Wilkes-Barre's season comes to 'utterly disappointing' end
"It's just utterly disappointing," coach Kirk MacDonald said after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's elimination from the playoffs on Friday at the PPL Center. "It sucks."
This was a team that really thought they could go far in the playoffs. Even with some injuries, this was the deepest team Wilkes-Barre has had in years. It was one of the tightest, most close-knit teams they've had in years. And they were bought in for MacDonald in his first year behind the bench.
And yet, the result was the exact same as last year -- a sweep by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the best-of-three first-round series, losing by just a goal in the decisive game. This one appeared to be heading to overtime until the Phantoms' Helge Grans put Lehigh Valley on top with two minutes remaining in regulation, leading to the 3-2 Phantoms win.
"Right to the end, I felt like we were going to win the game," MacDonald said. "I'm most disappointed for the guys. I know they cared a lot. At this level, you can get groups where guys don't really want to be here, and they're not that invested in playing in the playoffs. And trust me, when I say that they wanted to be here, I know they're crushed right now."
That was evident postgame. Some players had tears in their eyes, shuffling down the hallways around the locker room. It was a massive disappointment, and an absolute waste of a prime chance for the Penguins' young players to make a real run and gain valuable experience.
If there's any solace in the loss, it's that this one wasn't on the young guys. At all, really.
The young players showed up in this one. Tristan Broz scored on the power play and set up the latter goal, Harrison Brunicke's first goal in the AHL. Ville Koivunen had a pair of assists. Jack St. Ivany and Owen Pickering were especially huge on the 5-for-5 penalty kill. Sam Poulin, Avery Hayes and Valtteri Puustinen all were part of a dangerous power play, as was Broz, who could have had a couple more goals in him tonight. Sergei Murashov was the reason the game was still within reach early, stopping 28 of 31 shots by the end of the night.
"Guys like (Brunicke), Broz, Ville, the young guys, the play on the first goal by those guys, outstanding," MacDonald said. "They really stepped up to the occasion. The sky's the limit for those guys."
The loss was a result of a few costly mistakes, and the second defense pairing of Sebastian Aho and Dan Renouf was at the scene of the crime each time, whether it be a costly turnover, losing a puck battle, or failing to not leave a Phantoms player completely wide-open at the net-front. Two guys with the most professional experience on the team.
"We made three critical errors, and they all ended up in the back of our net," MacDonald said.
Yeah, the circumstances were less than ideal. It's hard to put a ton of weight into a best-of-three series, and it's still insane that the AHL first round is such. Maybe in a best-of-seven, Wilkes-Barre finds a way back from 0-2. But that's the format, that's life.
Wilkes-Barre wasn't coming into this series at its best. Rutger McGroarty was injured from his time in Pittsburgh and was within a week from returning. Emil Bemstrom, whose 23 goals tied for the team lead, finished the year in AHL but suffered a season-ending injury. The number of other good, injured players who were sidelined (some for much of the season) was enough to fill a full starting lineup and then some.
Even for the healthy players, some of Wilkes-Barre's best didn't rejoin the team until just before the playoffs because they were recalled to Pittsburgh -- Koivunen, Puustinen, Vasily Ponomarev, Joona Koppanen, Sam Poulin, Filip Kral. The absences almost certainly cost Wilkes-Barre a first-round bye, and didn't allow the team to finish strong with their regular personnel combinations heading into the playoffs.
There aren't any excuses to be found here, though.
"That's the American League for you," MacDonald said. "That's not an excuse, in my opinion. Rutger and Ville going up, it was time for them to get their opportunity. Injuries happened, and other guys had earned opportunities. They go up and then some other guys stepped in and did a good job."
The future remains bright in the organization. Some of these prospects will be back in the AHL. The effort in restocking the prospect pool means that more of these good young players will be coming in on new waves in the coming years. But some of these players will almost certainly graduate to the NHL next season. The opportunity to make a run with these players, this team has been lost.
"You're never going to have the same group again, especially at the minor league level," MacDonald said. "We gave one away on Wednesday, and I felt like tonight we deserved a better fate."
