AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins Battle Back for Overtime Win over IceCaps

October 17, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland - Reid McNeill's goal at 2:56 of overtime snapped a two-game losing streak, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins battled back to post a 2-1 win over the St. John's IceCaps on Friday night at the Mile One Centre. The victory was the first of the year for the Penguins (1-2-0-0, 2 pts), who spoiled the IceCaps' (1-1-2-0, 4pts) home opener.

McNeill, who tallied just one goal while appearing in 55 games with the Penguins last season, made the most of an offensive zone faceoff win by Jean-Sebastien Dea. The rookie forward won the draw back to the Pens' blueliner, who snapped a shot that beat netminder Peter Budaj for the win.

The game was a battle of veteran goaltenders for the first 37 minutes, as both Budaj and Jeff Zatkoff held the opposition at bay. But Scott Kosmachuk took a centering feed from Kris Fredheim with under three minutes to play in the second to give the home squad a 1-0 lead.

Jayson Megna tied the game at 8:54 of the third period with a shot that banged off of Budaj and trickled over the goal line, giving the third-year pro his first goal of the season.

Zatkoff, who spent all of last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, picked up his first win with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since posting an 18 save shutout against the IceCaps in St. John's on April 13, 2013. The two teams will face off once again on Saturday night at 6:00pm Eastern Time.

NOTES: Both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play...Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held a 30-22 shot advantage in the game...Dea's helper on McNeill's goal made him the first Penguins player to pick up a goal and an assist on the season...Defenseman Alex Boak made his AHL debut in the game...The Penguins are now 6-1-0-0 all-time in regular season games played in St. John's.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics



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