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Conway Wins Joe Bot at St. Jude’s

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Medical staff and families volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul

<p>From mid-December to the end of February, Matthias Plachta registered just two assists in 21 games with the Springfield Falcons.</p><p>The Falcons went 10-20 in that span, and Plachta admits his first pro season in North America wasn&#8217;t going as planned.</p><p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t say you get used to losing, but when you lose so many games it&#8217;s not fun coming to the room after a game,&#8221; Plachta said.</p><p>Since he was traded to the Pittsburgh organization and assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the beginning of March, the German-born winger feels rejuvenated.</p><p>The Penguins are winning, Plachta is putting up points and his first venture into North American hockey may have been worth it after all.</p><p>&#8220;Coming to an organization like this that&#8217;s winning, it&#8217;s just fun,&#8221; Plachta said. &#8220;And that&#8217;s a huge part of it.&#8221;</p><p>The 24-year-old spent his entire pro career in his native Germany before signing with the Arizona organization last summer. After a successful season in 2014-15 with the Mannheim Eagles where Plachta posted 35 points in the regular season and added nine points in 15 playoff games, he felt the time was right to try his luck in North America.</p><p>It started out well as Plachta impressed enough that he was the last player cut from Arizona&#8217;s training camp.</p><p>But after that, the struggles began.</p><p>In 46 games with Springfield, Plachta scored only two goals, registered seven points and was a -9.</p><p>The North American experiment wasn&#8217;t working out, so Arizona traded Plachta to Pittsburgh for another player - Sergei Plotnikov, who was in a similar position. With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, however, Plachta immediately felt more comfortable. He was re-united with assistant coach Jay Leach, who coached him with Mannheim the year before.</p><p>Plachta was also matched on a line with Tom Kostopoulos and Carter Rowney, and the trio developed instant chemistry.</p><p>And in no time at all, Plachta began producing. He scored a goal in his second game with the Penguins and has added four assists since, totalling five points in eight games. Plachta is also a plus-4 with the Penguins.</p><p>Needless to say, Plachta is feeling better about his career choice.</p><p>&#8220;I am more comfortable here. It&#8217;s a little bit of everything - my linemates, the guys are good in this room and I know Leachy, which helps,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And I picked my game up, too.&#8221;</p><p>Head coach Clark Donatelli said Plachta has changed since his arrival.</p><p>&#8220;When he first came here he was a player that was frustrated,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;When we first got him, we sat him down and told him we don&#8217;t have any expectations. I said &#8216;I don&#8217;t have a read on you one way or the other. You have a fresh start here.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>While Plachta is quick to give credit to his linemates for his turnaround, it&#8217;s obvious that the Penguins&#8217; system is helping his cause. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound winger has been effective at using his size to win puck battles along the boards and play a physical component.</p><p>Being physical is a result of playing on the smaller ice surfaces in North America, Plachta said.</p><p>&#8220;If you have the size you might as well use it, no? &#8221; he said, &#8220;you see other guys playing physical and you just accept it. You see they&#8217;re having success with it.&#8221;</p><p>Surprisingly, Plachta said he didn&#8217;t play a physical game in Germany. When asked about his 73 penalty minutes with Mannheim last season, Plachta joked, &#8220;A couple of questionable ref calls.&#8221;</p><p>But as the Penguins head down the stretch with the postseason on the horizon, Plachta is looking to prove his worth even more.</p><p>He amassed quite a bit postseason experience in Germany and he&#8217;s put in plenty of work on the international level in the World Championships.</p><p>Plachta&#8217;s familiarity in games when the season is on the line could become a huge benefit for the Penguins. And for as well as he&#8217;s played since his arrival, Plachta said he expects more.</p><p>&#8220;I can still play better,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There are some parts of my game I can be better at, but overall it&#8217;s way better than I was in Springfield.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Matthias-Plachta.jpg">
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<div class="neCaption">Penguins Matthias Plachta during game with Hershey ----------------Fred Adams|for Times Leader 3-19-16</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Plachta.jpg</photo1><caption1>Penguins Matthias Plachta during game with Hershey ----------------Fred Adams|for Times Leader 3-19-16</caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams| For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>After rough start in Springfield, Plachta has turned things around</subheadMeta></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>

Matthias Plachta finds groove with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins