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Penguins defeat Philadelphia, 4-1

October 19, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (Saturday, October 19, 2002) - Tom Kostopoulos recorded a goal and one assist to lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phantoms before a crowd of 8,308 at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza.

Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead as Craig Brunel scored his first goal of the season on a tough angle shot at 3:29 of the first period. The Penguins tied the game later in the period as rookie forward Matt Hussey notched his first career goal as a pro at 9:01. Hussey took a pass from Eric Meloche in the slot and buried it past goaltender Neil Little for the goal.

After a scoreless second period, the Penguins scored three unanswered goals in the third period. Milan Kraft scored his first goal of the season 5:26 into the period and then Kostopoulos added his third of the season, and second in two nights, at 12:58 to give the Penguins a commanding 3-1 lead.

Kris Beech added an insurance goal with 58 seconds left to close out the scoring for the Penguins. With the goal, Beech extended his point streak to five games and notched a goal for the fourth consecutive game.

Goaltender Sebastien Caron made his fourth start of the season and stopped 28 of 29 shots to record his third win of the season. Philadelphia goaltender Neil Little, who was making his second start of the season, finished with 20 saves in a losing effort.

With the win, the Penguins improved to 3-2 on the season, while the Phantoms suffered their first loss of the season. The win also ended the Penguins' four-game losing streak against the Phantoms. The Penguins are now 10-21-3 lifetime against the Phantoms.

The Penguins are off until Friday, when they travel to Binghamton, N.Y. to play the Senators. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

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