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Kistler elementary expansion on hold because of high school costs

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Happy birthday Raymond Kennedy!

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Casey DeSmith admits that the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are in a good spot atop the Atlantic Division, but that doesn&#8217;t mean the team is overly comfortable as they embark on a three-game road trip to New England.</p><p>With a matchup against Springfield on Wednesday followed by a pair of meetings in Providence over the weekend, DeSmith knows things in the Atlantic Division can tighten up quickly.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re in good shape right now, but there are a lot of good teams in our division. Points are going to be important by the end of the year,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have to keep our foot on the gas.&#8221;</p><p>Fresh off a successful stint with Pittsburgh, DeSmith was re-assigned on Sunday and could get all three starts during the road trip.</p><p>Head coach Clark Donatelli said it&#8217;s a &#8220;luxury&#8221; having either DeSmith or Tristan Jarry in net backed up by Anthony Peters, but he admitted the upcoming road trip will be a test.</p><p>The Penguins have played well on the road this season, posting a 9-6-3-0 mark, but they&#8217;ve also played the fewest away games &#8212; 18 &#8212; out of everyone in the Eastern Conference.</p><p>That will change this month as the Penguins will be on the road for six of their nine games. Perhaps the travel will become a grind at some point, but for now there isn&#8217;t a worry.</p><p>It&#8217;s always good to experience some new cities and spend time with all the guys on the road,&#8221; said Jarrett Burton, adding that the pair of wins last weekend helped create a positive vibe in preparation for the trip. &#8220;It&#8217;s pretty upbeat this week. Everyone is pretty excited about last weekend and building off that momentum.&#8221;</p><p>The Penguins will hit the road without several regulars.</p><p>Zach Aston-Reese and Jarry remain up with Pittsburgh while Tom Kostopoulos and Ryan Haggerty are sidelined with injuries. Defenseman Lukas Bengtsson is a possibility to return.</p><p>But Donatelli pointed out that the current lineup is similar to the one that produced wins against Hershey and Lehigh Valley last weekend.</p><p>&#8220;We comfortable with that,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re a little banged up and we have some guys up top, but we&#8217;re OK.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p>Daniel Sprong is on a seven game point streak in the AHL, racking up five goals and eight assists for 13 points in that time. &#8230; Kevin Czuczman scored goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his professional career with tallies against Binghamton on Jan. 27 and Hershey on Feb. 2. &#8230; The Penguins are 2-0-0-0 against Springfield this season, and 1-1-0-0 versus Providence.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Burton </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Burton-Jarrett.jpg</photo0><caption0>Burton </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_casey-desmith-2017-50.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">DeSmith </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_casey-desmith-2017-50.jpg</photo1><caption1>DeSmith </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Penguins have won three straight games as they head to Springfield.</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong></strong><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;">Penguins (1st place in Atlantic Division) at Springfield (7th place in Atlantic)</p><p>7:05 p.m. Wednesday at MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.</p><p>Listen live on 103.1FM-WILK</p><p><strong>Players to watch: </strong></p><p>Springfield - Alexandre Grenier and Curtis Valk lead the Thunderbirds with 35 points.</p><p>Penguins - Greg McKegg has two goals in two games against Springfield this season.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WBS Penguins look to continue win streak on the road