WBS begins three-game road trip to Norfolk and St. John’s

 LAST WEEK’S RESULTS

 

WENDESDAY, JANUARY 4:  PENGUINS 1, Admirals 5…

The Admirals raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and never looked back in a 5-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. 

 

Cory Concacher (2g-1a) potted a pair of goals to help Norfolk stake a 2-0 lead in the first and a 4-1 cushion in the third period.  The Admirals were 2-for-5 on the power play as Trevor Smith also added three helpers.

 

Nick Petersen was the lone goal scorer for the Penguins. 

 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6: PENGUINS 4, Americans 3 (SO)…

The Penguins rallied from a goal down in the third period to score a 4-3 shootout over Rochester in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday.

 

Eric Tangradi got the final equalizer on the power play with 6:34 left in regulation for his team-leading 14^th goal of the season.  He later scored the decisive goal in the eighth round of the shootout before Brad Thiessen stopped Mark Voakes for the win.  Thiessen made 27 saves through overtime and stopped 6-of-8 in the shootout.

 

Jason Williams had a season-best three points in the game on a goal and two assists. 

 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7: PENGUINS 3, Crunch 4…

Kyle Palmieri’s two-goal performance – including the game-winner – sunk Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as Syracuse ended the Penguins’ homestand with a 4-3 loss. 

 

Geoff Walker’s first two-goal game of his AHL career twice helped the Penguins twice pull within a goal, but Crunch goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers would deny Wilkes-Barre/Scranton down the stretch as part of his 32-save night. 

 

Matt Rust picked up second marker of the season for the Penguins in the loss.

PENGUINS TEAM LEADERS as of 1/9/12…

PLAYER		GP		G		A		PTS
X-Colin McDonald		33		8		20		28
Eric Tangradi		30		14		11		25
Bryan Lerg		36		12		12		24
Ben Street		32		11		12		23
Jason Williams		25		4		17		21

PLAYER		GP		REC		SO		GAA		SV%
Brad Thiessen		25		12-10-2		2		2.87		.884
Scott Munroe		15		7-3-2		3		2.44		.909

ICE CHIPS…

The Penguins matched a team season-high with two power play goals scored on Friday versus Rochester. They had accomplished this twice already this season…The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are four games away from the 1000^th in team history…Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has the third-best road win total in the AHL with 13...Goaltender Scott Munroe has won five of his last six starts…The Penguins are 17-3-0-3 when allowing fewer than four goals…Friday night’s shootout win over the Rochester was the second time in the last four games that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has rallied to win when trailing in the third period. 

 

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS as of 1/9/12…

	TEAM		GP		W		L		OTL		SOL		PTS
1.	Hershey Bears		36		21		8		4		3		49
2.	Norfolk Admirals		36		21		12		1		2		45
3.	PENGUINS		36		19		12		1		4		43
4.	Syracuse Crunch		34		15		15		3		1		34
5.	Binghamton Senators		39		16		21		1		1		34

 

PENGUINS RECENT TRANSACTIONS…

01/10/2012 - Brian Day (RW) DEL, Loaned to Wheeling (ECHL)

01/10/2012 - Cody Chupp (F) ADD, Signed to PTO

01/10/2012 - Eric Tangradi (LW) DEL, Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL)

01/07/2012 - Robert Bortuzzo (D) ADD, Returned on loan from Pittsburgh (NHL)

01/06/2012 - Colin McDonald (RW) DEL, Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL)

01/03/2012 - Patrick Killeen (G) ADD, Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) from Wheeling (ECHL)

 

UPCOMING GAMES

 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 7:15 PM: Penguins at ADMIRALS

The Penguins face off against the Admirals for the sixth time this season, hoping to tip the scales back in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s favor.  The second-place Admirals (21-12-1-2) have won four straight against the Penguins, but Albany Devils opened a five-game home stand with two losses to the Albany Devils

 

Cory Conacher and Trevor Smith continue to pace an offense that ranks second in the AHL at 3.58 goals scored per game.  Conacher leads all rookies in goals (21) and points (41) and is tied for the overall league lead in goal scoring with Kyle Palmieri.  Smith’s 44 points (16g-28a) is the third-highest total in the league. 

 

The Penguins are 1-4-0-0 against the Admirals this season and will face them four more times after Tuesday’s contest.  Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 62-34-1-7-1 in the all-time series against Norfolk.

 

ADMIRALS TEAM LEADERS as of 1/9/12…

PLAYER		GP		G		A		PTS
Trevor Smith		36		16		28		44
Cory Conacher		35		21		20		41
Mark Barberio		24		4		28		32
Carter Ashton		36		15		12		27
Tyler Johnson		35		13		9		22

PLAYER		GP		REC		SO		GAA		SV%
Dustin Tokarski		22		14-8-0		2		2.45		.902
Jaroslav Janus		15		7-5-2		0		3.04		.893

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 6:00 PM:  Penguins vs. ICECAPS…

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2:30 PM:  Penguins vs. ICECAPS…

The Penguins will make the trip to Newfoundland for their first-ever meeting against the St. John’s IceCaps.  At 21-8-4-1 and 47 points, the IceCaps rank third overall in the American Hockey League and second in the Eastern Conference behind the Hershey Bears.

 

St. John’s has gone 6-1-1-0 in its last eight games and, with a 12-1-2-1 record, owns the best road winning percentage in the league at .844.  Defenseman Paul Postma is tied for the team lead in points with 27 (6g-21a) and is third overall in defenseman scoring. 

 

ICECAPS TEAM LEADERS as of 1/9/12…

 

CHILLIN’ WITH THE PENGUINS…

Fans will get an up close and personal look at the Penguins on TV, as CHILLIN’ WITH THE PENGUINS hits the airwaves this season.  The half hour show will feature Penguins broadcasters Tom Grace and Mike O’Brien chatting with Pens players, and will allow fans to ask questions directly to their favorite Penguins with an interactive Q&A session in each episode. 

 

The show will feature two Penguins players or coaches each week, and will be taped in front of a live audience inside the Ice Rink at Coal Street Park (40 Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre). Ten shows will be taped this season, and aired at 6:30pm as a lead in to Penguins home games being broadcast on MyNetwork TV.

 

The next taping will be held at 6:00pm on Wednesday, January 18.  Admission to each taping is free and open to any Penguins fans in the area.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS/PROMOTIONS…

Tickets for all upcoming Penguins home games are available at the PennStar Box Office at Mohegan Sun Arena, through any Ticketmaster outlet, or online at ticketmaster.com.  Tickets can be purchased via phone by calling 1-800-745-3000.  Additionally, full and partial season ticket plans for the 2011-12 season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Hockey are on sale, and available by calling 570-208-PENS (7367).

 

All 80 regular-season Penguins games can be heard live on the home for Penguins hockey, 102.3 The Mountain, and on-line at www.wbspenguins.com.  Games may also be viewed on-line at www.ahllive.com.  AHL Live, powered by NeuLion, is the official video provider of the American Hockey League.

 

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