Wilkes-Barre Watch: Di Pauli driven for more

Thomas Di Pauli didn't get the start he wanted this season.

12 games in, creeping into mid-November, the left-winger still didn't have any goals. He only had two assists -- the lone assist on an empty net goal and an assist on an Adam Johnson goal back in October. Those aren't exactly numbers to fawn over.

That's not to say Di Pauli was playing poorly. He wasn't. The 24-year-old forward was flying up and down the ice, using his speed, making plays, and playing the hard, gritty game he's known for. Whether he wasn't getting the bounces or running into hot goaltenders, points weren't come his way.

"Obviously you want those to go in, especially when you have a good scoring chance and it doesn't go in, and it happens over and over," Di Pauli told me this week. "You're making a nice play and the goals don't happen. It can get frustrating, but I knew that I worked hard all summer to get in the best shape possible, and I knew that I was playing well every game. I knew that the points were going to come, I just had to stick with it and not let that frustration affect my game."

The message from coaches was the same. Just keep playing your game, and the points will come.

Some work with a certain assistant coach (and former teammate) coincided with Di Pauli's hard work paying off.

"(Tom Kostopoulos) actually pulled me aside about 10 games ago before one of the pregame skates," Di Pauli said. "We just did some shooting drills. That game I scored, and then another one the next game. Maybe 'TK', just doing those reps with him helped me out subconsciously."

'TK' magic or not, Di Pauli went on a tear. In a nine-game stretch from Nov. 10 to Nov. 28, Di Pauli amassed six goals and four assists to catapult himself into fourth place in scoring for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With each game, his confidence grew.

Di Pauli didn't make any changes to the way he was playing, he didn't have to. He just stuck to his game, and kept building as it finally started to click.

"I think I'm just getting more comfortable shooting in positions that maybe I didn't think of shooting before, and those goals are going in," he said. "Every game flows. Plays are being made with ease, and carrying the puck is enjoyable. You feel comfortable out there."

Di Pauli, 5-feet-11 and 190 pounds, is an intense guy. He wears his heart on his sleeve. When he's happy, he's really happy. Like, double 'celly' happy, as seen in his second goal .gif above.

When he's pissed, well ...

It isn't hard to tell.

All professional athletes love to win and hate to lose. That's the nature of the job. Di Pauli may just have a little extra drive.

"I try to play with an edge to my game, that's what I think is going to get me to the next level," said Di Pauli. "Playing with that edge and being a competitor. I consider myself an extreme competitor, I hate to lose."

At the same time, don't read too much into his glares on the ice or after games. Apparently, that's just his face.

"Even when I was little, everyone always called me 'Boo-Boo Face'," he laughed. "My parents called me 'Boo-Boo Face' because I always look like I'm upset or pissed off. But I'm really the happiest person. People might get the wrong impression that I'm pissed off about something, even if I'm not at all. Sometimes there is a little truth to it, I do like playing with an edge."

As a third-year pro entering the final year of his entry-level contract, Di Pauli is confident in his ability to take the next step in his career.

"I consider myself ready to be a player in the NHL," said Di Pauli. "But there's still something to my game that I can improve on. That's what I'm doing right now, is fine-tuning things that I think would make me an effective hockey player at the next level."

Like any player at Di Pauli's level, a call-up is often in the front of his mind -- especially when Pittsburgh is struggling offensively. Still, he remains focused on the task in front of him, which is winning in Wilkes-Barre. That attitude, that focus, is what will help him achieve his real goal.

"That call-up, you think about it, but you can't let it creep into your game. Maybe you take shortcuts, or you think points are more important than getting a puck out. At the end of the day it's important that we win games. This is a winning organization. If we, as prospects, don't win games, that can be seen as not having that winning attitude. Winning games is huge."

MORE FROM WILKES-BARRE

• Nov. 28: at Hershey, 3-1 win

• Nov. 30: at Rochester, 1-0 loss

• Dec. 1: at Toronto, 7-4 loss

• Troy Josephs was recalled to Wilkes-Barre on Nov. 26. Jean-Sebastien Dea was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre after the Penguins claimed him off of waivers on Nov. 29. Di Pauli told me he was happy to be reunited with his former linemate.

