Letter to the Editor: Service Electric subscriber perplexed as to why football games heard in Español

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Pedestrian reportedly struck by a vehicle in Kingston

When the Penguins walk into the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Friday, Tim Erixon expects to see a few familiar faces around the rink.The new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman, who practiced on Friday after being sent down by Pittsburgh, spent parts of two seasons with Springfield when the team was affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets.After the experience Erixon, 24, had last season, however, seeing familiar faces in different cities is nothing new. In 2014-15, Erixon spent the year in the NHL splitting time with three teams - Columbus, Chicago and Toronto.&#8220;That was a wild year. Having played on three NHL teams in one season, you feel like you know a lot of people around both leagues,&#8221; Erixon said.To make room for Erixon on the roster, the Penguins sent D Harrison Ruopp to Wheeling. Head coach Mike Sullivan said it was a case of Ruopp needing to get some games under his belt.&#8220;I understand all the feeling associated with the disappointment of being sent down. I&#8217;ve been through it myself,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;But players need to play in games. He&#8217;s practiced hard and his attitude has been great, but right now we&#8217;re pretty deep at defense. He needs to play in game and can&#8217;t just practice every day and expect to develop at the optimum level.&#8221;After a season of flux, Erixon is hoping to have a year of stability. He made Pittsburgh&#8217;s roster out of training camp but was a healthy scratch every game. Now that he&#8217;s with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Erixon wants to improve his game to earn a call-up and also just play hockey again.&#8220;I know the season just started and it&#8217;s not panic mode yet, but you don&#8217;t want to be sitting out for too long and not playing in games,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You&#8217;re obviously disappointed to get sent down, but I&#8217;m excited to start playing hockey again and keep working on the things that will help me become a better player.&#8221;At the AHL level, Erixon has already proven he&#8217; s pretty good.In 123 career AHL games, the blueliner has recorded 100 points. His last season with Springfield in 2013-14 Erixon registered 38 points in 40 games.Needless to say Erixon excels on the power play, and head coach Mike Sullivan intends to work him into one of the two units as he becomes familiar with the system.&#8220;He&#8217;s only had one practice here and we want him to become familiar with the concepts a little bit, but he&#8217;s going to be a part of our power play moving forward,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to try to work him in to all facets of the game.&#8221;That&#8217;s fine with Erixon, who is looking forward to getting on the ice in a game situation again.&#8220;I&#8217;ve had some good numbers at this level and I like the power play, but I&#8217;ll play wherever they want me to,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m just happy to be playing games again.&#8221;NOTEBOOK- Tom Kuhnhackl cleared waivers on Thursday and Pittsburgh re-assigned him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Kuhnhackl, who has yet to play after suffering an injury in training camp, is healthy and will be in the lineup, Sullivan said.- The Penguins play Springfield on Friday on the road and then host the Falcons Saturday at home. Sullivan said such quick turnarounds often result in intense games. &#8220;That&#8217;s how you create rivalries. There&#8217;s animosity on both sides when you play within that proximity,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It makes for exciting hockey.&#8221;- Sullivan will use a lineup of six defensemen and 12 forwards, opting to scratch one defenseman.- The Penguins left for Springfield after Thursday&#8217;s practice and stopped by the state police barracks in Blooming Grove to meet the troopers and tour the facility. Last season, the Penguins donated an autographed jersey to the barracks in honor of state police Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Up next&#8230;Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3-1-0-0) at Springfield Falcons (0-3-0-0)Friday, 7 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MAListen live on 103.1FM-WILKPlayers to watch:Springfield - Former Penguins Alex Grant and Dustin Jeffrey lead the Falcons with a three points each.Penguins - D Will O&#8217;Neill has three goals and four points in four games. All three of his goals came on the power play.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

Tim Erixon anxious to take ice with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins