WBS Penguins to Host Providence in Eastern Conference Semifinals

Adam Payerl (left), Reid McNeill (right) and the Penguins face the Bruins in the 2nd round for the second straight year.

In a bit of a surprise, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will host the second round of the playoffs after eight seeded Norfolk ousted Manchester and seventh seeded Providence won Game Five of their series earlier tonight.

It's a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup as the Penguins and Bruins will meet again in the second round. Everyone remembers what happened last time these two teams met in the playoffs, but in case you didn't a brief synopsis below.

The Penguins fell behind 3-0 in the best-of-seven series after an OT loss in Game Three, but completed the historic comeback and capped it off with a decisive Game Seven win after an unbelievable goaltending performance from Brad Thiessen in the Pens' Game Six OT win.

It was just the third time in the 76-year history of the AHL that a team down 3-0 came back to win the series and the first time ever that the team did so by winning Games Six and Seven on the road. I was live from Providence for those two games and it's certainly something I will never forget.

I'll have a full preview of the series early next week, but here's a quick overview of everything you need to know about the Penguins second round match up.



Eastern Conference Semifinals Schedule

Game One - Friday, May 9th: Providence @ Penguins at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game Two - Saturday, May 10th: Providence @ Penguins at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game Three - Wednesday, May 14th: Penguins @ Providence at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game Four - Friday, May 16th: Penguins @ Providence at 7:05 p.m. ET 
*Game Five - Saturday, May 17th: Penguins @ Providence at 7:05 p.m. ET 
*Game Six - Monday, May 19th: Providence @ Penguins at 7:05 p.m. ET 
*Game Seven - Wednesday, May 21st: Providence @ Penguins at 7:05 p.m. ET 

Know Your Opponent

Providence Bruins - 7th seed, Eastern Conference

Regular Season Stats
40-25-2-9, Third Place - Atlantic Division

Leading Scorers: Alexander Khokhlachev (21G, 36A), Seth Griffith (20G, 30A), Craig Cunningham (25G-22A)

Goalies: Niklas Svedberg (25-15-4, 2.63 GAA, .910 SV%, 2 SO) and Malcolm Subban (15-10-5, 2.31 GAA, .920 SV%, 1 SO)

Penguins Connection

Defenseman Joseph Morrow (6G-23A in 56GP this season) was Pittsburgh's first round draft pick in 2011 (23rd overall) and spent the first 57 games of his rookie season with the AHL Penguins before being moved at the trade deadline to the Dallas Stars organization last year. Morrow was dealt again over the summer, finding a new home with the Boston Bruins organization this season.

Forward Nick Johnson (18G-24A in 51GP this season) was in the Penguins organization from 2007-2011, appearing in 169 regular season games for the AHL Pens, while also suiting up 26 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs as a member of the Pens. Johnson was in the Phoenix Coyotes organization last season and played against WBS while with the Portland Pirates at the tail end of last season.