"He's going to come down with a lot of confidence and swag to his game, which is going to be nice for him," Di Pauli told me. "He's a good friend of mine so it's nice to meet up with him again and be on the same team as him. At the same time, we're all working towards that same goal of playing in the NHL. It's another guy that's going to help us win ..."

• Sam Miletic is day-to-day with an upper body injury sustained in Friday's loss.

• John Muse did not travel to Toronto on Saturday and was listed as a healthy scratch. Evan Cormier of the nearby University of Guelph was brought in as an emergency backup goaltender and released the following day. No official reason was given for Muse's absence, but speculation is that it was a visa issue. The Penguins don't play in Canada again this regular season. So if it was a visa issue, he has time to figure it out.

• Wednesday's game was one of the more complete games Wilkes-Barre has played lately. Di Pauli scored twice in the first period, and Adam Johnson extended the lead in the second period with a power play goal. Former Penguin Jayson Megna scored the Bears' only goal seconds into the third period. The penalty kill was a perfect three-for-three, and Wilkes-Barre scored one power play goal on three attempts. Anthony Peters got the win with 26 saves on 27 shots, including a stop of a Liam O'Brien penalty shot.

• The difference in Friday's game was Rochester goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who posted a 35-save shutout. Rochester's lone goal came on a series of mistakes. Defenseman Will O'Neill turned the puck over, and Muse lost track of the puck, giving Rochester's Victor Olofsson an open net.

Dea had a great first game back on the second line with Johnson and Ryan Haggerty. Dea had an incredible nine shots, including a few close calls. But Wedgewood was the difference.

• Saturday's game was ... something. Johnson scored 51 seconds into the game, and Anthony Angello scored two minutes later. Then Wilkes-Barre's special teams did them in. Toronto scored THREE POWER PLAY GOALS IN 91 SECONDS. Three! Toronto extended its lead with a goal in the second period. Wilkes-Barre's power play was disjointed to start the third period and allowed a shorthanded goal only 16 seconds in. Toronto scored its sixth goal of the game seven minutes later.

From there, Wilkes-Barre's comeback attempt started. They registered 20 shots in the third period, and converted on a power play goal from Ethan Prow and added a Linus Olund goal. Toronto's empty net goal sealed the win. Peters took the loss with 24 saves on 30 shots.

• Angello leads the team in goals, with eight in 21 games.

• Sam Lafferty leads in assists, with 11 in 23 games.

• Teddy Blueger leads in points, with 16 in 23 games

• Lines and defense pairings from Saturday:

Troy Josephs – Sam Lafferty – Anthony Angello

Adam Johnson – Jean-Sebastien Dea – Ryan Haggerty

Thomas Di Pauli – Teddy Blueger – Joseph Cramarossa

Jarrett Burton – Linus Olund – Pat McGrath

Kevin Czuczman – Ethan Prow

Matt Abt – Chris Summers

Tim Erixon – Stefan Elliott

• After this week, the Penguins have a record of 9-10-3-1. They rank seventh (next-to-last) in the Atlantic Division. The power play rose to 15.5 percent, and the penalty kill fell to 73.5 percent, the worst in the league.

Di Pauli, who plays on the penalty kill, spoke about what is ailing the unit:

"We've talked a lot about it as the group of core PK guys, and I think (assistant coach) JD (Forrest) and the coaching staff do a fantastic job with pairing us each and every game. So it's not on that end. I just think every game we get in trouble with not getting pucks down 200 feet. It's not that our PK is bad. We make great plays, and for 97 percent of the PK it's all great, and then those three percent we just don't clear it, or we don't box out properly, and that's cost us. I think it's just minor adjustments that we cleaned up this past game against Hershey and the results were there. Just stick with that."

• The Penguins will have another three-in-three set of games this weekend. They'll host the Cleveland Monsters (11-8-3) and Bridgeport Sound Tigers (13-7-3-1), then visit the Hershey Bears (10-12-0-1).

GOALS OF THE WEEK

Johnson got on the board early in Toronto:

Angello's breakaway started with a feed from Josephs:

SAVE OF THE WEEK

Peters made this sliding stop on Wednesday:

WILKES-BARRE FUN THING

Dea is pretty pumped to be back in the organization: