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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; Josh Archibald says he hasn&#8217;t changed much in his game this season, but plenty has changed on the stat sheet for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward.</p><p>The third-year pro is on pace to break his career highs in goals, points and plus-minus after just 32 games this season. Last season he established those highs with nine goals and 18 points in 69 games with the Penguins. After Tuesday&#8217;s win against Hartford, Archibald has seven goals and 15 points.</p><p>Archibald said he&#8217;s just using his speed and has found a balance between contributing offensively and playing physical, especially on the forecheck. He added that his linemates - Oskar Sundqvist and Garrett Wilson, have something to do with the strong numbers as well.</p><p>&#8220;Playing with them, they make things easy for me,&#8221; Archibald said. &#8220;I just have to find the right spot and they get the puck to me.&#8221;</p><p>Head coach Clark Donatelli said there&#8217;s another element that&#8217;s working in Archibald&#8217;s favor right now.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s playing with confidence and he&#8217;s become better with the puck,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;He&#8217;s a really good player and now he&#8217;s putting the whole package together.&#8221;</p><p>As far as his plus-17, Archibald said that&#8217;s a result of the mentality of his line. Their main goal every shift, he said, is not to be scored upon.</p><p>And it shows. Wilson leads the AHL with a plus-18. Archibald is tied for second and Sundqvist is tied for third in the league with a plus-16.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s definitely something we take pride in as a line,&#8221; Archibald said. &#8220;We pride ourselves as a defensive line, we always want to be on the plus side of things and it&#8217;s showing.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Forechecking equals points</strong></p><p>The Penguins have successfully used their speed to establish a strong forecheck this season, and they believe it&#8217;s the reason for the bulk of their goals.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s certainly a reason why,&#8221; said Jake Guentzel, who leads the team with 18 goals. &#8220;Our forecheck is creating turnovers and we&#8217;re making plays off of them.&#8221;</p><p>Teddy Blueger, who scored his second goal of the season on Tuesday, agreed that for a team that likes to play fast it benefits the forecheck.</p><p>&#8220;We want to try to suffocate the other team in their zone and not give them time and space to break out,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As a result, we&#8217;re getting good offense out of our forechecking.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Injury update</strong></p><p>Carter Rowney didn&#8217;t practice on Wednesday due to an appointment. Donatelli said he won&#8217;t be ready for this weekend&#8217;s three-in-three. D Stuart Percy, who was scratched on Tuesday, is healthy and doesn&#8217;t have any injury issues, Donatelli said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Archibald </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_ArchibaldMUG.jpg</photo0><caption0>Archibald </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></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>VIDEO </strong></p><p>To see video of Wilkes-Barre center Jake Guentzel talk about the team&#8217;s recent success, visit the online version of this story.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</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%;"> OGWx1VvAmR4</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=OGWx1VvAmR4</p><p></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%;">Penguins&#8217; Jake Guentzel talkes about the upcoming weekend.</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%;"> Tim 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>

Josh Archibald putting up career numbers for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins