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WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8212; The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins season is quickly building momentum.That continued Friday night because the Penguins refused to let their opponent, the Springfield Thunderbirds, pick up any momentum during the game&#8217;s most dangerous stretch.The Penguins held the Thunderbirds scoreless during a continuous 4:04 power play, 1:56 of which was a 5-on-3 advantage, on the way to their fourth straight victory, a 4-1 triumph that moved them into second place in the Atlantic Division.&#8220;We always say, &#8216;If you don&#8217;t score on a 5-on-3, it&#8217;s really tough to win that game,&#8217; &#8221; Penguins coach Mike Vellucci said. &#8220;I say that for my power play. I thought our guys did a great job on the penalty kill tonight.&#8220;Unfortunately, we took some bad penalties tonight. We have to stay out of the box more.&#8221;The Penguins got through the closing seconds of the first period and a long stretch to begin the second playing shorthanded and protecting a 2-1 lead.There was plenty of individual praise to go around for a team that is suddenly on a roll as it heads into the last of four straight home games Saturday night against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.Casey DeSmith made 41 saves in net. His 187-minute scoreless streak ended early in the game, but he has allowed just two goals during the four-game winning streak.&#8220;Penalty kill did a great job,&#8221; Vellucci said. &#8220;Casey was awesome again, but we limited their chances again on the special teams, which was great.&#8221;Defenseman Jon Lizotte led a penalty kill that stopped all seven Springfield chances.&#8220;He competes so hard,&#8221; Vellucci said of the rookie, who is quickly gaining a prominent role on the blue line. &#8220;Great stick. Very intelligent.&#8221;Andrew Agozzino took care of the necessary scoring, connecting 49 seconds into the game and adding the game-winner before the first period ended.Sam Miletic had assists on both Agozzino goals and was named the third star behind Agozzino and DeSmith.Defenseman Kevin Czuczman, who scored his first goal, and Zach Trotman, who had an assist, joined Miletic and Lizotte in logging key minutes on the penalty kill.&#8220;When you start a season, you never know how it&#8217;s going to go,&#8221; Lizotte said. &#8220;How it started is not how we wanted it to start.&#8220;Sometimes, you get a little frustrated with things like that. &#8230; The mood&#8217;s kind of switching. You can definitely tell in the locker room and on the ice.&#8221;The win improved the Penguins to 9-5-1-1 overall.&#8220;We&#8217;re just trying to ride the wave and keep it going,&#8221; Agozzino said in the on-ice, postgame interview.NOTES: Ryan Haggerty scored the final goal into an empty net from the far blue line with 1:02 left. &#8230; The Penguins have killed 18 straight opposing power plays after allowing 15 goals in 53 chances (28.3 percent) to begin the season. The last power-play goal allowed was against Utica in the first minute of the current winning streak. &#8230; Stefan Noesen was honored in pregame as the Penguins Booster Club Player of the Month for October. Noesen leads the AHL with 11 goals, nine of which came during October. &#8230; Springfield (10-7-0-0) entered the night in second place. The Penguins and Thunderbirds play again in Springfield Nov. 22.Penguins 4, Springfield 1Springfield`1`0`0 &#8212; 1Penguins`2`1`1 &#8212; 4First Period &#8212; 1. Penguins, Agozzino 5 (Miletic, Warsofsky), 0:49; 2. Springfield, Byron 3 (Borgstrom, Greco), 3:04; 3. Penguins, Agozzino 6 (Noesen, Miletic), 16:14. Penalties &#8212; Lochead, Springfield (slashing), 8:33; Blandisi, Penguins (slashing), 19:42; Berger, Penguins (double minor &#8211; high sticking), 19:46.Second Period &#8212; 4, Penguins, Czuczman 1 (Johnson), 5:42. Penalties &#8212; Lochead, Springfield (instigating, fighting major, misconduct &#8211; instigating), 4:25; Trotman, Penguins (fighting), 4:25; Agozzino, Penguins (high sticking) 5:11; Toninato, Springfield (high sticking) 9:05; Palve, Penguins (slashing) 9:33; Angello, Penguins (interference), 13:56; Ang, Springfield (tripping), 17:03.Third Period &#8212; 5, Penguins, Haggerty 3 (Trotman), 18:58 (EN). Penalties &#8212; Thompson, Springfield (roughing, misconduct &#8211; continuing altercation), 13:26; Blandisi, Penguins (roughing, misconduct &#8211; continuing altercation), 13:26; Miletic, Penguins (tripping), 13:35; Saarela, Springfield (slashing), 15:19.Shots on Goal &#8212; Springfield 15-13-14&#8212;42. Penguins 14-5-16&#8212;35.Power-play opportunities &#8212; Springfield 0 of 7; Penguins 0 of 5.Goalies &#8212; Springfield, Driedger 6-6-0 (34 shots-31 saves). Penguins, DeSmith 7-4-0 (42 shots-241 saves).A &#8212; 4,146.Referees &#8212; Jake Rekucki, Jason Williams. Linesmen &#8212; J.P. Waleski, Michael Magee.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom RobinsonFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div>

Penalty kill helps power Penguins to fourth straight win, topping Springfield