Wilkes-Barre/Scranton dug into itself into an early hole on Friday that a mid-game goaltending change and a strong third-period push couldn't solve, and the Penguins fell to the Crunch, 5-2.
"It appeared that we were trying to think the game too much and not really using our instincts to play," head coach J.D. Forrest said of the Penguins' start on Friday. "Giving them space and watching a little bit, it's not how you want to play the game."
Syracuse's Gabriel Fortier opened the scoring midway through the first, when goaltender Emil Larmi came far out of his net to challenge Fortier, and Fortier got around him:
Sean Day extended Syracuse's lead five minutes later off of a drop pass from a teammate, and Syracuse carried the 2-0 lead into first intermission.
The Crunch added another at the 3:30 mark of the second, with Boris Katchouk beating Larmi glove-side:
Day made it 4-0 Crunch 1:11 later with a shot from the slot:
Larmi made eight saves on the 12 shots he faced in the first 24:41 of the game.
"Emil's been so good for us all year," Czuczman said. "We hung him out to dry there a few times. It wasn't his fault at all."
After Syracuse's fourth goal, Forrest pulled Larmi and put in backup goaltender Shane Starrett, a move that was less about Larmi's play and more just looking to change the momentum.
"I didn't think that it was Emil's fault or anything," Forrest said. "I just wanted to change it up for a little spark."
Starrett, 26, is in his fourth professional season and first in the Penguins organization, and is playing on an AHL contract.
The move worked in providing a spark, and Syracuse's momentum came to a halt. In the 34:05 that Starrett played, the Penguins held the Crunch to just eight shots on goal and started pushing more offensively.
"Anytime a new goalie comes in, immediately it's a spark," Czuczman said. "You play a little harder, for whatever reason it is I have no idea. It's just the way it is. (Starrett) came in and played really well, he gave us a chance. That's all you can ask from him."
Starrett was perfect in the eight shots he faced, including a big save on a Crunch shorthanded breakaway, something Forrest said was "unacceptable" to be giving up on the man advantage.
"I thought he was great," Forrest said of Starrett's performance. "It's not easy coming off of the bench like that cold, especially when your team gives up a couple grade-A chances right away against a couple of good goal-scorers from Syracuse. I thought under the circumstances, he couldn't have done much better than that. He kept the score where it was, and game us a fighting chance to try to mount a comeback there."
Tim Schaller got the Penguins on the board 1:39 after the change in goaltender, his fourth goal of the season.
Drew O'Connor cut Syracuse's lead to two goals midway through the third period with a power play goal off of a feed from P.O Joseph, who picked up his first AHL point of the season.
Wilkes-Barre outshot Syracuse 17-4 in the third period as they pushed to tie the game.
Starrett was pulled for the extra attacker with just over two minutes remaining, and a long-range empty net goal sealed the win for the Crunch.
The game marked two games in a row that the Penguins fell to the Crunch, after being shut out 3-0 on Saturday. The Penguins and Crunch will meet again on Wednesday, and getting the power play clicking more vs. Syracuse will be one of the keys. In the past two games, Wilkes-Barre's penalty kill has been perfect, going 2-for-2 last weekend and 1-for-1 on Friday. The power play, though, has struggled. In last week's game they went 0-for-6, and this game they went 1-for-4.
"We've got to find a way to produce on the power play and take advantage of those situations," Forrest said. "Because we did have opportunities tonight."
Just getting off to a better start overall, though, will be crucial.
"It's a hard-working team, it's a well-coached team," Forrest said of the Crunch. "When you spot them a couple, it's hard to mount a comeback."
"We didn't have the start we wanted," Czuczman said. "We can't do that. We can't show up for half the game. Maybe if we got a better start and got a few early, it would have been a different night. We'll be better next time."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Zach Trotman played his first game of the season after undergoing knee surgery on Jan. 15, and debuted on the third defense pairing alongside Cam Lee, knocking Billy Sweezy out of the lineup.
"It's nice to have Trotsy back there," Forrest said of his return. "He's got a big presence, he's calm, he's a veteran presence. He helps the younger guys. For the first time, just getting back after a long time, I thought he was steady tonight and kept it fairly simple, but in a good way. It'll be good to get his motor going again and have him on the back end."
