web1_jennifer-rubin-photo-114x80-copy.jpg

Their view: Will the president fix the ACA mess he made?

web1_TTL101817dancingstars3.jpg

Dancing Stars of Wilkes-Barre competition to raise money for KISS Theatre

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; In a span of eight days, Adam Johnson has already played nearly a 10th of the games he appeared in during the six-month duration of his college hockey schedule last season.</p><p>And it&#8217;s just going to get busier from here.</p><p>Johnson, who cut his college career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth short by accepting an offer to turn pro with the Pittsburgh organization this summer, was one of several rookies to play in his first three-in-three set last weekend.</p><p>Johnson, 23, admitted playing three games in three days was tough, but it was a big reason why he decided to turn pro. The slow pace of the college schedule just wasn&#8217;t satisfying his urge to play more games.</p><p>&#8220;I liked it quite a bit. I like playing games as opposed to practicing, so the weekend was nice,&#8221; Johnson said after Wednesday&#8217;s practice at the Toyota Sportsplex.</p><p>But that doesn&#8217;t mean Johnson&#8217;s first experience with a three-game weekend was easy.</p><p>He started off well, recording two assists and a plus-2 in Friday&#8217;s 5-0 win over Lehigh Valley. After that, Johnson failed to record a point in the final two games of the weekend and registered just one shot in Sunday&#8217;s finale &#8212; a 6-1 win over Syracuse.</p><p>&#8220;I started out strong, but as it went on I felt my play lowered,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know if I was tired or what. It was tough, but it&#8217;s what I expected after listening to the other guys talk about it.&#8221;</p><p>Johnson wasn&#8217;t the only Penguins rookie to experience his first three-in-three this weekend. Joining the list are Daniel Sprong, who had three goals and five points, Thomas Di Pauli (goal, assist) and Lukas Bengtsson (three assists).</p><p>Head coach Clark Donatelli said aside from a few mental mistakes his young players did well in their first three-in-three.</p><p>&#8220;They got through it. We&#8217;re glad to get it out of the way in our second weekend,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;Mentally it was hard on them, with the quick turnaround on Sunday. The more they do it the mentally stronger they&#8217;re going to be.&#8221;</p><p>The Penguins have six more three-in-threes this season, and Johnson feels the experience from having done it once will make the others easier to handle.</p><p>&#8220;I know what to expect. Each one if going to be a grind, but that&#8217;s why you work hard in practice during the week,&#8221; he said.</p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Rookie forward Zach Aston-Reese, who missed Sunday&#8217;s game, didn&#8217;t practice on Wednesday. Donatelli said Aston-Reese had his wisdom teeth removed and is doing well, but didn&#8217;t know if he would play this weekend. &#8230; Veteran defenseman Zach Trotman said last weekend-s three-in-three was a success, considering the team earned four out of six available points. &#8220;We grew. There&#8217;s a lot of new guys here this year so we&#8217;ll still have our hiccups here and there,&#8221; Trotman said. &#8220;It was a good first weekend and the guys are coming together.&#8221; &#8230; D Chris Summers was reassigned by Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Summers was called up last week after Ian Cole was injured but didn&#8217;t appear in a game with the NHL club.</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/2017/10/web1_A.-Johnson-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Adam Johnson admits playing in his first three-in-three last weekend was tough, but the experience taught him how to prepare the next time the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins play three games in a weekend. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_A.-Johnson-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Adam Johnson admits playing in his first three-in-three last weekend was tough, but the experience taught him how to prepare the next time the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins play three games in a weekend. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WBS Pens’ rookie Adam Johnson enjoyed first 3-in-3 weekend