web1_AP_98022601983.jpg

Today in history

web1_wvcw3_faa.jpg

Wrestling success is all relative: Krokowski following in uncle’s footsteps

<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; Dealing with a 3 p.m. game on Sunday after having already played two games in two days isn&#8217;t an easy thing.</p><p>But the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins showed little signs of fatigue as they managed to edge by the Hershey Bears, 3-2.</p><p>Daniel Sprong registered his team-leading 12th multi-point game with two assists and Adam Johnson recorded the first two-goal game of his career as the Penguins (32-16-4-1) maintained their hold on second place in the AHL&#8217;s Atlantic Division. The win gives the Penguins four out of a possible six points on the weekend, making up for Saturday&#8217;s loss in Syracuse.</p><p>&#8220;I thought we had more jump than we did last night in Syracuse,&#8221; said head coach Clark Donatelli. &#8220;The big thing with playing a three-in-three is shift management so we don&#8217;t get caught on the ice. Managing ice time and the puck is a big part, especially on a Sunday.&#8221;</p><p>In the first two periods, both teams traded leads with goals coming a minute apart.</p><p>Hershey scored first when Travis Boyd passed from behind the net to Riley Barber for a one-timer two minutes into the first period.</p><p>The Penguins answered 41 seconds later when Tom Kostopoulos one-timed a Gage Quinney pass in the slot for a 1-1 tie.</p><p>The Penguins knew it wasn&#8217;t going to be an easy night against a Hershey team fighting to get into the playoffs.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re battling for their lives. They&#8217;re outside the playoffs, and for us, we&#8217;re trying to catch Lehigh Valley,&#8221; Sprong said.</p><p>Both teams exchanged goals again late in the second period, and this time it was the Penguins that struck first. On a power play, Ethan Prow sent a shot in from the blueline that Johnson deflected on the way to the net for a 2-1 lead.</p><p>Just over a minute later, the Penguins left Hershey&#8217;s Tyler Graovac open at the side of the net and he converted a tic-tac-toe setup for a 2-2 tie.</p><p>Donatelli wasn&#8217;t happy with the play.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a breakdown by us and a good play by them,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That&#8217;s something we have to work on.&#8221;</p><p>In the third period, the Penguins regained the lead thanks to a relentless effort from Sprong.</p><p>As Sprong gained the puck and rushed toward the Hershey end he was tripped just as he cross the blue line. With a delayed call coming on Hershey, Sprong managed to push the puck ahead to Teddy Blueger, who fired a shot on goal, resulting in a rebound to Johnson who put it home for the gamewinner.</p><p>&#8220;The first thing I saw was (Sprong) poking it. I saw Teddy going to the net and I knew he was going to throw it there,&#8221; Blueger said. &#8220;Lucky to have it bounce on my stick and have an open net.&#8221;</p><p><strong>NOTES</strong></p><p>- D Andrey Pedan (injury), D Zach Trotman (injury), F Patrick McGrath, F Greg McKegg, D Frank Corrado (injury), F Christian Thomas (Olympics), D Dylan Zink, D Lukas Bengtsson (injury), F Ryan Haggerty (injury), G Michael Leighton (injury) and D Chris Summers (injury) were scratched for the Penguins.</p><p>- McKegg is day-to-day, according to Donatelli, while Pedan, who was sidelined with an illness, is now listed as having an upper body injury.</p><p>- The Penguins are now 7-0-1-1 against the Bears this season, and they face their Atlantic Division rivals three more times.</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/2018/02/web1_pens_hb1_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Teddy Blueger pushes in front of Hershey defenseman Colby Williams as they battle for the puck on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb1_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Teddy Blueger pushes in front of Hershey defenseman Colby Williams as they battle for the puck on Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Penguins winger Tom Kostopoulos keeps Hershey&#8217;s Zach Sill behind him as he works the puck along the boards during Sunday&#8217;s game at the Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb2_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Penguins winger Tom Kostopoulos keeps Hershey&#8217;s Zach Sill behind him as he works the puck along the boards during Sunday&#8217;s game at the Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb3faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Teddy Blueger checks Hershey Bears defenseman Aaron Ness behind the goal on Sunday. The Penguins beat the Bears, 3-2. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb3faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Teddy Blueger checks Hershey Bears defenseman Aaron Ness behind the goal on Sunday. The Penguins beat the Bears, 3-2. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb4_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jean-Sebastien Dea brings the puck down into the Hershey Bears end during Sunday&#8217;s game at the Mohegan Sun Arena. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb4_faa.jpg</photo3><caption3>Jean-Sebastien Dea brings the puck down into the Hershey Bears end during Sunday&#8217;s game at the Mohegan Sun Arena. </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb5_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hershey Bears goalie Pheonix Copley covers the puck as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players crash the net on Sunday. Adam Johnson scored two goals to lead the Penguins to a 3-2 win.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_pens_hb5_faa.jpg</photo4><caption4>Hershey Bears goalie Pheonix Copley covers the puck as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players crash the net on Sunday. Adam Johnson scored two goals to lead the Penguins to a 3-2 win.  </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>WBS Pens wrap up grueling three-game weekend with 3-2 win over Hershey</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>Penguins 3, Hershey 2</strong></p><p><strong>Hershey`1`1`0 &#8212; `2</strong></p><p><strong>Penguins`1`1`1 &#8212; `3</strong></p><p><strong>First Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 1. HER, Riley Barber 19 (Boyd, Hobbs) 2:09. 2. WBS, WBS, Tom Kostopoulos 2 (Quinney, Tinordi) 3:00. Penalties - WBS, Dea (delay of game - faceoff violation) 5:07.</p><p><strong>Second Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 3. WBS, Adam Johnson 6 (Prow, Sprong) power play 15:56. HER, Tyler Graovac 10 (Walker, Simpson) 17:08. Penalties - WBS, Czuczman (slashing) 3:00; HER, Lewington (tripping) 14:38.</p><p><strong>Third Period</strong></p><p><strong>Scoring</strong> &#8211; 5. Adam Johnson 7 (Blueger, Sprong) 10:06. Penalties - HER, Hobbs (high-sticking) 14:49.</p><p><strong>Shots on goal</strong></p><p>Hershey &#8211; 8-8-8-24</p><p>Penguins &#8211; 10-4-11-25</p><p><strong>Power-play Opportunities</strong></p><p>Hershey &#8211; 0 of 2</p><p>Penguins &#8211; 1 of 2</p><p><strong>Goaltenders</strong></p><p>Hershey &#8211; Pheonix Copley 11-13-5 (22 saves-25 shots)</p><p>Penguins &#8211; Casey DeSmith 16-8-3 (22-24)</p><p><strong>Starters</strong></p><p>Hershey &#8211; G Pheonix Copley, D Connor Hobbs, D Aaron Ness, LW Nathan Walker, C Tyler Graovac, RW Wayne Simpson</p><p>Penguins &#8211; G Casey DeSmith, D Kevin Czuczman, D Kevin Schulze, LW Garrett Wilson, C Gage Quinney, RW Tom Kostopoulos</p><p><strong>Three Stars</strong></p><p>1. WBS, Adam Johnson (two goals) 2. WBS, Daniel Sprong (goal, assist) 3. WBS, Tom Kostopoulos (goal)</p><p><strong>Referee</strong> &#8211; Sean MacFarlane, Troy Murray. <strong>Linesmen</strong> - Ryan Knapp, Luke Murray.</p><p><strong>Attendance</strong> &#8211; 5,701</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WBS Penguins wrap up grueling three-game weekend with win over Hershey