`good' News Can Be Found All Over Paper

Airport Improvement Bids Lower Than Expected 
With Parkade And Road Work Under Way, Next Up Is A New Terminal For The
Regional Air Facility.

By PATRICK WILLIAMS Special to Times Leader
 Saturday, February 01, 2003 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B 





WILKES-BARRE TWP. - The Penguins had a simple game plan coming into Friday
night's game against the Utah Grizzlies at the First Union Arena. Outwork and
wear down a Utah club known throughout the American Hockey League for a
rough-and-tumble style of play. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That, of course, is easier said than done. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The plan worked, however, as the Penguins weathered Utah's attempts to run
the hosts out of the building before using three third-period goals to
overcome the Grizzlies, 4-2. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Utah entered the contest second in the league in penalty minutes per game,
and featured a mixture of pests and very physical forwards sprinkled through
their lineup. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The game plan went right to script. We wore them down,'' said Penguins
coach Glenn Patrick, whose team generated 20 shots in the final period. For
the game, the Penguins outshot the Grizzlies, 47-31. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Penguins snapped a 2-2 game with 6:59 left in the third. Darcy
Robinson's shot from between the circles caught the glass behind the net and
bounced to Matt Murley at the left of the net. Murley, who said after the game
that he heard Alexandre Daigle yelling for the puck, directed the puck to the
crease before it bounced off rookie goaltender Jason Bacashihua's stick and
over the goal line to put the Penguins up by a goal. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sticking to the game plan pleased Patrick. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even with a loss, ``I would have been happy,'' he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tom Kostopoulos led the way for the Penguins, collecting two assists, seven
shots and first-star honors. Tomas Surovy, Ross Lupaschuk and Kris Beech had
the other Penguin goals. Robinson contributed three assists. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rob Tallas made 29 saves in net for the Penguins (22-21-3-3, 50 points).
The Penguins remain in ninth place in the Western Conference, one point behind
eighth-place Milwaukee. Rochester is nipping at the Penguins' heels at 47
points. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Marc-Andre Thinel and Jon Sim scored for the Grizzlies (24-18-3-1, 52
points). Bacashihua faced a steady Penguins attack and made 43 stops. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For the second time in a week, a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opponent was granted
a penalty shot. On Jan. 24 in Syracuse, Tallas surrendered a third-period goal
to Mathieu Darche. This time it was Utah's David Gosselin taking a penalty
shot after Francois Leroux was spotted on a hold during a scoring opportunity
at 6:49 of the first period. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tallas did not challenge Gosselin, but the Grizzlies winger's shot went
high over the net. The penalty shot was the first that the Penguins
surrendered on home ice since Dec. 23, 2001 against Norfolk. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For all of the Penguins' offense, it was the Grizzlies who ended up with
the period's lone goal. The Grizzlies stopped a Penguins chance in the final
minute of the period just as a Penguins power play ended, and turned up ice. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thinel was working with a three-on-one opportunity when he placed a shot
past Tallas from the right circle with 18 seconds remaining in the period. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tallas' work in net was the story of the second period, as he faced a
Grizzlies club that did not hesitate to go hard to the net. Tallas stood his
ground, and his defenseman cleared aside Utah forwards in the slot. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tallas credited his defensemen, who spent much of the night clearing away
rebounds and Utah forwards. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``They played excellent,'' he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Just a few minutes later, the Penguins lost puck possession in the Utah
end. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Grizzlies' Gavin Morgan raced away from a crowd of Penguins on a
breakaway, with only Daigle trailing him. Tallas came about 10 feet out of his
net to challenge Morgan and then flopped onto his side and poke-checked the
puck away from the oncoming Morgan. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kostopoulos and Surovy teamed up on the Penguins' opening goal with 4:09 to
go in the second. Kostopoulos worked the puck out of the right corner and
centered a pass to Surovy in the slot. Surovy wheeled and backhanded a shot
over Bacashihua that tied the game at a goal apiece. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Notes: Pittsburgh returned RW Konstantin Koltsov Friday. Koltsov, who
appeared in two games with the NHL Penguins and went scoreless, did not dress
for Friday night's game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Worn-out Grizzlies Succumb To Penguins' Big Third Period