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AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Pens' Penalty Kills Result in Sixth-Straight Win

October 30, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' penalty kill rebounded from a disappointing performance on Wednesday night to lead the team to a 4-1 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre. The win was the sixth in a row for the Penguins, who now sit at 7-1-0-0 on the season.

The P.K. was a perfect three-for-three on the night, and even saw Oskar Sundqvist chip in with a spectacular shorthanded tally late in the third period, swatting the puck out of midair and past Magnus Hellberg to give the Penguins a two-goal cushion.

The penalty kill's success came after surrendering two goals on four opportunities to Binghamton on Wednesday night.

"Well, we were better," Penguins head coach, Mike Sullivan, said of his penalty kill. "We showed [the team] a lot of film of that last game to identify areas where we could improve. It was our attention to detail that got away from us. Tonight, we were much better."

Scott Wilson scored two of the Penguins' four goals in his first game back after serving a one-game suspension. Wilson gathered his own rebound to beat Hellberg at 17:16 of the second period to put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton up 2-1, and he then later corralled a bouncing puck and threw it into an empty net at 18:13 of the third to secure the victory, 4-1.

Wilson's two goals gives him six on the season, extending his team lead in that category and moving further ahead of his teammates with 11 points overall.

Hartford, who had a six-game point streak snapped with Friday night's regulation loss, did not make it easy for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to achieve its seventh win of the season. The Wolf Pack outshot the Penguins 12-6 in the first period, and wreaked havoc on the home club's defense during the early parts of the game.

"We knew about their speed coming into tonight's game, and that provided a good test for our guys," Sullivan said. "Fast teams- and their forecheck, especially- close in on you so quickly and take away your space, making it harder to make plays. Early on, we could make the first play, but we couldn't get that second play. We couldn't get past that second layer of pressure."

Nick Tarnasky got Hartford on the board early, scoring at 6:05 of the first to make it 1-0. Tarnasky has scored the Wolf Pack's past three goals, going back to the team's last game on Sunday, Oct. 25 at Hershey.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton did its best to solve Hartford's dogged forecheck, and broke free for its own goal at 11:03 of the first frame when Carter Rowney pushed a puck past Hellberg to knot the game at one goal apiece.

Hellberg stopped 23 of 26 shots faced, while Matt Murray made 29 saves on 30 shots to improve his season record to 5-1-0-0.

The Penguins' penalty kill proved to be the difference in a balanced game, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's mad advantage was shutout for the third game in a row. The Penguins power play is now nine for 33 (27.3%) on the season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton continues its seven-game home stand when it welcomes the St. John's Ice Caps to Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Puck drop between the Penguins and Ice Caps is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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