Saturday's Morning Skate (2/28)

The Phantoms are still on the outside looking in.

While the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Lehigh Valley Phantoms enjoyed a Friday night off, the rest of the East Division was in action - including Binghamton and Hershey squaring off in the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena.

I didn't cover any live hockey last night, but instead got plenty of writing done on various AHL-related topics. Yesterday, I mapped out all the Penguins trade deadline basics into one clear and concise post here online, along with some small cap-saving moves the Pens should look into before dealing away the farm system for a rental forward or defenseman.

Tonight, I'll be live from the PPL Center in Allentown as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms host the Binghamton Senators in a season series that has been downright nasty at times. Two of the league's most penalized teams clash at 7:05 p.m. EST. Full coverage of the tilt with in-game updates on Twitter -> @TonyAndrock_TCG as well as a post-game recap of the action online complete with insights/analysis, roster updates and player reaction.

The AHL Penguins take on the Hartford Wolpack up in Connecticut at the XL Center tonight at 7:00 p.m. EST. Follow @H_P_Hockey on Twitter for in-game updates of that contest.

East Division Standings (through 2/27's games)

1. Hershey Bears: 54GP, 33-14-5-2, 73 points
2. W-B/Scranton: 54GP, 30-18-2-4, 66 points
3. Lehigh Valley: 53GP, 24-22-6-1, 55 points
4. Binghamton: 54GP, 22-26-5-1, 50 points
5. Norfolk: 55GP, 22-27-3-3, 50 points

Eastern Conference Standings

*1. Manchester: 53GP, 33-13-5-2, 73 points
*2. Hershey: 54GP, 33-14-5-2, 73 points
*3. Syracuse: 55GP, 32-15-8-0, 72 points
4. Springfield: 56GP, 31-19-6-0, 68 points
5. Hartford: 55GP, 30-18-4-3, 67 points
6. Worcester Sharks: 53GP, 30-17-4-2, 66 points
7. W-B/Scranton: 54GP, 30-18-2-4, 66 points
8. Providence: 56GP, 28-20-7-1, 64 points
9. Portland: 54GP, 28-22-3-1, 60 points
10. St. John's: 58GP, 26-24-6-2, 60 points
11. Albany: 55GP, 24-22-4-5, 57 points
12. Lehigh Valley: 53GP, 24-22-6-1, 55 points   


Hershey - 5 at Binghamton - 1

In Binghamton, the surging Hershey Bears proved to be too much to handle for the BSens in a 5-1 blowout win for the Bears. Philipp Grubauer stopped all but one of the 29 shots he faced for the victory.

Hershey got a game-high three points (2G-1A) from Casey Wellman, while Kris Newbury and Philippe Cornet added two assists each. Alex Guptill tallied the lone goal for the BSens in the loss.

The BSens look to bounce back in Allentown Saturday night against Lehigh Valley, while Hershey hosts the Albany Devils.

Providence - 2 at Norfolk - 1

In the first of a two-game set at The Scope Arena in Norfolk, the Providence Bruins avoided trouble in the final 1:17 of regulation and held on to their one-goal lead for two points.

David Warsofsky and Colin Stuart gave the PBruins a 2-0 lead before Norfolk's Andrew O'Brien made things interesting 18:43 into the third period, bringing the Admirals within one, but that's as close as they would get as time ran out.

These two teams rematch tonight in Norfolk at 7:15 p.m. EST.

Other Eastern Conference Scores

Hartford - 2 at Manchester - 4
Bridgeport - 3 at Springfield - 5
Albany - 7 at Syracuse - 6
St. John's - 3 at Worcester - 6

Saturday's Eastern Conference Schedule

W-B/Scranton at Hartford, 7:00 p.m. EST
Albany at Hershey, 7:00 p.m. EST
Manchester at Portland, 7:00 p.m. EST
Bridgeport at Springfield, 7:00 p.m. EST
Utica at Syracuse, 7:00 p.m. EST
St. John's at Worcester, 7:00 p.m. EST
Binghamton at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m. EST
Providence at Norfolk, 7:15 p.m. EST