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Meet the 2008-2009 Penguins |
Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:13 pm |
This is the 2008-2009 Penguins roster with statistics as it looked on Tuesday December 30th, 2008. We are 23-8-1 and in first place in the East after I went on an EHM playing blitz during the last weekend in January. We can score just as well as ever, but goaltending was shaky early on as we stumbled out to a 5-5 start. Certain events, to be outlined in the next post, have solidified that position and primed us to make a real run.
Roster Breakdown
#1 - Karl Goehring - Goaltender
Age: 30
Games Played: 5
Wins: 5
Losses: 0
Ties: 0
GAA: 1.60
SV%: 91.2%
Av. Rat.: 7.80
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran, sent to W-B/S by Pittsburgh upon signing Jason LaBarbera.
#2 - Paul Bissonnette - Defense
Age: 23
Games Played: 26
Goals: 4
Assists: 8
Points: 12
+/-: +11
PIM: 17
Av. Rat.: 7.46
Contract: Pittsburgh
#3 - Tim Songin - Defense
Age: 27
Games Played: 32
Goals: 1
Assists: 13
Points: 14
+/-: +16
PIM: 62
Av. Rat.: 7.66
Contract: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
#4 - Yan Champagne (Drew Bagnall) - Defense
Age: 25
Games Played: 0
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Points: 0
+/-: 0
PIM: 0
Av. Rat.: N/A
Contract: Edmonton
Notes: Cannot be moved as he is property of Edmonton
#5 - Michael Vernace - Defense
Age: 22
Games Played: 25
Goals: 5
Assists: 12
Points: 17
+/-: +3
PIM: 4
Av. Rat.: 7.84
Contract: Edmonton
#6 - Dan Smith - Defense
Age: 32
Games Played: 8
Goals: 1
Assists: 2
Points: 3
+/-: +6
PIM: 4
Av. Rat.: 7.13
Contract: Edmonton
Notes: Veteran
#10 - Micki DuPont - Defense
Age: 28
Games Played: 9
Goals: 1
Assists: 4
Points: 5
+/-: +3
PIM: 10
Av. Rat.: 7.56
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran
#13 - Daniel Carcillo - Left Wing
Age: 23
Games Played: 29
Goals: 12
Assists: 18
Points: 30
+/-: +19
PIM: 94
Av. Rat.: 7.62
Contract: Pittsburgh
#14 - Stephen Dixon - Center
Age: 23
Games Played: 23
Goals: 5
Assists: 10
Points: 15
+/-: +7
PIM: 6
Av. Rat.: 7.43
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Alternate Captain
#15 - David Desharnais - Center
Age: 22
Games Played: 11
Goals: 1
Assists: 4
Points: 5
+/-: -3
PIM: 8
Av. Rat.: 6.73
Contract: Pittsburgh
#16 - Dustin Boyd - Center
Age: 22
Games Played: 14
Goals: 6
Assists: 11
Points: 17
+/-: +7
PIM: 20
Av. Rat.: 8.43
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Acquired in trade with Calgary for Ryan Dube
#17 - Jonathan Filewich - Right Wing
Age: 24
Games Played: 30
Goals: 9
Assists: 13
Points: 22
+/-: +12
PIM: 30
Av. Rat.: 7.57
Contract: Pittsburgh
#18 - Petr Freiberg - Right Wing
Age: 21
Games Played: 22
Goals: 7
Assists: 7
Points: 14
+/-: +6
PIM: 14
Av. Rat.: 7.41
Contract: Pittsburgh
#19 - Dan Collins - Right Wing
Age: 21
Games Played: 8
Goals: 1
Assists: 4
Points: 5
+/-: +1
PIM: 2
Av. Rat.: 6.75
Contract: Pittsburgh
#20 - Ryan Stone - Center
Age: 23
Games Played: 30
Goals: 12
Assists: 13
Points: 25
+/-: +11
PIM: 44
Av. Rat.: 7.73
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Team Captain
#21 - Anton Skorykh - Right Wing
Age: 21
Games Played: 29
Goals: 15
Assists: 12
Points: 27
+/-: +8
PIM: 32
Av. Rat.: 7.52
Contract: Edmonton
#24 - Todd Rohloff - Defense
Age: 34
Games Played: 20
Goals: 2
Assists: 9
Points: 11
+/-: +16
PIM: 10
Av. Rat.: 7.40
Contract: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Notes: Veteran, first $100K+ AHL contract in WBS history
#25 - Maxime Talbot - Center
Age: 24
Games Played: 18
Goals: 4
Assists: 8
Points: 12
+/-: +10
PIM: 16
Av. Rat.: 7.28
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran
#28 - Les Haggett - Left Wing
Age: 28
Games Played: 15
Goals: 3
Assists: 6
Points: 9
+/-: -2
PIM: 14
Av. Rat.: 6.53
Contract: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
#29 - Andy Franck - Goaltender
Age: 27
Games Played: 14
Wins: 10
Losses: 3
Ties: 1
GAA: 2.74
SV%: 88.1%
Av. Rat.: 7.29
Contract: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Notes: Pittsburgh released early in season, but signed by W-B/S.
