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AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins Come up a Hair Short in 3-1 Loss

January 27, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - A bounce here or there in the third period could have drastically altered the outcome of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's game on Wednesday night, but the Penguins ultimately fell at the hands of the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-1.

A mighty press by the Penguins (29-12-0-1) in both the second period and latter half of the third put the Wolf Pack's now eight-game win streak to the test. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put 12 shots on goal in both the second and third frames, but was unable to find the back of the net more than once in that time.

"We're happy with our second and third, but we're not happy with the result," Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli said after the game. "We have to be better, especially tonight in the first period.

Thanks to seven saves by Matt Murray, the Penguins were poised to head into the first intermission in a 0-0 tie, until Jayson Megna was sprung on a shorthanded breakaway and buried his chance underneath the crossbar, giving Hartford the game's first goal with 37 seconds left in the first period.

A part of the Penguins' push in the second included defenseman Niclas Andersén swooping on a loose puck in the slot at the end of a four-on-four and tying the game at 4:14 of the period.

That 1-1 tie was broken at 4:03 of the third by the Wolf Pack's Adam Tambellini. Tambellini's shot was slightly sent awry off the stick of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman Clark Seymour, but the redirection was enough to fool Murray and give Hartford the lead.

An empty net goal by Travis Oleksuk made it 3-1 in favor of Hartford with 50.8 seconds left in the game.

Murray turned aside 26 shots in the loss, including several stunners during an occasional breakdown in the defensive zone.

"[Murray] made some big saves down the stretch when we needed him to," Donatelli said. "He's the backbone of our team and he has been all season long."

At the other end of the ice, Hartford's goalie, Magnus Hellberg, stopped 27 of 28 shots and earned his eight-consecutive win.

Both teams finished the game with only one power play chance with neither squad converting.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton gets back at it on Friday night with the start of a home-and-home series with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The first game of the back-to-back will be played at PPL Center and is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. start.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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