REPORT CARD: #WBSPens October Grades

Wednesday, October 30, 2013
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins started off the season with a six game winning streak that lasted most of the first month of the 2013-14 season. The AHL Penguins ended October on a sour note with a shootout loss to the Binghamton Senators and a regulation home loss to the Norfolk Admirals, finishing the month with a 6-1-0-1 record. They'll look to bounce back and start off November with a win this weekend with a home-and-home series with the Hershey Bears.

Highland Park Hockey's player of the month for October is...

Brian Gibbons - Grade A+
October Stats: 8 games played (5G, 9A, +11, 13 PIM)

Gibbons was far and away the best player for the Pens this month, leading the team in goals, assists and plus/minus. Gibbons has been scoring in every situation as he's tied for the team lead with two power play goals and second on the team with one shorthanded goal. He uses his speed and shiftiness to create offensive chances much like he did last year. The real only difference, besides a more consistent showing in the first month, is the puck is going in the net after Gibbons touches it. 

Grades for the rest of the AHL Penguins players after the jump.

Penguins Finish October With 2-1 Loss to Admirals

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Coming into tonight, the Penguins had outscored their opponents 17-4 in the third period. So with the score tied at 1-1 through 40 minutes of regulation, I'm sure Pens fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena weren't too worried headed into the third period tied tonight. Unfortunately for the fans, and players alike, it was the Norfolk Admirals with a third period goal and the 2-1 win.

The Penguins loss, the first regulation defeat of the year, ends the first month of the season with a 6-1-0-1 record. A tight-checking, low-scoring, hard-hitting game tonight. In other words, another AHL East Division match up.

The Penguins jumped out to a 1-0 lead courtesy a Brian Gibbons breakaway goal. Gibbons snuck behind the Admirals defenders in the neutral zone and caught a long breakout pass from Simon Despres en route to a five-hole goal on Admirals goaltender John Gibson.

The Admirals got off to a slow start after a lengthy overnight bus trip from Glens Falls. But they got it together midway through the first frame and tied the game at 1-1 with a late first period power play goal.

From there, things got physical. Bobby Farnham dropped the gloves late in the first period, Pierre-Luc Leblond fought twice in the second period and Dominik Uher finished off the night's fight card in the third period. Like I said, just another East Division grudge match.

The Admirals go-ahead goal in the third period came after the Penguins were unable to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. The sustained Admirals pressure was too much and Maxime Sauve sticked home a puck past Peter Mannino down low and in-tight to give the Admirals the 2-1 lead.

The Penguins had their chance with 2:38 left in regulation when Rickard Rakell was assessed a double-minor for high sticking, but a too many men on the ice call on the Penguins 48 seconds into the man advantage stymied any chance the Pens had of tying it.

Roster Notes

Peter Mannino got the start in net tonight, after Jeff Deslauriers played in Binghamton last night. Forward Tom Kostopoulos (lower body) missed his third straight game. On the blue line, Reid McNeill was in for Nick D'Agostino.

Lines:

Uher - Gibbons - Zolnierczyk
Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Thompson
Payerl - Drazenovic - Conner
Leblond - Sill - Farnham

Despres - Samuelsson
Harrington - Mikkelson
Dumoulin - McNeill

#AHL GAME PREVIEW: #WBSPens Host Norfolk Tonight at 7:05 P.M. EDT


The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (WBS) host the Norfolk Admirals (NOR) tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena. This will be the first of eight meetings between to the two teams. Puck drop scheduled at 7:05 p.m. EDT.

Highland Park Hockey's coverage of tonight's American Hockey League (AHL) action starts at 6:00 p.m.

Follow all of tonight's action on Highland Park Hockey's official Twitter! Follow @H_P_Hockey for in-game updates and breaking news.

You can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram!
 
Expected Starting Goaltenders

WBS - Jeff Deslauriers (5-0-1, 2.47 GAA, .901 SV%, 0 SO)
NOR - John Gibson (2-1-2, 1.53 GAA, .952 SV%, 1 SO)

For the Admirals

The Admirals are coming off a 3-0 shutout of the Adirondack Phantoms last night up in Glens Falls. While the Penguins had to travel roughly 90 minutes back to Wilkes-Barre overnight, the Admirals had a nearly 250 mile trek overnight to get in town for tonight's game. The Admirals might be a bit sluggish to start tonight.

Former Pens defenseman Alex Grant returns to Wilkes-Barre wearing the opponent's jersey for the first time since Grant was traded by the Pens to the Anaheim Ducks organization this off season for forward Harry Zolnierczyk.

Expected lines for the Admirals:

Antoine Laganiere - Charles Sarault - Zack Stortini
Joseph Cramarossa - Chris Wagner - Jamie MacQueen
John Kurtz - Rickard Rakell - Steven Whitney
Maxime Sauve - Peter Holland - Max Friberg

Kevin Gagne - Mat Clark
Nolan Yonkman - Garnet Exelby
Ryan Parent - Alex Grant
 
For The Penguins

After a loss, you can expect a lineup change or two for tonight. Maybe Reid McNeill enters on the blueline for Nick D'Agostino or Mike Carman takes a spot away from someone on the 4th line. Other than that, nothing to get too panicky over.

