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<p>Scott Wilson can&#8217;t define it.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan says it&#8217;s hard to articulate exactly what it is.</p><p>But they both know what it is when they see it.</p><p>Chemistry is something that binds a line or bonds a defensive pairing on the ice. When they have it, plays are a bit more effortless, mistakes are rare and on-ice awareness is taken to a whole new level.</p><p>&#8220;Chemistry is one of those things that it&#8217;s hard to put it into words,&#8221; Sullivan said, &#8220;but when a team or a line or a D pair has it, you know it when you see it.</p><p>&#8220;When you&#8217;re one of those guys, you feel it.&#8221;</p><p>Right now, the line of Conor Sheary, Kael Mouillierat and Wilson have used their chemistry to become one of the Penguins&#8217; most dangerous offensive threats. Through the first 13 games of the season, the trio has combined for 15 goals and 37 points &#8212; totals they all attribute to chemistry.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve managed to stay together since we all got sent down (from Pittsburgh&#8217;s training camp), and (the chemistry) has been building up and you&#8217;re seeing the results now,&#8221; Mouillierat said.</p><p>But that wasn&#8217;t always the case.</p><p>Sullivan said chemistry can be fleeting. It comes and goes when a line can do no wrong for a stretch and then goes into a funk. Sometimes, Sullivan said, it takes shuffling the lines to rekindle that chemistry, but in the case of Mouillierat&#8217;s line, he left things un-touched through a brief dry spell.</p><p>When the Penguins hosted St. John&#8217;s for a pair of games at home on Nov. 4 and Nov. 6, the line of Sheary-Mouillierat-Wilson combined for just one assist and no goals.</p><p>The trio bounced back last weekend and combined for six goals and 15 points in three games last weekend, including two game winners. But even during that successful run they ran into a brief funk on Sunday in Hartford when the Penguins found themselves down 5-1 at the end of the first period.</p><p>If the Penguins were going to turn things around and win their 11th straight, Sullivan knew he needed Mouillierat&#8217;s line to start producing.</p><p>&#8220;Coach called our line out after the first period and said he (needed) more from us,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;Sometimes that&#8217;s the best thing that can happen. A little kick in the pants.&#8221;</p><p>Sullivan&#8217;s approach worked, sparking the line to score three of the Penguins&#8217; next six goals, including Wilson&#8217;s game winner in overtime. Sheary finished the game with four assists, Mouillierat had a goal and Wilson scored twice and added an assist on the night.</p><p>&#8220;If we were going to get back into that game, I felt we needed more out of that line so I challenged them after the first period,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;I thought they responded tremendously. They had a huge impact on the game.&#8221;</p><p>So how does a line develop chemistry to the point where it can take over a game?</p><p>Wilson said it begins in practice.</p><p>&#8220;You practice together and you learn each other&#8217;s habits, where they like to shoot from and where they&#8217;re comfortable being on the ice,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You make a play together in practice and see it work, so you try it a couple more times and then try it in a game.&#8221;</p><p>Wilson&#8217;s explanation partly defines what chemistry amongst a line looks like. Mouillierat took it a step further and said chemistry is like a sixth sense, knowing where your teammates are without having to look for them.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s about trust. That comes from the repetitions in practice and that carries over into a game,&#8221; Mouillierat said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been on teams where the lines are different every weekend. But here, we&#8217;ve won some games now so there hasn&#8217;t been a need to change things up and we&#8217;ve gotten those reps together.&#8221;</p><p>While the wins are nice, Sullivan said it was the instant chemistry that was apparent on Mouillierat&#8217;s line that&#8217;s the reason why they&#8217;ve stayed together.</p><p>&#8220;Early in the season they were predominantly the most impactful offensive line,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;The other lines have come along, but Kael&#8217;s line has been a consistent threat.&#8221;</p><p>Now that the chemistry is firmly established, the line of Sheary-Mouillierat-Wilson looks to keep the consistency in place as well. They don&#8217;t want any more funks, nor do they want to give Sullivan a reason to issue another &#8220;kick in the pants.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been on some pretty good lines before, and this one is similar,&#8221; Mouillierat said. &#8220;We&#8217;re three totally different players but we&#8217;re a good mix of everything. A lot remains to be seen yet and we still have a long ways to go, but hopefully we can stay together and keep putting up points.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kael Mouillierat said chemistry is knowing where his linemates are without having to look for them on the ice. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_Mouillierat.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kael Mouillierat said chemistry is knowing where his linemates are without having to look for them on the ice. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams file photo| For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Line of Sheary-Mouillierat-Wilson are a serious threat for Pens</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table class="mceItemTable" style="border:none;width:98%;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"></p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"></p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"></p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"></p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Penguins find success behind line of Conor Sheary, Kael Mouillierat and Scott Wilson