Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Managing the holiday season requires a little care for American Hockey League head coaches and their players.
Between social events, cakes and cookies, lack of time to exercise, and changes in the usual weekly routine, there are all kinds of potential pitfalls. Even being off the ice for two or three days can affect the feeling of some players. Combine with trips back home or hosting guests.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins went into the break looking strong, dispatching the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at home, 7-2, on Dec. 21, then shutting out the Hershey Bears on the road the next day.
But the hockey program slowed down for a while, and the Penguins had a tough — yet familiar — road out beyond Christmas: Another home game against the Phantoms, another trip down the road to Hershey the next night.
So the head coach Kirk MacDonald there were decisions he had to make about how to plan the week for his players. With the AHL/PHPA collective bargaining agreement requiring three days off, McDonald opted against a late practice on Dec. 26 and reunited with his club in a morning session on Dec. 27 instead. Last week was about time with family and friends and dietary latitude.
“Boys deserve time off,” thought MacDonald.
When last Friday morning came, the MacDonald players arrived ready to work. They won 3-2 in a rematch with the Phantoms, then broke the Bears’ two lead and managed to get a point in a 3-2 overtime loss in Hershey. And they did it with a lack of a lineup on defense, too: Mac Hollowell he wasn’t in the Spengler Cup, either Nate Clurman he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It’s nothing new, really. Recalls and injuries have plagued the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton roster for much of the early part of this season.
“I thought it was a great game of hockey. “The fans got their money’s worth,” MacDonald said after Saturday’s OT loss. “Credit to the boys. It’s hard to come back after the break and play with intensity.”
It’s never fair to deal with injuries, recalls and external distractions for the hockey team. But those factors are offset by the Penguins playing the type of hockey they will need to make second downs and make the Calder Cup Playoffs. As Pittsburgh’s president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas and his staff continue to put their stamp on the entire organization, MacDonald came to Wilkes-Barre in the off-season as a key hire to help make the AHL a Calder Cup contender again. After all, this is the team that was able to enter the Calder Cup Playoffs for 16 years in a row before missing out in 2019. With a deep season remaining, the Penguins have won just one playoff series since 2016.
But MacDonald’s club is playing the kind of solid hockey now that they will need later on. They have gotten at least one goal from a rookie in six of their last eight contests. The penalty kill is 12 of 13 in the last six games.
The Penguins open the 2025 portion of their schedule with another challenging slate, as Charlotte and Hartford come to town this weekend. Then there’s a four-game, eight-day road trip through Toronto, Belleville and Laval.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (17-8-0-2) sits five points behind first-place Hershey with five games in hand over the Bears. They have played the fewest games of any team in the Atlantic Division. That means an opportunity to make room, but also a heavy schedule.
The Penguins positioned themselves well. Their head coach gave them free rein last week, and they didn’t let distractions get in the way of their performance.
“The idea,” MacDonald said, “was good.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
