Daigle Scores Two Goals as Penguins Down Syracuse
Published on January 30, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (Tuesday, January 29, 2003) - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' offense got a much needed boost tonight as Alexandre Daigle returned to the lineup and went on to score two goals to lead the Penguins to a 5-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch before a crowd of 8,237 at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza.
Matt Murley and Kris Beech each recorded a goal and an assist, while Ross Lupaschuk added two assists as the Penguins evened their record at 21-21-3-3 on the season. The win was also the team's 100th in franchise history.
The Penguins, who were winless in their last three games (0-2-1) without Daigle, scored four unanswered goals in the second period, including a power play goal and short-handed goal by Daigle late in the period.
Daigle, who missed the last three games with a hip injury, made his return to the lineup a memorable one as he scored back-to-back goals in a span of 1:46 late period to give the Penguins a 5-1 lead. Daigle notched his fifth goal of the season with a wrist shot at 16:31 and then scored a short-handed goal on a breakaway at 18:17.
"He's definitely a dominant player at this level," said Coach Glenn Patrick.
The Penguins took a 1-0 lead early in the first period as Matt Murley broke in on goaltender Karl Goehring and slipped a shot through his pads for his ninth goal of the season at 7:11. But Syracuse came back and tied the game a few minutes later on Matt Davidson's power play goal. In his first game back after being sent down from Columbus, Davidson knocked home a rebound past goaltender Robbie Tallas for his ninth goal of the season at 12:22.
Matt Hussey extended his point streak to three games with his 10th goal of the season at 2:36 of the second period to giver the Penguins a 2-1 lead. Kris Beech increased the lead to 3-1 gathered a rebound in the slot off of a Bobby Russell shot and scored his ninth of the season at the 11:48 mark of the period. .
Pascal Leclaire relieved Goehring at the start of the third period for the Crunch. Goehring faced 35 shots in the first two periods by the Penguins, who outshot the Crunch, 40-34.
Leclaire stopped all five shots faced in the third period. Tallas, who was making his third consecutive start for the Penguins, made 32 saves to improve his record to 9-8-1 on the season.
The Penguins continue their homestand on Friday as they host the Utah Grizzlies (24-17-3-1, 52 points; Third-place, West Division) at 7:05 p.m. at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza. The Penguins are 0-1 this season and 1-4 lifetime against the Grizzlies.
GAME NOTES
Scratches for the Penguins tonight were defensemen Mike Wilson (concussion) and Francois Leroux (eye) ... Alexandre Daigle has a point in each of his last five games played ... He has 11 points (5+6) and is a plus-six with 31 shots during the streak ... Overall, Daigle has 17 points (6+11) in 13 games, including four multiple-assist games ... He has a point in nine of 17 games this season ... Earlier in the day, the Penguins reassigned center Zenon Konopka to Wheeling ... Konopka, who recorded one assist and two penalty minutes in two games with the Penguins, joined the Nailers in Richmond, Virginia late in the day ... He scored one goal in the Nailers' 7-3 loss to the Renegades ... Rookie center Matt Hussey has two goals and an assist in the last three games ... Overall, Hussey has 15 points (10+5) in 40 games this season ... The Penguins, who are now in their fourth season in the American Hockey League, have a lifetime record of 100-141-34-13 ... LW Matt Murley ended a three-game scoreless streak with two points tonight, his first multiple-point games since January 15 ... Center Toby Petersen ended a four-game scoreless streak with an assist on Murley's goal to open the game.
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- Kobasew and Lombardi Loaned to Team Canada - Saint John Flames
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- Sports Fans Can Help with Shovels for Sharing - Rochester Americans
- Daigle Scores Two Goals as Penguins Down Syracuse - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
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