#31 - Rejean Beauchemin - Goaltender
Age: 23
Games Played: 1
Wins: 0
Losses: 0
Ties: 0
GAA: 3.16
SV%: 88.9%
Av. Rat.: 7.00
Contract: Pittsburgh
#33 - Phil Hartman (Alex Goligoski) - Defense
Age: 23
Games Played: 4
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Points: 0
+/-: +2
PIM: 0
Av. Rat.: 6.75
Contract: Pittsburgh
#36 - Andre Roy - Left Wing
Age: 33
Games Played: 4
Goals: 0
Assists: 2
Points: 2
+/-: +1
PIM: 4
Av. Rat.: 7.55
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran
#37 - Jarko Ruutu - Right Wing
Age: 33
Games Played: 1
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Points: 1
+/-: 0
PIM: 4
Av. Rat.: 7.00
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran, recently assigned
#39 - Marty Murray - Center
Age: 33
Games Played: 7
Goals: 3
Assists: 1
Points: 4
+/-: 0
PIM: 2
Av. Rat.: 6.71
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran
#41 - Kevin Baker - Center
Age: 21
Games Played: 28
Goals: 6
Assists: 8
Points: 14
+/-: +5
PIM: 16
Av. Rat.: 6.71
Contract: Edmonton
#42 - Andrew Hotham - Defense
Age: 22
Games Played: 11
Goals: 1
Assists: 2
Points: 3
+/-: -1
PIM: 4
Av. Rat.: 6.91
Contract: Edmonton
#44 - Rob Scuderi - Defense
Age: 30
Games Played: 24
Goals: 4
Assists: 16
Points: 20
+/-: +19
PIM: 16
Av. Rat.: 7.83
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran
#45 - Mario Carpenter (Nick Johnson) - Left Wing
Age: 23
Games Played: 21
Goals: 8
Assists: 12
Points: 20
+/-: +15
PIM: 16
Av. Rat.: 7.62
Contract: Pittsburgh
#48 - Tyler Kennedy - Center
Age: 22
Games Played: 21
Goals: 7
Assists: 3
Points: 10
+/-: +2
PIM: 30
Av. Rat.: 6.81
Contract: Pittsburgh
#55 - Jeff Campbell - Center
Age: 27
Games Played: 23
Goals: 10
Assists: 16
Points: 26
+/-: +7
PIM: 10
Av. Rat.: 7.78
Contract: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Notes: Veteran
#58 - Kris Letang - Defense
Age: 21
Games Played: 21
Goals: 3
Assists: 10
Points: 13
+/-: +3
PIM: 12
Av. Rat.: 7.43
Contract: Pittsburgh
#62 - Stanislav Neckar - Defense
Age: 33
Games Played: 11
Goals: 1
Assists: 7
Points: 8
+/-: +5
PIM: 11
Av. Rat.: 9.09
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran, on trade block
#70 - Dave Steckel - Center
Age: 26
Games Played: 7
Goals: 1
Assists: 3
Points: 4
+/-: -4
PIM: 12
Av. Rat.: 7.14
Contract: Pittsburgh
Notes: Veteran
LEAGUE REPORT (12/30/2008):
Now at the 32 games played mark, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 23-8-1 sits alone in first place with Albany (21-13-1) trailing by 4 points despite playing three more games. Binghamton (19-14-3) sits alone in 3rd, 6 points off the pace while the Bridgeport (18-11-4) reign may be coming to and end despite their playoff positioning.
Other Division Leaders:
Atlantic - Lowell (18-14-3) 39 Points
North - Rochester (26-8-1) 53 Points
West - Chicago (22-8-2) 46 Points
TEAM LEADERS (Active):
Goals: Anton Skorykh - 15
Assists: Daniel Carcillo - 18
Points: Daniel Carcillo - 30
+/-: Carcillo, Scuderi - +19
PIM: Daniel Carcillo - 94
Shots: Anton Skorykh - 100
Shot Pct: Tyler Kennedy - 28.0%
Rating (skater): Stanislav Neckar - 9.09
Stanislav Neckar is 2nd in the AHL in average rating with an 9.09 in 11 games.
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Where Did They Go? |
Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:33 pm |
I'm finally delivering on that 'Where are they now? post' I promised with the performance of all 2006-07 Penguins in 2007-08. It became a 'where did they go' post since I've played 32 games already in the 08-09 season. News on that to come.
I'll start with the players who made the least contribution (in my judgement) to their new teams the following year and work up toward the big contributors. 2007-08 WBS Pens will fall into another less detailed category at the end.
Out of the Organization:
#9 - Connor James - RW - When I checked up on all these guys on April 15th of 2008, I was unable to find any record that Connor James ever existed. It's my guess that he retired.
#33 - Eric Cairns - D - Cairns signed an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies where he ran into a veteran wall and didn't play a game.
#41 - Jocelyn Thibault - G - Sat on the open market for a long time due to his price tag. Eventually signed by Helsinki H of the Finnish league whose season wouldn't begin (am I right?) until April 30th.
#10 - Troy Bodie - RW - Released by both Edmonton and Buffalo before landing in the Southern Professional Hockey League with the Richmond Renegades. He played 3 games there, had 3 points, and a 6.67 average rating.
#6 - Ryan Lannon - D - Played 14 games for Worcester (2 PTS, 6.79) before being released by San Jose. Landed in Sherbrooke of the LNAH where he played 8 games, registering 4 points (6.63).
#32 - Alain Nasreddine - D - Played 24 games for Sherbrooke (18 PTS, 7.33).
#5 - Jay Rankin - D - Wound up in Norway with Manglerud where he played 27 games (39 PTS, 7.37).
#27 - Dennis Bonvie - RW - Fan-favorite Dennis could not be kept due to financial and veteran restrictions and he wound up signing an AHL deal with Philadelphia (38 GP, 13 PTS, 6.79).
