big goal at 11:53 gives the Penguins their multi-goal lead again.

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Just throw it at the net sometimes and it will find its way in.

Penguins take a puck over glass infarction (Calvert) but managed to survive that with Garand pulled for the extra attacker. Tristan Broz scored from about 180′ away into the empty net to ensure that the Hartford home opener is spoiled.

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Three Stars: 3) Avery Hayes (power play goal) 2) Gabe Perreault (goal) 1) Atley Calvert (two goals)

The Good: They are capitalizing on mistakes the opponent is making, forcing those mistakes and winning hockey games. It’s a honeymoon period that usually happens around these parts this time of year. Keep it going.

The Bad: I don’t Hartford is going to be good this year, but they nearly coughed up a 3-0 lead to a team that they would have had no business coughing up anything to. A 3-0 start is aces, but still a lot of stuff to fine tune as the season gets going.

Turning Point: The Calvert third period goal is the obvious choice here and a very big goal given the circumstances. Teams that get off to starts like these have guys that are mainstays in the lineup. Calvert is making a claim to be one of those guys you pencil in night after night.

Around the Division: Hershey and Springfield were idle. Lehigh Valley shuts out Cleveland in the Monsters home opener 3-0 behind 35 saves by Alexei Kolosov….Providence stays undefeated with a 5-3 win in Bridgeport and Charlotte beats the still winless Iowa Wild 6-2.

Standings: Penguins and Providence 6, Lehigh Valley and Charlotte 4, Bridgeport 3, Hershey 1 and Springfield and Hartford 0.

Wheeling Update: The Nailers see their season get going Saturday in Cincinnati against the Cyclones. Cyclones in Cincinnati? Huh?

Video Highlights: To the AHL VideoCenter you will go once the highlights post there. I don’t know why teams don’t tweet links. I’m glad the Penguins do.

Back at it Saturday at 7 in Bridgeport. Talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!

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A pair of third period goals by Tristan Broz lift the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins to a 4-1 win in Allentown against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and give the Penguins a 2-0 start in the season.

Broz also assisted on a first period Aidan McDonough power play goal and it is great to see Broz hit the ground running this early into the season.

Here’s how they lined up:

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Lineup Notes: 

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Aaron Huglen and Sebastian Aho (veteran) are the only two healthy players that didn’t see Opening Weekend ice. Scooter Brickey and Taylor Gauthier are week to week with lower body injuries.

First Period: Better start in comparison to last night’s opener. Penguins get a power play and Aidan McDonough nets a goal with a nice shot from the wing that beats Carson Bjarnason that gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

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Phantoms trailed for the first time all season after a pretty dead even period that the Penguins had the slight advantage on due to the McDonough power play marker.

Second Period: Avery Hayes connects on his first of the season on a power play goal, the second of the game for the Penguins.

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I know I said in the Weekend Preview that I didn’t think they would score a power play goal this weekend and they scored two. They look dangerous on early returns and pesky on defense.

Then the Phantoms would score their only goal of the game when Anthony Richard comes flying down the wing like a bat out of hell and gets a shot on Larsson that that the Penguins net minder stops. Avery Hayes sweeps the loose puck out of the crease but right to Helge Grans who fires one past a still swimming in the crease Larsson.

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So the Penguins get beat on two fluke goals this weekend. A tic tac toe goal by Trey Fix-Wolansky last night at home against Hartford and then this sequence with Grans getting a goal.

You’ll take it.

Third Period: Question became if Lehigh Valley scored, it would be a totally different game.

Thankfully, Tristan Broz had other plans.

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Terrible clear attempt by Phantoms captain Garrett Wilson that the Penguins capitalize on. That’s the sign of a good team, a team capitalizing on another puck miscues. How many times did a failed Penguins clear end up getting fished out of their net?

Time dwindled, teams traded some more power play chances, but then Broz scored into an empty net while the Phantoms were chasing hope.

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Good start, I would say. Okay if you like perfect.

Three Stars: 3) Helge Grans (goal) 2) Avery Hayes (goals, assist) 1) Tristan Broz (two goals, assist)

The Good: Perfect start for the team. They clamped down defensively and I think are firing on all cylinders.

The Bad: I know I harp on Wednesday games, but I kind of wish they could stay in the groove here and get back out there Wednesday. We all have to wait until this Friday in Hartford.

Turning Point: The first Broz goal that made it 3-1 gave the Penguins the multi goal lead in the third they desired, and deflated the Phantoms hopes of a comeback after their captain just blindly gave it away. 700+ AHL games for Garrett Wilson, you would think by now he would know better.

