Penguins Reclaim First Place with 3-2 Win over Bears
December 7, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release
HERSHEY, Pa. - Rookie defenseman Derrick Pouliot recorded the first multi-goal game of his professional career and it included the game-winner in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' 3-2 win over the Hershey Bears on Sunday at GIANT Center.
The Penguins were 0-for-6 on the power play through two periods and 0-for-26 this season against the Bears before they went to the man-advantage early in the third. With the game tied at two at 6:31 of the period, Tom Kostopoulos sent a quick pass to the center blueline that Pouliot fired through a screen and past Bears goalie Phillip Grubauer to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton its first lead of the match.
Hershey sent wave after wave into the offensive zone during the remaining time in regulation, outshooting the Penguins, 15-6, but could not solve goalie Jeff Zatkoff for a third time before the final horn sounded.
The Bears needed only 39 seconds to jump out to a 1-0 lead as Steve Oleksy was left alone at the right dot and Tim Kennedy found him for the rocket slapshot over the shoulder of Zatkoff.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would respond at the 5:01 mark of the same period on Pouliot's fourth goal of the season. The defenseman took a puck of the side wall and worked a give-and-go with Kostopoulos before depositing a wrist shot through the pads of Grubauer.
Hershey went back on top once again following 4-on-4 play when Stanislav Galiev hopped out of the penalty box to give the Bears a power play. Galiev skated unnoticed into the slot and took a pass from Chris Conner for a one-timer to the right corner of the Penguins net that made the score, 2-1, at 2:57 of the second.
Bobby Farnham knotted the contest 1:03 later when he redirected Alex Boak's point shot inside the right post. With the assists, Boak and Marcantuoni collected their first AHL points on Farnham's first goal of the season.
Zatkoff raised his record 7-5-1 on the season with 30 saves on 32 shots. Turning away 23-of-26, Grubauer took the loss for the Bears.
With the victory, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (14-9-1-1, 30 pts) pulls ahead of Hershey (13-9-1-1, 28 pts) to take sole possession of first place in the East Division and ends an eight-game losing streak at GIANT Center. The win was also the 200th of John Hynes' career as Head Coach of the Penguins.
The Penguins are back at home on Friday, Dec. 12 when they take on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:05pm.
Individual tickets for all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office, online at TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.
Penguins season tickets, including full season, 22-game, 12-game and 10-ticket flex vouchers, are available directly through the Penguins ticket offices at 570-208-7367.
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American Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2014
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