AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins Race Past Phantoms, 5-1

Published on December 5, 2014 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - A two-goal game by captain Tom Kostopoulos and a three-point performance from Conor Sheary (1G-2A) helped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins down the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 5-1, on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Despite having four of their top seven scorers on recall to Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton dominated the first period, outshooting the Phantoms, 14-4, and jumping out to a two-goal lead.

Tom Kuhnhackl put the Penguins ahead, 1-0, at 6:45 of the opening frame when he set up to the left of the Lehigh Valley crease and one-timed a pass under the glove of goalie Rob Zepp. Skating in his Wilkes-Barre/Scranton debut, Gill gathered the first assist on Kuhnhackl's second of the season for his first AHL point.

The Penguins doubled their lead with 1:34 remaining until the first intermission as Kostopoulos redirected Scott Harrington's snapshot down and inside the left post for his first tally of the evening

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took the 2-0 lead into the second intermission along with 1:09 of 5-on-3 power play time. The Penguins would not be able to convert during the two-man advantage or the ensuing 5-on-4, but were still able to stretch their cushion to three. Four seconds after the power play expired, Conor Sheary found a loose puck on the right circle and backhanded a pass across the crease that Kostopoulos banged past the leg of Zepp for his fourth goal of the season.

Sheary then made the score 4-0 for the Penguins at 11:41 to chase Zepp from the net as Anthony Stolarz came in to replace the starting netminder.

Lehigh Valley was able to break up the shutout bid of Penguins goalie Jeff Zatkoff, when Brett Hextall punched in a rebound with 6:22 left in regulation. Derrick Pouliot answered back for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton less than three minutes late to complete the scoring. With the goal, Pouliot extended his league-leading home point streak to 10 games (3G-9A).

Zatkoff improved to 6-5-1 on the season, turning away 21-of-22 shots in the match. Zepp suffered the loss with 17 saves on 21 shots in 31:44 of play. Stolarz stopped 11-of-12 in relief.

The Penguins start a home-and-home series against the Hershey Bears on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Penguins and Eye Care Specialists are teaming up to collect winter wear for the Coats for Kids and Families of Luzerne County Head Start program. Fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used winter coats and gloves to the game, which will be collected outside of the East Gate, and distributed to children and adults in need.

It's also the first of two Tobyhanna Army Depot Teddy Bear Toss nights. Fans can bring new, unwrapped plush toys to the game, which will be thrown onto the ice during the first intermission. All toys collected will be distributed to children in need throughout the area by Tobyhanna's Operation Santa Claus program.

Individual tickets for all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office, online at TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

Penguins season tickets, including full season, 22-game, 12-game and 10-ticket flex vouchers, are available directly through the Penguins ticket offices at 570-208-7367.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 5, 2014


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