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Crosby and Penguins take control of Capitals with 2-0 series lead

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Vigil goers remember slain Wilkes-Barre watchdog Donnie Bachman

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; When he was asked about the importance of Game 5 earlier this week, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defenseman Tim Erixon said these are the games everyone plays for, and that nobody remembers a regular-season battle such as, for example, Game 51.</p><p>After Sunday&#8217;s Game 5 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals against the Providence Bruins, the Penguins will remember the number 51, however, for quite some time.</p><p>With the season on the line for both teams, the Penguins fired 51 shots on Bruins netminder Zane McIntyre, who saved all but one as Providence eliminated the AHL&#8217;s top team in the regular season with a 2-1 win. The Bruins scored once in the first and added an insurance goal in the third before the Penguins rallied with a late tally in a desperate effort to avoid a first round exit.</p><p>&#8220;It was tough. We played a really good game. We threw everything we had at them,&#8221; said captain Tom Kostopoulos. &#8220;Their goalie was unbelievable. He stole the show.&#8221;</p><p>The Penguins came out firing, but quickly realized it would be tough to get anything past McIntyre. They outshot Providence 21-9 in the opening period, posting a much better start than the one in Game 4.</p><p>For as well as the Penguins played, they were essentially undone by a bench minor for too many men on the ice. The penalty came during a first period where the Penguins had the momentum while the game was scoreless. On the ensuing power play, Providence scored to go up 1-0 and the Penguins were dazed.</p><p>&#8220;We had two or three (too many men penalties) in the playoffs. There&#8217;s no reason for that,&#8221; said head coach Clark Donatelli. &#8220;It hurt us in this series.&#8221;</p><p>After the game, Kostopoulos wasn&#8217;t happy with the person who made the call, linesman Jud Ritter.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not a big fan of Jud. He&#8217;s done (stuff) like that ever since I&#8217;ve been here. It&#8217;s ridiculous,&#8221; Kostopoulos said. &#8220;It had nothing to do with the play. I&#8217;ve never seen a linesman like that before.&#8221;</p><p>The Penguins had a chance to erase the lead when Bruins&#8217; defenseman Tommy Cross was given a double minor for high-sticking, but the power play failed to produce.</p><p>For as hard as McIntyre was to beat in the first period, it wasn&#8217;t any easier in the second.</p><p>A shot from Jean-Sebastien Dea, who was uncovered in front, was stuffed and another shot by Tom Sestito &#8212; with a seemingly wide open net &#8212; was also stopped.</p><p>By the end of two periods, the Penguins were out-shooting the Bruins 31-19 but had 20 minutes to erase a 1-0 lead.</p><p>Instead, Providence added to its lead with a goal at the 13:00 minute mark to make it 2-0.</p><p>The Penguins weren&#8217;t done, as they finally beat McIntyre with a shot from Dea in the slot with seven minutes left. Dea&#8217;s goal came on the Penguins 47th shot of the game.</p><p>But as the shots piled up and McIntyre continued to make saves, the Penguins were left wondering what else they could do.</p><p>&#8220;We were confident and getting pucks to the net, but then after you get into the 30s (shots) and haven&#8217;t scored you start wondering how we&#8217;re going to beat this guy,&#8221; Kostopoulos said.</p><p>There were other chances in the waning minutes as pucks slid just inches from the net and one shot was batted out of the air by Providence defenseman Chris Breen, but the Penguins came up short.</p><p>It was a frustrating loss considering the Penguins had a chance to put the Bruins away in Game 4 two nights earlier.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s Game 4 where we laid the egg,&#8221; said Tom Sestito. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to think about that for the rest of the summer.&#8221;</p><p>Along with each of those 51 shots.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think in this game we could&#8217;ve done more. We played the best we could, the puck just didn&#8217;t go in,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;That&#8217;s what happens when you leave things up to a Game 5.&#8221;</p><p><ins>For other sports stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Oskar Sundqvist, left, looks to pass ahead of Providence goalkeeper Zach McIntyre in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Oskar Sundqvist, left, looks to pass ahead of Providence goalkeeper Zach McIntyre in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center, Teddy Blueger, right, battles Providence&#8217;s Colby Cave in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center, Teddy Blueger, right, battles Providence&#8217;s Colby Cave in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Photo 3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Jean-Sebastien Dea chases down the puck ahead of Providence goalkeeper Zane McIntyre and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Photo 3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Jean-Sebastien Dea chases down the puck ahead of Providence goalkeeper Zane McIntyre and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton center Jarrett Burton (right) battles Providence right wing Jordan Szarz after a face-off in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton center Jarrett Burton (right) battles Providence right wing Jordan Szarz after a face-off in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton left wing Troy Josephs, left, looks to pass against Providence in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_pens-loss-5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton left wing Troy Josephs, left, looks to pass against Providence in Game 5 of an AHL Atlantic Division semifinal Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>WBS Penguins fire away but come up short in Game 5 against Providence</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Atlantic Division Semifinals</strong></p><p><strong>Game 5 (Providence wins series, 3-2)</strong></p><p><strong>Providence 2, <strong>Penguins 1</strong></strong></p><p><strong>Providence`1`0`1` &#8212;`2</strong></p><p><strong>Penguins`0`0`1` &#8212;`1</strong></p><p><strong>First Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 1. PRO, Danton Heinen 3 (Szwarz, Hargrove) power play 12:37. Penalties - PRO, Grzelcyk (tripping) 3:31; PRO, Kuraly (roughing) 6:18; WBS, Sestito (roughing) 6:18; WBS, bench - served by Haggerty (too many men) 12:28; PRO, Cross (high-sticking, double minor) 12:56.</p><p><strong>Second Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; None. Penalties - WBS, Archibald (interference) :24; PRO, Hargrove (hooking) 1:06; WBS, Sundqvist (holding) 15:49.</p><p><strong>Third Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 2. PRO, Danton Heinen 4 (Szwarz, Breen) 13:00. 3. WBS, Jean-Sebastien Dea 2 (Pouliot, Kostopoulos) power play 14:37. Penalties - PRO, Cross (holding) 5:37; PRO, Grant (hooking) 14:08.</p><p><strong>Shots on goal</strong></p><p>Providence &#8211; 9-10-7-26</p><p>Penguins &#8211; 21-10-21-51</p><p><strong>Power-play Opportunities</strong></p><p>Providence &#8211; 1 of 3</p><p>Penguins &#8211; 1 of 6</p><p><strong>Goaltenders</strong></p><p>Providence - Zane McIntyre 3-1-1 (50 saves-51 shots)</p><p>Penguins &#8211; Casey DeSmith 2-3-0 (24-26)</p><p><strong>Starters</strong></p><p>Providence &#8211; G Zane McIntyre, D Tommy Cross, D Chris Casto, LW Anton Blidh, C Sean Kuraly, RW Tyler Randell</p><p>Penguins &#8211; G Casey DeSmith, D Tim Erixon, D David Warsofsky, LW Garrett Wilson, C Oskar Sundqvist, RW Josh Archibald</p><p><strong>Three Stars</strong></p><p>1. PRO, Zane McIntyre (50 saves) 2. PRO, Danton Heinen (two goals) 3. PRO, Jordan Szwarz (two assists)</p><p><strong>Referee</strong> &#8211; Jake Brenk, Tim Mayer. <strong>Linesmen</strong> &#8211; Kory Nagy, Jud Ritter.</p><p><strong>Attendance</strong> &#8211; 3,608</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WBS Penguins see their season end thanks to a hot goaltender