Expect the five players who came out to practice after the main session was over Thursday will not be playing tonight: goaltender Eric Hartzell, defensemen Harrison Ruopp and Peter Merth and forwards Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Zlobin.

Expect one of Bobby Farnham, Mike Carman or Pierre-Luc Leblond to be the healthy forward scratch. On defense, either Reid McNeill or Nick D'Agostino will be the odd man out on the blue line.

Expected lines for Pens

Harry Zolnierczyk - Brian Gibbons - Chris Conner
Tom Kuhnhackl - Andrew Ebbett - Adam Payerl
Dominik Uher - Nick Drazenovic - Paul Thompson
Pierre-Luc Leblond - Zach Sill - Bobby Farnham/Mike Carman

Simon Despres - Philip Samuelsson
Scott Harrington - Brendan Mikkelson
Brian Dumoulin - Nick D'Agostino/Reid McNeill

#WBSPens Fall 4-3 in Shootout

Friday, October 25, 2013
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins overcame a two goal deficit in the third period to tie things up at 3-3, but it wasn't enough as the Pens fall 4-3 in a shootout tonight to the Binghamton Senators. The shootout loss is the first loss for the Penguins in the 2013-14 season (6-0-0-1).

In the first period, while on a 5-on-3 power play, the Binghamton Senators and their top-ranked power play made some noise, scoring two goals in 18 seconds to take a 2-0 lead in the first period. BSens goals were scored by Stephane Da Costa and Matt Puempel. 

The Penguins drew within a goal early in the second period while on a two man advantage of their own. Tom Kuhnhackl picked a corner from the slot after a nice series of passes between Brendan Mikkelson and Brian Gibbons set up Kuhnhackl's 4th goal of the season.

The Penguins got a five minute power play in the second courtesy a Michael Sdao crosschecking major, but it was the BSens who took advantage as Cole Schneider stole a puck at the WBS blue line and beat Jeff Deslauriers through the five hole on a shorthanded breakaway late in the 2nd period.

The Penguins appeared to score right after the BSens shorthanded goal when Paul Thompson smacked home a rebound in the crease, but after the referee had a discussion with the linesman, the goal was waived off due to interference with the goaltender. Tough break for the Pens, who headed to the locker room trailing 3-1.

The Penguins had out scored opponents 15-4 in the third period entering the night and added two more goals early in the final frame tonight to get it to 3-3.

First, it was Harry Zolnierczyk pouncing on a loose puck in the offensive zone and catching BSens goaltender Nathan Lawson out of position. It was Zolnierczyk's 4th goal of the season, and Brian Gibbons' 2nd assist of the night, bringing Gibbons' scoring total to 13 points (4G-9A) through seven games.

Adam Payerl was strong around the net and along the boards all night. It payed off for him in the third period as Nick Drazenovic sent a puck on net and Payerl was able to stuff it home past Lawson to tie the game 3-3 just 5:45 into the final frame.

The Pens got a 5-on-3 power play chance late in the period but were unable to score, sending the game to overtime. Both teams had their chances in the extra session but the shootout decided the outcome tonight.

Stephane Da Costa and Matt Puempel scored for the BSens and Nathan Lawson stopped all four Pens shooters to give the BSens the win.

The Pens return home to face former WBS defenseman Alex Grant and the Norfolk Admirals tomorrow night.


Roster Notes

Team captain Tom Kostopoulos did not play tonight and is still recovering from a lower body injury he suffered last Saturday night in Worcester. Eric Hartzell, Peter Merth, Harrison Ruopp and Anton Zlobin are also rehabbing injuries. Mike Carman and Reid McNeill were the only healthy scratches.

Zolnierczyk - Gibbons - Conner
Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Payerl
Uher - Drazenovic - Thompson
Leblond - Sill - Farnham

Despres - Samuelsson
Harrington - Mikkelson
Dumoulin - D'Agostino

#AHL GAME PREVIEW: #BSens Host Undefeated #WBSPens Tonight at 7:05 P.M. EDT

The Penguins visit Binghamton for the first time since last season's first round playoff series (shown above),

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (WBS) take on the Binghamton Senators (BSens) tonight up in the southern tier of New York at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena (BCVMA). This will be the first of eight meetings between to the two teams. Puck drop scheduled at 7:05 p.m. EDT.

Highland Park Hockey's coverage of tonight's American Hockey League (AHL) action starts at 6:00 p.m.

Follow all of tonight's action on Highland Park Hockey's official Twitter! Follow @H_P_Hockey for in-game updates and breaking news.

You can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram!
 
Expected Starting Goaltenders

WBS - Jeff Deslauriers (5-0, 2.40 GAA, .908 SV%, 0 SO)
BSens - Nathan Lawson (3-1, 2.17 GAA, .930 SV%, 0 SO)

For The BSens

Forwards Mark Stone (two-weeks) and Andre Petersson (day-to-day) are not going to play tonight, and leading scorer Mika Zibanejad has been called up to Ottawa (NHL). On defense, Troy Rutkowski and Ben Blood will be healthy scratches.

