China president's plane stops in Alaska after Trump visit

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Experience will be key to SWB RailRiders 2017 success

ALLENTOWN &#8212; Talk about making up for missed opportunity.And because Oskar Sundqvist did, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have a golden chance to play the upcoming AHL Playoffs with an advantage on their own ice.Sundqvist shrugged off his errant scoring attempt in the first period to drill goals in the second and third Friday, marking his 100th point as a pro and lifting the Penguins over rival Lehigh Valley, 3-0. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton reached the 100-point mark for the season at Lehigh Valley&#8217;s PPL Center and remained on the verge of clinching home-ice advantage in the postseason.&#8220;I think it&#8217;s huge,&#8221; Sundqvist said of the team&#8217;s 100-point total. &#8220;To see how guys have been up (to Pittsburgh), guys have been injured, it doesn&#8217;t matter. We just keep winning.&#8221;The Atlantic-Division-leading Penguins got to their 100 points with a great game from Sundqvist, who had a hand in all the scoring. He also assisted on David Warsofsky&#8217;s put-away goal with just under five minutes to play in the third period.&#8220;Very good game for him, one of his better games. I think he played very well,&#8221; Penguins coach Clark Donatelli said. &#8220;He was very good on defense, too, and that starts offense for us. Just a solid effort from (Sundqvist).&#8221;It didn&#8217;t start that way.<ins>In a scoreless battle, Sundqvist had a golden chance to put the Penguins up quickly, but flubbed it. His recent shooting troubles seemed to continue when, left alone directly in front of the net with Lehigh Valley goalie Anthony Stolarz, Sundqvist took a centering pass from Ryan Haggerty and lifted a shot that sailed way wide right of the net.</ins><ins>&#8220;Oh, yeah, I shanked on that one,&#8221; Sundqvist said. &#8220;Great play by Haggerty. I should do something with that.&#8221;</ins><ins>He more than made up for it with five points on the night, and</ins> Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry stopped all 21 shots he faced to record his third shutout as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre remained three points away from clinching both the Atlantic Division and home ice throughout the AHL Playoffs.Jarry wasn&#8217;t tested much, but he did make a few nifty saves. The final two tough ones came on long-range attempts from Phantoms wingers Colin McDonald and Danick Martel, which came in succession with just under five minutes to play. Jarry gloved them both.&#8220;Our goaltending&#8217;s playing really well right now,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;That&#8217;s a good team over there, they come hard. Lehigh Valley had some pushbacks. I thought we didn&#8217;t panic. I thought our goalie came up big when we needed him to.&#8221;Sundqvist needed a night like this.Taking a feed from Ryan Haggerty, Sundqvist rifled a one-timer into the cage little more than four minutes into the second period to <ins>earn his 100th point as a pro and</ins> stake Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to an early lead.&#8220;I was trying to hit the net for once,&#8221; Sundqvist cracked. &#8220;I just wanted to hit the net, not his (the goalie&#8217;s) stomach. It was good to see it go in.&#8221;He saw another once, putting home a second goal in the opening minutes of the final period to give the Penguins some breathing room.His second goal was pretty much the same as the first &#8212; a bullet from the right circle that sailed over the shoulder of Stolarz and gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead.&#8220;I think we had a lot of traffic in front of the net,&#8221; Sundqvist said. &#8220;The goals got in. I had a ton of opportunities. I could have scored, probably, five goals. I&#8217;m happy with two.&#8220;I&#8217;m happy we won the game.&#8221;That offensive outburst from Sundqvist pretty much iced the game, the way Jarry was playing.After an ill-timed centering pass became a turnover in the Penguins&#8217; end, Lehigh Valley whipped two prime scoring attempts inside the crease during the final 20 seconds of the opening period. But Jarry turned them both away, thwarting the Phantoms&#8217; best chance to score.The game&#8217;s first penalty wasn&#8217;t called until Wilkes-Barre/Scranton center Jarrett Burton was whistled for hooking more than 32 minutes into the game, and the Penguins were slapped with a second two-minute penalty that ended the second and continued into the third period.But Jarry and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton killed them both<ins>, on their way to the 100-point plateau</ins>.&#8220;We have two great goalies,&#8221; Sundqvist said. &#8220;Then we&#8217;ve got great defense. I think we went nine minutes in the first period and they had one shot. And this is not a team you just go out there and shut out.&#8220;Great team effort tonight.&#8221;Notes: Penguins recently-signed winger Zach Aston-Reese lost out in the race to become known as the best college hockey player in the United States. That honor went to University of Denver defenseman Will Hatcher, who was named the Hobey Baker winner Friday over Aston-Reese &#8212; this season&#8217;s NCAA scoring leader while playing for Northeastern &#8212; and former Union College forward Mike Vecchione of the Flyers. Aston-Reese also lost out on some playing time Friday, as he was a scratch for the game with the Phantoms.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Penguins 3, Lehigh Valley 0Penguins`0`1`2`&#8212;`3Lehigh Valley`0`0`0`&#8212;`0Second PeriodScoring &#8211; 1. WBS, Oskar Sundqvist 19 (Ryan Haggerty, Tim Erixon) 4:19. Penalties &#8212; WBS, Burton (hooking) 12:12; WBS, Wilson (interference) 18:42.Third PeriodScoring &#8211; 2. WBS, Sundqvist 20 (Haggerty) 1:28; 3. WBS, David Warsofsky (Frank Corrado, Sundqvist), 16:39.Shots on goalPenguins &#8211; 15-8-9-32Lehigh Valley &#8211; 7-4-10-21Power-play OpportunitiesPenguins &#8211; 0 of 0Lehigh Valley &#8211; 0 of 2GoaltendersPenguins &#8211; Tristan Jarry 27-15-2 (21 saves &#8212; 21 shots)Lehigh Valley &#8211; Anthony Stolarz 18-8-0 (29 &#8211; 32 shots)StartersPenguins &#8211; G Tristan Jarry, D David Warsofsky, D Frank Corrado, LW Sahir Gill, C Kevin Porter, RW Tom KostopolousLehigh Valley &#8211; G Anthony Stolarz, D T.J. Brennan, D Reece Wilcox, LW Taylor Leier, C Scott Laughton, RW Colin McDonaldThree Stars1. WBS, dOskar Sundqvist (2 goals, assist) 2. WBS, Ryan Haggerty (two assists) 3. WBS, Tristan Jarry (21 saves, shutout)Referees &#8211; David Banfield, Stephen Thomson. Linesmen &#8212; Tim Lyons, Bill LyonsAttendance &#8211; 5,699</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

Oskar Sundqvist hits 100th-career point as WBS Penguins hit 100 for season