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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Old habits die hard.

So there was Jayson Megna, winning faceoffs, scoring a goal, rifling an assist over to a teammate for the go-ahead goal at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Only he wasn’t the hometown hero anymore.

This time, he was intent on breaking the hearts of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins he used to play with.

Megna scored the first goal Saturday and registered an assist after winning a faceoff in the Penguins’ zone, lifting Hartford over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 3-1 in his second return to the place he used to call home.

“It was weird, but not as weird as my first time back here,” said Megna, who signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers organization in the offseason. “It’s a little strange to see the guys I played with the last three years on the other side. But I’m starting to settle in now, so it was more comfortable than the first time.

“It felt great coming back and being able to contribute to a win.”

Those contributions started early.

Using a spinning, backhanded shot, Megna got the scoring started when he whistled a laser past Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry on the power play with 2:19 remaining in the first quarter.

“It was a nice feed from Marek Hrivik,” Megna said. “The pass was a little hard, I just tried to torque up a bit. Fortunately it found the right side of the post.”

His old teammate Conor Sheary had a quick response, though.

Sheary worked his way to the left side and muscled home the tying goal less than a minute after Megna scored, moments after Sheary barely missed wide on a breakaway attempt.

That first goal brought a plethora of stuffed bears raining down on the ice on Teddy Bear Toss night, forcing the teams to head to the locker room for an early intermission with 1:43 to play in the opening period while bucket-loads of the toys were removed from the playing surface.

When the teams returned, Megna showed he wasn’t in the mood for playing around.

The teams closed out the rest of the first period, immediately began the second, and Hartford drew another penalty by the Penguins.

Megna went right to work, winning his third face-off of the night, then swiftly splitting two Penguins defenders with a pass that triggered Adam Tambellini’s goal 5:20 into the second period.

It turned out to be the winning goal, and it was just like old times for Megna.

The 25-year-old center scored 26 goals and registered 13 assists in his final season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2014-15, when he registered a plus-18 in 63 AHL games with the Penguins. Megna also spent time with parent Pittsburgh for a second straight season, picking up an assist in his 12 NHL games with the big Penguins.

When he returned to Mohegan Sun Arena, this time for another short visit, Megna helped pick apart a Penguins team that lost for just the fourth time in 20 games while leading the Atlantic Division.

Chad Nehring added an empty-net goal with 1:27 to play to give Hartford breathing room.

It handed Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry his first loss in seven starts with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Jarry stopped 22 of the 24 shots against him.

“I thought it was a really good team effort,” said Megna, who helped the Wolf Pack improve to 10-11-2. “We knew we were going to have a battle against a good Wilkes-Barre team. It was good to get a win here.”
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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp1_faa.jpg" alt="" />
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Dominick Uher and Hartford’s Ryan Bourque collide going for the puck during Saturday’s game on the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp1_faa.jpgWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Dominick Uher and Hartford’s Ryan Bourque collide going for the puck during Saturday’s game on the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Fred Adams| For Times Leader</div>
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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp2_faa.jpg" alt="" />
<div class="neCaption">Penguins wing Scott Wilson’s shot on goal is knocked away by Hartford goalie Magnus Helberg as defenseman Brady Skjel follows.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp2_faa.jpgPenguins wing Scott Wilson’s shot on goal is knocked away by Hartford goalie Magnus Helberg as defenseman Brady Skjel follows. Fred Adams| For Times Leader</div>
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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp3_faa.jpg" alt="" />
<div class="neCaption">Hartford center Chad Nehring battles with Penguins’ Conor Sheary on a faceoff on Saturday.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp3_faa.jpgHartford center Chad Nehring battles with Penguins’ Conor Sheary on a faceoff on Saturday. Fred Adams| For Times Leader</div>
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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp4_faa.jpg" alt="" />
<div class="neCaption">Penuins Conor Sheary sets up for a shot on goal against Hartford on Saturday night.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp4_faa.jpgPenuins Conor Sheary sets up for a shot on goal against Hartford on Saturday night. Fred Adams| For Times Leader</div>
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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp5_faa.jpg" alt="" />
<div class="neCaption">The ice was covered with suffed animals after the Penguins first score in the opening period of play with Hartford on the Teddy Bear Toss --------------Fred Adams|for Times Leader12-5-15</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_pens_wp5_faa.jpgThe ice was covered with suffed animals after the Penguins first score in the opening period of play with Hartford on the Teddy Bear Toss --------------Fred Adams|for Times Leader12-5-15Fred Adams| For Times Leader</div>
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By Paul Sokoloski

psokoloski@www.timesleader.com

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<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Wolf Pack 3, Penguins 1</strong></p>
<strong>Hartford`1`1`1` -`3</strong>

<strong>Penguins`1`0`0` -` 1</strong>

<strong>First Period: Scoring </strong>- 1. Hartford, Megna 6 (Hrivik, Bodie), 17:41 (PP); 2. Penguins, Sheary 5 18:17. <strong>Penalties</strong>-O’Neill WBS (closing hand on puck), 10:14; Gibbons HAR (interference), 11:45; McNeill WBS (interference), 16:16.

<strong>Second Period: Scoring </strong>- 3. Hartford, Tambellini 8 (Hrivik, Megna), 14:40 (PP). <strong>Penalties </strong>- O’Donnell HAR (tripping), 9:13; Mouillierat WBS (tripping), 9:56; Oleksy WBS (slashing), 13:36; Graves HAR (roughing, fighting), 17:03; Oleksy WBS (roughing), 17:03; Uher WBS (instigating, fighting, misconduct - instigating), 17:03.

<strong>Third Period: Scoring </strong>- 4. Hartford, Nehring 7 (Bourque), 18:33 (EN). <strong>Penalties</strong>-Sundqvist WBS (elbowing), 0:33; Nehring HAR (unsportsmanlike conduct), 6:45; Andersen WBS (boarding), 8:59.

<strong>Shots on Goal: </strong>HAR 7-7-11-25; WBS 12-13-4-29. <strong>Power Play Opportunities: </strong>HAR 2 / 7; WBS 0 / 3. <strong>Goalies: </strong>HAR, Hellberg 7-6-0 (29 shots-28 saves); WBS, Jarry 6-1-0 (24 shots-22 saves).

<strong>A</strong>-6,224

<strong>Referees </strong>-Tim Mayer, Michael Mullen. <strong>Linesmen</strong>-Matt McNulty, Luke Murray.

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Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski

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Familiar face takes down Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins