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H.S. Basketball: Toni Amato scores 22; Valley West wins consolation game

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Pending sale of company running Mohegan Sun Arena halts contract talks

WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; The first half of Wednesday&#8217;s game against the Springfield Thunderbirds didn&#8217;t go so well for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.But the second half couldn&#8217;t have gone much better.After spotting Springfield a 3-1 lead, the Penguins scored five unanswered goals en route to a 6-3 win. Daniel Sprong had two goals, including the game-winner, while Andrey Pedan and Ryan Haggerty each added a goal an an assist. Shavertown&#8217;s Patrick McGrath also got on the scoresheet with an empty net tally &#8212; his first career goal at the Mohegan Sun Arena.After enduring a four-game losing streak, the Penguins (15-7-1-1) have now won two straight. After Wednesday&#8217;s win, the Penguins remain in second place in the Atlantic Division, trailing the Providence Bruins.The Penguins stumbled during the last five minutes of the first period. After gaining a 1-0 lead on a goal from Pedan, Springfield struck twice to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.&#8220;We have to manage the puck and make sure our line changes are better,&#8221; said head coach Clark Donatelli. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want to get caught out there and extend our shifts.&#8221;The Thunderbirds added to their lead when a deflected shot got by Casey DeSmith &#8212; who was making his first start since being reassigned by Pittsburgh on Tuesday &#8212; for a power-play goal, putting the Penguins down 3-1 midway through the second period. After that, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got back to its game and back on the scoreboard.Greg McKegg put home a rebound for his first goal with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, cutting Springfield&#8217;s lead to 3-2.Thirty seconds later, Springfield&#8217;s Chase Balisy was called for hooking, and the Penguins took advantage of the ensuing power play.With the puck in the Springfield end, Colin Smith dished a cross-ice pass to a wide open Sprong, who blasted a one-timer that ricocheted out of the back of the net for a 3-3 tie.&#8220;I know Smitty can make that play. We were talking about it before the game,&#8221; Sprong said. &#8220;He made a great pass and there was an open net. Usually, I don&#8217;t miss those.&#8221;The goal was Sprong&#8217;s fourth in his last five games.The goals by McKegg and Sprong came just after power plays expired, but Donatelli said his team still took advantage of the opportunities.&#8220;Even though they weren&#8217;t power-play goals, they came right after. It felt like a power-play goal,&#8221; he said.Sprong gave the Penguins a 4-3 lead with his second tally, and 14th goal of the season, when he put home a rebound from a Garrett Wilson shot early in the third period.&#8220;When he&#8217;s playing the right way, he&#8217;s getting chances,&#8221; Donatelli said of Sprong. &#8220;When he gets chances, he&#8217;ll get goals.&#8221;Haggerty made it 5-3 when he wristed a Zach Aston-Reese pass into the net midway through the period.With a minute remaining and the Springfield net empty for the extra attacker, McGrath chased the puck into the Thunderbirds end and forced a turnover before shooting the puck into the net. The goal was McGrath&#8217;s first of the season and sealed the 6-3 win.&#8220;I&#8217;ve been waiting a long time to get that,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I kept the pressure on and the guy coughed it up. I couldn&#8217;t miss after that.&#8221;<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Sprong </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_Sprong.jpg</photo0><caption0>Sprong </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Rookie winger scores twice in 6-3 win</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Penguins 6, Springfield 3Springfield`2`1`0 &#8212; 3Penguins`1`2`3 &#8212; 6First PeriodScoring &#8211; 1. WBS, Andrey Pedan 2 (Haggerty, Aston-Reese) 14:55. 2. SPR, Maxime Fortunus 2 (Bystrom, Lammikko) 16:28. 3. SPR, Maxim Mamin 4 (Grenier, Bystrom) 17:57. Penalties - WBS, McGrath (boarding) 6:41; SPR, Schemitsch (tripping) 10:06.Second PeriodScoring &#8211; 4. SPR, Chase Balisy 5 (Byron, Erixon) power play 8:43. 5. WBS, Greg McKegg 1 (Aston-Reese, Thomas) 12:50. 6. WBS, Daniel Sprong 13 (Smith, Prow) 15:21. Penalties - SPR, Balisy (slashing) 1:32; WBS, Wilson (slashing) 8:01; SPR, bench - served by Hawryluk (too many men) 10:48; SPR, Balisy (hooking) 13:21.Third PeriodScoring &#8211; 7. WBS, Daniel Sprong 14 (Wilson, Pedan) 5:07. 8. WBS, Ryan Haggerty 10 (Aston-Reese) 8:24. 9. WBS, Patrick McGrath 1 unassisted 18:53. Penalties - WBS, Pedan (cross-checking) 10:28, SPR, Witkow (roughing) 20:00; WBS, Aston-Reese (roughing) 20:00.Shots on goalSpringfield &#8211; 8-9-10-27Penguins &#8211; 15-13-8-36Power-play OpportunitiesSpringfield &#8211; 1 of 3Penguins &#8211; 0 of 4GoaltendersSpringfield - Samuel Montembeault 4-11-1 (30 saves-35 shots)Penguins &#8211; Casey DeSmith 10-2-1 (24-27)StartersSpringfield &#8211; G Samuel Montembeault, D Josh Brown, D Tim Erixon, LW Maxim Mamin, C Curtis Valk, RW Alexandre GrenierPenguins &#8211; G Casey DeSmith, D Ethan Prow, D Chris Summers, LW Colin Smith, C Jean-Sebastien Dea, RW Christian ThomasThree Stars1. WBS, Daniel Sprong (two goals) 2. WBS, Andrey Pedan (goal, assist) 3. Zach Aston-Reese (two assists)Referees &#8211; Chris Pontes, Brandon Blandina. Linesmen &#8211; J.P. Waleski, Ryan Knapp.</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

Daniel Sprong’s two goals lead WBS Pens past Springfield 6-3