 |
Power
Play |
9TH
- 18.3 |
Penalty
Killing |
15TH
- 83.4 |
FORWARDS |
ANDREW
EBBETT |
18-54-72
(-3) |
GEOFF
PLATT |
32-33-65
(+9) |
JASON
KING |
29-30-59
(-7) |
DEFENSEMEN |
BRIAN
SALCIDO |
11-42-53
(+11) |
BRUNO
ST. JACQUES |
8-20-28
(-6) |
JOE
CALLAHAN |
1-23-24
(+2) |
GOALTENDERS |
MIKE
McKENNA |
24-13-1
(3 SO)
2.72 GA
.908 PCT |
|
GERALD
COLEMAN |
8-7-1
(2 SO)
2.91 GA
.896 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Portland
vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
|
1 |
MAY
14 |
PORTLAND
0 - WB/SCRANTON 2 |
SEED
3 |
2 |
MAY
15 |
PORTLAND
3 - WB/SCRANTON
2 |
SEED
1 |
45-26-5-4
(99) |
3 |
MAY
18 |
WB/SCRANTON
2 - PORTLAND 5 |
47-26-3-4
(101) |
| |
4 |
MAY
20 |
WB/SCRANTON
4 - PORTLAND 3 |
|
| |
5 |
MAY
21 |
WB/SCRANTON
1 - PORTLAND 2 |
|
| |
6 |
MAY
23 |
PORTLAND
3 - WB/SCRANTON 4 (OT) |
|
| |
7 |
MAY
24 |
PORTLAND
2 - WB/SCRANTON 3 |
|
|
WB/Scranton
Wins Series 4-3 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW
|
| by Brian Jennings & Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Even
though the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finished first
in their division and the Portland Pirates third in their
segment, only two points separated the two clubs in the
overall standings. The two teams faced off twice in 2007-08
and each club won a game. The Penguins won the last contest
on February 8, 2008 when Penguins’ netminder John Curry
pitched a 3-0 shutout.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Brian Jennings)
The Penguins not only conquered the AHL’s East Division
playoffs, but they also conquered the state of Pennsylvania
as well having defeated inter-state rivals, the Hershey
Bears and the Philadelphia Phantoms. The Penguins defeated
both teams in five games each.
Former Portland Pirates star Tim Brent continues to be
the man for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on offense. Brent currently
leads all playoff scorers with nine goals and eight assists
(17 points). His nine goals are also the best in the league.
Not to be outdone is his teammate rookie defenseman Alex
Goligoski, who is tied for third in the league with 14
points. Chris Minard, Ryan Stone, and Kurt McLean are
also in the top 20 in playoff scorers as well. Minard
is tied for second in goals scored with eight.
Rookie goaltender John Curry had a stellar regular season
finishing fifth overall in goals against (2.23) and tied
for thirteenth in save percentage (.915). So far so good
this post-season as Curry continues to play well. Currently
he is twelfth in the league with a 2.48 goals against
average and is thirteenth with a .911 save percentage.
The power play has been the key so far in the playoffs.
The Penguins currently rank first overall going 13 for
62 (21 percent), and have scored the third most on the
power play. The penalty killing unit so far has been the
Penguins Achilles’ heel having allowed 10 of 44 chances
(77.3 percent). That’s the second worst percentage of
the 16 teams that made the playoffs.
Brian’s Prediction: Penguins in five. Portland took on
and defeated what could arguably have been the best team
in the playoffs in the Providence Bruins. Defense is how
Portland has managed to defeat their opponents so far
having allowed more goals than they have scored 34-30.
Scranton however has done it on both ends of the ice having
outscored their opponents 43-26.
Look for the Phantoms to use their power play well once
again in defeating the Pirates in a tough series.
Portland Pirates (Tom Schettino)
The Pirates are truly giant-killers after they knocked
off the AHL’s best regular season club in the Providence
Bruins and best the second place team in their division,
the Hartford WolfPack, in the opening round.
Health has been an issue for Portland as they have played
26 skaters and three goaltenders in the playoffs thus
far. They have countered by getting good production from
their top two lines and their depth players have come
through in the clutch. Seven players have registered game-winning
goals in just eight wins.
Forwards: Bobby Ryan is the key up front. Ryan
scored a critical goal in the club’s Game 3 rally against
the Bruins and saved the Pirates from falling to a three-game
deficit. Ryan, Andrew Ebbett, Geoff Platt, Drew Miller
and Jason King form the majority of the Pirates top two
lines and must be stopped by Wilkes-Barre if they want
to win the series. Captain Tyler Bouck has been in and
out of the lineup and he will be missed if unavailable.
