AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Special Teams Falter as Pens Lose to Hartford, 3-1

Published on December 5, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Consecutive losses appear on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' schedule for the first time this season after falling to the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-1, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Saturday night.

It took the Penguins until their 20th game of 2015-16 to record back-to-back losses, a result magnified by their inefficiency on special teams.

For the second game in a row, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton failed to register a power play goal. Furthermore, the Wolf Pack scored two of their three goals while the Penguins were shorthanded.

"Our penalty kill needs to be better," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters after the game against Hartford. "The whole year, our P.K. has been at the top of the league. This weekend, we forgot how to kill penalties.

"Early on, our penalty kill had a swagger to it. We've lost that swagger, and we need to find a way to get it back."

Jason Megna scored the game's first goal at 17:41 of the first period with a one-timer on the Wolf Pack's second power play of the night.

Adam Tambellini redirected a shot from the half wall past Tristan Jarry for the Wolf Pack's second man advantage marker at 14:40 of the second period. Tambellini's first goal in eight games put Hartford in a 2-1 lead.

The Wolf Pack finished the game two-for-seven on the power play after only scoring two man advantage goals in their nine road games prior to Saturday night.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's lone goal of the contest came from Conor Sheary when he responded 36 seconds after Megna's go-ahead tally to make it 1-1.

Sheary's second goal in as many nights and fifth of the season prompted the fans at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza to rain stuffed animals onto the ice as a part of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's first of two Teddy Bear Toss games in partnership with Tobyhanna Army Depot's Operation Santa Claus.

The Penguins only mustered four shots on goal in the third period, their lowest single-period shot total this season, and victory was sealed by Chad Nehring's empty-net goal that made it 3-1 with 1:27 remaining in regulation.

Penguins rookie netminder Tristan Jarry made 22 saves and was handed his first loss of the season, dropping his personal record to 6-1-0-0 as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fell to 16-4-0-0 overall.

Magnus Hellberg held the Penguins scoreless on three power plays and made 28 saves on 29 shots en route to being named the game's first star.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has an opportunity to snap its first losing streak of the season less than 24 hours after the loss to Hartford, as the Penguins travel to Hershey to take on the Bears at GIANT Center on Sunday evening. Game time for the Pens' and Bears' third showdown of the year is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 5, 2015


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