William Francis Byank

Alice Pivinski

By CHARLIE LENTZ clentz@leader.net
 Friday, January 19, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1C 





The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins begin the second half of their season
against the Philadelphia Phantoms tonight at First Union Arena. The Pens would
like nothing better than to equal the output that put them nine games over
.500 during the season's first 40 games. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (22-13-5) sits atop the AHL's Mid-Atlantic Division
with 49 points. Although half of the regular season remains, center Toby
Petersen said there can be no letup in the drive toward a division title. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ``As we head into the playoffs, get into that playoff run - the stretch run
- we want to be firing on all cylinders,'' said Petersen, the team's top
scorer with 38 points (17 goals and 21 assists) over 33 games. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The cylinders have undergone a tuneup with a number of personnel moves
during the past few days. Defenseman John Slaney led the Penguins in scoring
(12 goals, 37 assists) before being traded to Philadelphia on Sunday. Center
Billy Tibbetts (14 goals, 24 assists) took his scoring touch to the Pittsburgh
Penguins when the parent club called him up Sunday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The local Pens received some help the same day when Pittsburgh reassigned
center Milan Kraft to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Kraft, Pittsburgh's first-round
choice in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, was getting only a few shifts per game on
Pittsburgh's fourth line. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Despite the loss of Slaney and Tibbetts, Petersen said the Pens will adapt
in the campaign's second half. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's quite a coincidence, all these changes happen to take place right at
the beginning of the second half of the season,'' Petersen said. ``We've got
new guys here, we're missing some guys. We're just going to have to continue
to play and get some points, every game.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kraft scored seven goals and five assists in 41 games with Pittsburgh but
Petersen expects Kraft to flourish with more ice time. Petersen is familiar
with Kraft's skills. He saw them firsthand at Pittsburgh's training camp in
September and again during Petersen's three-week callup to Pittsburgh in
December. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Glenn Patrick likes to mix and match
his lines on occasion, Patrick said earlier this week Kraft would likely
center a line with left wing Greg Crozier and right wing Jason MacDonald.
Tibbetts previously centered that line. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``(Kraft is) an incredibly talented player. With a guy like Crozier (17
goals, 20 assists) and MacDonald (12 goals, 12 assists), he should fit in
great on that line,'' Petersen said. ``They might even have a little more
success than the Tibbetts line had.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Patrick said Kraft, 21, will bring a different dimension to the Pens. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``He's a good mixture of high skill and power. I expect big things out of
him. (Tibbetts) is more of a power guy. At this level, you'd rather see more
skill. Kraft has more skill and he'll give us that, which we need. We have a
lot of power on the team.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tonight's game is also a rare chance to get a home win in January. The
Pens' schedule has just three home games this month with eight on the road. It
doesn't get any better next month, only four of the Penguins 14 games in
February will be at First Union Arena. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Defenseman Sven Butenschon, who replaced Slaney as the Pens captain, said
the Pens might get a second-half lift from the roster moves. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I think the guys realize that we're just as good if not better because
now teams can't just focus on Slaney on the power play,'' Butenschon said.
``Now it's going to be more of a team effort.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Although Slaney is a member of the Phantoms he might miss tonight's game
with a sore hip. Regardless of whether he plays, Petersen said the Pens have
to regard him as the enemy now. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``He's going to be friend to a lot of guys still here, but there's friends
over the league. We don't look at them as friends, they're opponents,''
Petersen said. ``We're going to have to get two points off him here and then
go into Philly and try to get a couple more.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TONIGHT'S GAME &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Philadelphia Phantoms at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Faceoff: 7:35 p.m. today, First Union Arena &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TV/Radio: The game will be broadcast on radio at Oldies 92 and 100 (FM).
Internet broadcast is available at www.oldiesfm.com &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tickets: The game is sold out. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The series: The Penguins are 5-10-0 all-time against the Phantoms, 3-2-0
this season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 About the Phantoms: Philadelphia has had better luck at First Union Arena
than at home this season. The Phantoms are 2-1-0 at the arena but 0-2-0
against the Pens at the First Union Spectrum. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

2nd Half Sees Pens Revamped Top Pittsburgh Prospect Milan Kraft Brings New Dimension To Local Team, Coach Patrick Says.