Stephen Dixon, Michael Birner, Mike Hoffman, Darryl Bootland,
Simon Ferguson, Matt Caruana and Petteri Wirtanen are
the forwards who play most of the time. Sometimes coach
Kevin Dineen has mixed and matched his lineup for certain
situations, but most of the time decisions have been made
based on health.
Defensemen: Brian Salcido had 53 points in the
regular season, but has been limited to two in the playoffs.
The club has been able to get by two teams without Salcido,
but he is going to be needed against the Penguins. Joe
Callahan, Brendan Mikkelson, Brett Festerling and Jay
Leach form the backbone of the blue line. Bruno St. Jacques
would normally be included in the group, but he has suffered
through injuries in the playoffs. With St. Jacques out
John de Gray has been playing.
Goaltender: Jean-Sebastien Aubin is the most valuable
player on the club to date. Aubin started in each game
in the first series, but was banged up due to the rigors
of that series and had to miss the first two games of
the Providence series. Neither Mike McKenna nor Gerald
Coleman took advantage of the opportunity and both goaltenders
were sub-par. Aubin returned after the first two Portland
losses and won the next four games to raise his record
to 8-1.
What to expect: Portland will need to monitor Brent,
Minard and Goligoski in the next round, but they just
beat a team with a roster which was stacked more than
Wilkes-Barre’s currently is. Portland is not receiving
a lot of love around the AHL and some are treating their
win over Providence as a fluke, rather than a product
of a team that has explosive scoring, fine depth players
and an NHL-experienced goaltender who is hot.
Portland’s path to the conference finals has been more
impressive than the Penguins and it is extremely possible
the ‘Pens might become the latest team the Pirates keelhauls.
I don’t expect this series to go any fewer games than
six and I, for one, will not be shocked if the Pirates
"upset" the Penguins.
|
|
| Game
1 |
Portland
0 - WB/Scranton 2 |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
WB/Scranton
Leads 1-0 |
Wilkes-Barre,
PA
- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender John Curry made 19 saves, along with the Penguins playing tight defense all night long as Scranton won Game 1 of their best-of-seven series 2-0 against the Portland Pirates.
The Penguins organization appear to be making defense their battle cry these days. Like their NHL parent club, Scranton did to Portland what Pittsburgh has done to the Philadelphia Flyers so far this playoff season. The truth is the Pirates have some defense of their own and made Game 1 a slugfest between two strong defensive units.
Both teams combined for only 42 shots the entire game with the Penguins outshooting the Pirates in every period, but by no more than two shots in any given period. Both teams were held scoreless as Curry and Pirates goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin kept both teams off the scoreboard. Portland had only 11 shots through two periods and Scranton only had 14.
Finally, the Penguins broke through on Aubin as Dave Grove scored only is second goal of the playoffs to give Scranton a 1-0 lead 13:03 into the third period.
One major reason for the low shot totals was the fact that each team had only two power plays on the night as both teams went 0 for 2. Then with Aubin pulled for an extra attacker, the Penguins got an empty net goal from defenseman Ryan Lannon, his first of the playoffs, to finish of the Pirates in Game 1.
Game 2 is Thursday night in Scranton before turning to Portland for games 3 through 5 (if all are necessary) starting on Sunday.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
2 |
Portland
3 - WB/Scranton 2 |
|
by Brian Jennings - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Series
Tied 1-1 |
Wilkes-Barre,
PA
- Bobby Ryan’s future will be with the Anaheim Ducks,
but his present is with the Portland Pirates. The former
first round pick that surely gets mentioned as part of
a trivia question (name the player taken in the NHL Draft
second behind Sidney Crosby), scored two goals, his sixth
and seventh of the playoffs, to help propel Portland to
a 3-2 victory over the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins
to even the series at 1-1.
As with Game 1, both teams were shut down offensively,
but in this case it wasn’t just due to a lack of scoring
chances. The Penguins only had four shots on goal, but
it was Portland who turned on the offense peppering the
Penguins John Curry for 11 shots, but Curry kept them
off the scoreboard.
In the second period, things finally broke open for both
teams. Like Game 1, neither team had a ton of shots, as
both teams only had 15 shots on net, but this time three
found their way to the back of the net.