#29 - Wade Skolney - D - Thetford Mines of the LNAH employed last year and got 45 games out of him (18 PTS, 6.93).
#28 - Dave Roche - LW - Roche went overseas to Norway to play for Viking. He was an excellent player there, notching 64 points in 46 games and a 8.96 rating by April 15.
#34 - Matt Carkner - D - Matt also took the road less traveled to the LNAH and joined the Laval Chiefs (48 GP, 30 PTS, 7.23).
#4 - Daniel Fernholm - D - Daniel went back to his Swedish homeland to play in 50 games for Sundsvall (27 PTS, 6.60).
#18 - Eric Sonnenberg - LW - Eric was traded by Wheeling to Bakersfield in an ECHL swap. He played 32 games for the former (22 PTS, 6.56) and 30 for the latter (20 PTS, 6.40).
#51 - Chris Greene - RW - Chris wound up with the Augusta Lynx of the ECHL, played in all 72 games, and scored only 18 points with a 6.22 average rating.
#16 - Simon Ferguson - RW - Simon also found himself playing the whole season in the ECHL with South Carolina. He accumulated 37 points and a 6.49 average rating.
#7 - Sean Collins - C - The enigmatic Mr. Collins, an invite to all training camps, yet a guy who seems to be content playing in Wheeling for less money scored 117 points in 72 games (possibly led the league?) and averaged a 7.79. He finds himself back there this year as well amazingly.
#12 - Tyler Spurgeon - C - Tyler went to another of Edmonton's affiliates in Grand Rapids the following year. He was an integral contributor, playing 77 games, scoring 35 points, and a 6.95 average rating.
#19 - Justin Aikins - C - Aikins was a tryout from Phoenix who got a deal from the Ottawa organization the following offseason. He was assigned to Binghamton and ended up playing all 80 games, scoring 76 points (6.86).
NHLers
#24 - Rob Scuderi - D - Scuderi found himself a scratch most of the time with Pittsburgh, playing in only 3 games, scoring 0 points (6.33).
#8 - Mathieu Roy - D - High scoring D-man played in 28 games for the Phoenix Coyotes in 07-08. Amazingly, he scored 0 points (6.39).
#22 - Chris Thorburn - RW - Thorburn, who was traded to St. Louis midseason in 06-07 spent the whole year with the Blues playing in 43 games, registering just 3 points (6.35).
#37 - Turner Stevenson - RW - Top rated skater Stevenson played 74 games for the Colorado Avalanche, scoring 27 points (7.01).
#36 - Andre Roy - LW - Top notch checking forward played 76 games for Pittsburgh notching only 8 points and a 6.51 average rating.
WBS Pens w Qualifications
#42 - Zach Stortini - RW - Stortini spent most of the year with Edmonton where he played in 45 games, scoring 5 points (6.13) before being sent down for the end of the AHL season upon Oiler elimination.
#3 - Paul Bissonnette - D - The most consistent defenseman in 2007 (+41 rating!) was frustratingly inconsistent in 2008. So much so that he was shuttled between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (19 GP, 0 PTS, 6.47) and Wheeling (16 GP, 12 PTS, 7.50) for much of the year.
#62 - Stanislav Neckar - D - Veteran D-man started the year with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (43 GP, 24 PTS, 7.95) before being traded to the Buffalo system and assigned to Rochester (22 GP, 9 PTS, 7.64).
Full Season WBS Pens
G Drouin-Deslauriers, G Franck, C Stone, RW Filewich, C Talbot, LW Carcillo, LW Nikolishin, D DuPont, C Dixon, C Campbell, C Murray, C Paddock, LW Pivko
***For whatever reason I managed to overlook Erik Christensen who was traded to Toronto early in my first season. I will edit the entry when I get access to EHM.***
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2008-2009 Training Camp and Preseason |
Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:56 pm |
This post will cover the formation of the 2008-2009 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from the first day of training camp to just before opening night on October 8th against the Philadelphia Phantoms.
On the first day of camp Maxime Talbot and Sean Collins were reported to be in the best shape.
On the second day we saw our first scrimmages as Team Blue beat Team Red 2-0 while Team Green tied Team White 2-2. Goal scorers were as follows: Sich(1), Stone (1), Collins (1), Murray (1), Hisey (1), and Conboy (1). Drouin-Deslauriers (17/18) and Franck (23/24) had the best goaltending performances. Positive reports were filed about Todd Rohloff and Stephen Dixon and the most positive about Ryan Stone.
On September 13th, morning scrimmages saw Green knock out Red 5-1 while White beat Blue 4-2. The goal scorers: Carcillo (1,2), Lee (1), Conboy (2), Stortini (1), Songin (1), Edwardson (1,2), Stone (2), Freiberg (1), Maunu (1), and Hisey (2). Jake Moreland (7/7) had the best goaltending performance. Positive reports were filed about Daniel Carcillo, Zach Stortini, Rohloff, and Derek Edwardson and the most positive about Marty Murray and Rob Hisey. After the game Stone received more good news in unsolicited praise from Coach Mullen. After the morning's practices, Pittsburgh called up 15 players to NHL camp and Edmonton called up 5.
2nd Annual I-81 Cup Semifinal
September 14th vs. Binghamton
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5 - Binghamton 1
Goals:
Haggett (Sich, Rohloff)
Labelle (Collins, Pszenyczny)
Songin (Edwardson)
Edwardson (O'Connor, Marr)
Collins (DeFauw, Pszenyczny)
Goaltenders:
Madden (13/13)
Moreland (8/9)
Obviously I was pleased with this effort, but all it shows is that I invited better players to camp than Binghamton. Hershey defeated Syracuse 1-0 in the other I-81 Cup semifinal.
