PENS POWER PLAY LEADS THE WAY IN 6-2 WIN
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins power play unit produced a season-high three goals on the man advantage on Saturday afternoon, and propelled the team to a 6-2 win over the St. John’s IceCaps at Mile One Centre.
The win raised the Pens’ record to 14-4-2-0 (30 points) on the season and kept the club in first place in the Atlantic Division, while the IceCaps saw their record even out at 11-11-1-0 (23 points).
After failing to score on their first man advantage of the game, the Penguins rattled off power play goals on their next three chances, and ended up scoring on half of their opportunities on the afternoon.
Danny Kristo opened the scoring at 18:08 of the first period with a point blast that beat Charlie Lindgren, giving Kristo his first goal in a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton uniform.
Penalties on Mark MacMillan (tripping) and Jacob de la Rose (goaltender interference) came just 34 seconds apart, giving the Penguins an extended two-man advantage early in the second period. And the visitors took advantage of both chances, as Kevin Porter scored with 18 seconds left in the five-on-three, and Dominik Simon tallied 19 seconds later to make it a 3-0 game 6:07 into the middle period.
Chris Terry beat Tristan Jarry at 14:33 of the second period, ending the Pens’ netminder’s shutout streak at 95:28 dating back to November 23.
Jean-Sébastien Dea redirected a Simon shot past Lindgren with 42 seconds remaining in the second period to reestablish the three-goal lead.
Tim Erixon and Josh Archibald sandwiched third period goals around Daniel Audette’s second of the season to complete the day’s scoring.
Jarry made 31 saves on the afternoon to raise his record to 9-4-1, while Lindgren stopped 21 of 27 attempts and fell to 9-6-0.
The two teams will face off again on Sunday afternoon at 2:30.
NOTES: Porter (1+2) and Tom Kostopoulos (0+3) each recorded three points, while Archibald and Simon each picked up a goal and an assist…The win was the Penguins’ sixth regular season victory in a row in St. John’s. The team’s last regulation loss in Newfoundland came on December 6, 2013 in a 5-0 defeat…Kristo’s goal was his first of the season, and snapped an 11-game scoreless streak dating back to April 16 of last season…Erixon’s goal was his first since March 13 of last season.
The Pens return home on Friday, December 9 when they play the Hershey Bears at 7:00pm. It’s an Eyewitness News Fan Friday, with $14 lower bowl tickets, select draft beers for just $2 from 6-7:30pm, and a post-game autograph session with two Penguins players.
Penguins ticket packages, including 22-game, 12-game, and 10-voucher flex packs, are available directly through the Penguins offices by calling 570-208-7367.