Center Andrew Ebbett registered for this third of the
playoffs on the power play to open the scoring for Portland
at 1-0. Than Ryan took over to score his sixth of the
playoffs to give Portland a 2-0 lead. With 2:49 left in
the second period, Scranton got on the board as Nathan
Smith slammed home his fourth of the playoffs to cut the
Portland lead to 2-1.
In the third period, it was all Penguins except where
it mattered most, on the scoreboard. The Penguins outshot
the Pirates 16-2, but one of Portland’s shots found the
back of the net thanks to Ryan’s second of the game on
the power play to give Portland a 3-1 lead.
But the Penguins got a power play goal less than two minutes
later and once again cut the Pirates lead to one on Smith’s
second of the game at 17:11, but that would be as close
as they would get as Pirates goaltender J.S. Aubin was
stellar the rest of the night to even the series.
The series turns to Portland for games 3 through 5 starting
on Sunday. With the next three games at home, Portland
will look to turn the series in their favor.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com |
|
| Game
3 |
WB/Scranton
2 - Portland 5 |
| by Tom Schettino -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Portland
Leads Series 2-1 |
Portland,
ME
- No starting goaltender? For the first time in this season's playoffs that was no problem for the Portland Pirates as Mike McKenna stepped in with 27 saves to lead his Pirates to victory. Prior to this game the team had lost both games in which Jean-Sebastien Aubin was unable to participate and McKenna and Gerald Coleman had played substandard goal for the club in reserve.
Early in the contest it appeared the Pirates were not going to be able to handle Aubin's absence again as Wilkes-Barre's Mark Ardelan and Tim Brent sandwiched goals between a tally by Bobby Ryan to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead midway through the second period.
However, Brent's goal was the last Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goal on the evening and the Pirates would add four unanswered tallies to win going away. Both Wilkes-Barre scores came as a result of deflections, while Ryan's goal came when he jammed a rebound of a Stephen Dixon shot home.
Geoff Platt started the Pirates rally when he slammed a slap shot past Penguins goaltender John Curry while the Pirates were on a five-on-three advantage to tie the game. Jason King tacked on the eventual game-winner when he put a shot on Curry which might have been handled better by the Scranton goaltender before it went into the net.
Portland tallied two more goals in the final period when Dixon roofed a rebound of a Platt stuff attempt high into the Penguins net. Simon Ferguson completed the game's scoring when he deposited the puck in Wilkes-Barre's net after it was vacated by Curry for an extra attacker.
The win gives the Pirates an early lead in the series and stretched their playoff home winning streak to eight games. Wilkes-Barre will need to break the streak due to the fact the next two games are in Maine and the Pirates could wrap up the series should the Penguins fall to end Portland's run.
It was a rare win wide-open win for the Pirates who won by more than a single goal for the first time in this year's playoffs.
Game 4 of the series is slated to be played on Tuesday night in Portland.
|
|
| Game
4 |
WB/Scranton
4 - Portland 3 |
| WB/SCRANTON
PENGUINS |
Series
Tied 2-2 |
Portland,
ME
- Ben Lovejoy’s power play goal early in the third period proved to be the winner, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins posted a 4-3 victory against the Portland Pirates in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night. The win evened the series at two games apiece, with Game Five slated for Wednesday night in Maine.
“You’re down two-to-one, playing Game Four in the other team’s building with tomorrow back here again,” said head coach Todd Richards. “They’ve proven over and over again this year, in big games, when they’ve had to rise to the occasion they’ve done that and found ways to succeed. Tonight was no different.”
Tuesday’s contest eerily reflected Sunday night’s loss through the first 33 minutes, as the Pens’ once again jumped out to an early lead, only to see their hosts come back to take the advantage.
However, unlike Game Three, the Penguins were able to overcome a strong Portland attack to regain the lead and post the win.
“It was much like on Sunday. We had a decent first period, not as good as Sunday’s, but I think some of that had to do with how Portland was playing the game,” said Richards. “Our leader, our captain, was the guy who really took it under his wing and ran with it. He scored a goal, but he played a great game tonight.”
Nathan Smith led the way for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, opening the scoring 2:24 into the game, by picking the corner on a two-on-one for his sixth goal of the postseason. He went on to add an assist on the game-winning goal to stretch his point streak to three games.
The Pens carried that slim lead into the second period, but saw the Pirates quickly turn the tide.
Andrew Ebbett evened the score by picking up a Bobby Ryan feed and wristing the puck over a sprawling John Curry at 6:30.
