Six WVC football players listed among state’s best

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Lottery Numbers for the week of April 10

WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; The Providence Bruins didn&#8217;t leave the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a good feeling about their upcoming matchup in the first round of the playoffs.Although home ice has yet to be decided, the Bruins will be the Penguins first postseason opponent, and if the regular season is any indication Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will have their work cut out for them.On Saturday, the Bruins weathered a strong first period from the Penguins to win 3-1. The Penguins were 0 for 6 on the power play, missing out on several opportunities to extend their lead throughout the game.The Penguins have now lost four straight to Providence and head coach Clark Donatelli acknowledged the Bruins will be a formidable first-round opponent.&#8220;That was a good hockey game. Could&#8217;ve gone either way,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We had some chances to tie it up late. I&#8217;m happy with our team&#8217;s effort.&#8221;Wilkes-Barre/Scranton dominated the first period, outshooting Providence 20-9 and took a 1-0 lead when Carter Rowney finished off a two-on-one rush with Jake Guentzel with a shot inside the far post.The 20-shot output marked the first time the Penguins registered that many shots in a period at home since Nov. 23, 2011.&#8220;We came out and played real hard. We were ready to play,&#8221; Donatelli said.Accolades aside, the Penguins missed several opportunities to build on their lead in the second period and it came back to haunt them.The Penguins gained three power-play opportunities in the period and failed to convert. Providence also had three tries on the power play and they evened things up with a man advantage goal late in the period to send a 1-1 tie into the third.Aside from the Providence power play tally, rookie netminder Casey DeSmith kept the Penguins in it with his stellar play. In just the fourth AHL start of his career, DeSmith stopped 18 of 19 shots through two frames, including a key save on the AHL&#8217;s leading goal scorer, Phil Vatrano, who he denied on a breakaway.The Bruins gained a 2-1 lead early in the third period when Alexander Khokhlachev used his speed to create a two-on-one and dished across to Austin Czarnik who roofed a shot over DeSmith.Vatrano iced it with an empty net goal with one second left.Now, the Penguins turn their sights to home ice, which they can clinch on Sunday with a win in Hershey and a Bridgeport victory over Providence.Donatelli said home ice would be nice, but either way he knows Providence will be a dangerous first round opponent.&#8220;They have a good team over there. Pretty skilled,&#8221; he said, listing off the Bruins&#8217; top players. &#8220;It keeps coming. It&#8217;s going to be a good series.&#8221;NOTES- Donatelli said he hasn&#8217;t decided if he will rest anyone for Sunday&#8217;s regular season finale against the Bears. No determination has been made if Sean Maguire will start or if the Penguins will go back to DeSmith for a third straight game.- D Ethan Prow, F Jarrett Burton, F Patrick McGrath, D Ryan Parent, D Reid McNeill, F Sahir Gill and F Dominik Uher were scratched for the Penguins.- Prior to the game, the Penguins haded out their end of season team awards:MVP - Carter RowneyPlayer&#8217;s Player Award - Tom KostopoulosRookie of the Year - Dominik SimonStar of the Year - Dominik SimonFan Favorite - Patrick McGrathDefensive Player of the Year - Steve OleksyCommunity Service Award - Will O&#8217;Neill- Kostopoulos was also honored for his 500th game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bruins' Mark Naclerio (center) tries to come in and steal the puck between Penguins center Dustin Jeffrey (16) and Tim Erixon (4) at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. 4/16/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041716PensGame1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bruins' Mark Naclerio (center) tries to come in and steal the puck between Penguins center Dustin Jeffrey (16) and Tim Erixon (4) at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. 4/16/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041716PensGame2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penguins right wing Matthias Plachta (42) keeps the puck from Bruins left wing Brandon DeFazio at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. 4/16/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041716PensGame2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Penguins right wing Matthias Plachta (42) keeps the puck from Bruins left wing Brandon DeFazio at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. 4/16/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041716PensGame3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penguins' center Dustin Jeffrey (left) puts his stick up to stop Bruins' Brandon DeFazio at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. 4/16/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_TTL041716PensGame3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Penguins' center Dustin Jeffrey (left) puts his stick up to stop Bruins' Brandon DeFazio at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. 4/16/16. Sean McKeag | Times Leader</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Providence 3, Penguins 1Providence`0`1`2`&#8212;`3Penguins` 1`0 0`&#8212;`1 First PeriodScoring &#8211; 1. WBS, Carter Rowney 24 (Guentzel, Kostopoulos) 14:12. Penalties - WBS, Dea (delay of game) 1:57; PRO, Youds (cross-checking) 10:17; PRO, Talbot (roughing) 17:28; WBS, Archibald (roughing) 17:28.Second PeriodScoring &#8211; 2. PRO, Austin Czarnik 18 (Khokhlachev, Vatrano) power play 15:50. Penalties - WBS, Goers (hooking) 3:48; PRO, Talbot (holding) 6:22; PRO, Heinen (high-sticking) 8:35; WBS, Plachta (roughing) 12:07; PRO, Ferlin (holding, misconduct) 13:01; PRO, Vatrano (high-sticking) 13:32; WBS, Erixon (roughing) 13:32; WBS, Krause (tripping) 15:40.Third PeriodScoring &#8211; PRO, Austin Czarnik 19 (Khokhlachev, DeFazio) 4:30. 4. PRO, Frank Vatrano 35 (Griffith) empty net 19:59. Penalties - PRO, Cross (tripping) 11:11; PRO, Youds (boarding) 16:12.Shots on goalProvidence &#8211; 9-10-13-32Penguins &#8211; 20-3-8-31Power-play OpportunitiesProvidence &#8211; 1 of 4Penguins &#8211; 0 of 6GoaltendersProvidence - Jeremy Smith 13-5-1 (30 saves-31 shots)Penguins &#8211; Casey DeSmith 2-2-0 (29-31)StartersProvidence &#8211; G Jeremy Smith, D Matt Irwin, D Ben Youds, LW Brandon DeFazio, C Alexander Khokhlachev, RW Austin CzarnikPenguins &#8211; G Casey DeSmith, D Harrison Ruopp, D Tim Erixon, LW Kael Mouillierat, C Dustin Jeffrey, RW Adam KrauseThree Stars1. PRO, Austin Czarnik (two goals) 2. WBS, Carter Rowney (goal) 3. PRO, Alexander Khokhlachev (two assists)Referee &#8211; Peter MacDougall, Michael Mullen. Linesmen &#8211; Shandor Alphonso, Francois DussureaultAttendance &#8211; 7,865</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins get a taste of playoff opponent, Providence Bruins