web1_Kidder-Street-crash.jpg

Man killed in one-vehicle crash on Kidder Street on Saturday night

web1_PA-Lottery-logo.jpg

Lottery Summary for the week of April 3

HERSHEY &#8212; It didn&#8217;t seem like the best formula for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to pin their playoff hopes to.After failing to get a win in the last three games and notch the two points necessary to clinch a playoff spot, the Penguins came into Hershey to face the division leaders in front of a hostile crowd of 10,000-plus.And they put a backup netminder in goal whose last start for the Penguins was a month ago.&#8220;It&#8217;s got to be one of the hardest jobs to come in after not playing for weeks,&#8221; Dustin Jeffrey said. &#8220;It&#8217;s never an easy situation.&#8221;But it all worked out.Goaltender Brian Foster anchored a solid penalty kill effort that went 6 for 7, including a crucial four-minute kill in the third period while clinging to a one-goal lead, as the Penguins defeated the Bears 4-3. Dominik Simon scored twice and Tom Kostopoulos added a pair of assists on the night.With the win, the Penguins clinch a playoff spot for the 14th straight season and now look to displace the Bears atop the Atlantic Division standings and claim home ice.But just as important, after Tristan Jarry started the last 11 games, Foster showed the Penguins they have a viable backup who can be relied upon.&#8220;It&#8217;s important to show them I&#8217;m always ready,&#8221; said Foster, who stopped 21 of 24 shots. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been working to the playoffs and to be a part of helping them get in, it was awesome.&#8221;From the start the Penguins played with the urgency of a team desperate to get into the playoffs, and the effort paid off.Plays by Kostopoulos generated the first two goals of the opening period. The first occurred after Kostopoulos stripped the puck from Hershey defenseman Ryan Stanton along the boards, skated behind the net and dished out in front to Simon for the easy one-timer. Two minutes later Kostopoulos passed in front to Carter Rowney for a tap-in to make it 2-0.Hershey capitalized on a Penguins miscue later in the period when Brian Foster started to go behind the net to play the puck, went back to the crease and while he was sliding backwards Liam O&#8217;Brien banked the puck off his skate for Hershey&#8217;s first goal.The Penguins answered at the end of the period when Simon scored his second of the game when he deflected a Josh Archibald shot to make it 3-1.In the second period the Penguins kept rolling as Jarrett Burton deflected a Reid McNeill blast form the point to make it 4-1.The Bears made it 4-2 before the end of the period, but the real story the Penguins penalty kill, which was tested three times and, anchored by Foster, came up big.&#8220;We didn&#8217;t get rattled,&#8221; said head coach Clark Donatelli. &#8220;(Hershey) had a lot of push-backs and we handled the momentum swings.&#8221;Foster&#8217;s key save came at the end of the period during Hershey&#8217;s third power play when he stoned Sean Collins alone in front.It was clear that Foster was winning Donatelli&#8217;s confidence.&#8220;I was really happy to see it from him,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;He stepped in here tonight and did a great job. He was ready to play.&#8221;Foster and the Penguins penalty kill would be called upon again in the third period, and this time they showed a crack when Chris Bourque scored with the man advantage to bring Hershey to within one, 4-3Minutes later Simon was given a double-minor for a high-stick and the Penguins faced their biggest challenge of the night with Hershey on a four-minute power play. The penalty kill stepped up, sweeping pucks off of Hershey sticks and allowing just one chance - which Foster stopped, to keep the Bears off the board.&#8220;That was a gut-check for the guys,&#8221; Donatelli said of the four-minute penalty kill. &#8220;That&#8217;s a really, really good power play, one of the best in the league. They dug in and had some really big kills.&#8221;Later in the period Hershey kept pressing and crashing the net, and Foster&#8217;s helmet got knocked off twice during plays in front.But he wasn&#8217;t fazed.&#8220;They were shooting high, I guess,&#8221; Foster joked.But at the end of the night, no one was laughing about what Foster and the Penguins&#8217; penalty kill accomplished.Now that the playoff ticket is punched, the Penguins have another goal they hope to cross off the list.&#8220;We want to come in first and get home ice,&#8221; Donatelli said.They have two more matchups against the Bears to get it done, including a game at home on Sunday.NOTES- D Steve Oleksy traveled with the team to Hershey but was scratched with a lower body injury. Donatelli said Oleksy is day-to-day and wasn&#8217;t sure if he would play on Sunday.<style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_WBS-Penguins-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_WBS-Penguins-1.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>WBS zeros in Bears in Sunday matchup</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta> Penguins 4, Hershey 3Penguins 3-1-0 &#8212; 4Hershey 1-1-1 &#8212; 3First PeriodScoring &#8211; 1. WBS, Dominik Simon 23 (Kostopoulos, Guentzel) 9:01. 2. WBS, Carter Rowney 22 (Kostopoulos, Guentzel) 11:40. 3. HER, Liam O&#8217;Brien 7 (Sill, Lewington) 12:08. 4. WBS, Dominik Simon 24 (Archibald, Jeffrey) 17:39. Penalties - WBS, Parent (tripping) 6:20; HER, Sill (hooking) 14:03.Second PeriodScoring &#8211; 5. WBS, Jarrett Burton 2 (McNeill, Andersen) 3:23. 6. HER, Carter Camper 9 (Stanton, Barber) 7:15. Penalties - WBS, Erixon (hooking) 8:20; HER, Ness (cross-checking) 11:22; WBS, Andersen (roughing) 20:00; HER, Mitchell (goaltender interference, roughing) 20:00.Penalty shot - WBS, Archibald - NG, :49.Third PeriodScoring &#8211; HER, Chris Bourque 29 (Djoos, Stephenson) power play 6:04. Penalties - WBS, Erixon (delay of game) 4:14; WBS, Simon (high-sticking - double minor) 8:31.Shots on goalPenguins &#8211; 7-6-5-18Hershey &#8211; 6-10-8-24Power-play OpportunitiesPenguins &#8211; 0 of 3Hershey &#8211; 1 of 6GoaltendersPenguins &#8211; Brian Foster 3-3-1 (21 saves &#8211; 24 shots)Hershey &#8211; Dan Ellis 25-11-5 (4-8); Justin Peters - 3:23 of the second period (6-6)StartersPenguins &#8211; G Brian Foster, D Reid McNeill, D Niclas Andersen, LW Josh Archibald, C Dustin Jeffrey, RW Dominik SimonHershey &#8211; G Dan Ellis, D Christian Djoos, D Erik Burgdoerfer, LW Liam O&#8217;Brien, C Zach Sill, RW Garrett MitchellThree Stars1. WBS, Dominik Simon (two goals) 2. WBS, Tom Kostopoulos (two assists) 3. HER, Chris Bourque (goal)Referee &#8211; Mark Lemelin. Linesmen &#8211; Scott Pomento, Tom DellaFrancoAttendance &#8211; 10,612</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

Brian Foster, penalty kill lead Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to playoff-clinching win