AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins Weekly

April 8, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, April 2: Penguins 3, ADMIRALS 2

Chad Kolarik notched two assists and Chris Collins potted his first goal of the season as the Penguins triumphed over the Admirals, 3-2, at Norfolk Scope.

The Penguins quickly took the lead as Trevor Smith netted his 21st goal of the season just over four minutes into the first. Kolarik added his second assist of the night when Riley Holzapfel found the back of the net at 15:09 of the second. Chris Collins' first goal as a Penguin, just three minutes and thirty seconds later, gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 3-0 edge.

The Admirals' Kyle Bonis extinguished any shutout hopes within the first three minutes of the third period and Devante Smith-Pelly made it a close game netted with a PP goal at 14:24. The Penguins were able to hold on for the win as goaltender Jeff Zatkoff made 17 saves.

Friday, April 5, Penguins 3, PHANTOMS 2 (OT)

Alex Grant netted the game-winning goal in overtime as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defeated Adirondack, 3-2, giving them a perfect 4-0-0-0 record against the Phantoms as they closed out the season series.

After a scoreless first period, it was back and forth hockey with Adirondack's Garrett Roe notching the first goal of the night 5:25 into the second period and Jayson Megna answering back with a PP goal less than four minutes later. The third period saw Wilkes-Barre/Scranton take its first lead on Riley Holzapfel's tally at 5:59 of third only to have Shane Harper tie the game for Adirondack with 6:46 remaining.

It only took 1:19 of the overtime for Alex Grant to bury the puck and give the Penguins the victory.

Saturday, April 6, PENGUINS 4, Devils 0

It was all about the power play as Chad Kolarik, Trevor Smith, and Alex Grant all notched goals on the man-advantage to lead the Penguins to a 4-0 shutout of the Devils at Mohegan Sun Arena.

It was only 48 seconds into regulation when Kolarik found the back of the net, giving the Pens a quick 1-0 edge. Trevor Smith added to that lead with 11 seconds to go in the first, giving the Pens a two-goal advantage just before the buzzer. In the third period, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put the game away thanks to a power play goal by Alex Grant and a even-strength marker by Paul Thompson.

The Penguins allowed only 11 shots in the contest, while Jeff Zatkoff stopped them all to earn his fourth shutout of the season.

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Sunday, April 7, PENGUINS 4, Bears 3

Chad Kolarik finished off last week's four-game stretch with six points as he netted two goals - including the game-winner - to lead the Penguins to a 4-3 victory over rival Hershey Bears

Hershey's Dmitry Orlov drew first blood as he scored with less than two minutes gone into the first period. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would answer back on Paul Thompson' second goal in as many games coming at 12:13 and later took the 2-1 lead on Brian Dumoulin's 5-on-4 goal marker 1:34 before the end of the period. Kolarik took over the offense from there, finding the back of the net at 3:43 of the second period and converting on the power play just 58 seconds into the third.

Hershey would rally in the remaining minutes with Ryan Potulny and Peter LeBlanc both netting goals 2:34 apart, but it would not be enough as Brad Thiessen kept the puck out of the net the rest of the the way to finish with 31 saves and gather his 15th victory of the season.

UPCOMING GAMES

Saturday, April 13, 6:00 PM - Penguins at ICECAPS - 102.3 the Mountain

Sunday, April 14, 2:30 PM - Penguins at ICECAPS - 102.3 the Mountain

St. John's four-game winning streak came to an end last weekend after a pair of losses to the Toronto Marlies in Newfoundland. The IceCaps (29-34-2-4) are in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with seven games to play. The Penguins won the first two matches of the four-game series with a 5-3 victory on Dec. 1 and a 3-0 shutout on Jan. 23. Eric O'Dell is currently a four-game goal streak on home ice (6g).

PENGUINS TEAM LEADERS as of 4/8/13...

PLAYER GP G A PTS

Chad Kolarik 72 25 35 63

Trevor Smith 71 22 27 49

Riley Holzapfel 72 19 30 49

Brian Gibbons 66 8 21 28

xBeau Bennett 39 7 21 28

GOALIE GP REC SO GAA SV%

Jeff Zatkoff 47 25-19-0 4 1.95 .920

Brad Thiessen 30 15-11-2 4 2.66 .904

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS as of 4/8/13...

TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS

1. Syracuse Crunch 70 40 21 4 5 89

2. Binghamton Senators 70 40 23 1 6 87

3. PENGUINS 72 40 28 2 2 84

4. Hershey Bears 70 33 28 3 6 75

5. Norfolk Admirals 70 35 30 4 1 75

ICE CHIPS...

- The Penguins have won five in a row and are 6-0-0-1 in their last seven games.

- Six of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's last seven games have been decided by one goal. The team is now 22-9-2-2 in such games and tied with Milwaukee for the most one-goal wins in the AHL

- The Penguins held Albany to just 11 shots on Saturday, breaking their own AHL-season low of 12 set against Norfolk on Feb. 15.

- The top line of Trevor Smith (5g-7a), Riley Holzapfel (3g-9a) and Chad Kolarik (6g-7a) have combined for 37 points over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's last 11 games.

- Brian Gibbons recorded five assists in three games over the weekend.

- Jeff Zatkoff has not allowed more than two goals in seven consecutive starts while going 6-1-0. He leads the league with a 1.95 goals against average and has won five in a row.

PENGUINS RECENT TRANSACTIONS...

04/07/2013 Beau Bennett RW DEL Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL)

04/06/2013 Chris Barton C ADD Signed to PTO

04/06/2013 Harrison Ruopp D ADD Signed to ATO

04/06/2013 Matt Murray G ADD Signed to ATO

04/06/2013 Scott Darling G ADD Signed to PTO

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2013


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