Wilkes Weekly: Ville Koivunen named AHL rookie of the month

A historic win for Wilkes, AHL Penguins at the All-Star break, a rookie gets honored

Lots and lots going on in the minors leagues around the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, so let’s jump right in.

Puljujarvi back to AHL

Pittsburgh sent winger Jesse Puljujarvi back to the AHL on Wednesday, to a lot less fanfare than last month. Timing is everything, every day Puljujarvi spent on the NHL roster ticked off one more day until he would have to be placed on waivers again. Puljujarvi spent total 24 days on the NHL roster since clearing waivers on December 31st (Dec 31st – Jan 14th and then again from Jan 27 – Feb 5th). After 30 days, he would need to clear waivers again to be sent down to the AHL. Waivers would also apply had he played in 10 NHL games, but he has only appeared in five. That made 30-day clock the more pressing issue and that clock was starting to tick a little louder.

Prior to the move, the Pens had 14 forwards on the roster (not counting Evgeni Malkin on IR) minimizing the need to have Puljujarvi stick around as a scratch with the upcoming 4 Nations break on the horizon.

Puljujarvi only ended up playing one game (on Jan 29th vs Utah) in his most recent recall to the NHL. He’s got three points (1G+2A) in three AHL games this season.

Another angle with Sidney Crosby’s status unknown for the next game on Friday, the Penguins now have a roster spot available to recall a forward, and possibly a center, if they so desire. Vasily Ponomarev would appear to be the top center candidate since Tristan Broz (mono) is on the shelf. Joona Koppanen could be another option at center, along with Sam Poulin – though Poulin has worked mostly at wing this season in Wilkes.

There’s a clear choice available for a winger that is meriting a look should the Penguins go in a different direction and opt to use Noel Acciari at center for the short-term and promote the overall top forward candidate from Wilkes, who finds himself as the subject of the next note…

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Koivunen acknowledged for strong month

Ville Koivunen picked up an accolade as the AHL’s rookie of the month in January. The winger has been on fire.

We’ve mentioned before the streakiness of Koivunen’s production — and despite the accumulation last month that has continued. In six of the 12 games he played, Koivunen recorded zero points. He scored seven total goals in just two games (three vs. TOR on Jan 8th, four vs. HER on Jan 29th) and then scored two goals in the other 10 games.

To an extent this is more an observation than a concern. By nature, all scorers are going to run hot and cold at times, which doesn’t take away from Koivunen’s results. It’s incredibly easy to live with a feast/famine situation when the “feast” part includes the ability to put up three and four point games with increasing regularity. That’s a special level of production that Koivunen has been able to grow into as his first AHL season has progressed. Impressive stuff and a well-deserved honor.

Koivunen currently leads all AHL rookies with 36 points this season (15G+21A).

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AHL All-Star roundup

The AHL completed their All-Star game out in California. The player selection and replacement process is a bit zany, Koivunen did not make All-Star but Owen Pickering (he of just 16 AHL games and one point at that level this season) was named to the team from his defensive position.

Pickering scored a couple goals in the very slow-paced 3v3 games.

Emil Bemstrom also represented the Penguins. Their Atlantic Division club ended up losing in the finals of the event.

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Historic win over Hershey

In what should not be kicked down to the final note, the WB/S Pens had a truly historic win last week before their break. Wilkes took Hershey to the woodshed last Wednesday in a 9-0 blowout. The Bears have won the Calder Cup the last two seasons and remain in first place, but a statement win by the Penguins puts them on the map this season as a true contender and sends a very strong message for the future.

From Nick Hart at WBSPenguins.com with the concise recaps:

Wednesday, Jan. 29 – PENGUINS 9 vs. Hershey 0

The Penguins rewrote their record books against the Atlantic Division leaders. The Penguins had dueling hat tricks from Ville Koivunen and Vasily Ponomarev, setting a new franchise record for hat tricks in a season (7). The Pens’ nine tallies tied the franchise for goals in a single game, and the result set the best margin of victory in team history (+9).

Friday, Jan. 31 – PENGUINS 2 at Charlotte 3

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fell short by inches in its first matchup of the weekend. Sam Poulin scored a power-play goal midway through the game, and Ville Koivunen struck twine in the third. Koivunen had an opportunity to equalize in the dying embers of regulation, but his one-timer bid zipped wide of the net.

Sunday, Feb. 1 – PENGUINS 3 at Charlotte 2

The Penguins flipped the result from the night before thanks to Jonathan Gruden’s third-period shorthanded game-winner. A back-and-forth opening frame saw a 2-2 score in the first 7:31 of regulation. Vasily Ponomarev scored 16 seconds into the game, the team’s fastest goal of the season. Sergei Murashov made 29 saves to improve to 5-0-0 in the AHL.

The final sentence is a big one. Sergei Murashov was absolutely dominant at the ECHL level with a personal 13-game winning streak that lasted over two months from Nov 6th – Jan 8th. Overall he had a 15-3-1 record with Wheeling, a .919 save% and 2.41 GAA, stuck in the ECHL due to the glut of goaltenders in Pittsburgh’s organization.

An injury to goalie Filip Larsson opened the door for Murashov to get promoted to the AHL and he’s been just as lights out in the AHL with an overall 5-0-0 record, .949 save% and 1.61 GAA, three games coming in his recent sample.

Old friend Tristan Jarry has been only so-so in his second trip to the AHL this season. The first time around he was lights out (4-1-0 record with a 2.16 GAA and .926 save percentage in late Oct/early Nov) during his short-term conditioning stint. But now after being waived and having no light at the end of the tunnel for an NHL re-assignment, Jarry is 1-2-0 with a .887 save percentage. After an unimpressive first game back (four goals allowed on 26 shots), Jarry has been better to only allow four total goals in his last two AHL games. For now though it doesn’t look like anyone will be in a hurry to see him back in the big league any time soon.

Wilkes is back in action after the All-Star break with games tomorrow and Saturday.