AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

McLean celebrates in style, Penguins win in shootout

Published on November 2, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


Kurtis McLean celebrated his 27th birthday in grand fashion Friday night, netting a jaw-dropping goal and scoring in the shootout, helping the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 3-2 victory against the Toronto Marlies at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza.

The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Penguins and upped their record to 4-5-0-0 on the year. The Marlies remained unbeaten in regulation and now stand at 7-0-0-2 on the season.

"That was two good teams, both played hard and it's fitting that it went to a shootout," said head coach Todd Richards.

Both of the Penguins regulation goals came off one-on-one challenges against the goaltender, and the home club scored four times on Justin Pogge in the shootout.

"If we could only get more breakaways in a game," laughed Richards.

James opened the scoring late in the first period, picking up a Derrick Walser giveaway at the Penguins' blueline, skated through the neutral zone, then beat Pogge low on the glove side by himself for his second goal of the season.

"We played a really good first period," Richards said. "We made smart decisions with the puck and established a physical game."

The Pens held the Marlies without a shot for the first seven minutes of the second period, until Alex Foster blistered a shot from the right face-off circle that bounced off Ty Conklin. That rebound was picked up by Jay Harrison at the top of the crease, and backhanded over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder to tie the score at 1-1.

McLean put the Pens back in front with a little razzle-dazzle. The birthday boy took on Walser one-on-one, flipped the puck up and over the defender's stick about 10 feet out from the goal, then backhanded a shot far side past Pogge at 16:02.

"That's a highlight reel goal for sure," Richards said. "It was a great individual play."

John Mitchell tied things up once again, skating between two Pens defenders and beating Conklin through the five hole at 7:48 of the third.

The Pens then found themselves down a man for an extended length of time when Ryan Stone was whistled for a boarding major at 8:58. Toronto peppered the Pens with shots for the next four minutes, until Staffan Kronwall was called for hooking at 12:52, which evened the numbers on the ice.

Overtime saw the Penguins outshoot the Marlies 4-3, but neither team could find the net. But Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was almost automatic in the shootout, as Jeff Taffe, McLean, Kris Letang and Tim Brent all beat Pogge, while Conklin stopped two of the four shots he faced. The Pens' netminder turned in a 33 save performance to take first star honors.

The Penguins finish out their homestand Saturday night, when they host the Norfolk Admirals at 7:05pm. They embark on four straight road games after that, starting next Friday night in Binghamton.

NOTES: Penguins scratches were Aaron Boogaard and Jon D'Aversa...Dennis Bonvie moved into sole possession of 10th place on the Penguins all-time games played list on Friday night. The contest against the Marlies was his 240th as a member of the Penguins, one better than Tomas Surovy's 239...Attendance was 7,589.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 2, 2007


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