Chirps from Center Ice

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Two power play goals and more than two goals scored in a track meet of a game of sorts compared to the games thus far and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are 4-1 after a 4-2 takedown of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday night.

Radim Zohorna led the way with a pair of goals on the scoresheet but it was an all around showing from the offense and defense that got the Penguins the win. A team effort win, if there was one.

Filip Lindberg opposed Felix Sandstrom. Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes:

First Period: Wild, to say the least. There haven’t been many goals scored between these two teams this season. That all changed in the first period. Five total goals were scored in this period alone.

The Penguins got on the board first when Jamie Devane tipped in a Nicolas Almari shot from the point. Those two will get the headline, but Jonathan Gruden did all the work.

Gerry Mayhew for the Phantoms tied it on a power play on a tip in off a rush and the two teams were off to the races.

No GIF of it or any Lehigh Valley goal, just use your imagination.

Then later, Adam Clendening pinched from his normal defensive spot and got himself a goal off of a bit of a busted play to put the Phantoms up 2-1.

Felt like a little bit of a turning point here. Phantoms were being outshot and yet still led 2-1. Pens maybe were in trouble here and questions about Lehigh Valley’s potent offense were starting to come to life, how do the Pens respond here?

Michael Chaput scores on a power play with a Hallander screen in front to toe the game at 2, that’s how.

But they weren’t done. With 2.4 seconds left, Valtteri Puustinen has his ice taken away from him and Radim Zohorna bags his first of the season to give the Pens a 3-2 lead.

First time the Penguins have scored more than three goals in a game this year and they come all in one tidy period.

Second Period: Penguins add to their lead and get some good goal keeping to preserve their lead. It’s a Wednesday night and I have work in the morning, gotta move this along.

Radim Zohorna on a power play for his second of the night. Nice centering pass by Puustinen here.

Two power plays in one game? I love Wednesday night home games!

Phantoms start buzzing then Chris Bigras hooks Gerry Mayhew in front to take away what probably would have been a goal. Good penalty to take there which squelched the Phantoms momentum because they were unsuccessful on the power play chance.

Filip Lindberg robs Tyson Foerster going post to post to keep it a two goal Penguins lead:

Third Period: Special teams practice. Penguins had :51 of five on three advantage but weren’t able to ice the game away, the Phantoms had a few chances to get back into the game on their man advantage chances but were unable.

Three Stars: 3) Filip Lindberg (20 saves) 2) Valtteri Puustinen (two assists) and 1) Radim Zohorna (two goals)

The Good: Adversity stared them in the face, they stared right back and hit them in theirs. Nice way to come back from a deficit and hold the opponent off the score sheet the rest of the way tonight.

The Bad: Phantoms Head Coach Ian Laperriere probably isn’t long for this coaching world. His team is 0-4, at the bottom and fading in what looks to be a very competitive division and the firepower that the Phantoms possess look rigid and out of sync. Take the 4-1 start with a grain of salt, three wins so far have come against a Phantoms team that doesn’t look like they know what they are doing half the time, and that starts with the head coach.

Turning Point: Gave it to you in the first period. Penguins were down, picked themselves back up and ran away with the game from there.

Around the Division: Only other action in the division was in Hershey and the Bears lost their game in overtime to the Syracuse Crunch 3-2.

Standings: Pens are second, a point off Springfield for first. They could, conceivably, take the overall division lead Friday with a win at Hartford with Springfield idle that night. But a long way to go.

Wheeling Update: Justin Almieda playing hero for the Nailers out in Iowa tonight:

Am I reading that graphic right? The Nailers finished the game with 43 shots on goal to the Heartlanders 17? Tommy Nappier from THEE Ohio State with the win for the Nailers only two Wheeling skaters didn’t register a shot on goal. Nailers win 4-3.

Video Highlights: 

Catch you back here Friday to recap the meeting with the Wolf Pack.

Let’s Go Pens!

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Masterful performance by Louis Domingue in net today a bit overshadowed by the fact that he lost a shutout in the dying embers of regulation. How long as it been since the Penguins shutout their opponent?

Anyway, Valtteri Puustinen’s two goals, one in the first and one in overtime, guarantee that the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins take four points out of the weekend with a 2-1 overtime win in Allentown against Lehigh Valley Sunday.

Louis Domingue opposed Samuel Ersson. Here is how they lined up:

This visual is not correct, Jordy Bellerive was out and Michael Chaput was in. That’s the swap up front. With Kris Letting run COVID protocol up top, Pittsburgh recalled Juuso Riikola. In his place Sunday was Niclas Amari.

For the Phantoms…

First Period: You had the Puustinen goal here that highlighted the period:

Second Period: Then you had the Louis Domingue show, highlighted with this save at the death of them second period.

Penguins outshot the Phantoms 13-8 in the period, despite Lehigh Valley’s four power play opportunities.