Michal Birner put the Pirates in front at the 13 minute mark. Matt Christie pushed a pass just in front of a sliding Penguin’s skates, where Birner picked it up and redirected a shot past Curry for the 2-1 advantage.
That lasted all of 49 seconds before Deryk Engelland’s wrister from the point beat Mike McKenna to the far corner.
“It’s just bouncing back after a goal, responding, coming out and working hard,” said Engelland. “I just shoot. If it goes, it goes.”
Some smooth passing with less than 30 seconds in the period put the Pens back in front, as Connor James took the tail end of a tic-tac-toe play and beat McKenna with a backhander to make the score 3-2 at the end of two period.
Ben Lovejoy made the score 4-2 by beating McKenna shortside during a third period power play. The goal was Lovejoy’s first career playoff tally.
“It was a great feeling,” Lovejoy said. “I got a nice pass, and I don’t know what happened. I got all of it and was able to beat the goalie.”
Chris Minard nearly made it 5-2 minutes later, but his shot apparently dinged off the post instead of finding twine. During the next shift, Bobby Ryan used some slight of hand to dance around Curry, but his shot hit off the bottom of the post and trickled away.
Brendan Mikkelson pulled the hosts within one goal with 2:49 to play, but the Penguins were able to hold off a late surge to ensure a Game Six back in Wilkes-Barre.
John Curry picked up his 10th win of the postseason by making 22 saves, while McKenna took the loss with a 17 save performance.
|
|
| Game
5 |
WB/Scranton
1 - Portland 2 |
| by Tom Schettino -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Portland
Leads Series 3-2 |
Portland,
ME
- The prospects were looking pretty poor for the Portland Pirates heading into Game 5 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Pirates were coming off a tough loss in Game 4 which forced them to make preparations to return to Pennsylvania for Game 6 and they knew they would be without starting netminder Jean-Sebastien Aubin for the third consecutive contest in Game 5.
Aubin's availability has been iffy since he suffered an undisclosed injury in the opening round against Hartford and Portland had a record of 1-3 when he was out of the lineup heading into this crucial game.
But despite the odds the Pirates grabbed a three games to two lead in the series thanks to two goals from Stephen Dixon and a 27-save effort from Mike McKenna. Dixon bagged his goals to start the scoring and the Pirates dug down to hold off the now-desperate Penguins squad.
Dixon opened the scoring late in the second period when he picked up a centering pass from Petteri Wirtanen and directed the puck past Scranton netminder John Curry. The lead held up through the period and Dixon scored the eventual game-winning goal when he deflected a Brett Festerling shot home with just 29 seconds expired in the final frame.
Wilkes-Barre pulled to within a goal when Jonathan Filewich converted a quick pass from Kurtis McLean, but the Penguins were unable to notch the game-tying goal.
The series seems to have settled into a pattern as the clubs are playing tight-to-the-vest disciplined playoff hockey. The teams are trying to stay out of the penalty box and for the most part did in this contest as each club's power play has come through when given multiple opportunities.
While the Penguins are obviously down to their last win they did manage to survive the trip and head back home where they are an impressive 6-2 in this year's playoffs. Wilkes-Barre will need to win Game 6 on Friday night if they want to play Game 7 the following evening.
As for Aubin, he will be examined by medical personnel prior to the team departing for the road trip to determine if he will even travel with the club. But with two wins in three games Portland has regained some level of confidence in McKenna, who will probably be the difference in the series should Aubin remain sidelined.
|
|
| Game
6 |
Portland
3 - WB/Scranton 4 (OT) |
| by Tom Schettino -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Series
Tied 3-3 |
Wilkes-Barre,
PA
- After giving up three goals in a flurry late in the second period Wilkes-Barre netminder John Curry was looking anything but a hero. However, after his club pulled to within two goals Curry stopped Portland's Tyler Bouck and Geoff Peters on clean breakaways to keep the Penguins within striking distance.
Those two saves by Curry, amongst others, bought enough time for the Penguins to cap an amazing comeback and force Game 7 in Pennsylvania on Saturday night.
The Pirates had the series in the bag, lock stock and barrel after they pulled out into a three-goal lead on Andrew Ebbett's second goal of the game with just seconds remaining in the second period. But they blew the lead and gave up a late goal to Connor James which sent the Penguins into their locker room on a high and just a pair down instead of a trio. By allowing James to score the Pirates not only blew a shutout for Mike McKenna but started a series of events which might lead to their elimination.