"He's an unbelievable guy," Czuczman said of Trotman. "A great player. Having him back is an awesome boost to the back end. It's been a long haul for him, for all of us, to take basically a year off and come back into it. But he looked great, he was confident. I played with Trots for 10 years now, it's fun seeing him out there. He'll hit his stride soon, it's exciting."
With the exception of Jesper Lindgren, who is out for the season after a preseason injury, Wilkes-Barre is now fully healthy on defense, and has added other defensemen from Pittsburgh's taxi squad in Joseph and Czuczman It makes for some difficult lineup decisions.
"It certainly isn't easy," he said. "We have a lot of guys back there that contribute in different ways. You try to figure out the right mix for the particular night that we're going to have and what we think is going to work on that day. But it's a good problem to have, as far as having competition within the team and guys pushing each other in practice, and knowing that nothing is going to be just given. There are guys battling for spots, we like that internal competition."
• With Radim Zohorna still in Pittsburgh, O'Connor was moved from first-line right wing to second-line center in his place. It's the first time O'Connor has played center in his pro career, but it's not an unfamiliar role -- of his 31 games with Dartmouth in his senior season, 13 came at center, and he scored nine goals and five assists in those games. I asked Forrest what about O'Connor's game made him a fit at center at this level.
"He can skate really well," he said. "He's fast, he's smart, he's got a good stick, so he's pretty good defensively. So he's a smart player. It's an adjustment, though, going from wing to center. I thought he handled it well. We'll see how much we do that as we move forward here, but I thought for the first game here at the pro level, it's not an easy adjustment and he did a fine job."
• Wilkes-Barre was originally supposed to play the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tonight, but the league announced Thursday that the game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols affecting the Phantoms. The Penguins played the Crunch instead, because the Crunch's scheduled game against Utica on Saturday was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols affecting the Comets. Forrest didn't think the last-minute change impacted the Penguins' start in this game.
"I don't think that had anything to do with it," Forrest said. "It's a 7 o'clock game on a Friday night, whoever shows up shouldn't really matter. I don't think that played a factor at all."
• This was the first game in which fans were allowed back at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. They allowed 1,245 fans, 15 percent of the building's capacity.
"They were awesome," Czuczman said. "It's so nice having fans again. Wilkes-Barre has such a strong fanbase, it's such an unbelievable city to play in. It was definitely special to be able to play in front of them, hopefully next time we can give them a better show and put some goals on the board. But we definitely appreciate them coming out and supporting us. The energy was there, it was fun."
"It was great," Forrest said of the fans. "It was good to look up in the stands and see some bodies in there. We really appreciate that support, especially after being away for so long. It shows the type of community that we have around this hockey team. We certainly could hear them, you go from nothing to fans, and it does make a difference right away. They stuck with us through the whole game, and hopefully next time when they come out we give them a better show."
THE ESSENTIALS
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza:
1. Sean Day, Crunch
2. Otto Somppi, Crunch
3. Tim Schaller, Penguins
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Jesper Lindgren left the first preseason game after sliding into the boards and underwent successful shoulder surgery this week. He's out indefinitely for the rest of the season.
• Forward Justin Almeida was injured in a practice and remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
THE LINEUPS
Forrest’s lines and pairings:
Tim Schaller-Josh Currie-Nick Schilkey
Sam Miletic-Drew O'Connor-Jan Drozg
Felix Robert-Jordy Bellerive-Zach Nastasiuk
Jonathan Gruden-Chase Berger-Kyle Olson
P.O Joseph-Jon Lizotte
Kevin Czuczman-Will Reilly
Cam Lee-Zach Trotman
And for Benoit Groulx's Crunch:
Boris Katchouk-Gemel Smith-Alex Barre-Boulet
Scott Wilson-Otto Somppi-Serron Noel
Gabe Fortier-Peter Abbandonato-Daniel Walcott
Jimmy Huntington-Greg Meireles
John Ludvig-Luke Witkowski
Sean Day-Brady Keeper
Devante Stephens-Ben Thomas/Alex Green
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins are still scheduled to play the Phantoms on Sunday afternoon.
THE CONTENT
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