WBS Pens' weekly report - 1/16

[eastonpensfan]

The Pens have continued with their great season. Winning 3 of 4 points in the 2 games this weekend assured them that the Pens' coaches will be coaching the PlanetUSA squad in the AllStar game on the 29th. Since Eaton looks to return on the 25th or 26th, Noah Welch may be down again to play in the game. As for the games, Chicago, the highest scoring team in the league, was shut out by the Pens 1-0. The next night, the defense struggled and they lost 4-3 in a shootout to Grand Rapids.

GOOD:

G Jeff Deslauriers - He started both games, saving all 29 on Friday and 35 of 38 on Saturday for a .955 SA%. The defense kind of gave up and let him got shot up on Saturday, so the one point they earned for the shootout loss was only because of Deslauriers. He allowed the first 3 shootout scorers to score to take the loss, but otherwise, it was a great weekend for him.

C Kyle Brodziak - Brodziak scored the lone goal against Chicago and, as with the rest of the players, played well defensively in that game. Although only getting 1 assist the next night, he was one of the few who played a decent game on both ends of the ice.

C Tyler Kennedy - Kennedy continued his incredible pace by putting in 2 more goals on Saturday and leading the team with 5 shots. By the playoffs, he may be the go-to guy for scoring. Right now, that's Filewich, but Kennedy seems to have busted through the rookie wall and become a Max Talbot type of player who plays hard every shift and, at least at this level, can put the puck in the net.

UNDECIDED:

LW Alexei Mikhnov - Mikhnov is starting to show why he got the reputation of being a little timid despite his 6'5", 230 lb size. He doesn't win as many battles along the boards as you would think and his defense seems to be slipping, especially in the Grand Rapids game. But, his offense is still there and this may just be a couple bad games.

BAD:

C Rob Schremp - 0 shots for both games along with a -1 and a missed shootout attempt on Saturday. Granted, he is now on a line with Dennis Bonvie and that will limit his offensive chances, but he should be able to create at least 1 dump-in shot in 2 games!

The next 5 days will be very telling for this team because they will be playing 4 games in those 5 days, including division rivals Norfolk (on Friday and Saturday) and Hershey (on Sunday). Norfolk and Hershey are the only 2 teams in the league with more wins than Wilkes-Barre, but the Pens have a higher winning percentage since they played 3 fewer games. This is why the WBS coaches are going to the All-Star game.