On September 15th, more scrimmaging took place as Green again waxed Red 4-3 while Blue turned it around on White 3-2. Goals were chipped in by: Labelle (1), Collins (2), Haggett (1,2), McMorrow (1), DeFauw (1), Campbell (1), O'Connor (1), and Conboy (3).
Positive reports from the coaching staff came down about Rohloff, Olivier Labelle, Brad DeFauw, and Jeff Campbell with Les Haggett garnering highest praise. Andy Franck and DeFauw got overall camp improvement reports.
I-81 Cup Final
September 15th vs. Hershey
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 6 - Hershey 5
Goals:
Kelly (Sich, McMorrow)
Collins (DeFauw, Labelle)
Edwardson (Giroux, DeFauw)
Pouliot (Kelly, Sich)
Edwardson (DeFauw, Giroux)
Rouleau (Giroux)
Goaltenders:
Franck (8/9)
Hayes (13/17)
On September 17th, more scrimmaging took place as Green and Red skated to a 1-1 tie while Blue fell to White 3-0. Goals scorers on this day were: Pouliot (1), Collins (3,4), and Giroux (1).
Positive reports from the scrimmage included Labelle, Alexandre Giroux, Patrick Pouliot, and Tim Songin with Sean Collins attracting the most positive attention. Labelle, Giroux, and DeFauw got overall camp praise reports while Haggett was characterized as struggling.
On September 18th, coach Joe Mullen gave his report on all players who participated in camp on tryouts. Only Collins and Giroux were given a positive endorsement to potentially acquire. DeFauw, Moreland, McDonald, Edwardson, Jorde, McMorrow, Jozsa, Rouleau, Fraser, and Irwin were given neutral evaluations with the rest negative.
#7 - Sean Collins
Pre-Season Game
September 19th vs. Rochester
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 - Rochester 0
Goals:
Campbell (Sich, Lee)
Kelly (Haggett)
Goaltenders:
Drouin-Deslauriers (15/15)
McDonald (9/9)
This one was largely a battle with gray players as Rochester usually doesn't sign any of their own. After the game Jeff Slate approached the team with interest in joining the squad.
Pre-Season Game
September 21st vs. Milwaukee
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 10 - Milwaukee 1
Goals:
O'Connor (Campbell, Songin)
O'Connor (Campbell, Rohloff)
O'Connor (Songin, Campbell)
Haggett (O'Connor, Songin)
O'Connor (Campbell, X)
Goaltenders:
Madden (9/10)
Franck (9/9)
Goals not credited were scored by Penguin gray players. Chris Lee chipped in two assists and Campbell one on those goals.
#12 Sean O'Connor
On September 22nd, reinforcements arrived in the form of players reassigned by Pittsburgh and Edmonton. Many new faces were added to the mix, many would eventually be released outright and some would come back to haunt the baby Pens.
Edmonton Assigns:
RW Alexsandr Bumagin
LW Tyler Doig
LW Liam Reddox
RW John Snowden
RW Zach Stortini
Pittsburgh Assigns:
D Paul Bissonnette
D Micki DuPont
D Phil Hartman (Alex Goligoski)
D Tommi Leinonen
D Kris Letang
C Stephen Dixon
C David Desharnais
C Tyler Kennedy
C Ryan Stone
C Maxime Talbot
RW Jonathan Filewich
RW Petr Freiberg
C Dave Steckel
RW Greg Hornby
LW Mario Carpenter (Nick Johnson)
LW Daniel Carcillo
G Chris Beckford-Tseu
G Rejean Beauchemin
On the 23rd, I took stock of the roster and sent Beauchemin, Leinonen, and Hornby to Wheeling. I noticed that 2006-07 contributors Rob Hisey and Justin Donati were sent by Edmonton to Milwaukee, meaning Edmonton actually has 3 AHL affiliates. At this point we had 8 veterans on the roster.
Pre-Season Game
September 23rd vs. Hartford
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 - Hartford 1
Goals:
Bumagin (Campbell, Reddox)
Letang (Stone)
Bumagin (Stone, Reddox)
Goaltenders:
Beckford-Tseu (12/12)
Drouin-Deslauriers (20/21)
Noting that we had cornered the market on goalies with hyphenated last names, Edmonton decided to clean out their AHL closets, releasing Snowden, Bumagin, Doig, Stortini, and Drouin-Deslauriers. At least this year I'll have a new goalie to curse!
Pre-Season Game
September 26th vs. Chicago
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 - Chicago 3 (OT)
Goals:
Reddox (Stone, Bissonnette)
O'Connor (Carcillo,Stone)
Carpenter (Songin, Desharnais)
Stone (Dupont, Carpenter)
Goaltenders:
Madden (11/13)
Franck (20/21)
The AHL season preview was released on September 28th. We were disrespected again though not as bad as last year, ranked as the 22nd best team out of 27! Maxime Talbot was noted as our team MVP and Todd Rohloff was the key new addition. Defending Calder Cup Champion Hamilton was ranked 7th, arch-rival Bridgeport 4th, and the Rochester Americans 1st as usual.
On September 29th, more roster augmentations occurred as the Oilers backfilled their compliment of contributed players while Pittsburgh sent three more. These moves increased our veteran total to 12.