Expected lines for BSens

Shane Prince - Stephane DaCosta - Cole Schneider
Mike Hoffman - Jim O'Brien - Buddy Robinson
Corey Cowick - Wacey Hamilton - David Dziurzynski
Matt Puempel- Jakub Culek- Darren Kramer

Mark Borowiecki - Cody Ceci
Fredrik Claesson - Tyler Eckford
Michael Sdao - Chris Wideman

For The Penguins

A quick recap of the roster moves heading into this weekend. Forwards Chris Conner and Harry Zolnierczyk are back with the AHL Penguins. Forward Jayson Megna has been called up to Pittsburgh and looks to make his NHL debut tonight on the Pens third line with Brandon Sutter and Tanner Glass. The AHL Penguins loaned defenseman Dustin Stevenson to Wheeling, leaving the Pens with seven healthy defensemen.

Expect the five players who came out to practice after the main session was over yesterday will not be playing tonight: goaltender Eric Hartzell, defensemen Harrison Ruopp and Peter Merth and forwards Tom Kostopoulos and Anton Zlobin.

Expect one of Bobby Farnham, Mike Carman or Pierre-Luc Leblond to be the healthy forward scratch. On defense, either Reid McNeill or Nick D'Agostino will be the odd man out on the blue line.

Expected lines for Pens

Harry Zolnierczyk - Brian Gibbons - Chris Conner
Tom Kuhnhackl - Andrew Ebbett - Adam Payerl
Dominik Uher - Nick Drazenovic - Paul Thompson
Pierre-Luc Leblond - Zach Sill - Bobby Farnham

Simon Despres - Philip Samuelsson
Scott Harrington - Brendan Mikkelson
Brian Dumoulin - Nick D'Agostino

Thursday's #WBSPens Practice Update

Thursday, October 24, 2013

More bodies shuffling in and out of Coal Street, as forwards Chris Conner and Harry Zolnierczyk (pictured above on the right with Zach Sill and Alain Nasreddine) returned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for practice this morning. Forward Jayson Megna practiced with the Pittsburgh Penguins this morning after being called up to the NHL for the first time in his professional career.

That leaves the AHL Penguins with 13 healthy forwards, as team captain Tom Kostopoulos didn't practice with the team at practice this week, signaling his status for this weekend's games are much in doubt. Kostopoulos, along with forward Anton Zlobin and defenseman Peter Merth and Harrison Ruopp came out onto the ice at Coal Street after the team's practice ended to work with assistant coach Nasreddine.

Goaltender Eric Hartzell participated in the team shootout at the end of practice and stayed on the ice with the four other roster players who didn't practice with the team today. It was the first time he's skated in awhile, so I don't expect he'll be ready this weekend either.

The AHL Penguins take on the Binghamton Senators in New York tomorrow night and look for their seventh straight win to start the 2013-14 season. The BSens come into this weekend's action trailing the Penguins by four points for first place in the AHL's East Divsion.

Here's what the lines looked like at practice today:

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Payerl
Zolnierczyk - Gibbons - Conner
Uher - Drazenovic - Thompson
Leblond - Sill - Farnham/Carman

Despres - Samuelsson 
Harrington - Mikkelson
Dumoulin - D'Agostino
McNeill - Stevenson 

Deslauriers - Mannino

The Deep Get Deeper 10/23

Wednesday, October 23, 2013
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have re-assigned forwards Harry Zolnierczyk and Chris Conner to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). Both Conner and Zolnierczyk should be ready for this weekend's games Friday night in Binghamton and Saturday at home against Norfolk.

The move gives the AHL Penguins 14 healthy forwards in addition to team captain Tom Kostopoulos, who didn't practice with the team at Coal Street today. Here's what the forward lines looked like before the forward call ups and Kostopoulos' injury:

Zolnierczyk - Ebbett - Kuhnhackl
Uher - Drazenovic - Kostopoulos
Megna - Gibbons - Conner
Leblond - Sill - Payerl

If Kostopoulos doesn't practice tomorrow and is not available this weekend, then one of Paul Thompson, Bobby Farnham or Mike Carman will take his place in the lineup.

If you missed today's WBS Penguins practice update, defenseman Dustin Stevenson practiced with the team for the first time today. Stevenson missed the entire preseason and first six games of this season after sustaining a lower body injury in the AHL Penguins training camp.

Simon Despres, who was a late scratch Sunday afternoon in Manchester, practiced in full today and was paired with Stevenson.  Not sure if that means that Despres is not ready to return to the lineup, or if Stevenson is ready to play and will be in the lineup this weekend. I'll have the latest from practice tomorrow, but here's what the pairings looked like at practice today:

Samuelsson - Dumoulin
Harrington - Mikkleson
McNeill - D'Agostino
Despres - Stevenson

Despite the recent injury to Kostopoulos (lower body), an already healthy and undefeated Penguins team adds even more depth up front heading into this weekend's AHL action. The only other roster players not practicing with the team right now are Eric Hartzell (undisclosed), Peter Merth, Harrison Ruopp and Anton Zlobin (upper body).

Check back tomorrow for an update after tomorrow's practice.

