Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Weekend Preview: Phantom Wolves

Comments Off on Weekend Preview: Phantom Wolves Posted by on October 22, 2021

I don’t know about you, but I think “Phantom Wolf” would make for a hell of a team name. Maybe there is a high school somewhere in Nebraska who are known as the Phantom Wolves. All black jerseys, big, howling wolf that just intimidates opponents.

The Setup

Penguins coming off opening night weekend with a Jekyll and Hyde performance against Lehigh Valley (a win) and Charlotte (a loss) where they looked like two different teams. A gritty 2-1 win against the Phantoms followed up by a dud the next night with a 4-1 loss to the Checkers. 

Hartford comes in Friday, having their 2021-22 campaign begin with a good ol’ three in three. They beat Bridgeport last Friday 2-1 in their home opener, then lost 2-1 the next night in Springfield and then finished off the three in three weekend with a gritty 4-3 shootout win against the Providence Bruins. 

Then Penguins get Saturday night off, then square off against Lehigh Valley in what will end up being a home and home, Sunday in Allentown and next Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre. Lehigh was in Hershey last Sunday and lost 2-1. By the time the Pens face them Sunday, they will have played the Wolf Pack this Saturday night.

The Records

Coming into this weekend’s action, the Pens are 1-1, .500 and 6th in the Atlantic Division. The Wolf Pack are 2-1, .667 and 4th in the Atlantic and Lehigh Valley is in last place, 0-2 with a .000 percentage point.

Who’s in Goal

I got this completely wrong last week. I expect that to continue heading into week two, but here goes. Filip Lindberg will get one of the games, my guess Friday, and since Alex D’Orio was reassigned to Wheeling on Monday of this past week, either Tommy Nappier or maybe Louis Domingue coming off injury gets the road start Sunday in Allentown. But Domingue or Lindberg may be headed up, as it was revealed Thursday that Tristan Jarry was placed in COVID protocol. So, one of either Domingue / Lindberg are likely going up. With three goalies here, you don’t need to recall D’Orio. For the opposition, my guess is Keith Kinkaid for the Wolf Pack Friday and, with Lehigh playing the night before, backup Samuel Ersson for the Phantoms Sunday afternoon.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

Oh boy, where to start. They looked like two completely different teams in each game. You want more of what you saw Saturday, obviously, than you did Sunday. But, it is a young team that will probably be chomping at the bit after a week of hard practice to get out there again for another home game Friday and then for a road trip to Allentown Sunday. Hartford can run and gun it looks like, so the Pens will need to keep that in check. Normally you know where you stand in the first ten minutes of a hockey game after a bad performance like the one you saw Sunday. Then, with Lehigh Valley, the Phantoms are getting these same Wolf Pack on Saturday, having off Friday. No one can discount the firepower that the Phantoms possess. Gotta keep that in check in a hostile environment Sunday. 

Who is running the show?

Scheduled referees as assigned by the American Hockey League are Rob Hennessey and Beau Halkidis Friday night in Wilkes-Barre and Dan Kelly, who you may remember as a referee last year and Tyler Loftus on the lines. Kelly switched to linesman late last season. For Sunday, it’s Halkidis again joined by Patruck Hanrahan calling penalties with John Rey and J.P. Waleski handling the lines.

Looking ahead…

Lehigh Valley is in next Wednesday to pay off the home and home, then the Pens take to the road with a game in Hartford next Friday and then a Saturday game in Springfield to close out the month of October.

Give us a bold prediction…

The Penguins score five goals this weekend and win both games. 

Weekend Preview

Power Rankings – Week of the Bear

Comments Off on Power Rankings – Week of the Bear Posted by on October 19, 2021

To start, I want to let you know that I want to simplify things with these Rankings. They were a bear to put together each week, and a bear to maintain. I don’t like to dabble in HTML but I had to in order to make things simple every week. Not anymore. If you want to know who the Chicago Wolves, or any team, play this week or how the Stockton Heat, or any team, did last weekend, you can go here and here. If you are wondering what the record of the Laval Rocket is or, for that matter, any team, navigate here. These parts in large parts were what made the whole concept so difficult because you had to maintain 31 teams capsules of scores, records and schedules each week for each team. Again, it’s a massive project that takes away a lot of my day / week. I do this as a hobby and debated just scrapping these altogether, but decided to bring them back. It was either this or the silly stat charts, but really, who wants to look at percentages and do math? Not me anymore!

What I don’t know is where or when or really how often I will run these. Let’s go with Tuesday’s, for now, and consider it a weekly feature again.

Rank, team, blurb and where they were last week is what I am giving you. I want to keep it as simple as I can make it this year. Not only for myself but for the reader.

