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Weekend event at Genetti’s to raise awareness about homeless in Wilkes-Barre

Local Sports: Holy Redeemer slips past North Pocono

HERSHEY &#8212; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli couldn&#8217;t help but laugh when asked about his goaltending situation after Sunday&#8217;s 2-1 shootout loss to Hershey.Rookie netminder Casey DeSmith, who was playing his third game in three days, had to leave the contest in the third period after suffering what Donatelli said is a lower body injury. With Tristan Jarry still in Pittsburgh and Brian Foster playing with Wheeling, the Penguins finished the game with rookie Sean Maguire, who saw his first pro action.With just two days to get ready for Wednesday&#8217;s opening game of the playoff series against Providence, what&#8217;s the game plan for the Penguins netminders?Make that netminder.&#8220;It&#8217;s kind of new,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;Right now we got Maguire.&#8221;DeSmith was showing no signs of wear during Sunday&#8217;s game, giving up just one goal on 22 shots. But he was pulled with less than nine minutes remaining in the third period and headed to the locker room, not long after he made a sprawling pad save on Hershey&#8217;s Madison Bowey.Maguire stopped all four shots he faced in relief, but got the loss in the shootout after stopping a Hershey two-man advantage that began in the third period and carried into overtime.As far as DeSmith, Donatelli said he&#8217;s day-to-day and will know more on Monday.As for Maguire, the coach was impressed.&#8220;He had to kill some penalties and it&#8217;s a tough situation to put a goalie in for his first pro game,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;He was composed. He did tremendous.&#8221;The loss coupled with a Providence win means the Penguins won&#8217;t have home ice for the first round, although the first two games of the five-game series will be at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Penguins wrap up the regular season with a 43-27-4-2 record, good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division.As far as falling just short of claiming home ice, Donatelli wasn&#8217;t concerned.&#8220;We would&#8217;ve liked to have had home ice. They&#8217;re very good in Providence,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We won a lot of games on the road. Right now since we don&#8217;t have (home ice) it&#8217;s not going to matter. That&#8217;s going to be the attitude. It doesn&#8217;t matter where we&#8217;re playing.&#8221;Both teams were sluggish offensively and neither found the back of the net through the first two periods. The Penguins generated just 16 shots in the first two frames while holding the Bears to 13.While he wasn&#8217;t challenged often, DeSmith came up big several times, especially late in the first period when he denied Liam O&#8217;Brien&#8217;s one-timer and Nathan Walker&#8217;s redirect attempt.DeSmith also impressed during Hershey&#8217;s fifth power play at the start of the third period when he flashed the glove to rob Zach Sill in front.On the same power play, Hershey would be the first team to find the back of the net when Jakub Vrana blasted a one-timer over DeSmith&#8217;s shoulder for a 1-0 lead.The Penguins had a chance to tie it up when Hershey went on another power play a minute later. Dustin Jeffrey stole a pass at the blueline and rushed in on a breakaway, only to have his shot stopped by Vanecek.Jeffrey got another chance late in the period, and this time he connected with a shot inside the far post to tie it, 1-1, and force overtime, but the Bears scored twice in the shootout to seal the win.Now, after two straight weekends playing three games in three days, the Penguins will get a day off on Monday. They will practice on Tuesday before beginning a playoff series that, if it goes the distance, will be another grind of five games in seven days.Jeffrey said a day of rest is critical, and added the team will work on adjustments for Providence on Tuesday.&#8220;When you play teams throughout the season you don&#8217;t want to alter your game for just one game,&#8221; he said. &#8220;For us, when we have a series coming up we&#8217;ll make adjustments to counteract their strengths.&#8221;Despite losing the last two games, Donatelli said he liked the way his team finished the season with two contests that were both close.But he&#8217;s not looking at the past anymore.&#8220;Right now it&#8217;s all about Providence,&#8221; Donatelli said.And the goaltenders.NOTES- D Harrison Ruopp, F Adam Krause, F Tyler Biggs, D Niclas Andersen, D Reid McNeill (injury), F Sahir Gill (injury) and F Donimik Uher (injury) were scratched for the Penguins.- Prior to Saturday&#8217;s home game, the Penguins handed 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="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Hershey 2, Penguins 1, shootoutPenguins 0-0-1-0 &#8212; 1Hershey 0-0-1-1 &#8212; 2First PeriodScoring &#8211; None. Penalties - HER, Stephenson (interference) 9:28; HER, Mitchell (hooking) 13:47; WBS, Archibald (tripping) 19:10.Second PeriodScoring &#8211; None. Penalties - WBS, Plachta (interference) 3:31; WBS, Erixon (holding) 11:10; HER, Stephenson (tripping) 13:53; WBS, Prow (high-sticking) 17:53.Third PeriodScoring &#8211; 1. HER, Jakub Vrana 16 (Ness, Boyd) power play 4:53. 2. WBS, Dustin Jeffrey 20 (Archibald, Prow) 16:43. Penalties - WBS, Burton (hooking) 3:09; WBS, Mouillierat (slashing) 4:14; HER, Barber (slashing) 4:14; WBS, Dea (tripping) 5:46; WBS, O&#8217;Neill (cross-checking) 9:04; HER, O&#8217;Brien (roughing) 9:04; HER, Bowey (slashing) 11:46; WBS, Prow (delay of game) 19:12; WBS, Kostopoulos (slashing) 19:53.OvertimeScoring - None. Penalties - None.ShootoutHersheyVrana - NG; Djoos - G; Barber - GPenguinsRowney - NG; Jeffrey - NGShots on goalPenguins &#8211; 10-6-8-2-26Hershey &#8211; 5-8-12-1-26Power-play OpportunitiesPenguins &#8211; 0 of 4Hershey &#8211; 1 of 8GoaltendersPenguins &#8211; Casey DeSmith 2-2-0 (21 saves &#8211; 22 shots); Sean Maguire - 11:46 of the third period x-x-x (4-4)Hershey &#8211; Vitek Vanecek 0-0-0 (25-26)StartersPenguins &#8211; G Casey DeSmith, D Will O&#8217;Neill, D Barry Goers, LW Mattias Plachta, C Jean-Sebastien Dea, RW Jarrett BurtonHershey &#8211; G Dan Ellis, D Tyler Lewington, D Aaron Ness, LW Nathan Walker, C Carter Camper, RW Riley BarberThree Stars1.Referee &#8211; Pierre Lambert, Michael Mullen. Linesmen &#8211; Shandor Alphonso, Bob GoodmanAttendance &#8211; 10,660</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lose home ice, possibly more to Hershey Bears