Wednesday's #WBSPens Practice Update


The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins got back on the ice for practice earlier this morning after having the day off yesterday.

Team captain Tom Kostopoulos did not practice today. Kostopoulos (lower body) left Saturday night's game in Worcester and didn't return. He didn't play Sunday in Manchester and with only 12 healthy forwards on the ice at practice today, I'd expect a forward from the Wheeling Nailers might be on his way to Wilkes-Barre this week if Kostopoulos doesn't skate again tomorrow. Christiaan Minella seems to be the consensus pick as the guy that would come up if a recall is necessary.

Other players on the roster not participating in practice today were goaltender Eric Hartzell, defensemen Peter Merth and Harrison Ruopp and forward Anton Zlobin.

Defenseman Dustin Stevenson, who missed the entire preseason and regular season to this point with a lower body injury, practiced with the team today for the first time. I saw Stevenson during WBS training camp walking around wearing a protective boot.

Simon Despres, who was a surprise late scratch on Sunday, was practicing with the team today. Good to see guys getting healthy on the blue line.

I'll have more on the WBS Penguins heading into this weekend's games with Binghamton and Norfolk. Here's a look at the lines from practice today:

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Payerl
Uher - Drazenovic - Thompson
Carman - Gibbons - Megna
Leblond - Sill - Farnham

Samuelsson - Dumoulin
Harrington - Mikkelson
McNeill - D'Agostino
Despres - Stevenson

Deslauriers - Mannino

Penguins, Gibbons Grind Out 4-3 OT Win to Remain Perfect in 2013-14

Sunday, October 20, 2013
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finished off a three game weekend with a 4-3 overtime win over the Manchester Monarchs this afternoon, and remain a perfect 6-0-0-0 on the season.

Today, it was Brian Gibbons who took control of the game. Gibbons figured in on all four Pens goals today and with two goals and two assists, Gibbons' 11 points (4G-7A) in six games is good for the team lead in scoring.

Kuhnhackl To The Rescue, #WBSPens Improve to 5-0

Saturday, October 19, 2013
With two goals tonight, Tom Kuhnhackl has three goals in his last two games.
The Penguins power play came into tonight's game 5-for-15, but they needed five power plays before they clicked on the man advantage tonight and with not much time to spare.

With Sharks defenseman Matt Tennyson in the box for holding with 2:20 left in regulation and the game tied at 2-2, Tom Kuhnhackl fired a wrist shot from the slot with 39.6 left in regulation to break the tie and give the Pens a 3-2 win tonight in Worcester. It was Kuhnhackl's 2nd goal of the game and his third in the last two nights.

Kuhnahckl's first goal of the night tied the game at 1-1 1:48 into the final frame. Andrew Ebbett and Adam Payerl added assists on the Pens first goal of the night.

After Jon McCarthy gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead early in the third period, Andrew Ebbett tallied his first goal of the season to once again bring the Penguins from behind, tying the game at 2-2. Ebbett's shot went bar down on Sharks netminder Harri Sateri, who finished the night with 20 saves on 23 shots.

Not the best 60-minute performance by the Penguins tonight, but as good teams often do, they find a way to stay in the game and capitalize on a late power play to remain undefeated at 5-0-0. Peter Mannino made his WBS Penguins debut and played pretty well, stopping 28 out of the 30 shots he faced tonight. The Penguins travel overnight to Manchester, New Hampshire to take on the Monarchs tomorrow afternoon. 

Penguins Double Up Phantoms, Remain Undefeated

Friday, October 18, 2013
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins came out and put together their most dominant performance of the season to date tonight, jumping ahead on the Adirondack Phantoms early and not letting up. With the 6-3 victory tonight, the Penguins improve to 4-0 on the season and look to continue the play the way they did tonight.

This was also the most physical game of the four the Penguins have played, and it should come as no surprise that it came against the Phantoms, the Philadelphia Flyers top minor league affiliate. The two teams had some pretty exciting battles in the early 2000's and with the Phantoms moving their team back to Pennsylvania in Allentown for the 2014-15 season, this is the year for the Pens and Phantoms to rekindle their rivalry.

More on the rivalry between these two teams later this weekend, as I spoke with rugged Phantoms forward Zack Fitzgerald and AHL Penguins team captain Tom Kostopoulos about the way these two teams play the game and how their similar styles cause them to butt heads from time to time.

Recap of tonight's game after the jump.

#WBSPens Host Phantoms

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins take on the Adirondack Phantoms as the Penguins and Flyers top minor league affiliates in the American Hockey League (AHL) meet at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., but Highland Park Hockey and The Town & Country Gazette's coverage of tonight's AHL action starts at 6:00 p.m. EDT.

Follow along on Twitter (@H_P_Hockey) for live in-game updates! Also be sure to check out Highland Park Hockey on Facebook and Instagram!