Anyway here they are. Theme this week is Jekyll and Hyde. Every division has one and some have two. Here they are, in all their glory.

RankTeam BlurbLast Week
1As good as we thought they would be; 2-0 and at the top of the Atlantic Division.
2Good lord that offense is potent. Down multiple goals in both games against Cleveland, Crunch storm back and win both games.
3Beat San Jose Sunday 1-0 with just 15 shots to the Barracudas 34. Reigning Pacific Division Champs are in familiar territory, at the top of the division at 2-0.
4Played fun and gun against Colorado in a pair of home contests and swept the Eagles.
5Good start for the new affiliation with St. Louis, 2-0.
6Pasted Grand Rapids in their only game of the weekend. They should all come this easy!
7Ultra competitive division and every point is going to matter. 3 out of a possible 4 points isn’t bad, but Hershey was perfect, just saying.
8It’s one game (and it was against Rochester) but a good start for the new Devils affiliate.
9Hartford outgunned opponents this weekend. Hardly sustainable, but a 2-1 start nevertheless.
103 of 4 points to start the season isn’t bad at all.
11Two more cracks against the Bears at home this weekend. Could be an early season indicator on how good the Checkers will be.
12Jekyll and Hyde performances for the Pens this past weekend against Lehigh Valley and Charlotte.
13Split a pair with Belleville in similar fashion. Good test with Providence coming Saturday.
14See Laval. They get Cleveland at home for a pair.
15Blow out win (Rockford) and a blow out loss (Milwaukee) Jekyll and Hyde? Jekyll and Hyde!
16See Grand Rapids, but substitute Toronto as the opponent.
17Split a pair at home against Tucson in front of about 2000 fans combined for both contests, and you thought your teams attendance was bad.
18This is why a power rankings at the beginning of the season is a fools errand. Roadrunners are .500 after a pair of games against Stockton. It may take a while to figure these .500 teams out.
19Bunch of teams are 1-1 in the Central, Wild are one of them.
20Jekyll and Hyde performances against Manitoba (5-1 win, 5-0 loss) – Rochester up next then Cleveland.
21Split with the Wild in close contests. Rockford next.
22One of many .500 teams in the Central.
23First win in franchise history as the top affiliate of Vancouver in shootout fashion against Ontario Sunday. Home opener against Henderson this weekend.
24Two shootout losses already. Already? Already.
25It’s one game, against Utica, but you lost to Utica!
2634 shots Sunday in Bakersfield Sunday and no goals. Held the Condors to 15 and still lost.
27You can’t take much from just one game. Gulls won’t be in last place in the Pacific for long.
28Not a good start with the new Carolina affiliation, but it is just one game.
29Gave up 11 goals in Nevada this weekend, more than any other team.
30Yeah you aren’t going to compete in this division, or any division really, when you throw away multiple goal leads.
31Potent offense on paper scored just two goals on ice. That’s why you don’t play games on paper.

Comments are there for you if you want them. I’ll be back next week, maybe, with week two.

Power Rankings

No D’Accord — Pens LOSE 4-1

Comments Off on No D’Accord — Pens LOSE 4-1 Posted by on October 17, 2021

 vs. 

4                                 1

–

Well, you can’t win them all.

After looking like world beaters Saturday night against Lehigh Valley, it seemed like the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins couldn’t get out of their own way Sunday, losing 4-1 to the Charlotte Checkers.

What may have helped is that the Checkers had a hell of a hand playing goal for them also.

Joey Daccord, a Seattle Kraken prospect playing in Charlotte this season with the Checkers dual affiliation, was lights out Sunday, stymieing the Penguins offense and stopping 26 shots. He was beat once, when the Penguins had a late power play and pulled starter Tommy Nappier for an extra attacker. Felix Robert was a beneficiary of a puck careening off of the back wall right to him for a goal, spoiling an otherwise stellar appearance by Daccord.

Juuso Riikola was a -3 today. The rest of the defensemen weren’t great either but Riikola was on the ice for two of the even strength goals against and was caught watching when Max McCormick skated in behind the defense midway into the third period which made it 3-0.

Tommy Nappier was the hard luck loser in goal. Kid can’t buy any run support when he is in the nets. His record in the AHL drops to 1-3 (going back to last years exhibition season)

Here’s how they lined up:

Lineup Notes: Felix Robert for Jan Drozg up front, the third line stayed intact. P.O. Joseph was sent down Sunday morning and replaced Chris Bigras. Alex D’Orio backed up.

“Minor” lower body injuries to Anthony Angello and Louis Domingue.

First Period: No scoring. Penguins had two power plays and didn’t score. Charlotte gave up two power play goals to Hershey the night prior, but their PK looked excellent.

