DEA, WARSOFSKY LEAD PENS TO 6-3 WIN OVER WOLF PACK
HARTFORD, CT – David Warsofsky and Jean-Sébastien Dea led the attack, each picking up a pair of goals and adding an assist, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon at XL Center.
The effort was Warsofsky’s third three-point game of the season, and his second two-goal outing. The Pens’ all-star moved into fourth place among AHL defensemen in points (41) and tied for second in goals (14) on the season.
Dea recorded two goals in a game for the first time in his AHL career, and recorded three points in a game for the first time since his career-best four-point effort (1+3) on November 4, 2015 against the St. John’s IceCaps.
The Penguins sandwiched power play goals by Kevin Porter and Warsofsky around a Nicklas Jensen man advantage tally to give the visitors a 2-1 lead after one period.
The WolfPack battled back though, with Jensen and Matt Carey scoring two minutes apart in to grab a 3-2 lead midway through the middle frame.
It was all Penguins from there.
Josh Archibald tied the game with a redirect off of an Oskar Sundqvist centering feed at 13:23, and Warsofsky netted his second of the game 1:30 later to put the Pens back in front.
It looked like the period would end with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton up by one goal, but Dea redirected a point shot that beat goaltender Brandon Halverson with .8 seconds left to make it a 5-3 game.
Magnus Hellberg relieved Halverson at the start of the third period, and held the Pens off the scoreboard until Dea jammed home his second of the night with 3:25 left in regulation.
Casey DeSmith stopped 24 of 27 shots to record his 15th win of the season for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Halverson turned aside 18 of 23 shots he faced in 40 minutes of play in the loss, while Hellberg stopped 10 of 11 shots in one period of relief.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton starts a three-game homestand on Wednesday, March 8, when the Penguins host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at 7:05pm.
Individual game tickets for Wednesday’s game and all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, online at TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.
Penguins ticket packages, including 12-game, and 10-voucher flex packs, are available directly through the Penguins offices by calling (570) 208-7367.
NOTES: Time Erixon and Dominik Simon each recorded two-assists…Tom Sestito, appearing in his 500th professional game, picked up a helper on Warsofsky’s second goal, giving him 100 assists in his pro career.