Expected Goaltenders

Penguins - Jeff Deslauriers (3-0, 2.01 GAA, .917 SV%)
Phantoms - Cal Heeter (0-1, 3.08 GAA, .900 SV%)

Expected Penguins Lineup

Tom Kuhnhackl - Andrew Ebbett - Adam Payerl
Jayson Megna - Brian Gibbons - Paul Thompson
Dominik Uher - Nick Drazenovic - Tom Kostopoulos
Pierre-Luc Leblond - Zach Sill - Bobby Farnham

Scratches: Eric Hartzell, Peter Merth, Reid McNeill, Mike Carman, Paul Thompson, Harrison Ruopp and Dustin Stevenson

Thursday's #WBSPens Practice Update

Thursday, October 17, 2013
Bobby Farnham looks to make his season debut at home tomorrow night.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins practiced at The Ice Rink at Coal Street this morning in preparations for their first three-game weekend of the season. Here's some notes from today's practice:
  • Goaltender Eric Hartzell didn't practice with the team again today as he continues to recover from an undisclosed injury.
  • Other roster players not on the ice today: Peter Merth, Dustin Stevenson and Harrison Ruopp.
  • I know it's only three games into the season, but is it possible that forward Paul Thompson has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff? Thompson played opening night against Bridgeport, but was a healthy scratch in both of the Pens' games this past weekend. Thompson has been at practice this week but hasn't seen regular time on a line at all. He filled in for team captain Tom Kostopoulos today on the right wing and was used as a penalty killer while the team was working on their power play today. I'm not saying Thompson is in the doghouse, but with Zolniercyk up with the NHL Penguins and only 14 healthy forwards with the AHL club, it's becoming more noticeable who coach John Hynes likes for his lineup this weekend.

Lines:

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Payerl
Megna - Gibbons - Conner
Uher - Drazenovic - Kostopoulos/Thompson
Leblond - Sill/Carman - Farnham

Despres - Samuelsson
Mikkelson - Harrington
Dumoulin - D'Agostino
McNeill

Deslauriers - Mannino

Former #WBSPens Captain Mormina Now With #SyrCrunch

Monday, October 14, 2013
Former Penguin Joey Mormina is now an alternate captain with the Syracuse Crunch. Photo courtesy of Amy's WBS Picture Page. 
When the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last played in Syracuse against the Crunch, it was in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals this past June.

Last year's Penguins team captain, defenseman Joey Mormina, now finds himself on the opposite bench when the Penguins and Crunch play. Mormina signed a two year AHL deal with the Crunch in the offseason and played his first game against his former team Sunday night.

"I still have a lot of good friends with that team," Mormina said after the Pens 6-3 win in Syracuse last night. "I'm still close with a lot of guys in that organization."

Mormina appeared in 284 games over the course of four seasons with the AHL Penguins, including 51 playoff games. He became the Pens' 18th captain in franchise history last February during the 2012-13 season. There are plenty of memories of Mormina in the #3 Penguins jersey.

Now that Mormina is on a rival team, one that ended the Penguins season last year, it should come as no surprise that the rivalry against Mormina is already mounting.

"A little bit of chirping in warmup and over the course of the game, all good stuff," Mormina said, though he declined to comment any further as to who he was chirping with on the Penguins, who initiated it, etc.

It was a physical game last night and Mormina was on the ice during the peak of the physicality early in the third period. That should also come as no surprise, not that Mormina was the cause of the rough stuff but its in the way he plays the game as a physical defensive defenseman.

All in all, Mormina feels like he's in a good spot playing with the Crunch, which is why he signed there in the offseason. Here's what he had to say about his first impressions of his new teammates.

"Alot of young players, great organization top to bottom," Mormina said of his new teammates in Syracuse. "I think the expectations here are to compete for a championship every year."

While Mormina was a Penguin defenseman over the course of four seasons, he will certainly be looking to beat the Pens the next time the two teams play on November 6th. It will be his return to Wilkes-Barre and his first game at the Mohegan Sun Arena since leaving the organization last summer.

"My last game with Wilkes-Barre was in June so I've had a lot of time to transition away from the organization," Mormina said, adding, "I have fond memories of being there but from here on out, it's all about winning here and beating them every time we play."


Five Goal Third Aids in #WBSPens 6-3 Win

Sunday, October 13, 2013
It's only three games into the 2013-14 season, but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have certainly been a third period team thus far. In these first three games, the Pens have out scored their opponent 10-1 in the final frame. Tonight, they tallied five third period goals, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to win 6-3.

Team captain Tom Kostopoulos scored his first two goals of the season, both re-directed pucks in front of the net on the power play. Nick Drazenovic, Jayson Megna, Harry Zolnierczyk and Dominik Uher also added goals for the Penguins tonight, who are a perfect 3-0-0-0 on the season.

Gibbons' Speed Too Much For Bears, WBS Wins 3-1

Saturday, October 12, 2013
Newcomer Andrew Ebbett centers the WBS Penguins top line.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins broke open a tied game late in the third period to take a 3-1 win over the Hershey Bears tonight in the 15th home opener in franchise history for the Penguins. 

Brian Gibbons stole a puck at his own blue line with just under three minutes left in regulation and turned on the jets, springing himself to a breakaway. With a Bears defender on his tail, Gibbons decided to do something you don't typically do on a breakaway: pass. 

The pass couldn't have worked out any better as Gibbons slid a puck between his own legs and past the defender to an open Chris Conner, who made no mistake and went forehand to backhand past Bears netminder David Leggio to give the Pens a 2-1 lead. 