Second Period: Lucas Carlsson’s shot through traffic goes in to open the scoring for the visitors:

Later, Chase Priskie with a shot that Alex True deflects in for a 2-0 lead on a power play.

Jonathan Gruden had no puck luck, multiple occasions for would be tap in goals didn’t go for him.

Third Period: Max McCormick with a stick lift on Michael Chaput and he’s in all alone for a goal.

Penguins respond with a goal late with Nappier pulled when Felix Robert breaks up the Daccord shutout bid.

I want to thank Taylor for allowing me to again run her video recaps of plays here on the blog this year.

Zac Dalpe hit an empty netter that made it the final, 4-1.

The Good: If you find something good that came out of this game, let me know.

The Bad: Man that defense stunk today. Look for changes Friday against Hartford, I would assume.

Turning Point: When they could’t score early on those two first period power plays nor muster anything indicative of a high danger scoring threat, you knew it was going to be an uphill battle.

Three Stars: 

I just noticed that the graphic doesn’t say who did what. True had a goal and an assist, Carlsson the same and Daccord stopped 26 of 27.

Around the Division: Could be worse, could be Lehigh Valley. Phantoms lose 2-1 to Hershey. Phantoms had eight power plays in that game to Hershey’s two. Hartford, here Friday, beats Providence 4-3 in a shootout. It’s the Wolf Pack’s third game in three days. Springfield beat Bridgeport 4-3 in a shootout also.

Standings: Too soon, but the Penguins are where I have them being at the end of the regular season, and that’s presently in sixth place. .500 right now. Again, it’s too soon. I’ll pick this up in due time.

Week of practice one would assume then a game Friday assist Hartford before a Saturday off then a road trip to Lehigh Valley. If not anything during the week, talk to you either Thursday or Friday for the Weekend Setup.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

RAPID RECAP – Pens LOSE 4-1

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP – Pens LOSE 4-1 Posted by on October 17, 2021

They looked about as disjointed and discombobulated as you could today.

A 4-1 loss, an opposing goalie who played very well and no puck luck. You’ll have like games like these.

More in a bit.

Rapid Recap

Way to Finnish — Pens WIN 2-1

Comments Off on Way to Finnish — Pens WIN 2-1 Posted by on October 16, 2021

 vs. 

1                                 2

–

I had this to say when I found out that Filip Lindberg was getting the start in net Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre, where I was expecting Alex D’Orio.

Maybe. Alex D’Orio didn’t dress, Tommy Nappier from The Ohio State University backed up and apparently Louis Domingue is injured. So Lindberg needed to step up and step up he did.

Penguins win 2-1, led by their Finnish players in Lindberg with goals by Niclas Almari and Vallteri Puustinen. A strong start to the season keeping Lehigh Valley’s high powered offense in check.

Here’s how they lined up:

Notes: Sam Houde was in for Anthony Angello, who was a mystery scratch. I think they are looking to protect him in case of the inevitable Pittsburgh injury.

First Period: Puustinen opens his account as the Penguins scored on the first power play of the season with this dart that gave Wilkes-Barre a 1-0 lead:

Jamie Devane massacred Brennan Saulnier in a fight. I don’t see many one sided fights at this level often, this was a mauling.

Shots were 13-6 Phantoms. Lindberg faced a firing squad in the period and looked unfazed and undaunted.

Second Period: Lehigh Valley draws even when Tyson Foerster beats Lindberg on a quick shot off a transition rush. Penguins were taking too many silly penalties for my liking and Lehigh Valley finally broke through on the power play.

(no GIF of the Foerster goal, sorry)

Third Period: Niclas Almari had a seeing eye shot go in. Defender gave him too much time and space and Almari set up and chose his shot placement carefully.

Lindberg continued to dazzle, making a huge stop on Connor Bunnaman that preserved the 2-1 lead Wilkes-Barre had at the time.

I didn’t think at any point they were nursing a lead, maybe when they were up 1-0, but after getting scored on to tie the game back at one it seemed that was the cold slap in the face that they needed to get them going in the right direction.

With Sandstrom pulled for the extra attacher, the visitors never found the equalizer.

Three Stars: 

The Good: My expectations are low, but man they looked good. Phantoms have some big time scorers on their team and the Penguins held them all in check. You have something special with Lindberg in goal and Puustinen I thought was at times the best player on the ice.

The Bad: The silly too many men penalties they took in the second spoiled what could have been a shutout for Lindberg in his pro debut.

Turning Point: I thought I had it when they killed off one of the penalties about midway in the second. Lindberg was dialed in and nothing was going to get past him. The next power play they score, so out the window goes that idea. Give to to Almari after his goal which set the pace for the Penguins who seemed to settle down coming out of the chute for the third and played better with the lead then they did the first time they had it.