Edmonton Assigns:
C Kevin Baker
RW Anton Skorykh
D Andrew Hotham
D Dan Smith
C Brad Winchester
Pittsburgh Assigns:
RW Ryan Dube (Alexander Daigle)
C Marty Murray
RW Andre Roy
Pre-Season Game
October 1st vs. Houston
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5 - Houston 3
Goals:
Freiberg (Hornby, Dixon)
Dube (Hartman, DuPont)
Baker (PS)
Hotham (Stone)
Dube (Winchester, EN)
Goaltenders:
Beckford-Tseu (8/11)
Franck (16/16)
After the game Franck was injured in practice for 3 weeks with a hip issue. He had been stellar in the pre-season, with a 0.91 GAA and 96.4 Save percentage. Also, Talbot was named the 3rd best center in the AHL while Winchester and Murray were ranked 6th and 8th respectively. Dube was named the #2 right wing.
On 10/4 Pittsburgh assigned veteran defenseman Rob Scuderi to the team after a year with the big club. Edmonton retaliated it seemed by releasing Winchester. On the 5th, the Penguins and Montreal completed a trade which sent Leinonen to the Habs for the rights to Steve Bernier. Edmonton then assigned young defenseman Michael Vernace which was much appreciated.
Pre-Season Game
October 5th vs. Iowa
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 - Iowa 4 (SOL)
Goals:
Carcillo (Skorykh, Murray)
Skorykh (Carcillo, Murray)
Filewich (Carcillo, Leinonen)
Kennedy (Baker)
Goaltenders:
Madden (9/12)
Beckford-Tseu (11/12)
On 10/7, opening day, the Leinonen deal confirmed so I sent Phil Hartman down to Wheeling before placing Franck on IR.
2008-2009 Opening Day Roster - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
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2008 Postseason and Offseason |
Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:43 pm |
| [ Currently: Playing EHM -2008 Preseason ] |
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This post is going to have far fewer details than last season's due to lazy notekeeping on my part unless I can dig up the Calder Cup playoff matchups. It covers a lot of ground though and will take us up to the next training camp.
PLAYOFFS
Game 1: April 18th vs. Albany
A 3-1 lead after one period gave reason for optimism in this new playoff season. That optimism was wiped out however by poor defense and goaltending over the final 40 minutes as the Penguins dropped Game 1 4-3. Jassen Cullimore, Rob Hisey, and Daniel Carcillo were the first period goal scorers. Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers stopped 21 of 25 shots. The Penguins were outshot by Albany 25-23 and converted 0 of 2 powerplays. We were 7 for 8 on the penalty kill.
Game 2: April 20th vs. Albany
The Penguins bounced back from their disastrous showing in Game 1 in a big way. Petr Freiberg scored twice to lead the charge as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton set the tempo and headed to Albany with a home split and the momentum of a 4-2 victory. Micki Dupont and Les Haggett also scored for the home team as they broke open a tie game by outscoring Albany 3-1 in the 3rd period. Drouin-Deslauriers made 16 saves to pick up the win. The Penguins outshot the Riverrats 36-18 and converted 1 of 10 powerplays. We were 4 for 5 on the penalty kill.
#18 - Petr Freiberg
Game 3: April 22nd vs. Albany
For the third straight playoff game, the Penguins controlled play at the outset and started strong, carrying a 3-2 into the first intermission. Once again they'd be unable to hold that lead and suffered another disappointing 4-3 loss. Drouin-Deslauriers, to his credit, face 31 shots and stopped 27, but this effort wasn't good enough. Phil Hartman got on the playoff scoresheet along with Hisey (2), and Jonathan Filewich. The Penguins outshot the Riverrats 33-31 but converted 0 of 7 powerplays. We were a costly 5 for 8 on the penalty kill.
Game 4: April 24th vs. Albany
I usually wouldn't consider playing EHM to be nervewracking, but this was my introduction to sudden death playoff hockey with something on the line. A loss would put us in a 3-1 hole, a win might propel us to a series victory. For 10:11 the teams battled back and forth in overtime before DuPont (2) found the back of the net on the powerplay from Bryce Lampman and Jeff Campbell. Hisey (3) and Carcillo (2) had built a 2-0 lead early that we saw wither away once again before the dramatic overtime period. Drouin-Deslauriers really saved the day on a number of occasions, stopping 30 of 32 shots. The Penguins outshot the Riverrats 52-32 and converted 1 of 6 powerplays. We were 6 for 6 on the penalty kill, a huge factor in the final outcome.
Game 5: April 26th vs. Albany
Hoping to carry over momentum and head home with a series lead, the Penguins instead reverted to the team that would blow leads of 2-0 and 4-3 in dropping a 5-4 overtime decision. The game tying goal was scored with just 1:58 left by George Parros, better known for his fighting ability. The game winner was scored just 55 seconds into overtime on the powerplay. Albany also had a shorthanded goal in the game. Drouin-Deslauriers turned in a disgraceful effort, stopping just 18 of 23. Goals by Carcillo (3), Stephen Dixon, filewich (2), and Haggett (2) were wasted. The Penguins outshot the Riverrats 44-23 and converted 2 of 8 powerplays. We were 8 for 9 on the penalty kill.
