PA Lottery

web1_TTL121816Maddon_spt_6-1-.jpg

Hazleton Area honors Cubs manager, native son Joe Maddon

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; Oskar Sundqvist made a big claim after Saturday&#8217;s 4-2 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds, and the numbers back it up.</p><p>On a night when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (19-5-3-0) turned in a three-goal second period against a team that held them to just one goal in the two previous meetings, Sundqvist stated the obvious.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to play against us right now,&#8221; he said.</p><p>That&#8217;s for sure.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has now won five straight, and during that span the penalty kill has been perfect on 18 chances, the power play is firing at a 7-for-18 clip and the Penguins have out-scored their opponents 24-8.</p><p>Going into a week-long Christmas break, the Penguins and Thunderbirds both got off to an uneventful first period, but that didn&#8217;t last.</p><p>In a wild second period, both teams exchanged goals created by miscues.</p><p>Springfield got theirs when the puck hit Danny Kristo&#8217;s skate and deflected through Tristan Jarry to make it 1-0.</p><p>Minutes later, while on the power play, the Penguins evened things up when Springfield&#8217;s Ian McCoshen fanned on a clearing attempt and hit the puck on the back-swing, pushing it past goaltender Mike McKenna. David Warsofsky was credited with the goal after firing a shot on net to create the play.</p><p>&#8220;After that we wanted to settle it down, get pucks in deep, get our forecheck going and get some o-zone time,&#8221; said head coach Clark Donatelli. &#8220;We did that.&#8221;</p><p>Late in the period the Penguins tallied a pair of goals, and they didn&#8217;t need Springfield&#8217;s help, to take a 3-1 lead.</p><p>On their third power play of the night, Tim Erixon sent a shot in from the point that slid underneath McKenna as Sundqvist rushed to poke it it.</p><p>With the goal, Sundqvist now has five tallies and nine points in his last five games.</p><p>Less than a minute later, Garrett Wilson cleaned up a rebound with a wrister into the top corner for a two-goal lead and the Penguins&#8217; second power play goal.</p><p>&#8220;We know they&#8217;re a good team over there. Getting that third goal was big,&#8221; Donatelli said.</p><p>At the end of the period, Springfield&#8217;s Anthony Greco was assessed a double-minor for getting a stick up high on Erixon, and the Penguins entered the third period with 3:25 of power play time.</p><p>The Penguins didn&#8217;t connect on the power play, but Jake Guentzel gave them breathing room when he slid into the low slot and placed a shot past McKenna for a 4-1 lead.</p><p>The goal was Guentzel&#8217;s fifth since returning from Pittsburgh and his ninth point in the last six games.</p><p>Springfield tallied a goal late in the third period but couldn&#8217;t mount a comeback after that.</p><p>As they head into the break, Sundqvist offered a prediction as well.</p><p>He said the Penguins will come back even stronger.</p><p>&#8220;We just have to keep rolling,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re a team with confidence right now. We&#8217;re on the opposing team the whole time and we keep coming.&#8221;</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>- D Ethan Prow, RW Patrick McGrath, C Carter Rowney (injury), C Jarrett Burton, LW Sahir Gill, C Thomas Di Pauli (injury) and RW Ryan Haggerty were scratched for the Penguins.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Pens-Springfield_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins right wing Dominik Simon, left, chases down a loose puck against Springfield at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Pens-Springfield_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins right wing Dominik Simon, left, chases down a loose puck against Springfield at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Pens-Springfield_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Jean-Sebastien Dea, center, gets to the puck after a face-off against Springfield at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Pens-Springfield_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Jean-Sebastien Dea, center, gets to the puck after a face-off against Springfield at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Pens-Springfield_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goalkeeper Tristan Jarry, right, deflects the puck away from Springfield&#8217;s Anthony Greco (25) and Mike Sgarbossa. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_Pens-Springfield_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goalkeeper Tristan Jarry, right, deflects the puck away from Springfield&#8217;s Anthony Greco (25) and Mike Sgarbossa. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Penguins 4, Springfield 2</strong></p><p><strong>Springfield`0`1`1 - `2</strong></p><p><strong>Penguins`0`3`1&#8212;`4</strong></p><p><strong>First Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; None. Penalties - WBS, Jarry - served by Sestito (tripping) 4:10; SPR, Schemitsch (high-sticking) 10:27.</p><p><strong>Second Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 1. SPR, Chase Balisy 5 (Bozon) 2:18. 2. WBS, David Warsofsky 5 unassisted, power play 7:10. 3. WBS, Oskar Sundqvist 12 (Porter, Erixon) 16:06. 4. WBS, Garrett Wilson 5 (Sundqvist, Bengtsson) power play 17:03. Penalties - SPR, Brown (tripping) 6:05; WBS, Percy (tripping) 10:27; SPR, Horvat (cross-checking) 16:22; SPR, Greco (high-sticking - double minor) 19:24.</p><p><strong>Third Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 5. WBS, Jake Guentzel 12 (Simon) 5:01. 6. SPR, Anthony Greco 4 (Acolatse, Balisy) 16:48. Penalties - WBS, Gaunce (holding the stick) 12:36; WBS Sestito (unsportsmanlike conduct) 15:18; SPR, Sgarbossa (slashing) 16:32.</p><p><strong>Shots on goal</strong></p><p><strong>Springfield &#8211; 10-7-14-31</strong></p><p><strong>Penguins &#8211; 13-18-11-42</strong></p><p>Power-play Opportunities</p><p>Springfield &#8211; 0 of 4</p><p>Penguins &#8211; 2 of 6</p><p><strong>Goaltenders</strong></p><p>Springfield - Mike McKenna 4-6-3 (38 saves-42 shots)</p><p>Penguins &#8211; Tristan Jarry 12-5-1 (30-31)</p><p><strong>Starters</strong></p><p>Springfield &#8211; G Mike McKenna, D Josh Brown, D Mike Downing, LW Shane Harper, C Jared McCann, RW Ryan Horvat</p><p>Penguins &#8211; G Tristan Jarry, D David Warsofsky, D Lukas Bengtsson, LW Garrett Wilson, C Oskar Sundqvist, RW Josh Archibald</p><p><strong>Three Stars</strong></p><p>1. WBS, Oskar Sundqvist (goal, assist) 2. WBS, David Warsofsky (goal, assist) 3. WBS, Garrett Wilson (goal)</p><p>Referee &#8211; Ryan Hersey, Chris Ciamaga. Linesmen &#8211; Francois Dussereault, Ryan Knapp.</p><p><strong>Attendance</strong> &#8211; 6,158</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;">9tJQoHCjGuA </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;">YOUTUBE</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tJQoHCjGuA</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Oskar Sunqvist talks about Satruday&#8217;s win over Springfield</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Tom Venesky | Times Leader</p><p></td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beat Springfield 4-2 for fifth straight win