Around the Division: Hershey beats Charlotte 5-2. Five different scorers for the Bears and they also struck twice on the power play….Providence beats Bridgeport 2-1 in a shootout….Springfield clips Hartford 2-1 at home. Lots of 2-1 scores tonight.

Standings: It’s too early for this. Plus, they are doing them by percentage points this year.

Back here on the blog after the 3 p.m. Sunday game with Charlotte. No pregame setup, I kind of gave it to you in the Weekend Preview. I think you should see D’Orio with probably Nappier backing up. I’ll be wrong again though probably.

Out the door, it was cool to be there Saturday for some history.

Didn’t notice the referees much tonight. That’s a good thing.

Let’s Go Pens!

Postgamer

RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 2-1

Comments Off on RAPID RECAP – Pens WIN 2-1 Posted by on October 16, 2021

Pretty gritty way to start the season if you ask me.

30 saves by Filip Lindberg and goals from Valtteri Puustinen and Nicolas Almari and the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins are 1-0 to start the season with a 2-1 win at home against the Phantoms Saturday night.

More in a bit.

Rapid Recap

Weekend Preview: Checkers with Ghosts

Comments Off on Weekend Preview: Checkers with Ghosts Posted by on October 15, 2021

I am replacing the old “Gameday” setups for something new, a Weekend Setup which for me is going to be easier to write and put together. Most of what was contained in the Gameday setups will carryover in these, but instead of writing 76 of them, which is a bear when you really don’t want to sometimes, I am only going to run these once or so a week previewing the weekend set of games ahead. Every game that the Penguins play this season will get a mention, so I am not going to miss any game, don’t worry. Your input is vital to these, so let me know what you think.

Also, NEW CATEGORY ALERT – say hello to “Weekend Preview”

Anyway, here we go…

The Setup

The Penguins are off on opening night in the AHL, with 12 teams playing Friday night and just two (Bridgeport visits Hartford) Atlantic Division teams getting started tonight. It’s a rare, but usual Friday at the start of the season, night off for Wilkes-Barre / Scranton.

Wilkes-Barre hosts Lehigh Valley Saturday night at 6:05 and Charlotte Sunday afternoon at 3:05. Charlotte will be in Hershey Saturday before trekking up to visit the Penguins for a Sunday matinee.

It important to note that for Saturday night home games in Wilkes-Barre this season, every game will start at 6:05. Jeff Barrett explained why:

“We made a conscious effort to move our Saturday home games to an hour earlier in order to accommodate our many families who come to the games with young children,” said Penguins CEO Jeff Barrett. “Down the line, we hope to have the opportunity to host some post-game events for these nights, too. Fans should stay tuned on that front.”

Who’s in Goal

It’s probably going to be the Alex D’Orio show Saturday then Louis Domingue Sunday against Charlotte. I’d guess that Felix Sandstrom goes for Lehigh Valley Saturday and Christopher Gibson goes Sunday for the Checkers.

What can we learn about the Penguins this week?

It’s really going to be interesting, because you have one subset of fans that thinks they can be a playoff team and another cadre of fans that don’t have them winning more than 30 games. It’s a young, hungry side playing against a team that is better than them and more established on paper in Lehigh Valley (also a blood rival they will see 11 more times this weekend) and a Charlotte team that didn’t play last year because of COVID and splitting an affiliation with Seattle that looks good, at least on paper. Do you take a 1-1 start right now? Do you feel good starting 0-2? It’s a lot to build off of. It’s going to be a competitive division and every percentage point is going to count. Get off on the right foot and catch some teams sleeping now while you have the home ice advantage.

Who is running the show?

History is going to be made Saturday night because for the first time ever in the AHL, you will have a woman calling penalties. Katie Guay makes her AHL officiating debut donning the orange armbands, joined by Brandon Schrader. Guay is part of nine other female officials hired by the League this year. Joined on the lines with Guay and Schrader, J.P. Waleski and Patrick Dapuzzo will call offsides, break up scrums, handle most of the faceoffs and rule on icing calls. On Sunday, Michael Zyla, another new referee this year is joined by Brandon Schrader, who will stick around after Saturday’s assignment. On the lines Sunday afternoon are Jud Ritter and J.P. Waleski.

Looking ahead…

Pens have a home game next Friday, October 22 against the Hartford Wolf Pack, then a rare Saturday night off, then make their first road trip of the season down the PA Turnpike to Allentown to play the Phantoms next Sunday afternoon. Lehigh Valley returns the favor and visit the Penguins for a Wednesday night game in Wilkes-Barre on October 27. The season series against the Phantoms will be 25% over before November 1!

Give us a Bold Prediction

I still won’t like Sunday afternoon games.

Weekend Preview

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