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Lackawanna County restaurant inspections: Jan. 19-22

Dustin Jeffrey, Rob Schremp fondly remember time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

SYRACUSE, NY &#8212; After all three Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins originally selected for the AHL All-Star game were ruled out due to call-up or injury, Will O&#8217;Neill had a hunch he may get the nod to go to Syracuse.His hunch was confirmed on Saturday morning when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton CEO Jeff Barrett called and broke the news.O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s spot on the Eastern Conference squad isn&#8217;t based solely on the fact that Penguins teammates Derrick Pouliot, Matt Murray and Dominik Simon couldn&#8217;t make it. O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s numbers this season are all-star worthy with six goals and 26 points - good enough for a tie for seventh among AHL defensemen.Now that O&#8217;Neill is an all-star for the first time in his four-year pro career, it&#8217;s an experience he intends to appreciate.&#8220;I&#8217;m excited to see and meet some other players in the league and just sit back and watch the great players that are here,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said.He also intends to do something else while in Syracuse: Represent Wilkes-Barre.For O&#8217;Neill, the chance to wear a Penguins jersey in an all-star event is special.&#8220;It&#8217;s important to me to represent Wilkes-Barre as much as I can,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It gives me an opportunity to show I belong here and also represent my three teammates who couldn&#8217;t be here. I want to show that we have a great team and represent this jersey.&#8221;Since he joined the AHL for his first pro season in 2012, O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s numbers have steadily improved. In his rookie season he scored three goals and 21 points in 59 games with St. John&#8217;s. He upped it to 35 points the following season.Last season, his third with the IceCaps, O&#8217;Neill notched career highs in goals (10) and points (48), good enough to rank fifth among all AHL defensemen.O&#8217;Neill thought his first all-star appearance may have come then.&#8220;This time last year I thought there was a chance that I could&#8217;ve been selected, but it wasn&#8217;t too disheartening,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I knew where I stood among other players in the league. Things happen for a reason and I&#8217;m fortunate to be here this year.&#8221;O&#8217;Neill also feels fortunate to be a member of the Atlantic Division-leading Penguins and enjoying another productive season.It&#8217;s a refreshing change after last season&#8217;s IceCaps finished at the bottom of their division and didn&#8217;t make the playoffs.&#8220;I want to be a part of it. I want to be a contributor to a winning team and I&#8217;m thankful for that,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a big deal to me.&#8221;So is being an all-star and representing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.&#8220;There&#8217;s pride that comes with this,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said. &#8220;You&#8217;re an all-star and this is just a fun event to be a part of.&#8221;NOTES- One intriguing aspect of the all-star game that surfaces every year is when players from rival teams become teammates and share a locker room. That&#8217;s the case this year with O&#8217;Neill and Lehigh Valley&#8217;s Nick Cousins and Anthony Stolarz. The Penguins and Phantoms wrapped up a heated two-game set on Saturday with Lehigh Valley winning both. Cousins said he met O&#8217;Neill for the first time on Sunday before the Skills Competition.&#8220;I just said &#8216;how about that game last night&#8217; and he said it was fun,&#8221; Cousins said. &#8220;It was fun. We have a pretty heated rivalry between us and I don&#8217;t think we like each other. But for right now we&#8217;re teammates and we set our differences aside.&#8221;- Former Penguins Dustin Jeffrey is making his second trip to the AHL All-Star game and was happy to see he was picked to participate in events emphasizing shooting more than skating. &#8220;I went through the list we had to rank the events we wanted to be in, and I put low numbers for all the skating ones,&#8221; Jeffrey said. &#8220;The less mobile they are, the better.&#8221;- O&#8217;Neill was the first player to compete in Sunday&#8217;s Skills Competition, opening up the event with the Puck Control Relay. O&#8217;Neill won his round and propelled the Eastern Conference to the win.- O&#8217;Neill said he&#8217;s looking forward to Monday&#8217;s All-Star Classic and is a big fan of the new format, feature a split with four-on-four and three-on-three skaters. &#8220;It&#8217;s a great format. Four-on-four is awesome and the three-on-three makes it even better,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There&#8217;s so much space and tons of chances. A little miscue defensively and you get a chance. It&#8217;s all really fun.- Former Penguin Rob Schremp pulled out a trick from his 2008 All-Star Game appearance during the breakaway relay. Schremp scooped up the puck on his blade, waved it around and whipped it to the net. Goaltender Michael Leighton let the shot hit him, but it was still the highlight of the event.- The Western Conference won the Skills Competition 19-14.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>IF YOU GOMondayAHL All-Star game, 7 p.m., in Syracuse, NY</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

Will O’Neill happy to represent Wilkes-Barre at AHL All-Star game