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
1:49 am - 04.26.2025Allentown, Pa.Wilkes-Barre's season comes to 'utterly disappointing' end
"It's just utterly disappointing," coach Kirk MacDonald said after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's elimination from the playoffs on Friday at the PPL Center. "It sucks."
This was a team that really thought they could go far in the playoffs. Even with some injuries, this was the deepest team Wilkes-Barre has had in years. It was one of the tightest, most close-knit teams they've had in years. And they were bought in for MacDonald in his first year behind the bench.
And yet, the result was the exact same as last year -- a sweep by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the best-of-three first-round series, losing by just a goal in the decisive game. This one appeared to be heading to overtime until the Phantoms' Helge Grans put Lehigh Valley on top with two minutes remaining in regulation, leading to the 3-2 Phantoms win.
"Right to the end, I felt like we were going to win the game," MacDonald said. "I'm most disappointed for the guys. I know they cared a lot. At this level, you can get groups where guys don't really want to be here, and they're not that invested in playing in the playoffs. And trust me, when I say that they wanted to be here, I know they're crushed right now."
That was evident postgame. Some players had tears in their eyes, shuffling down the hallways around the locker room. It was a massive disappointment, and an absolute waste of a prime chance for the Penguins' young players to make a real run and gain valuable experience.
If there's any solace in the loss, it's that this one wasn't on the young guys. At all, really.
The young players showed up in this one. Tristan Broz scored on the power play and set up the latter goal, Harrison Brunicke's first goal in the AHL. Ville Koivunen had a pair of assists. Jack St. Ivany and Owen Pickering were especially huge on the 5-for-5 penalty kill. Sam Poulin, Avery Hayes and Valtteri Puustinen all were part of a dangerous power play, as was Broz, who could have had a couple more goals in him tonight. Sergei Murashov was the reason the game was still within reach early, stopping 28 of 31 shots by the end of the night.
"Guys like (Brunicke), Broz, Ville, the young guys, the play on the first goal by those guys, outstanding," MacDonald said. "They really stepped up to the occasion. The sky's the limit for those guys."
The loss was a result of a few costly mistakes, and the second defense pairing of Sebastian Aho and Dan Renouf was at the scene of the crime each time, whether it be a costly turnover, losing a puck battle, or failing to not leave a Phantoms player completely wide-open at the net-front. Two guys with the most professional experience on the team.
"We made three critical errors, and they all ended up in the back of our net," MacDonald said.
Yeah, the circumstances were less than ideal. It's hard to put a ton of weight into a best-of-three series, and it's still insane that the AHL first round is such. Maybe in a best-of-seven, Wilkes-Barre finds a way back from 0-2. But that's the format, that's life.
Wilkes-Barre wasn't coming into this series at its best. Rutger McGroarty was injured from his time in Pittsburgh and was within a week from returning. Emil Bemstrom, whose 23 goals tied for the team lead, finished the year in AHL but suffered a season-ending injury. The number of other good, injured players who were sidelined (some for much of the season) was enough to fill a full starting lineup and then some.
Even for the healthy players, some of Wilkes-Barre's best didn't rejoin the team until just before the playoffs because they were recalled to Pittsburgh -- Koivunen, Puustinen, Vasily Ponomarev, Joona Koppanen, Sam Poulin, Filip Kral. The absences almost certainly cost Wilkes-Barre a first-round bye, and didn't allow the team to finish strong with their regular personnel combinations heading into the playoffs.
There aren't any excuses to be found here, though.
"That's the American League for you," MacDonald said. "That's not an excuse, in my opinion. Rutger and Ville going up, it was time for them to get their opportunity. Injuries happened, and other guys had earned opportunities. They go up and then some other guys stepped in and did a good job."
The future remains bright in the organization. Some of these prospects will be back in the AHL. The effort in restocking the prospect pool means that more of these good young players will be coming in on new waves in the coming years. But some of these players will almost certainly graduate to the NHL next season. The opportunity to make a run with these players, this team has been lost.
"You're never going to have the same group again, especially at the minor league level," MacDonald said. "We gave one away on Wednesday, and I felt like tonight we deserved a better fate."
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