Dominik Uher set up Zach Sill in the slot 85 seconds later to seal the deal for the Penguins, who are now 2-0 so far this season. The Penguins travel to Syracuse to take on the Crunch tomorrow evening up in New York.


Saturday's #WBSPens Weekend Preview


The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins host the Hershey Bears tonight, the Pens' first home game of the 2013-14 season. They will then travel up to Syracuse, New York for a game against Joey Mormina and the Syracuse Crunch.

Here's some quick notes about the roster heading into this weekend's games:

  • Bobby Farnham skated in a regular practice jersey Friday and is ready to return to the lineup. Where he fits into this lineup remains to be seen. There are 15 healthy forwards on the roster right now. 
Zolnierczyk - Ebbett - Kuhnhackl
Payerl - Drazenovic - Kostopolous
Megna - Gibbons - Conner
Leblond - Sill - Uher
Farnham - Carman - Thompson

  • Peter Mannino is in town and with the team and will probably back up Jeff Deslauriers in the home opener tonight.
  • On defense, Brian Dumoulin is ready to return to the lineup and the blue line looks pretty solid heading into the weekend:
Despres - Samuelsson
Harrington - Mikkelson
Dumoulin - D'Agostino
If you missed it yesterday, my AHL preview for the Town & Country Gazette (T&CG) was published on their main page.

The T&CG is expanding their AHL coverage, so in addition to providing you with all the latest on the AHL Penguins, I will also be talking to some of the Penguins more prominent opponents this season as well.

Highland Park Hockey is now the Town & Country Gazette's daily source of American Hockey League (AHL) news, features and more!  



 
 

UPDATE: Thursday's #WBSPens Practice

Thursday, October 10, 2013
With only one goaltender on the ice, AHL Penguins video Coach Samson Lee was in net as the team's second goaltender today. Is that a one-day PTO?
Eric Hartzell missed his second straight practice today and with Peter Mannino traveling back to Wilkes-Barre after playing in an ECHL preseason game last night, the Penguins only had one goaltender.

They needed a second for practice today and the guy who stepped up was Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins video coach Samson Lee. I would imagine that Mannino will be in town for tomorrow morning's practice at Coal Street.

Forward Bobby Farnham skated at practice today wearing a red no-contact jersey. At the end of practice, Pierre-Luc Leblond showed Farnham a thing or two about the rough stuff at center ice. After practicing with Steve MacIntyre last season and now Leblond this year, I'm sure Farnham has done a bit of learning in regards to the fisticuffs. I wasn't able to speak with head coach John Hynes about Farnham's availability this weekend, but he needs to practice in full capacity tomorrow to have a chance to crack this Penguins forward lineup.

The lines are still being formed and I expect there to be some competition for spots all throughout the lineup. Here's what I saw during drills today:

Zolnierczyk - Ebbett - Kuhnhackl/Thompson
Kostopoulos - Drazenovic - Payerl/Uher
Megna - Gibbons - Conner
Leblond - Sill - Uher/Payerl
Carman - Farnham

Despres - Samuelsson
Mikkelson - Harrington
D'Agostino - Dumoulin
McNeill

Deslauriers

Some other notes from practice:
  • Peter Merth didn't practice today after Merth left Tuesday's practice early and didn't return. He's been ruled out this weekend, leaving the team with seven healthy defensemen.
  • Anton Zlobin joined the team towards the end of practice and skated with the guys after the coaches were finished with practice. I remember at Development Camp back in July that an early timetable was a November return for Zlobin, another forward to add to the depth at the position. 
  • The Penguins practice again Friday morning at The Ice Rink at Coal Street before their home opener Saturday night against the Hershey Bears.

UPDATE: Tuesday's #WBSPens Practice

Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Dumoulin (left) and Leblond (right) prepare for some 1-on-1 battles in the corner.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were back on the ice at Coal Street this morning in preparation for their home opener against the Hershey Bears on Saturday night.

The news of the day is that Brian Dumoulin returned to the ice and practiced with the team today and was paired with rookie Nick D'Agostino. With a full week of practice, I don't see why Dumoulin wouldn't be ready for the AHL Pens' next game Saturday night. He got a physical test after practice as he battled forward Pierre-Luc Leblond with some 1-on-1 battles in the corners and behind the goal line.

I noticed today that Leblond, the Penguins 'Mustache Boy' for October is only eight days into the month and the mustache is already coming in nicely. I'm not sure if he was joking about it coming off the ice today, but Leblond said he couldn't wait for November and the chance to keep it growing for "Movember".

Peter Merth exited practice early today and did not return. Bobby Farnham and Peter Mannino didn't skate today either, though Wheeling Nailers beat writer Shawn Rine tweeted today that Mannino will be in the Nailers lineup tomorrow night.

The forward lines were tinkered with a little bit, as the two guys who scored a pair of goals in last Saturday's 5-2 win over Bridgeport, that being Harry Zolnierczyk and Chris Conner, swapped lines.

Adam Payerl, who was scratched in the season opener, took Paul Thompson's spot on the line with Nick Drazenovic and team captain Tom Kostopoulos. Interesting to see Thompson rotated in on the fourth line today, while PTO forward Mike Carman was rotated in on the third line.

