AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Kostopoulos' Surprise Return Sparks 6-2 Win over Syracuse

December 9, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - With the added inspiration of their captain reinserted into the line-up, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins scored early and often to defeat the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday night, 6-2.

The Penguins scored twice on consecutive shifts at 3:14 and 3:54 of the first period thanks to snap shots from Tom Kühnhackl and Tom Kostopoulos.

Conor Sheary got in on the scoring at 11:04 of the opening frame to lift Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 3-0 lead.

"We've talked a lot this year about having better starts," Penguins head Coach Mike Sullivan said after the game. "It hasn't been our strength, I think, as a group to start the season, but tonight we definitely did it. It was one of our best (starts)."

Kostopoulos' goal 40 seconds after Kühnhackl's opener was his fifth of the year, but his very presence on the bench may have been just as valuable as his contribution to the scoreboard.

The Penguins captain missed the team's last game in Hershey with an injury and was expected to be out an indefinite amount of time until those plans changed the morning of Wednesday night's contest.

"Quite honestly, I didn't expect [Kostopoulos] to be in the line-up today," Sullivan said. "I think his personality and his energy is infectious. Our team plays better when he's in that line-up. He's a comforting voice in the room and on the bench when you go through the ebbs and flows of a game. And I think this game- even though we didn't expect him to play- really shows his passion for the game."

The veteran Kostopoulos made his mark early in the game, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rookie Dominik Simon finished strong with two goals in the third period. One came at the side of the net on a rebound at 6:11 of the third to make it 4-1, the other at 12:06 to give the Penguins a 5-1 lead.

Simon's two tallies raised him into a tie for third place among rookie scorers this season with 21 points (9G-12A).

Jeff Tambellini converted on the Crunch's second power play of the game to cut the Penguins' lead to 3-1 at 4:48 of the second period. Syracuse finished the game one-for-four on the power play, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton did not convert on any of its five man advantages.

Dominik Uher scored his first goal of the season with 1:02 left in the game to give the Penguins a 6-1 lead, but Yanni Gourde knocked a fluttering puck out of midair 33 seconds later for Syracuse's second goal and bringing the game to its eventual final score of 6-2.

Gourde's goal fooled Matt Murray on the Crunch's 32nd shot of the game, but the Penguins netminder stopped 30 en route to his 11th win of 2015-16.

At the opposite end of the ice, Syracuse's goalie, Kristers Gud?evskis, made 29 saves on 35 shots in the loss.

The Penguins are back in action this Friday at PPL Center to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms exactly one week after the Phantoms spoiled the Penguins' undefeated home record. Game time for the third Penguins/Phantoms showdown of the season is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

GAME NOTES

Conor Sheary's mid-first marker gave him his sixth goal of the season, his fourth goal in his last six games, and 11th point in his last 16 games.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman Derrick Pouliot finished with a game-high plus-four rating, a career-best for the second-year pro.

Dominik Uher's goal was his first since Apr. 11, 2015 at Portland.

Penguins forward Kevin Porter played in his 500th career professional game on Wednesday night.

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