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AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins Hold on for 3-2 Win over Hershey

January 22, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (Tuesday, January 21, 2003) - Konstantin Koltsov and Eric Meloche each recorded a goal and one assist to lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 3-2 win over the Hershey Bears before a sellout crowd of 8,299 at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza.

Goaltender Robbie Tallas made 31 saves and center Kris Beech extended his point streak to four games with two assists as the Penguins improved their record to 20-19-2-3 (45 points) on the season and moved ahead of idle Philadelphia into third-place in the South Division. With the win, the Penguins have equaled their win total from last season, when they finished the 2001-02 season with a 20-44-13-3 record.

The Penguins jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead when Koltsov and Alexandre Daigle scored goals just 13 seconds apart in the first period. Koltsov scored his sixth goal of the season at 8:03 and then Daigle followed with his fourth of the season 12 seconds later to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead.

Tallas, who was making his third consecutive start for the Penguins, made two huge saves on breakaway chances in the opening period. Tallas made a pad save on Charlie Stephens' point-blank shot on a 2-on-0 break at 12:46 and then he followed that with a save on Brian Willsie's bid at 13:52. But the Bears finally beat Tallas a few minutes later as Brett Clark fired a slap shot from the left point for his fourth goal at 15:11.

In the second period, Meloche increased the lead to 3-1 when he scored his fifth goal of the season and first since December 6, 1:51 into the period to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead.

In the third period, Marek Svatos scored his seventh goal of the season at 13:59 to close the Bears within a goal. The Bears had a power play chance late in the game but could not score the equalizer. With the loss, Hershey is now 21-15-8-1 and have not won in their last five games (0-4-1).

The Penguins, who now trail the second-place Bears by six-points, will travel to Hershey tomorrow night to complete the home-and-home series. Game time on Wednesday is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Giant Center.

GAME NOTES

Defenseman Darcy Robinson was a healthy scratch for the sixth consecutive game ... Defenseman Mike Wilson was hit by Eric Bertrand late in the first period with a clean open ice hit ... Wilson left the ice and did not return ... He is out with a mild concussion ... Robinson will take Wilson's place in the lineup tonight against the Bears... Right wing Alexandre Daigle is listed as day-to-day with a hip flexor after sustaining the injury in the second period ...With a goal, Daigle extended his goal streak to three games and his point streak to four games ... He has six points (3+6) in the last four games ... Since being assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on January 15, center Kris Beech has a point in the last four games ... Beech has six points (2+4) during the streak ... In 19 games with W-B/S, he has recorded 19 points (8+11) ... Beech is seventh on the team in scoring and has registered a point in 14 of 19 games ... Rookie left wing Matt Murley has four points (1+3) in the last four games and has nine points (2+7) in the last seven games ... He is fourth on the team in scoring with 29 points (8+21) ... Tomas Surovy's four-game point streak came to an end tonight ... Goaltender Robbie Tallas has started the last three games ... Tallas has a record of 2-0 and a 3.32 goals against average in the last three games ... With tonight's win, he is now 3-0 at home with a 2.53 goals against average in five appearances ... Goaltender Mike Valley is expected to be in goal tonight against the Bears ... Valley won his first game of the season in last Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Bears in Hershey ... Right wing Eric Meloche has four points (1+3) in the last two games.

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