After Saturday's loss in Hershey extended Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's losing streak to four games, head coach J.D. Forrest expressed confidence in his team's ability to work its way out of the rut it was in, only winning two of its previous 14 games, with both wins coming in overtime.
Forrest's confidence was quickly rewarded when Wilkes-Barre beat Hershey in the second-game of the home-and-home series, a 6-3 win in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.
"To be honest, the effort was really similar to what we've been putting out there," Forrest said of the skid-snapping win. "We just found a way to score some goals, I guess it was that little extra half-inch that we needed. A little bit more that put us over the top. It was a nice feeling to have the guys get the result they've been digging for."
Wilkes-Barre wasn't able to snap its streak of allowing the game's first goal, though. Hershey's Philippe Maillet opened the scoring with a 4-on-3 power play goal on Sunday, making it now 16 straight games in which the Penguins have trailed first.
After being a healthy scratch for the first time this season in Saturday's game, forward Chase Berger responded on Sunday with the tying goal, his fourth goal of the season:
"He had a real strong game for us in a lot of different areas of the ice," Forrest said of Berger. "He's been able to chip in offensively a little bit this year. ... That (goal) was big for us because it happened not so long after their goal. It got us back in the rhythm there, it was huge for us."
"That was huge," Currie said of Berger's tally. "That line was great all night, that was just a great goal. It was a tough angle, when you watch the replay. I don't think there's anywhere else he could have put that for that to go in. That was huge, especially getting down 1-0 early on. It's been our Achilles' heel this season, getting scored on first. So that was huge just to give us confidence and get the momentum back in that game."
Captain Josh Currie gave Wilkes-Barre its first lead of the game with 1:31 remaining in the frame. Kyle Olson recorded the primary assist after doing the same on Berger's goal:
"We had good quality shots," Currie said of the game. "We did a good job of taking the goalie's eyes away for those second and third opportunities, which is something I think we've kind of struggled with recently."
Matt Moulson (yes, that Matt Moulson) tied the game for Hershey in the first minute of the second period when a shot went off the end boards and straight to an open Moulson.
Jonathan Gruden's third of the year regained the lead when the Penguins got a weird bounce of their own:
"I think we weren't getting those lucky bounces earlier in the year in past games," Currie said. "It was good to see pucks finally start to go in for us."
When Moulson was hit with a tripping call later in the period, Wilkes-Barre went on the power play with the opportunity to extend the lead. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, however, tied the game back up for Hershey with a shorthanded goal, the first shorthanded goal the Penguins have allowed all season:
"We didn't hang our heads after a bad bounce or a shorthanded goal," Currie said. "We just moved on. You kind of have to forget about it, there's nothing you can do. You have to move on to the next shift."
Wilkes-Barre got a 5-on-3 power play opportunity 90 seconds later, and Currie scored his second of the game to once again put Wilkes-Barre back in the lead.
Jon Lizotte extended the lead:
Then Anthony Angello scored off of a nice play by Drew O'Connor:
"I think this win is going to be contagious for us," Currie said. "I think we're going to build off of it, and I definitely think we're going to be able to capitalize on those opportunities and those shots that we're getting."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Alex D'Orio made his second start of the back-to-back series, and came away with the win after making 26 saves on 29 shots.
"He was fantastic tonight," Forrest said. "Some of the stops he made on point-break breakaways, he held the lead for us when Hershey was pushing. We knew they were going to have a push in the third. Alex, he really stayed steady there and held his position well. I think he just really trusted his game and how he started. He went to the drop of the puck to the end trusting it the whole time. That was evident. Our goalie coach Andy Chiodo has been doing a great job with him. It certainly is nice to get him a win with a little run support as well."
"Fantastic," Currie added of D'Orio's game. "We were kind of under the storm there (in the last 10 minutes) but he kept us in it. We bent but we didn't break, and he's the reason for that. He's been fantastic for us, this weekend especially. He was unbelievable. We've got to tip our cap to him. It's just good for us to give him some run support. A lot of games he's been able to keep us in it and we just weren't able to get him that extra goal or two to secure the win for him. He's been fantastic, a tremendous worker on and off the ice."
• Wilkes-Barre went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 1-for-5 on the power play.
• The win broke Hershey's six-game winning streak
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Video highlights
• AHL scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza:
1. Josh Currie, Penguins
2. Jonathan Gruden, Penguins
3. Kyle Olson, Penguins
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Jesper Lindgren left the first preseason game after sliding into the boards and underwent successful shoulder surgery. He's out for the rest of the season.
• Defenseman Zach Trotman is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
THE LINEUPS
Forrest’s lines and pairings:
Tim Schaller-Drew O'Connor-Anthony Angello
Jonathan Gruden-Josh Currie-Kyle Olson
Felix Robert-Jordy Bellerive-Nick Schilkey
Justin Almeida-Chase Berger-Jan Drozg
P.O Joseph-Jon Lizotte
Cam Lee-Dylan MacPherson
Kevin Czuczman-Will Reilly
And for Spencer Carbery's Bears:
Matt Moulson-Connor-McMichael-Philippe Maillet
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby-Shane Gersich-Damien Riat
Mason Morelli-Aliaksei Protas-Brett Leason
Kale Kessy-Riley Sutter-Will Graber
Alex-Alexeyev-Martin Fehervary
Cameron Schilling-Reece Willcox
Eddie Wittchow-Rob O'Gara
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will host the Phantoms on Wednesday. There are eight games remaining in the season, and then that's the end of it all. No playoffs in the AHL this year.
THE CONTENT
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