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Two house fires ignite in Salem Township hours apart

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Pets of the week

<p>It&#8217;s no small feat that Josh Archibald already matched his goal total from last season while playing in 12 less games.</p><p>But it&#8217;s amazing that Archibald managed to accomplish the task after skating through the first 25 games of the season without scoring a single goal. Over the last two weeks, however, Archibald tallied five goals in eight games to match his career high.</p><p>Archibald has become the perfect example of how quickly things can change during the course of a season.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;d definitely say I&#8217;m back on pace,&#8221; Archibald said after Monday&#8217;s practice at the Toyota Sportsplex. &#8220;During the start of the season I was wanting to score so bad it got to the point I was over-thinking things. It just wasn&#8217;t going in.&#8221;</p><p>Not anymore.</p><p>As the Penguins watched top scorers Scott Wilson and Conor Sheary shuffle back-and-forth to Pittsburgh, Archibald&#8217;s recent scoring spree has helped the offense maintain a consistent level of production.</p><p>Head coach Clark Donatelli said the Penguins never lost faith in Archibald during his scoring slump. It was just a matter of Archibald figuring out how to use his speed effectively while not neglecting the other aspects of his game.</p><p>&#8220;He stuck with it and mentally bared-down,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;He&#8217;s starting to get it.&#8221;</p><p>And it&#8217;s not just offensively where Archibald&#8217;s fortunes have improved for the better. He&#8217;s playing a strong defensive game as well, posting a career-high plus-15 rating - tied for second on the team, after registering a minus-1 last season.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a big thing. You have to be good in your defensive zone if you want to play in the NHL,&#8221; Archibald said. &#8220;That&#8217;s something I wanted to show.&#8221;</p><p>NOTES</p><p>- With Derrick Pouliot recalled by Pittsburgh, the Penguins will have a full week of practice to figure out who will take his spot, especially on the power play. Donatelli suggested Clark Seymour, who has two goals in eight games, as a likely candidate.</p><p>- On the injury front, D Tim Erixon, who missed the last three games, remains day-to-day and could return for at least one game this weekend, Donatelli said. F Oskar Sundqvist, who hasn&#8217;t played since Jan. 5 due to an illness, is healthy and ready to return to the lineup.</p><p>- Donatelli was full of praise for Pouliot on Monday. &#8220;He&#8217;s had some really good games. He&#8217;s been playing with some confidence and has been good defensively,&#8221; he said. &#8220;He deserves a chance to go up there and play again.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_WBS-Penguins-7.jpg">
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins right wing Josh Archibald has scored five goals in the last eight games to match his career high. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL110515Penguins_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins right wing Josh Archibald has scored five goals in the last eight games to match his career high. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></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>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ Josh Archibald puts goal drought behind him