Game 6: April 28th vs. Albany
Facing elimination for the first time this year, something got into the Penguin defense. Drouin-Deslauriers shocked not only me, but also his teammates, and the league by posting a 2-0 playoff shutout victory. He stopped all 22 shots he faced as the Penguins managed to squeeze 2 out of 40 past Gerald Coleman. The team was disciplined, taking only one minor penalty while Albany committed 8. Two of those eight were converted by the Penguins to tie the series back up at 3. Freiberg (3) and Haggett (3) were the goal scorers.
#40 - Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers
Game 7: April 30th vs. Albany
Game seven is an interesting proposition, a winner-take-all matchup. Sure you want to win every single time you take the ice, but it isn't always realistic. This has to happen. It looked very much like all of the previous playoff games for 50 minutes. Penguins jump out to a 2-0 lead before allowing 2 goals in 2 minuts late in the 2nd. However this episode took on a different twist as the 3rd period became a defensive struggle. Marty Murray would give the Penguins some margin for error with 7:29 left as he converted the 8th Penguin powerplay into their 2nd powerplay goal. Drouin-Deslauriers would make it stand up, blocking 17 of 19 and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would have their first series win under GM Bob Williams. Carcillo (4) and Haggett (4) scored the early goals as the Penguins outshot the Riverrats 43-19. We were 2 for 4 on the penalty kill.
Our first series win in hand, we'd be off to face our arch nemesis Bridgeport[/b] in the quarterfinals. This would present a new challenge as the Islanders made sure they were fully loaded.
Game 8: May 3rd vs. Bridgeport
This game, and the entire series really, were an absolute whitewash. We were only in it briefly in the 2nd period and then for about 4 minutes in the 3rd before a late Bridgeport goal with 3:50 remaining sealed the deal. Freiberg (4), Hartman (2), and Hisey (4) found the net for the visitors but it wasn't enough as Drouin-Deslauriers was peppered by 44 shots, but was only able to stop 39. The Penguins only mustered 21 shots on goal and converted 1 of 4 powerplays. We were 5 for 8 against the well oiled machine that is the Bridgeport powerplay.
Game 9: May 5th vs. Bridgeport
On a hunch I decided to start Rejean Beauchemin in goal in Game 2 on the road. This didn't prove to be the best strategy as he allowed 3 goals on his first 9 shots. Luckily for us, we had already scored four times by then on goals by Cam Paddock, Murray (2), Cullimore (2), and Campbell. Drouin-Deslauriers was summoned to restore some order to the game and did so, stopping 14 of 15 before he was forced to leave the game with an injury. With Beauchemin now the only option, a Les Haggett goal that gave us a 5-4 first period lead would be wasted as we'd garner no offense over the last 40 minutes and lose 7-5. At least we didn't let the powerplay beat us this time, going 8 for 8 on the penalty kill.
After the game it was learned that Drouin-Deslauriers' injury was a sprained wrist that would keep him out of the next game at home.
Game 10: May 7th vs. Bridgeport
Despite the general feeling that we were in big trouble, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton didn't fold, producing 2-1 lead, 3-2 lead, and 4-4 tie situations. However, goaltending was simply subpar, Beauchemin stopped only 17 of 23, and the Penguins were down to their last breath after a 6-4 loss. The Bridgeport powerplay was devastating, converting 3 out 5 times. The Penguins weren't too shabby themselves, making it happen 2 out of 6 times, but goals by Filewich (3), Campbell (2,3), and Haggett (6) wouldn't stand up. They'd be the last goals we'd score in the 2007-2008 season.
Making matters worse, team point leader Jeff Campbell was lost for Game 4 with a hip injury sustained in what was supposed to be a light practice cycle.
Game 11: May 9th vs. Bridgeport
The Penguins were eliminated here and seemingly gave up simultaneously. No goals were scored to please the sellout crowd. Drouin-Deslauriers stopped 20 of 22, which wasn't bad, but nothing he could do would change the outcome of this one. The Penguins outshot the Sound Tigers 29-22 but converted 0 of 9 powerplays. We were 6 for 6 on the penalty kill.
FINAL TEAM STATISTICS
This season came to a disappointing end but there were some highlights. We certainly did a better job of putting pucks in the net and it seemed like all we were missing was solid goaltending. This will no doubt be an offseason priority. Les Haggett led all playoff scorers with 14 points, a good sign to see from an AHL contracted player.
#28 - Les Haggett
League Playoffs:
These are only the events that I distinctly remember happening.
In other first round matchups, Bridgeport wiped out Hershey in a sweep and huge upset occured in the West where Grand Rapids took out the seemingly invincible defending champion Rochester in 5 games.
After beating the Penguins Bridgeport proceeded to sweep Portland to get to the Calder Cup Finals where they would face Hamilton who got by Omaha.
The finals saw a huge upset as Hamilton goalie Carey Price caught fire and shut down the vaunted Bridgeport attack in a 5 game series win. The Calder Cup returns to Hamilton for the first time in team history.
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OFF-SEASON
The aftermath of the 2007-2008 season and the offseason player movement for 08-09 would best be served in list format. Here is just about everything of note that I recorded, admitting that its far less detail than last year, my apologies.
In short I can say that I resigned only Les Haggett before the Calder Cup champ was determined and that the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup.
