Most office workers report to work anywhere between
eight and ten o'clock in the morning. Professional
hockey players are usually just rolling into the rink
getting prepared for practice at that time.
So you'll excuse the Penguins and Bridgeport Sound
Tigers if it took them a little time to shake off
the cobwebs for their 11:00am contest Wednesday at
the Arena at Harbor Yard.
It took the Pens more than 45 mintues to crack the
scoresheet, but they finally pered up late in the
game to take a 3-2 shootout victory on the road.
The win raised Wilkes-Barre's record to 11-3-1-0
on the season, and moved the club back into first
place in the East Division.
Despite a first period which produced no goals, head
coach Todd Richards said he liked what he saw from
his squad early.
"We played a good first period, limited them
to four shots, maybe one scoring chance," he
said.
But the middle frame raised Richards' ire a little
bit.
"They had 17 shots and must have had about 12
scoring chances. It was a frustrating period, a disappointing
period from an effort standpoint and a team playing
standpoint," he stated. "[Brdgeport was]
winning all the battles, they wanted it more than
we did. Three or four consecutive penalties, that
didn’t help. It kept them on the power play,
kept them with the momentum."
It was the third of four straight Penguins infractions
that led to the Tigers' first tally. Allan Rourke
barley got wood on a shot from the point, but the
puck found it's way to Jeff Tambellini at the goal
mouth, who redirected the trickler behind Jeff Deslauriers
for his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
That was the only goal that Bridgeport would pick
up in the second, thanks in large part to some stellar
play from Deslauriers, who stopp 16 of 17 attempts
in the frame.
"The only guy I was proud of [in the second
period] was our goaltender, because he was great,"
said Richards. "My personal feeling was without
him, it was a 5-0 game going into the third.
"But the guys were challenged in the locker
room between the second and the third, and they responded."
The first response was a physical one, as Daniel
Carcillo and Stephen Dixon spent their first shift
putting the body on anyone they could find on the
ice.
After that, things began to flow, as the visitors
outshot Bridgeport by an 18-2 margin in the final
20 mintues.
"Guys were just battling harder, they wanted
the pucks more," said Richards. "Physically
we started to get into the game.
