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Holy Redeemer digs deep to pull out girls swimming victory over Tunkhannock

Black Knights wrestle victory away from Western Wayne

<p>While quite a few familiar faces among the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forwards were absent for Thursday&#8217;s practice, things were back to normal in the net.</p><p>Goaltender Matt Murray returned to practice after missing the last two games and the AHL All-Star Challenge and said the extra rest was a benefit.</p><p>&#8220;It was more of a rest thing than anything. Nothing major,&#8221; Murray said. &#8220;Just something we didn&#8217;t want to let slide.&#8221;</p><p>Now that he&#8217;s rested and healthy, Murray is anxious to get back into the net. That will likely happen during Friday&#8217;s game in Springfield.</p><p>Still, when asked if the grind of the season plus the call-up to Pittsburgh took a toll, Murray said he&#8217;s had busier seasons in juniors. But now that he is in the second year of his pro career, Murray also understands the importance keeping himself fresh for the postseason.</p><p>&#8220;I never want to come out of the net. That&#8217;s my personality,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But at the same time you want to be ready to go come playoffs when everything really matters. You don&#8217;t want to burn yourself out in the regular season.&#8221;</p><p>It&#8217;s a lesson Murray also learned by watching the way some NHL teams handle their goaltenders.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of NHL teams overuse their starting goalie and sometimes you see the effects of that in the playoffs. It&#8217;s tough to play 70 games in the regular season and still compete throughout the whole playoffs,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Why?</p><p>Murray said there&#8217;s a big difference - both physically and mentally, in the demands faced by goaltenders and other players. While forwards and defensmen and can head to the bench to recharge, goaltenders are on the ice for a full 60 minutes, he said.</p><p>It can be demanding, especially when a team faces back-to-back contests.</p><p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re mentally intense for 60 minutes and have to turn around and play a 2 p.m. game the next day, it&#8217;s harder for a goalie,&#8221; Murray said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a fine line between wanting to play every game and being able to physically handle playing every single game.&#8221;</p><p>NOTES</p><p>- On the injury front, forwards Dominik Simon, Dominik Uher and Sahir Gill didn&#8217;t travel with the team to Springfield. Head coach Clark Donatelli said Gill and Simon are day-to-day, while Uher is considered week-to-week. D Barry Goers skated on Thursday with the red &#8220;no contact&#8221; jersey but is still week-to-week.</p><p>- With forward Oskar Sundqvist recalled to Pittsburgh, Donatelli expects to make a call-up or two from Wheeling.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>Up next&#8230;</p><p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (29-13-1-1) at Springfield Falcons (17-22-2-3)</p><p>Friday, 7 p.m. at the MassMutual Center, Springfield MA</p><p>Listen live on 103.1FM-WILK</p><p>Players to watch:</p><p>Springfield - Former Penguin and AHL all-star Dustin Jeffrey has 33 points in 34 games.</p><p>Penguins - With call-ups and injuries, Will O&#8217;Neill is now the Penguins active leading scorer with 26 points.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins goaltender Murray rested and ready for action