PENGUINS WEEKLY RELEASE #16

WBS Takes Six of Last Seven Entering Break

Pens start February with three-game, three-day weekend

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS

 

Wednesday, January 23: PENGUINS 3, IceCaps 0

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period and Brad Thiessen stopped 26 shots to lift the team to a 3-0 shutout of the St. John’s IceCaps.

 

The Penguins needed only 2:32 to go up, 1-0, as Alex Grant one-timed a Riley Holzapfel feed to the back of the net for a power play goal.   Philip Samuelsson would add his second tally of the season 10 minutes later and Holzapfel struck with 2:19 to go in the period to build a commanding lead for WBS

 

Trevor Smith also chipped in two assists for the Penguins. 

 

Friday, January 25: Penguins 2, AMERICANS 4

Rochester broke open a second-period deadlock, scoring four times en route to a 4-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Blue Cross Arena. 

 

After Zach Sill put the Penguins ahead, 2-1, at the halfway point of the second with his first goal of the season, the Americans lit the lamp three times over a span of 6:26 and never looked back.  Mark Pysyk (1g-1a) and Mark Mancari (2a) each notched two points for Rochester. 

 

Chad Kolarik made quite the debut for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, scoring with the first shot on his first shift in his first game with the team to make it, 1-0, 1:36 into the first.

 

Saturday, January 26: Penguins 3, MARLIES 1

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were able to pull away in the third period to record a 3-1 win over the Toronto Marlies on Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. 

 

For the third time in the Penguins’ last five games, Riley Holzapfel scored the first goal of the match, breaking a scoreless tie at 11:21 of the second.  Though Toronto’s Tim Connolly knotted the score seven minutes into the third, Paul Thompson answered 59 seconds later to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the lead for good.

 

Rookie center Adam Payerl added his second of the season, notching a power play goal with 5:38 left in regulation.  Goalie Jeff Zatkoff made 27-of-28 saves for his second straight win. 

UPCOMING GAMES

 

Friday, February 1, 7:05 PM: PENGUINS vs. Monarchs – 102.3 the Mountain

Manchester has lost two in a row following a four-game winning streak and occupies third place in the Atlantic Division (21-19-2-2).  Tyler Toffoli is tied for second in the AHL with 20 goals scored, while teammate Linden Vey is tied for ninth in points with 37 (11g-27a).  In their only other meeting this season, Jeff Zatkoff shutout his former team, making 33 saves as the Penguins triumphed, 3-0, on Nov. 2. 

 

Saturday, February 2, 7:05 PM: PENGUINS vs. Phantoms – MyNetworkTV, 102.3 the Mountain

It was three weeks to the day that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hosted Adirondack for their first regular season match-up and it was the Penguins eking out a 2-1 victory.  The Phantoms are winless in their last three games (0-2-1-0) and are in fifth in the Northeast Division (17-21-2-1).  Marcel Noebels is on a three-game road goal scoring streak.  WBS next plays Adirondack on Feb. 22 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

 

Sunday, February 3, 2:00 PM: Penguins at BEARS – 102.3 the Mountain

The rivalry between the Penguins and Bears continues on Super Bowl Sunday with game 10 out of 12 in this years’ season series.  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has taken two straight versus Hershey, who had won five of the previous six meetings.  The Bears have gone four consecutive games without a victory (0-2-1-1) and are in fourth place in the East (20-19-2-2), one point behind the Penguins.    Jeff Taffe is tied for second in the AHL in assists (29) and tied for sixth in points (38). 

 

PENGUINS TEAM LEADERS as of 1/29/13…

PLAYER	GP	G	A	PTS
Chad Kolarik	43	17	19	36
Riley Holzapfel	41	13	15	28
Trevor Smith	42	11	13	24
Beau Bennett	32	6	18	24
Paul Thompson	39	14	8	22

GOALIE	GP	REC	SO	GAA	SV%
Jeff Zatkoff	26	13-12-0	3	2.08	.916
Brad Thiessen	18	8-8-1	3	2.62	.903

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS as of 1/29/13…

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	PTS
1. Binghamton Senators	41	27	10	1	3	58
2. Syracuse Crunch	41	25	10	2	4	56
3. PENGUINS	42	21	18	2	1	45
4. Hershey Bears	43	20	19	2	2	44
5. Norfolk Admirals	42	18	21	2	1	39

 

ICE CHIPS…

- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has won six of its last seven games.   

- Paul Thompson tallied two game-winning goals last week – Sunday at Hershey and Saturday at Toronto.  He leads the Penguins with five and also notched both game-winners in the two-game season sweep of the Marlies. 

- Brad Thiessen’s 26-save shutout on Wednesday again St. John’s was the third in his last six starts. 

- Riley Holzapfel has goals in four of his last five and potted the first goal in three of those games.  

 

PENGUINS RECENT TRANSACTIONS…

 

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