There's still three more practices the rest of this week leading up to Saturday's home opener, and I'm sure the lines will change between now and then. But here's what I jotted down at practice today: 

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Zolnierczyk
Payerl - Drazenovic - Kostopoulos
Megna/Carman - Gibbons - Conner
Leblond/Thompson - Sill - Uher

Despres - Samuelsson
Mikkelson - Harrington
D'Agostino - Dumoulin
McNeill - Merth


Conner Terminates Tigers, WBS Pens Win 5-2

Saturday, October 5, 2013
In Bridgeport, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins open the season with a 5-2 win as the Penguins score three third period goals to break a tie game open for their first win on the 2013-14 season.

Scott Harrington put the Penguins up 1-0 in the first period after Tom Kostopoulos nudged a loose puck to him on the near point after an offensive zone faceoff. Harrington buried his shot for his first regular season pro goal. Harrington scored a goal in his first AHL playoff game last spring.

The first fight of the season was a battle as Pierre-Luc Leblond and Brett Gallant dropped the gloves at center ice midway through the first period. Both guys stood in and went toe-to-toe for a good minute or two.

In the second period, the Sound Tigers came out flying and tied the game at 1-1 when Anders Lee beat Jeff Deslauriers to a rebound chance 1:07 into the middle frame. The Sound Tigers took the lead at 2-1 about four and a half minutes later while on the power play. Krill Kabanov received a cross ice pass from Dallas Jackson and snuck the puck past Deslauriers at the near post.

The Penguins got a late power play in the 2nd period and cashed in with 2.1 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 2-2. Andrew Ebbett fed a pass to Brendan Mikkelson on the point, whose shot was rebounded in by Chris Conner to even things up before the second intermission.

Conner kept things going in the third period, giving the WBS Penguins a 3-2 lead after finishing up a 2-on-1 play with Brian Gibbons at the 12:24 mark. Just 11 seconds later, Harry Zolnierczyk stole a puck out of the corner and flung one past Nilsson to give the Pens a 4-2 lead.

Zolnierczyk got his second of the night to give the Pens a 5-2 lead as he finished off a 2-on-1 play of his own with Tom Kuhnhackl. Gibbons got the lone assist on the fifth and final goal of the evening.

Jeff Deslauriers got the start in net tonight and picked up the win, stopping 22 of the 24 shots he faced. Chris Conner and Harry Zolnierczyk both tallied two goals. Brian Gibbons added two assists and Scott Harrington pinched in with a goal.

Here's what the Penguins lineup looked like tonight:

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Conner
Thompson - Drazenovic - Kostopoulos
Zolnierczyk - Gibbons - Megna
Leblond - Sill - Uher

Despres - Samuelsson
Mikkelson - Harrington
D'Agostino - McNeill

Jeff Deslauriers

Scratches: Peter Merth, Brian Dumoulin, Mike Carman, Harrison Ruopp and Adam Payerl

Preview: #WBSPens Season Opener Tonight

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins begin their 15th season in the American Hockey League tonight as they take on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Webster Bank Arena in Connecticut. Puck drops at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

Here's the Penguins lineup for tonight:

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Conner
Thompson - Drazenovic - Kostopoulos
Zolnierczyk - Gibbons - Megna
Leblond - Sill - Uher

Despres - Samuelsson
Mikkelson - Harrington
D'Agostino - McNeill

Jeff Deslauriers

Scratches: Peter Merth, Brian Dumoulin, Mike Carman, Harrison Ruopp and Adam Payerl

#WBSPens Team Preview Part Three - Forwards


Here's my final breakdown of the 2013-14 WBS Penguins roster. If you missed either of the first two parts on the goaltenders or defensemen, I attached links to both directly below:

#WBSPens Team Preview Part One - Goaltending

#WBSPens Team Preview Part Two - Defense
 
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins bolstered their forward core by adding a little bit of everything for 2013-14. The Pens brought back Tom Kostopoulos and named him captain of the 2013-14 team. They also added forwards Chris Conner, Andrew Ebbett, Nick Drazenovic, Harry Zolnierczyk, Mike Carman and Pierre-Luc Leblond.

Add that to returning forwards Brian Gibbons, Paul Thompson, Jayson Megna, Tom Kuhnhackl, Zach Sill, Adam Payerl, Dominik Uher and Bobby Farnham and you can already see the depth they have at the AHL level.

Here's what the line combinations look like to start the season:

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Conner
Thompson - Drazenovic - Kostopoulos
Zolnierczyk - Gibbons - Megna
Leblond/Payerl - Sill - Uher/Carman

Injured list: Bobby Farnham (day-to-day, lower body)

The forward core is certainly the strength of this team heading into this weekend's season opening game against Bridgeport. It will be interesting to see how the lines gel in the first few games and the minor changes that lineup undergoes throughout the season due to injuries/call-ups/suspensions/performance etc.
  • Tom Kuhnhackl will play his first meaningful hockey game since last December. 
  • Chris Conner and Tom Kostopoulos are former WBS players making their return to the Penguins this year. 
  • Nick Drazenovic and Andrew Ebbett look to lead the offensive attack and Jayson Megna, Paul Thompson and Brian Gibbons look to add a secondary scoring touch.
  • Harry Zolnierczyk, Pierre-Luc Leblond, Zach Sill, Adam Payerl, Dominik Uher, Bobby Farnham and Mike Carman look to disrupt the other team's offense with tight forechecking and physical play.

