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Hazleton Area’s Jimmy Hoffman reaches Class 3A 132-pound semifinals at PIAA Championships

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District 2 goes medal-less at 2A state wrestling tournament for first time in 20 seasons

<p>For as odd as it sounds, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton needed a game like Wednesday&#8217;s 6-5 overtime win over Lehigh Valley.</p><p>The Penguins, by their own admission, played poorly during the first half of the game, spotting the Phantoms a 4-1 lead. It carried on a bothersome trend of slow starts for the Penguins, who despite that have won their last two.</p><p>&#8220;We weren&#8217;t happy with how the first couple periods went,&#8221; said forward Dustin Jeffrey. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t play our best at the start of the last few games, but for us it&#8217;s about finding ways to win.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s why falling behind by three goals to the Phantoms on Wednesday wasn&#8217;t necessarily a disaster. The deficit forced the Penguins to prove to themselves they could stick to a game plan, make a comeback and win.</p><p>Carter Rowney drove that point home with his overtime goal.</p><p>Jeffrey called it a &#8220;character win,&#8221; and those victories will be needed in the playoffs.</p><p>&#8220;There are going to be games in a series where it&#8217;s not going your way and you have to find a way to turn the tide,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a huge confidence builder knowing it doesn&#8217;t matter what the score is, we&#8217;re able to come back.&#8221;</p><p>The Penguins enjoyed a rare Friday without a game before embarking on a home-and-home series against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday at home and Sunday on the road.</p><p>Jeffrey said playing a home-and-home on the back end of a weekend isn&#8217;t a big deal because the Penguins played as recently as Wednesday. The travel to Bridgeport immediately after Saturday&#8217;s game will be the hardest part, he said.</p><p>The Sound Tigers are in fifth place in the Atlantic Division and are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>The last time the Penguins hosted Bridgeport, they suffered a 3-2 loss on Feb. 6. Overall, the Penguins are 1-2 against the Sound Tigers this season.</p><p>&#8220;It will be interesting,&#8221; forward Josh Archibald said. &#8220;They&#8217;re a pretty good team and they&#8217;re pretty hot right now. It will be a good test for us going down the stretch.&#8221;</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>&#8226; Conor Sheary, who was reassigned by Pittsburgh on Thursday, participated in Friday&#8217;s practice.</p><p>&#8226; G Tristan Jarry (illness) returned to practice and F Tyler Biggs had a maintenance day on Friday.</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"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Penguins ready for weekend set with Bridgeport