Around the Division: Bridgeport gets in the win column with a 6-2 win over the now 0-2 Belleville Senators….Providence beats Charlotte 6-3 and the Bruins are off to a 2-0 start also. Hershey hosts Syracuse for a 5 pm start, box here.

Standings: Still too early, standings page here if you want to look during the week or after that Bears game goes final.

Wheeling Update: Nailers off, get going this weekend this coming Saturday in Cincinnati.

Video Highlights: You will probably need to peck around on the AHL VideoCenter if you really want to see them.

The AHL Power Rankings are back on the shelf. They never turned the numbers I wanted views wise and were too much work for me to put together. Apologies in advance if you looked forward to these. FloHockey has a much more in depth rankings list if you so desire.

Talk to you next Friday for the Weekend Preview.

Let’s Go Pens!

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins opened their 2025-26 campaign with a 2-1 win Saturday night at home against the pesky, speedy and probably-deserved-a-better-result Hartford Wolf Pack.

They ran into Sergei Murashov, however, who was as good as advertised, stopping 23 shots and only being beat on a wicked deflection by Trey Fix-Wolansky while the Wolf Pack had an extra man.

But fear not, Wolf Pack fans, you have a quick team and a fairly good team. You just ran into a team that I think is better and has a hell of a goaltender.

Valtteri Puustinen and Owen Pickering scored the goals for the home team.

Murashov opposed Dylan Garand. Here’s how they lined up.

Let’s hope I remember how to do this…

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It is the year 2025 and there are still AHL teams that don’t post a lines graphic. The Hartford Wolf Pack are one of them.

Also, why the hell is Ryan Graves wearing #27? That number belongs to Dennis Bonvie in this town and Dennis Bonvie only. The number, along with the #29, should already be retired. The franchise is 26 years old. What the hell are they waiting for? He should change the number to something other than 27, in my opinion. I don’t know how some of you day one-ers feel about it, but I don’t like it.

Lineup Notes: Scooter Brickey and Taylor Gauthier are listed as injured….Scratches were Sebastian Aho, Boko Imama (veterans) Mathieu De St. Phalle. Also, Pittsburgh sent their only player who was healthy that doesn’t require waivers back to Wilkes-Barre, Ville Koivunen back after Bryan Rust came off injured reserve.

First Period: Hartford with a ton of pace, outshooting the Penguins 8-2 at one point, then Trey Fix-Wolansky finishes a nice tic-tac-toe play for a goal which was initially waved off by ref Damien Figueira. After video review (a new system and all this year) it was adjudged to be a good goal.

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I didn’t particularly like the first period, but this was live fire for a lot of guys in big moments for the first time in months.

Second Period: A much better response for the Penguins, who get a goal from Valtteri Puustinen flying down the wing and found by Joona Koppanen for a goal.

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Your goalie is keeping you in it, so you need your heavy hitters to get out there and muck one in. Good to see.

Third Period: Good to see them tie it, but job not done. Need to get the lead.

Enter Owen Pickering.

Perhaps given a raw deal from Pittsburgh and perhaps flirting with am-I-an-NHL-player-or-not territory, he scores a big goal here in this spot to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.

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Seeing eye shot.

You would think that the Wolf Pack would throw the kitchen sink at Sergei Murashov, but nope. The Penguins defense held them just to five shots.

With Garand pulled for the extra skater with about two minutes to play, the Wolf Pack never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 3) Sergei Murashov (23 saves) 2) Valtteri Puustinen (goal) 1) Owen Pickering (game winning goal)

The Good: Hoo boy, play like that every night and I don’t think there are many teams that can beat them. Hartford is a solid, speedy team. They should have and could have won the game, but the Penguins and Sergei Murashove in particular, were too much.

The Bad: Relying on the above paragraph night in and night out is a fools errand. They need a better start. It’s only game one, so we will give them a pass.

Turning Point: Don’t have to look far, the Pickering go ahead goal gets it here.

Around the Division: Hershey loses at home to the Syracuse Crunch 5-2….Lehigh Valley wins 5-2 over the Belleville Senators in the Phantoms home opener….Charlotte beats Springfield 4-3…Providence beats Bridgeport 4-3 in overtime.

Standings: Too early for this. Pens, Phantoms, Bruins, Charlotte, 2, Bridgeport 1, Hartford, Springfield, Hershey 0.

Wheeling Update: Nailers are in preseason, they get ripping next week for real.

Video Highlights: 

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Back at it Sunday afternoon in Allentown. Talk to you then.

Let’s Go Pens!