#WBSPens Prepare For Tomorrow Night's Season Opener

Friday, October 4, 2013

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins held one final practice at Coal Street before boarding the bus to Bridgeport this afternoon. I spoke with head coach John Hynes, forward Tom Kostopolous and defenseman Nick D'Agostino after practice today and will have their thoughts coming in my hockey season preview over at the Town & Country Gazette. Some notes from practice:

  • Brian Dumoulin, Bobby Farnham and Peter Mannino didn't skate today and won't play tomorrow night. 
  • Brian Gibbons left practice early today after taking a stick up high, but head coach John Hynes said he was fine and will be ready to go tomorrow.
  • Jeff Deslauriers will get the start in net tomorrow night for the Penguins against the Sound Tigers. 
  • The Penguins held their 'Mustache Boy' shootout at the end of practice. The final two was a bit of a surprise as veteran forwards Chris Conner and Pierre-Luc Leblond were the last two shooting. Conner made his final attempt, leaving Leblond as the team's Mustache Boy for October. 
  • Here's a final look at the lines before the team left for Connecticut:

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Conner
Thompson/Payerl - Drazenovic - Kostopolous
Zolnierczyk - Gibbons - Megna
Leblond - Sill - Uher/Carman

Samuelsson - Despres
Mikkelson - Merth/Harrington
McNeill - D'Agostino

Deslauriers - Hartzell

Wednesday's #WBSPens Practice UPDATE: New Lines, New Faces

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

AHL Penguins head coach John Hynes instructs the team before a drill at practice this morning.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins practiced at Coal Street earlier today with some more new bodies.

Simon Despres and Chris Conner, both recently re-assigned by Pittsburgh, skated today with the team. Not skating with the WBS Penguins today were defenseman Brian Dumoulin and Harrison Ruopp and forwards Zach Sill and Bobby Farnham.

Here's a look at the lines today:

Kuhnhackl - Ebbett - Conner
Thompson - Drazenovic - Kostopolous
Zolnierczyk - Gibbons - Megna
Lebond - Uher - Payerl
Carman

Samuelsson - Mikkelson
McNeill - Harrington
D'Agostino/Despres - Merth

With Dumoulin and Sill not skating today, the lines are certainly not set in stone. The team practices tomorrow and Friday morning before traveling to Bridegport, Connecticut for Saturday night's season opener.

If you missed them earlier this week, my four-part breakdown of the 2013-14 WBS Penguins is already in mid-swing:

Part One - Goaltending
Part Two - Defense

#WBSPens Team Preview Part Two: Defense

Tuesday, October 1, 2013
The Penguins organization has stockpiled blue line prospects in recent years and is starting to see the competition it has created. The pipeline is rich. Here is where all the organization's defensemen stand right now:
NHL: Kris Letang (IR), Brooks Orpik, Paul Martin, Rob Scuderi, Matt Niskanen, Robert Bortuzzo, Deryk Engelland, Olli Maatta, Harrison Ruopp
AHL: Simon Despres, Brian Dumoulin, Philip Samuelsson, Brendan Mikkelsson, Scott Harrington, Reid McNeill, Nick D'Agostino, Peter Merth (AHL)  
Sent back to WHL: Derrick Pouliot
Simon Despres was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) yesterday, and while he could be called back up to the NHL at any time, the pure fact he didn't join forward Beau Bennett (re-assigned to closer Wheeling, WV) signals his arrival time back to Pittsburgh could be a little longer than Thursday.

With Letang on injured reserve and Despres in the AHL, it looks like Olli Maatta will get an NHL tryout. Remember, Maatta can play the first nine games and still be returned to his junior team. That 9-game stint should be enough to get the picture of the blue line in the organization a little more clear.

It was interesting to see Harrison Ruopp on the NHL roster as well. I see him joining the AHL Penguins once Ray Shero and company re-shape the roster in the coming days.

For the WBS Penguins, they'll look to replace their veteran presence on the blue line from last year in Dylan Reese and Joey Mormina.
  • They brought in a veteran in Brendan Mikkelson, who played on the Syracuse Crunch last year.  
  • They have Philip Samuelsson stepping up into a more prominent role after a much improved Samuelsson took to the ice last season. 
  • Brian Dumoulin is looking to build off a solid rookie season. 
  • Rookies Reid McNeill, Scott Harrington and Nick D'Agostino bring a variety of strengths to the table.
As the roster stands right now, the AHL Penguins look to have a very solid top four of Despres, Dumoulin, Samuelsson and Mikkelson with a pair of former London Knights on the third pairing in Harrington and McNeill.

D'Agostino impressed me during the preseason with great exits from the defensive zone and crisp passes. He also has a great shot from the point and would be a great fit on WBS' 2nd power play unit.