PENS ADVANCE TO EAST FINALS WITH 7-3 WIN OVER HERSHEY

WILKES-BARRE, PA – It has never been more appropriate to say the revenge is 'sweet' than now.

Tim Brent picked up four points, Alex Goligoski netted two goals, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins posted a 7-3 win agains the Hershey Bears on Friday night to win their East Division Semifinal series, four games to one.

The win turned the table on the Bears, who knocked the Penguins out of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

But getting by the team that won the Calder Cup two seasons ago and advanced to the finals last year was anything but easy, according to head coach Todd Richards.

“The first series is the toughest series,” he said.  “You have to learn what it takes to win, you have to deal with some adversity.”

A 3-0 lead in a series would hardly seem like a mountain to climb.  But after dropping Game Four in Hershey on Wednesday night, the Penguins looked at Game Five almost as a must win situation.

“We sure didn’t want to go back [to the Giant Center Saturday] night,” said Tim Brent, who led all scorers in the series with 11 points – including four in the decisive contest.  “It is a bit of a relief – we finished it now and we can take a bit of a breather and recuperate a little bit, rest and heal up a little and wait to see who we have next.”

There was some rough going in the opening minutes of the game, as the Penguins were whistled for three penalties in the first 4:18 of play.  The home club was able to kill off all three, including a five-on-three advantage that lasted 1:20, but fell behind when Maxime Lacroix grabbed a puck that Mark Ardelan wasn’t able to corral.  His shot found the right corner over John Curry’s shoulder for his first career professional goal.