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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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