WBS Pens' weekly report - 12/27

[eastonpensfan]

After a week off due to the Pittsburgh slots issue (I really didn't feel like posting after that), we're back to the WBS Pens report. It was a very up-and-down weekend. There was a convincing 6-1 win over Bridgeport (with 4 goals scored in 2:10), a good win over the Admirals, and then another sloppy game with a 3-1 loss to the Phantoms and an even worse 4-2 loss to the Norfolk Admirals. Coach Richards is calling out players for their repeated mistakes by saying there are plenty of guys waiting, especially on D, who could do better than some of the D-men here now. On to the observations:

GOOD:

C Kyle Brodziak - This Edmonton prospect is probably the most complete player on the team. He was mentioned by Richards as the only guy with a consistent effort over the last week and is becoming a PK beast along with a good defensive game and a developing offensive talent. He created the 2 shorthanded opportunities that Filewich converted on in the Admirals win, singlehandedly deciding that game.

RW Jonathan Filewich - Scored twice shorthanded (first time in WBS history) in the Admirals' game. Other than that, he had good effort in the Bridgeport game but, along with the rest of the team, really had nothing going in the Albany or Philadelphia games.

UNDECIDED:

G Jeff Deslauriers - I'm a big fan of his, but he let in some soft ones in the 2 losses. Hopefully, he can come back well from this in his next start, which probably won't come in the team's next game.

D Micki DuPont - Scored twice on the PP in the Bridgeport game, but still looks a little lost defensively. Right now, I'd put him 2nd or 3rd on the team behind Welch and possibly Gilbert, although since he's a vet, he will get the short-term emergency callups when they happen.

BAD:

First 2 game losing streak of the year! - Hopefully Penner stops that in the game against Syracuse. It's doubtful it will become 3 games.

Carcillo also played well, scoring 3 goals in the 4 games, but definitely not showing that he is ready for the next level so I didn't know whether to include him as Good or Undecided. But, it was worth a mention that he is really developing well offensively since he is concentrating on staying out of the box.

[relantel]

Thanks for the news from down below. Saw THN had WBS at the top of their power rankings the last two issues - the losing streak notwithstanding, they seem to be consistently doing well this year.

[eastonpensfan]

Thanks for the news from down below. Saw THN had WBS at the top of their power rankings the last two issues - the losing streak notwithstanding, they seem to be consistently doing well this year.

No problem. I kind of doubt that they will stay on the top of the power rankings. They had been flirting with the top spot in the league with a couple other teams who have played more games. But, the Pens had a tight schedule around the holiday and have almost caught up to those teams in games played, but dropped behind them in points.

To show you how tight their division is this year, 3 of the top 4 teams in the entire league are in the Pens' division.

WBS is 3rd in their division to the Bears (1st) and Admirals (2nd), but 4th in the league. I think the Admirals will drop out of the race without Caron there anymore, but that's just my gut feeling and I could be wrong.

[K2]

Caron wasn't doing too much for the Ads...I think Crawford carried most of the load, but they will miss him for sure

Appreciate the reports EPF

[Idoit40fans]

Wow, I knew they were doing well, i thought they would have had a 2 game losing streak by now though.