AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

RECAP: Penguins Deny Devils Comeback, Win 5-3

November 21, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


ALBANY, N.Y. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins returned to the win column on Saturday evening, but not without a strong test from the Albany Devils.

The Penguins were able to fend off a third period rally by the Devils to win 5-3 at Times Union Center, thanks in large part to a bizarre bounce late in the game.

Conor Sheary broke a 3-3 tie with 5:08 left in regulation after his point shot redirected off of Devils defenseman Joe Faust and over the shoulder of goalie Yann Danis.

Sheary's goal came after a fierce comeback by Albany, which erased a 3-1 third period deficit to tie the game before Sheary's game-winner.

The first period concluded in a scoreless tie, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton outshot Albany 10-3 in the opening frame.

The floodgates opened in the second, as the two teams combined for four goals and one fight in the second 20 minutes of play.

Tom Sestito earned an assist in his first game back from injury, landing a helper on Jean-Sébastien Dea's goal at 3:42 of the second period. Dea's goal was his sixth of the season and made the score 1-0.

Sestito continued to make his impact felt seconds later by dropping the gloves with former Penguin and renowned heavyweight Pierre-Luc Létourneau-Leblond. Sestito would sit five minutes for fighting while Létourneau-Leblond was given 15 penalty minutes: five for fighting and an additional 10-minute misconduct for continuing the altercation.

The Devils, who came into the game with the AHL's second-best power play, continued their hot streak on the man advantage with a power play goal from Mike Sislo to tie the score at 1-1 7:51 into the second period. The tying tally gave Sislo his eighth goal in as many career games against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Penguins responded to Sislo's equalizer with two quick goals coming just 1:46 apart.

Scott Wilson gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back the lead by launching a long rebound past Danis for a power play goal at 11:09 of the second.

Carter Rowney extended the Penguins' lead by batting a puck out of mid air and behind Danis 12:57 deep into the second frame to make it 3-1 in favor of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Devils came back with a vengeance in the third period, chopping away at the Penguins' two-goal lead thanks to goals from Reid Boucher and Paul Thompson, before Sheary put the Penguins back up, 4-3.

Oskar Sundqvist went on to seal the victory with an empty net goal with 1:13 remaining to bring the contest to its final score of 5-3.

Tristan Jarry made 25 saves to maintain his untainted record in his rookie season, improving to 5-0-0-0 on the year.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (13-2-0-0) is back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 25 when the Penguins travel back to Binghamton and try and respond to the loss the Senators handed them on Friday night. Puck drop between the Pens and Send is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Center.

GAME NOTES

Wilson's goal and one assist was enough to earn first star honors on the night and extend his team lead to 17 points (10G-7A).

Sestito added another assist on Sundqvist's empty netter, giving Sestito his first two-point game in the AHL since he had two helpers on Jan. 14, 2012 as a member of the Adirondack Phantoms.

Sislo's power play marker meant the Penguins surrendered goals while shorthanded in consecutive games for the first time this season.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from November 21, 2015


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