June
6/20 - Jay Grahame signed as scout (Florida - SPHL)
6/21 - Jeff Sharples signed as goalie coach (Princeton - NCAA)
6/26 - Tim Songin signed to a $33K 1 yr contract
6/28 - Chris Madden signed to a $46.5K 1 yr contract, delayed. Carcillo named 2007-2008 Fans Player of the Year
6/29 - Defenseman Chris Lee signed to a $42K 1 yr contract
6/30 - Jeff Campbell resigned to a $65K 1 yr contract with numerous incentives
July
7/1 - Schedule Released, Opening Day at Philadelphia October 8. New Budget Assigned at $352K. Assistant Coach Daniel Moore signed. Greg Jacina approached team about camp invite
7/9 - Signed veteran defenseman Todd Rohloff to a $104K 1 yr contract
7/11 - Loaned Gio Flamminio to Victoria (ECHL) for the entire season to offset costs
7/28 - Shopped around Chris Lee to gauge interest, none so far
August/September
8/1 - Pittsburgh released Miguel Beaudry
8/6 - Approached by Scott Sheppard about joining team
8/30 - Sent out 11 camp invites including Jake Moreland
8/31 - Approached by Jason Deskins and Dan Wildfong about playing for WBS
9/1 - Moreland gets real contract offer from Manchester. Invite Sean Rankin to camp
9/5 - Jake Moreland accepts training camp invite
9/6 - Other 10 original invites accept camp offer
9/8 - Sean Rankin accepts camp offer
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PRE-CAMP
Invited to Camp:
LW Brad DeFauw #60
C Alexandre Giroux #61
LW Sean Collins #7
C Derek Edwardson #62
RW Olivier LaBelle #63
D Dave Pszenyczny #64
D Jason Jozsa #65
D Steve Marr #66
D Alexander Rouleau #67
G Alan Hayes #68
G Jake Moreland #69
G Sean Rankin #70
Open Tryout:
RW Chris Bergen #80
D Brad Fraser #81
C Owen Kell #83
G Joe McDonald #84
RW Sean McMorrow #85
D Todd Panchyson #86
C Patrick Pouliot #87
LW Rob Sich #88
C Andrew Conboy #89
G John Swanson #90 (cut)
D Ryan Jorde #91
D Luke Irwin #92
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Final Tune-Up for the Postseason |
Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:58 pm |
| [ Currently: Listening to Rover Radio ] |
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We continued to fine tune for the playoffs in this sim and a lot of the success from the previous sim carried over as we extended our winning streak to 12 games before resting our top scorers for the final two games. We also attempted to retain tryout goaltender Chris Madden by signing him away from the Huntsville Havoc without a clear understanding of the transfer rules, but more on that later.
March 30th vs. Toronto
On the road in Toronto, the Penguins put together a solid 5-2 victory. Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (22-14-4) stopped 17 of 19 shots. He was backed by goals by Bryce Lampman (6), Andrei Nikolishin (13), Micki DuPont (11), Jassen Cullimore (6), and Marty Murray (22) The Penguins outshot the Marlies 30-19 and converted 2 of 10 powerplays. We were 5 for 6 on the penalty kill.
After the game we recalled Sean O'Connor from Wheeling and sent down Paul Bissonnette who just can't seem to get it going this season.
March 31st vs. Hershey
Madden (4-0-0) captained the Pens to their 3rd straight shootout win, this time over Hershey, after a 3-3 tie. Madden stopped 22 of 25 over the first 65 minutes. Micki DuPont (12,13) was the offensive star of the game scoring two goals, including one with just 1:25 to go in the game, and assisting on one other. Lampman (7) got Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the board late in the first and had two assists. Jonathan Filewich assisted on all three goals. The Penguins outshot the Bears but converted 0 of 5 powerplay opportunities. We were 3 for 4 on the penalty kill.
#10 - Micki DuPont
After the game it was decided to offer Madden a $35K salary to stay with the team for the rest of the year as well as a $55K salary for the following season and a $5K signing bonus. We also offered Sean O'Connor on a loan to Wheeling to attempt to get $4.2K back for his services.
April 1st vs. Toronto
A frustrating game which came extremely close to being one of our worst losses of the season was turned around with 13 seconds left in the game when Filewich (24) found the back of the net on a 6 on 4 advantage. In overtime, Phil Hartman (13) made it worthwhile as he converted a 4 on 3 man advantage into a game winner. Drouin-Deslauriers (23-14-4) made 20 saves out of 23 chances and Murray (23) and Maxime Talbot (10) scored game tying goals over the course of the 2nd period. The Penguins outshot the Marlies 50-23 and converted 2 of 8 powerplay opportunities. We were 3 for 5 on the penalty kill.
After the game, we got the news that our contract finagling had been accepted by all interested parties...except the league. Apparently the trade deadline in Mid-March goes for signings and loans as well. Madden's acceptance said that he would be transferred on June 15th which was a huge disappointment. As a result, I rescinded the offer. Looks like it's the Drouin-Deslauriers and Beauchemin show from here on out for better or worse.
April 4th vs. Binghamton
7,054 came to see another solid win against a subpar opponent in Binghamton. Strangely enough, the Penguins were outshot in the game despite dressing a top offensive lineup but were able to convert at a higher percentage in a 4-2 victory. A 3-0 lead built by Ryan Stone (10), Nikolishin (14), and Lampman (8) almost vaporized late in the 3rd before Murray's 24th of the year iced it with 3:45 to go. Drouin-Deslauriers (24-14-4) made 22 saves on 24 shots to earn the victory. The Penguins were outshot by the Senators 24-21 and converted 1 of 7 powerplay opportunities. We were 6 for 7 on the penalty kill.