The two teams played scoreless hockey for over 33 minutes of game time before Ebbett broke the ice when he backhanded a rebound over Curry. Geoff Platt opened the lead up when he finished off plays from Joe Callahan and Bobby Ryan. The puck came to Platt in close to the goal and he jammed it home. Platt was instrumental in the club's third goal when he worked the puck behind the net, skated out front and put the puck in position to be deflected in by Ebbett with just 33 seconds left in the period.
Portland's elation soon turned into a huge momentum swing for the Penguins as James answered just 21 seconds after Ebbett when he picked up a lose puck in the slot and fired it by McKenna.
The Pirates attempted to seal the deal in the third period and had glorious opportunities to do so, but could not beat Curry. Chris Minard, silent all series long, woke up in time to save his club with a pair of goals, the final one would force overtime. Minard's first goal was a shot from the point which was deflected on the way to the net and got past McKenna while his second was a blast from the top of the right wing circle to tie the affair.
Once again the Pirates had a chance to win in overtime as Ryan had a terrific opportunity on Curry just seconds into the frame, but once again the Penguins goaltender was up to the task. After the save Jonathan Filewich had the puck and saw James flying by. Filewich got the puck to James who tapped it past the defender and roared down the right wing boards. Once he got into range James fired a hard shot past McKenna's glove and gave the Penguins another opportunity to advance in the playoffs.
The two clubs will battle for the right to move on and the winner of the game will move on to face Chicago as the Wolves rallied from two goals down in Game 5 against Toronto to secure a berth in the Calder Cup Finals. Whichever team wins this series on Saturday will go to the Midwest and start the series against the Wolves on Thursday night.
|
|
| Game
7 |
Portland
2 - WB/Scranton 3 |
| by Brian Jennings -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
WB/Scranton
Wins 4-3 |
Wilkes-Barre,
PA
- While the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins could have been excused for basking in the glow of their dramatic win in Game 6 on Connor James’s game-winning goal 20 seconds into overtime, the "Baby Pens" came up with one more way to define the flare for the dramatic with a 3-2 win over the Portland Pirates, sending the Penguins into the Calder Cup Finals against the Chicago Wolves.
The Penguins and Wolves will both be in the Calder Cup Finals for the third time in both team’s history. Chicago is 1-1 in previous Calder Cup Finals while Scranton is 0-2. The last time the Wolves were in the finals they were swept by the Philadelphia Phantoms 4-0 back in 2005, while Scranton’s last crack at the Cup was the season before when were swept in the finals by the Milwaukee Admirals in 2004. Chicago’s only championship came in 2002 when they won in five games over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
The Penguins built off their Game 6 momentum by scoring twice in the first period to take a 2-0 lead thanks to Dave Gove’s third of the playoffs halfway through the period. Gove also assisted on Ryan Stone’s fourth with 2:30 left in the period.
The Pirates, who have battled back all playoff season long, came back with a vengeance to tie the game at 2-2 in the second period. Both teams put on an offensive display that saw the Penguins outshoot Portland 17-15 in the period, and 29-28 through two periods. Ex-Penguin Stephan Dixon and Geoff Platt scored almost six minutes apart to tied the game at two.
It looked like the game would go into yet another overtime despite the Penguins outshooting the Pirates 10-4 in the third, but it was Scranton’s eleventh shot that made the difference. Tim Brent, arguably Scranton’s playoff MVP, scored his first goal of the series at a critical time when he put home a rebound with only 30 seconds left in regulation to send the Penguins to the Finals. After a tough series where he was help mainly in check Brent sits in second in playoff scoring with 11 goals and nine assists.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
Power
Play |
20TH
- 15.2 |
Penalty
Killing |
5TH
- 84.7 |
FORWARDS |
TIM
BRENT |
18-43-61
(+11) |
KURTIS
McLEAN |
22-32-54
(+14) |
NATHAN
SMITH |
22-28-50
(-6) |
DEFENSEMEN |
ALEX
GOLIGOSKI |
10-28-38
(+15) |
MARK
ARDELAN |
7-20-27
(-2) |
BEN
LOVEJOY |
2-18-20
(+16) |
GOALTENDERS |
JOHN
CURRY |
24-12-3
(3 SO)
2.23 GA
.915 PCT |
|
DAVID
BROWN |
9-7-1
(0 SO)
2.34 GA
.913 PCT |
|
|
|
