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<p>When Casey DeSmith spent parts of December and January with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he didn&#8217;t play that much.</p><p>So when the rookie netminder was recalled from Wheeling last weekend and was promptly inserted into the lineup for Sunday&#8217;s game against Hershey, it was a pleasant surprise.</p><p>&#8220;That was a big confidence booster for me. I felt good in there,&#8221; DeSmith said after Tuesday&#8217;s practice at the Toyota Sportsplex. &#8220;It was kind of an odd game with not a lot of shots, so it was tough to get into a rhythm, but it was nice to get in there.&#8221;</p><p>With Tristan Jarry still up with Pittsburgh, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltending situation has become a three-way competition for the time being between DeSmith, Brian Foster and rookie Sean Maguire.</p><p>Head coach Clark Donatelli said Maguire, who suffered an injury during his college season, is healthy and ready to go. Maguire practiced in full on Tuesday.</p><p>Donatelli has no idea when Jarry will return, but said he&#8217;s comfortable with the three goaltenders he has as the team prepares for another three-in-three this weekend.</p><p>&#8220;All three of those guys can play this weekend. We&#8217;ll see how things go this week,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;They&#8217;re all competing for games.&#8221;</p><p>For a team that began the year with Jarry and Matt Murray, DeSmith said it&#8217;s funny how it works out that he, Maguire and Foster are the three netminders on the roster now.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just the nature of the position. There&#8217;s only two of us, and if two get injured somewhere everybody bumps up a couple of spots,&#8221; he said.</p><p>DeSmith said he&#8217;s leaving the competition stuff up to the coaches and is just focusing on standing out in practice. In his previous stint with the club, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/sports/500507/wilkes-barrescranton-penguins-fall-in-clark-donatellis-debut" target="_blank">DeSmith saw a period of mop-up duty in Hershey on Dec. 26</a> and got his only start in Hartford on Jan. 3, stopping 22 of 24 shots in a 3-2 win.</p><p>He said the time spent around the club helped with the return.</p><p>&#8220;That makes a huge difference. I only got one start before I left, but coming back now the guys know who I am and how I play,&#8221; DeSmith said. &#8220;It makes a big difference confidence-wise.&#8221;</p><p>Now, DeSmith hopes he can make a difference as the Penguins prepare for the playoffs, even though the starts for this weekend remain up in the air.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a crucial time of year going into playoffs. This team is going to need good goaltending from somebody,&#8221; DeSmith said. &#8220;Whether it&#8217;s me or somebody else, we&#8217;re just going to work through it.&#8221;</p><p>NOTES</p><p>- Carter Rowney didn&#8217;t practice on Tuesday and had a maintenance day, Donatelli said. &#8220;Also absent were Steve Oleksy and Barry Goers, who are day-to-day but expected to be ready for the weekend. D Reid McNeill is week-to-week.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">DeSmith </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_CaseyDeSmith.jpg</photo0><caption0>DeSmith </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></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>

Casey DeSmith finds himself in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltending battle