April 6th vs. Philadelphia
Three of our last five games would be against Philadelphia and a 5-3 victory, our 10th straight, was a nice way to enter that stretch of schedule. Drouin-Deslauriers (25-14-4) didn't play great, but he played well enough with 20 saves. He didn't allow a goal over the final 27:07 of the game after Philadelphia tied it at 3. Nikolishin (15), Murray (25), and Carcillo (32) continued to their hot streaks to stake Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to that 3-2 lead. Jeff Campbell would eventually be the hero, notching his 25th and 26th of the year over 7 minutes apart in the 3rd period to create a comfortable margin. The Penguins outshot the Phantoms 35-23 and converted 1 of 7 powerplay opportunities. We were 6 for 7 on the penalty kill.
April 7th vs. Manchester
Wary about facing top goalie Jason LaBarbera who embarrased Penguin shooters in the previous meeting, I went into this one with expectations lowered and certain veterans out of the lineup. I was pleasantly surpised by other sources of offense including Mitch Maunu (11,12) who led all scorers with 2 goals. Stone added two assists to go with goals by Rob Hisey (10), Les Haggett (18), and Nikolishin's (16) 4th in the last 6 games. Rejean Beauchemin (6-1-0) made a rare appearance and stopped 21 of 22 shots to increase his stock heading into the postseason. The Penguins outshot the Monarchs 36-22 and converted 2 of 5 powerplay opportunities. We were 10 for 10 on the penalty kill.
After the game, teams who were not part of the playoff field of 16 began to send down players to their AHL affiliates involved in playoff chases. We received former Penguin Zach Stortini from Edmonton to fill the slot they had left open since the Neckar trade to Buffalo. Other teams made out far better. Once believed to be fading Bridgeport got three of their stars back for the final 3 games and the playoffs with Peter Mackie (86 points in 58 games) headlining the group along with Andrej Sekera.
April 11th vs. Philadelphia
This would be the last regular season game we'd take seriously this season and despite not applying a lot of pressure on the Phantoms, key shots went in in a 4-2 victory. Campbell (27,28) keyed the attack with first period goals while Hartman (14), and Petr Freiberg (20) chipped in during the 2nd. Drouin-Deslauriers (26-14-4) stopped 19 of 21, both coming coming during Philadelphia powerplays. The Penguins were outshot by the Phantoms 21-20 but converted 2 of 6 powerplay opportunities. We were 8 for 10 on the penalty kill.
#55 - Jeff Campbell
April 13th vs. Philadelphia
The final two games of the year could only be described as bringing a knife to a gunfight. We sat as many of our highest rated players as we could in this one and after falling behind 5-0, encouraged many of our players to start fights. Paul Bissonnette and Justin Donati took us up on that offer and both received 17 minutes of penalties for their troubles. Donati had the stones to go up against Penguin and fighting legend Dennis Bonvie. I'll have to check on the outcome sometime but I have a pretty good idea how that one went. Carcillo (33) and Hartman (15) scored late meaningless goals and Beauchemin (6-2-0) got smacked around to the tune of 5 goals on 20 shots before being lifted for Drouin-Deslauriers who stopped all 3 shots he saw. Despite all this, the Penguins outshot the Phantoms 35-23 but converted 0 of 4 powerplay opportunities. We were 8 for 10 on the penalty kill.
April 14th vs. Binghamton
The final game of the year brought out a sellout crowd of 8,143 to see the playoff bound Penguins, but GM Bob Williams disappointed everyone by sitting the entire second line and platooning goaltenders in a 4-3 defeat. Beauchemin started the game but allowed a goal on the 7th shot he faced early in the 2nd period. Drouin-Deslauriers (26-15-4) was inserted to stay sharp and didn't play well, letting in 3 out of 15. Newcomer Zach Stortini notched his first Penguin goal of the season to give the home team a 1-0 lead early. Two goals by Libor Pivko (18,19), the usual odd veteran out, gave the Pens a 3-2 lead early in the 3rd which they promptly coughed up. The Penguins outshot the Senators 35-22 and converted 1 of 4 powerplay opportunities. We were a dreadful 4 for 6 on the penalty kill.
Well we go into the playoffs without a real playoff goaltender, but we think we can score enough to get by Albany who we went 4-2-2 against during the regular season, outscoring them 29-17 in the process. Bridgeport had shown some signs of weakness before their reinforcements arrived and the entire Atlantic (I call it New England) Division is weak compared to the rest of the league. Its possible one of our goaltenders could catch fire and we make a run at eventual demolition by the Amerks in the Calder Cup finals. We did score the 3rd most goals in the league (Rochester, Bridgeport) and were penalized the 2nd least (Rochester).
LEAGUE REPORT (04/15/2008):
With the regular season complete, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stands alone in 2nd place at 47-26-7. Bridgeport (59-19-2) finished in 1st place, 19 points ahead. Our first round playoff opponentAlbany (45-28-7) finished with 97 points, 4 fewer than us. Rounding out the East Division playoff participants is Hershey (42-31-7) with 91 points.
Other Division Winners:
Atlantic - Springfield (43-30-7) 93 Points
North - Rochester (70-7-3) 143 Points
West - Chicago (54-18-8) 116 Points
TEAM LEADERS (Active):
Goals: Daniel Carcillo - 33
Assists: Jeff Campbell - 47
Points: Jeff Campbell - 75
+/-: Jeff Campbell - +25
PIM: Daniel Carcillo - 234
Shots: Jeff Campbell - 226
Shot Pct: Libor Pivko - 26.8%
Rating (skater): Jassen Cullimore - 8.47
Daniel Carcillo is tied for 28th in the AHL in goals.
Jeff Campbell is tied for 20th in the AHL in assists.
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