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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Friday&#8217;s game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms won&#8217;t be the first time that Will O&#8217;Neill has faced a former team.</p><p>During his first stint with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2015-16, O&#8217;Neal suited up against his former teammates with the St. John&#8217;s IceCaps on two occasions, and he fared pretty well.</p><p>In those two games, O&#8217;Neill recorded five assists as the Penguins won both contests.</p><p>But when the Penguins face the Phantoms for the first time on Friday, in Lehigh Valley, O&#8217;Neill admits he&#8217;s excited to face the former team that he finished last season with as a healthy scratch during all of the postseason.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m excited I didn&#8217;t have to wait so long to play those guys,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said after Thursday&#8217;s practice. &#8220;It&#8217;s fun to play against a team where you know all the players and you&#8217;re familiar with the rink. I&#8217;m glad I&#8217;m in the East and not the West where I don&#8217;t get to play them.&#8221;</p><p>Still, O&#8217;Neill isn&#8217;t using the disappointing finish to last season as motivation to prove a point against his former team. He did have two productive regular seasons with the Phantoms and even got into his first NHL game with the parent Flyers last year.</p><p>There&#8217;s no axe to grind and the motivation is the same as it is against any opponent, he said.</p><p>&#8220;Whenever you leave a team there&#8217;s always something to prove. You should always have something to prove anyhow, so I try not to think about it too much,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said.</p><p>Despite being familiar with the tendencies of his opponents and the system that the Phantoms employ, O&#8217;Neill added that there isn&#8217;t much of an advantage when it comes to facing a former team. The focus, he said, is to play with a clear mind and not get too caught up with what the other team is doing.</p><p>Still, heading into a rink that used to be home is exciting.</p><p>&#8220;Sometimes it is interesting to be on the other side. You know those guys and I&#8217;m looking forward to going back to the PPL Center. I&#8217;m comfortable playing there,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said.</p><p><strong></strong><strong>Notes</strong></p><p>This weekend will mark the midway point of a five-game stretch that has the Penguins facing the Hershey Bears and Lehigh Valley Phantoms. They played Hershey on Wednesday, travel to Lehigh Valley on Friday and then host the Phantoms on Saturday. Next weekend, the Penguins will do the reverse &#8212; hosting Hershey on Friday and traveling to face the Bears the next day.</p><p>Defenseman Chris Summers likes the rivalry games early in the season.</p><p>&#8220;For the new guys, you learn quickly how big these division games are, especially against Lehigh Valley and Hershey,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">O&#8217;Neill </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_ONeill-1.jpeg</photo0><caption0>O&#8217;Neill </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></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>UP NEXT</strong></p><p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3-1-0-0) at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2-1-0-0)</p><p>Friday, 7:05 p.m. at the PPL Center in Allentown</p><p>Listen live on 103.1FM-WILK</p><p><strong>Players to watch: </strong></p><p>Lehigh Valley - Greg Carey leads the Phantoms with three goals and five points in three games.</p><p>Penguins - Will O&#8217;Neill, of course. The dynamic defenseman will be motivated to help beat his former team.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

WBS Pens’ Will O’Neill excited to face former Phantom teammates