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Skwierz, Bell claim Cherry Blossom races

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Letter to the Editor: Access to school meals jeopardized under proposed federal nutrition act

Before the outcome of Sunday&#8217;s Game 5 between the Hershey Bears and Portland Pirates, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were thinking the worst-case scenario of going two weeks between playoff series.A long layoff would have been something many of the Penguins players have never experienced in their pro careers, and they are being extra cautious to prevent the rust from setting in.&#8220;I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve ever seen anything like this. It&#8217;s unheard of,&#8221; said Carter Rowney. &#8220;When you&#8217;re in playoff hockey it&#8217;s crazy to have all this time off. I didn&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve had this time off in my pro career, Christmas or any time in the year.&#8221;After wrapping up last week with two lengthy practices that simulated game situations, the Penguins were off on Saturday and spent Sunday working in the weight room. A couple of the players took to the ice for a brief skate in the afternoon, but they all know this week will be crucial for preparing for their next opponent.Turns out, a long layoff wouldn&#8217;t happen afterall because Hershey defeated Portland on Sunday, and the Penguins-Bears series will start the second round on Wednesday.Earlier in the week we focused on ourselves,&#8221; Rowney said. &#8220;Now, we&#8217;re looking to see who&#8217;s going to win that one because if we play Wednesday or Friday it changes the week.&#8221;During his nine-year pro career, defenseman Ryan Parent experienced a long wait between playoff rounds when the circus came to town.That was earlier in Parent&#8217;s career, and the wait wasn&#8217;t nearly as long as the current delay.&#8220;It&#8217;s good in the sense it gives you time to rest and heal up for the next round. It&#8217;s hard to stay in game mode, but you can work on that as long your practices are shaped the right way,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The rest factor is a good thing starting a seven game series.&#8221;And that&#8217;s why the Penguins can expect to go hard in practice this week, especially if Hershey is the next opponent and the long wait suddenly a rush to get ready for Wednesday&#8217;s Game 1.&#8220;We&#8217;re a little bit anxious. Maybe it will take the first period get back into that feel,&#8221; said Sahir Gill. &#8220;It just matters how you handle it. We&#8217;ve done a good job of keeping in shape and battling in practice. One of the downfalls is sometimes you lose you feel for the battle, but the week of practice we had we did a good job simulating that.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Penguins-Bears Series Game 1 &#8211; Wednesday, May 4 &#8211; Penguins at Hershey, 7 p.m.Game 2 &#8211; Friday, May 6 &#8211; Penguins at Hershey, 7 p.m.Game 3 &#8211; Saturday, May 7 &#8211; Hershey at Penguins, 7:05 p.m.Game 4 &#8211; Monday, May 9 &#8211; Hershey at Penguins, 7:05 p.m.*Game 5 &#8211; Wednesday, May 11 &#8211; Penguins at Hershey, 7 p.m.*Game 6 &#8211; Friday, May 13 &#8211; Hershey at Penguins, 7:05 p.m.*Game 7 &#8211; Sunday, May 15 &#8211; Penguins at Hershey, 5 p.m.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

Penguins to play Bears in next round