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Penn State playing for missing Mahon

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Warm temperatures make for a busy bear season opener

HERSHEY &#8212; When Nathan Walker fought Carter Rowney late in the second period of Saturday&#8217;s game against the Hershey Bears, he did more than earn five minutes in the penalty box.Walker awoke a sleeping giant.After the fight, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins battled back at the last minute to erase a Hershey lead, and in overtime Rowney stood tall at the crease and muscled a puck away from the post and into the net for a 4-3 win.The victory came after the Penguins started flat and finished strong, thanks to a goal by Tom Kostopoulos with a minute remaining to tie a game in which the Penguins never led, until the end.&#8220;We got through the first period and we settled in,&#8221; said head coach Clark Donatelli. &#8220;They went up 3-1 and we kept sticking to the game plan. The team was resilient.&#8221;Kostopoulos had a goal and an assist while Rowney had a goal and a fight on the night, and it all came after Donatelli re-united Jake Guentzel with the top line.But it was Rowney&#8217;s night which proved to be the biggest as his game got stronger after the second period fight.&#8220;You saw a different side of him,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;That was probably the best game he played from start to finish. He was really strong and hard on pucks &#8212; that&#8217;s the way he plays.&#8221;With the puck stuck against the outside of the post and a defenseman on his back in the overtime period, Rowney gave all he had to pry it loose and stuff it into the net for the dramatic 4-3 win. The goal was Rowney&#8217;s second in as many games after he was held without a tally for five straight contests.I just kind of grabbed a shovel there and jammed it in,&#8221; Rowney said of the goal. &#8220;I was just trying to go out there and play aggressive, with a little bit of an edge.&#8221;After a sluggish start that saw Hershey outshoot the Penguins 12-3 and gain a 1-o advantage on a bad angle shot by Jakub Vrana, the Penguins were in danger of letting things get out of control early.In response, Donatelli juggled his lines to start the second period and re-united the Guentzel-Rowney-Kostopoulos line.The move paid immediate dividends five minutes into the period. Cameron Gaunce developed the chance when he kicked the puck to his stick in the neutral zone and started an odd-man rush. Gaunce dished to Kostopoulos, who made a cross-ice feed to Guentzel at the corner of the crease for the easy tap-in.&#8220;We knew that was something we could go back to and we needed a little bit of offense,&#8221; Donatelli said of the top line. &#8220;We went back to it and it worked out.&#8221;With a 1-1 tie, the Penguins forecheck began to establish pressure but it was Hershey that regained the lead off a turnover when Liam O&#8217;Brien got ahead of the defense and sent a shot behind Tristan Jarry to make it 2-1.After things got heated late in the period, highlighted by a fight between Rowney and Walker, the Penguins had a chance to tie it up when Oskar Sundqvist was hauled down during a shorthanded breakaway.On the penalty shot, Sundqvist sent the puck wide of the net as the Penguins closed out the period trailing 2-1.Hershey made it 3-1 with a goal early in the third period, but the Penguins battled back when Garrett Wilson batted a puck out of the air and through the legs of Hershey goaltender Joe Cannata to pull within 3-2.The Penguins weren&#8217;t finished, however, as Kostopoulos forced overtime when he put home a rebound with a minute remaining.&#8220;That was a good gut-check for us to come back,&#8221; Rowney said. &#8220;That&#8217;s a big goal for our captain.&#8221;Donatelli was pleased with the way his team played over the six games in the nine-day stretch, ending with a 4-2 record.&#8220;Overall, through the 18 periods we were pretty consistent in our play,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Six games in nine days in this league, in our division is pretty tough and I thought our guys did a good job.&#8221;NOTES- D Tim Erixon, D Stuart Percy, RW Patrick McGrath, RW Ryan Haggerty, C Dominik Simon (injury) and RW Danny Kristo were scratched for the Penguins.- Donatelli on the newly-acquired Danny Kristo: &#8220;He&#8217;s a good player and needs a chance to play. We need some goal scoring and hopefully he can provide it for us.&#8221;<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Penguins 4, Hershey 3 overtimePenguins `0`1`2`1&#8212; `4Hershey `1`1`1`0 &#8212; `3First PeriodScoring &#8211; 1. HER, Jakub Vrana 9 (Boyd, Williams) 12:49. Penalties - WBS, Warsofsky (delay of game) 8:25; WBS, Goers (slashing) 14:49.Second PeriodScoring &#8211; 2. WBS, Jake Guentzel 7 (Kostopoulos, Gaunce) 5:01. 3. HER, Liam O&#8217;Brien 2 (Djoos, Monardo) 12:02. Penalties - HER, Lewington (slashing) 1:10; WBS, Wilson (hooking) 5:35; HER, Bourque (slashing) 6:32; HER, Stephenson (goaltender interference) 7:28; WBS, Rowney (fighting) 18:09; HER, Walker (fighting) 18:09; WBS, Guentzel (hooking) 19:20.Penalty shot - Sundqvist, 19:31 - NGThird PeriodScoring &#8211; 4. HER, Christian Thomas 7 (Stephenson, Lewington) 1:23. 5. WBS, Garrett Wilson 3 (Sundqvist, Warsofsky) 6:24. 6. WBS, Tom Kostopoulos 6 (Guentzel, Sundqvist) 18:56. Penalties - HER, Boyd (tripping) 13:36.OvertimeScoring - 7. WBS, Carter Rowney 5 (Guentzel, Gaunce) 2:01. Penalties - None.Shots on goalPenguins &#8211; 3-10-15-2-30Hershey &#8211; 12-6-9-1-28Power-play OpportunitiesPenguins &#8211; 0 of 4Hershey &#8211; 0 of 4GoaltendersPenguins &#8211; Tristan Jarry 7-3-1 (25 saves &#8211; 28 shots)Hershey &#8211; Joe Cannata 5-1-3 (26-30)StartersPenguins &#8211; G Tristan Jarry, D Chad Ruhwedel, D Cameron Gaunce, LW Thomas Di Pauli, C Oskar Sundqvist, RW Josh ArchibaldHershey &#8211; G Joe Cannata, D Darren Dietz, D Hubert Labrie, LW Ryan Bourque, C Brad Malone, RW Christian ThomasThree Stars1. WBS, Carter Rowney (game-winning ovetime goal) 2. WBS, Tom Kostopoulos (goal, assist) 3. WBS, Liam O&#8217;Brien (goal)Referee &#8211; Alex Garon, Keith Kaval. Linesmen &#8211; Bill Lyons, Richard JondoAttendance &#8211; 10,355</factboxMeta></div>

Carter Rowney’s OT goal gives Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-3 win