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WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; A day after suffering a devastating 12-3 defeat in Rochester, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins looked to take advantage of a quick turnaround and put the loss behind them.Instead, they&#8217;ll have to wait a little longer while feeling the sting of two tough defeats.The Penguins allowed the Utica Comets to score three times in 62 seconds late in the second period, and gave up the game-winner in overtime for a 5-4 loss on Saturday. Newly-acquired Joseph Cramarossa had a goal and an assist as one of the few bright spots for the Penguins, who hit the ice with a lineup missing nine regulars.The biggest hit has occurred on defense, where Zach Trotman remains out, Andrey Pedan sat out Saturday with an illness and Chris Summers, Frank Corrado and Lukas Bengtsson were injured on Friday.&#8220;We&#8217;re still competitive,&#8221; said head coach Clark Donatelli.But he later added that maybe all of the attrition from the lineup is having a bit of an impact.&#8220;You have guys playing in different roles and responsibilities because of the injury situation and you&#8217;re going to go through some bumps,&#8221; Donatelli said.It appeared the Penguins put Friday&#8217;s 12-3 loss to behind them, thanks in large part to the play of Cramarossa and Casey DeSmith.In his second game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Cramarossa notched his first goal when he poked home a loose puck at the goal line. The tally gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead midway through the first period.At the other end, DeSmith, who exited Friday&#8217;s start early after allowing four goals, was stellar. He snatched a puck out of the air while on his back during a jam-up in front of the net in the second period, and minutes later made three straight saves while gliding across the crease to preserve the 1-0 lead.Late in the period, however, the game resembled Friday&#8217;s 12-3 loss.For a minute.Utica scored three times in 62 seconds to shock the Penguins by taking a 3-1 lead. Tony Cameranesi tied the game for Utica when he converted a shot while left uncovered in the low slot. Forty-one seconds later, Michael Chaput put the Comets up 2-1 with a breakaway goal, and Griffen Molino&#8217;s swipe at a rebound 21 seconds after that made it 3-1.When the dust settled, the Comets had fired 20 shots in the second period alone and were outshooting the Penguins 32-19.&#8220;Mental breakdowns. It&#8217;s tough to go through it,&#8221; Donatelli said of the three Utica goals.The Penguins received four consecutive power plays to open the third period, and they connected during a two-man advantage to cut the lead to 3-2. Daniel Sprong ripped a bullet toward the net that Jarrett Burton tipped past Thatcher Demko for the goal.The Penguins kept pressing, and Ethan Prow tied it up when he put home a pass from Cramarossa to tie it, 3-3, with 11 minutes left.Wilson gave the Penguins a temporary lead when he batted a puck out of mid-air and into the net with six minutes left, but Utica scored with 2:40 left to make it 4-4.It took the Comets only 49 seconds to win it when Patrick Wiercioch lofted a shot from the point to beat DeSmith.NOTES- The Penguins recalled defensemen Jeff Taylor, Dylan Zink and Kevin Schulze from Wheeling on Saturday.- D Andrey Pedan (illness), D Zach Trotman (injury), F Troy Josephs, F Tom Sestito (injury), F Christian Thomas (Olympics), F Tom Kostopoulos (injury), D Lukas Bengtsson (injury), D Kevin Schulze, F Ryan Haggerty (injury), F Freddie Tiffels, G Michael Leighton (injury) and D Chris Summers (injury) were scratched for the Penguins.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Penguins left wing Joseph Cramarossa, left, controls the puck past Utica defenseman Frankie Simonelli during the game at Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL021818Pens1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Penguins left wing Joseph Cramarossa, left, controls the puck past Utica defenseman Frankie Simonelli during the game at Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL021818Pens2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penguins&#8217; Cody Wydo (17) passes past Utica&#8217;s Griffen Molino (13) and Frankie Simonelli during Saturday&#8217;s game at Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL021818Pens2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Penguins&#8217; Cody Wydo (17) passes past Utica&#8217;s Griffen Molino (13) and Frankie Simonelli during Saturday&#8217;s game at Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom Veneskytvenesky@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>Penguins 4, Utica 5Utica`0`3`1`1&#8212;`5Penguins`1`0`3`0&#8212;`4First PeriodScoring &#8211; 1. WBS, Joseph Cramarossa 1 ( Quinney, Wilson) 9:31. Penalties - UTI, Dziurzynski (fighting) 1:16; WBS, McGrath (fighting, misconduct) 1:16; UTI, MacEwen (high-sticking) 5:42; UTI, Wiercioch (slashing) 10:09; WBS, Wilson (slashing) 10:16; WBS, Spinozzi (unsportsmanlike conduct) 16:06.Second PeriodScoring &#8211; 2. UTI, Tony Cameranesi 1 (Dziurzynski, Wiercioch) 17:27. 3. UTI, Michael Chaput 12 unassisted 18:08; UTI, Griffen Molino 3 (MacEwen, Hamilton) 18:29. Penalties - WBS, Czuczman (interference) 6:21.Third PeriodScoring &#8211; 5. WBS, Jarrett Burton 7 (Sprong, Dea) Power play 5:51. 6. WBS, Ethan Prow 2 (Cramarossa, Spinozzi) 8:58. 7. WBS, Garrett Wilson 10 (Burton, Tinordi) 15:36. 8. UTI, Cole Cassels 5 (Darcy) 17:20. Penalties - UTI, Sautner (roughing, fighting) :32; WBS, Wilson (fighting) :32; UTI, Chaput (holding) 3:02; UTI, Demko (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct) 5:04; UTI, Hamilton (holding the stick) 5:04.Overtime Scoring - UTI, Patrick Wiercioch (Hamilton, Carcone) :49. Penalties - None. Shots on goalUtica &#8211; 12-20-7-1-40Penguins &#8211; 12-7-15-0-34Power-play OpportunitiesUtica &#8211; 0 of 3Penguins &#8211; 1 of 6Goaltenders Utica &#8211; Thatcher Demko 19-7-6 (30 saves &#8211; 34 shots)Penguins &#8211; Casey DeSmith 14-7-3 (35-40)StartersUtica &#8211; G Thatcher Demko, D Ashton Sautner, D Dylan Blujus, LW Griffen Molino, C Wacey Hamilton, RW Zack MacEwenPenguins &#8211; G Casey DeSmith, D Ethan Prow, D Kevin Czuczman, LW Garrett Wilson, C Jarrett Burton, RW Daniel SprongThree Stars1. UTI, Patrick Wiercioch (goal, assist) 2. WBS, Garrett Wilson (goal, fight) 3. WBS, Joseph Cramarossa (goal, assist)Referees &#8211; Peter MacDougall, Terry Koharski. Linesmen - Jason Mandroc, Tom GeorgeAttendance &#8211; 8,151</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</shirttailMeta></div>

WBS Penguins stunned by Comets, 5-4, in overtime