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WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; Garrett Wilson has a goal in three straight games. Oskar Sundqvist has piled up 13 points in his last 10 and David Warsofsky has 15 points in the same span.Impressive numbers to say the least, but they&#8217;ve all been overshadowed by a teammate piling up stats at an elite pace.Jake Guentzel continued his scoring spree on Tuesday, registering a hat trick to lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins past the Springfield Thunderbirds 5-3. It was the seventh straight win for the Penguins (21-5-3-0) and Guentzel&#8217;s fourth consecutive game with at least one goal.Warsofsky had three assists and Wilson scored the game-winner, but the story, as it has been lately, was Guentzel. He now has 11 goals and 19 points in his last 10 games, seven goals in the last four games and five goals on his last five shots.So do his teammates mind the lack of attention to their production while Guentzel dominates the AHL?&#8220;No, not at all,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;Guentzel is a special player. So smooth. He&#8217;s why we&#8217;re on this winning streak.&#8221;Guentzel&#8217;s domination began early in the first period when he banked the puck off the boards and went around a defender, raced in on net and neatly slid a shot through Mike McKenna&#8217;s pad for a 1-1 tie.After Springfield scored to make it 2-1, Guentzel struck again with 31 seconds left in the first period when he batted the puck out of mid-air and into the net for another tie.&#8220;When we need (a big goal), you just try to be that player that can change the game,&#8221; Guentzel said.The Penguins began the second period with 1:45 of a two-man advantage, and Guentzel struck again when he tapped the puck behind McKenna while stationed at the corner of the crease.The goal was Guentzel&#8217;s league-leading 17th and gave him a hat trick, the first of his pro career.It also gave the Penguins their first lead of the night, 3-2.A minute after Guentzel gave the Penguins the lead, Wilson extended it with his third goal in three games when his shot from the slot deflected off a Springfield player in front.With a 4-2 lead, the Penguins cruised through most of the period until Springfield struck with less than four minutes remaining to make it 4-3.&#8220;We have to learn to put teams away in the second period and not let them get back in it,&#8221; Wilson said. &#8220;We have to get into the third by more of a cushion. That was a learning experience for us.&#8221;The Penguins kept Springfield at bay for the third period and killed off two power plays to maintain the one-goal lead. Cameron Gaunce scored in the empty net with 17 seconds left to seal the win.For as good as the Penguins have played of late, head coach Clark Donatelli said they can be better.&#8220;We got the wins, but we have to sharpen up going forward,&#8221; Donatelli said, referring to the penalties that led to a pair of Springfield power play goals.&#8220;We have to be more disciplined. We can&#8217;t self-inflict and take lazy penalties.&#8221;NOTESGuentzel leads the AHL with 17 goals, a plus-18 and is second with 32 points in 34 games. Donatelli said he&#8217;s never coached a player who produced at such a pace.&#8220;He&#8217;s special. He&#8217;s a skilled player and he&#8217;s just getting better and still growing as a pro,&#8221; Donatelli said.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Penguins 5, Springfield 3Springfield`2`1`0 &#8212; 3Penguins`2`2`1 &#8212; 5First PeriodScoring &#8211; 1. SPR, Mackenzie Weegar 5 unassisted, power play 3:33. 2. WBS, Jake Guentzel 15 (Warsofsky) 5:43. 3. SPR, Tim Bozon 4 (McKegg, Sgarbossa) power play 9:18. 4. WBS, Jake Guentzel 16 (Kostopoulos, Bengtsson) 19:29. Penalties - WBS, Wilson (hooking) 1:38; WBS, Archibald (high-sticking, unsportsmanlike conduct) 6:25; SPR, McKegg (hooking) 19:45; SPR, Downing (interference) 19:56.Second PeriodScoring &#8211; 5. WBS, Jake Guentzel 17 (Warsofsky, Kostopoulos) power play 1:17. 6. WBS, Garrett Wilson 7 (Warsofsky, Sundqvist) 2:21. 7. SPR, Mackenzie Weegar 6 (Greco, McCoshen) 16:41. Penalties - SPR, bench - served by Hunt (too many men) 2:56; SPR, Horvat (tripping) 13:39; SPR, McCoshen (holding) 16:41.Third PeriodScoring &#8211; 8. WBS, Cameron Gaunce Penalties - WBS, Warsofsky (holding) 1:05; SPR, Horvat (hooking) 3:54; WBS, Archibald (high-sticking) 11:21; SPR, Horvat (high-sticking) 16:45.Shots on goalSpringfield &#8211; 9-6-9-23Penguins &#8211; 15-16-9-40Power-play OpportunitiesSpringfield &#8211; 2 of 5Penguins &#8211; 1 of 7GoaltendersSpringfield - Mike McKenna 4-7-3 (35 saves-39 shots)Penguins &#8211; Tristan Jarry 13-5-1 (20-23)StartersSpringfield &#8211; G Mike McKenna, D Josh Brown, D Mike Downing, LW Dryden Hunt, C Zac Lynch, RW Chase BalisyPenguins &#8211; G Tristan Jarry, D Tim Erixon, D Barry Goers, LW Jake Guentzel, C Teddy Blueger, RW Reid GardinerThree Stars1. WBS, Jake Guentzel (hat trick); 2. SPR, Mackenzie Weegar (two goals); 3. WBS, David Warsofsky (three assists)Referees &#8211; Alex Garon, Keith Kaval; Linesmen &#8211; Jason Mandroc, Jud RitterAttendance &#8211; 6,503</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><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%;"> iZ9Hfe26zF0</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</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=iZ9Hfe26zF0</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%;"> </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</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>(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</videoMeta></div>

Jake Guentzel’s hat trick leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins over Springfield