Third Period: They kept gift wrapping power plays to Lehigh Valley and Domingue kept bailing them out. With :46 left in regulation and Ersson pulled for the extra attacker, Max Willman cleaned up a rebound of a shot from the point.

Tie game. Domingue had to make one more save at the end of the game to preserve a point for his side.

Overtime: Possess the puck. On the off chance you don’t have it, hope your goalie bails you out. With two less guys out there, there is space to make plays.

Valtteri Puustinen to the microphone.

Ballgame.

Three Stars: 3) Sam Ersson (28 of 30 saves) 2) Max Willman (goal) 1) Valtteri Puustinen (two goals, overtime game winner)

Laughable that PPL Center has two guys in the third star selection, including the goalie that gave up the goal to end the game. Homerism at its finest, but such is life at this level.

The Good: Undeterred, they went though a methodical takedown of a floundering, faltering Phantoms offense. How good has Puustinen been?

The Bad: Nitpicking, but you would like to see them complete the job and get their goalie their shutout.

Turning Point: Puustinen’s goal in overtime gets it. You could maybe mix in a Domingue save or two, but no one remembers those, sadly.

Around the Division: Bridgeport blanks Laval 3-0….Springfield is going to be your new #1 team when the Power Rankings come out Tuesday with a 4-1 win in Providence, the Thunderbirds have yet to lose in regulation.

Wheeling and Standings: Nailers kicked off the campaign yesterday and lost. Pens, with the OT win today, bump to third in the division.

Pens and Phantoms rematch Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.

Video Highlights: Coal Street quick on them this evening…

Power Rankings Tuesday, Weekend Preview Wednesday. I still don’t like weekday hockey games.

Let’s Go Pens!

Instead of a bad Bjork or break. Hey, it’s something.

The Penguins and Wolf Pack nearly skated to a stalemate in Wilkes-Barre Friday. There were chances aplenty for each side but no finish for either as the Penguins and Wolf Pack needed overtime to decide this one. A goal by Kasper Bjorkqvist is the deciding goal and the Penguins win 2-1 in overtime and improve their record to 2-1 on this very young season.

Filip Lindberg opposed Keith Kinkaid.

Here’s how they lined up:

Hartford didn’t post theirs. Hell, they didn’t even send a radio broadcaster. Keith Kincaid got the start, as I predicted. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and again.

Lineup Notes:

No need to recall anyone for Tristan Jarry as it was a false positive. Jarry practiced today in Pittsburgh.

First Period: Both teams navigated through a penalty kill. Penguins break through off a rush where Filip Hallander scored on a rebound of a Nathan Legare shot. First pro point for Legare. First non-Finn goal scored for WBS.

With :23 left, a puck from the point hits PC Labrie who corrals it and passes to Anthony Greco who snaps it past Lindberg for a goal that tied the game at one heading into the…

Second Period: Forgettable. They had just three shots in the period despite three power plays. The power play looked disjointed, and that’s saying something after watching 10 years of this team trying to properly execute a power play.

Third Period: Better fortunes for the Penguins shot wise. Not a lot of penalties but for an offsetting roughing call. You got the sense as the game wore on that it was going to be next shot wins.

Nothing developed in the period but for this near miss by Nathan Legare that went off the post.

Nathan Legare hits the post on a breakaway. pic.twitter.com/xeyjnozFjF

— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) October 23, 2021

Seemed like there were a lot of breakaways in the game, but no one wanted to score.

Overtime: Hartford with a good 90 seconds of possession and shot after shot after shot. Then the Penguins regained possession and then were able to slowly gain entry to the offensive zone. Jordy Bellerive flips a shot that goes off of Keith Kinkaid’s pads and, well I will just let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

Kasper Bjorkqvist wins it for Wilkes-Barre in OT. Cam Lee and Jordy Bellerive with the assists. pic.twitter.com/gr8sBVtxvB

— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) October 23, 2021

Three Stars: 3) Filip Hallander (goal) 2) Filip Lindberg (30 saves on 31 shots 1) Kasper Bjorkqvist (overtime game winning goal)

The Good: They managed a way to win. It was not pretty by any means, but sometimes that is what it takes.

The Bad: You can take the last sentence from above and apply it here. Seemed like the Penguins had more talent on paper but Hartford was just better in a few areas. Get a team in with more talent than Hartford and you can run into a problem.

Turning Point: The obvious goal by Bjorkqvist.

Around the Division: Charlotte beats Hershey in the Checkers home opener 5-3….Utica clips Providence in overtime 2-1….Springfield is off to a 3-0 start with a 3-1 win over the Islanders.

Standings: Still too early for these. Pens bump from 6th to 4th in the division.

They are off Saturday and back at it Sunday at 3 in Allentown. More after then.

Let’s Go Pens!