Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Edge Norfolk Admirals 2-1 to Lift Overall Record to .500

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The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins posted their second consecutive shootout victory, winning 2-1 against the Norfolk Admirals at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza on Saturday night.

The win evened the Pens’ record at 5-5-0-0 on the year, while the Admirals fell to 3-6-0-1.

What had been a somewhat sleepy affair over the first three periods turned into a barn-burner in overtime and the shootout.  Both the Penguins and Admirals received power play opportunities in the extra frame, and there were some sensational saves on both sides in the one-on-one portion of the night.

“Last night it was certainly the goals, and tonight it was Ty [Conklin] making the saves,” said head coach Todd Richards.  “Those points are big.”

Conklin faced just 20 shots over the first 65 minutes of play, while his counterpart, Jonathan Boutin, was shelled with 39.  But it was the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder who came up bigger in the shootout, stopping seven of eight tries to secure his fifth victory of the season.

Bryce Lampman tallied the Admirals’ only goal of the night, beating Conklin with a long range shot while defenseman Ben Lovejoy sat in the penalty box.  That goal came at 17:41 of the first period, and was the only tally for the next 25 minutes.

“I wasn’t happy with the first period at all,” said Richards.  “I think we had one decent chance, but there was no life on the bench.  It didn’t seem like there was any energy out on the ice.   And I went in and challenged the guys after the period.  And they responded really well.”

They responded to the tune of 14 shots in the middle frame.  The only problem was Boutin, who entered the game with a 2.15 goals against average and a .938 save percentage, which put him in third place in the AHL at the night’s start.

The only blemish on his scorecard on Saturday was an Alex Goligoski goal, which the rookie stuffed home after beating a Norfolk defender deep in the attack zone for his second goal of the year.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton appeared to be in some trouble in OT, as Kris Letang was whistled for a hooking call 1:11 in.  But Kyle Wanvig was promptly called for a hook of his own, then received another two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.  Those infractions opened up the play and produced five shots for the Penguins to none for the Admirals.

After some issues with the ice cleaning were resolved, the shootout got underway, but the first four Penguins skaters failed to find the net.  Blair Jones beat Conklin with the second Norfolk attempt, meaning that Tim Brent’s try had to go in to prolong the night, which it did.  After two more unsuccessful tries by Brent and Kurtis McLean, Jeff Taffe scored on the eighth Penguins shot, giving him two successful tries on three shots over the past two nights.

“I’m glad I got a second chance, because that first one wasn’t pretty either,” he laughed afterwards.

Conklin made an acrobatic stop on Karl Stewart’s second go around to secure the win.

The Penguins take to the road for their next four contests, beginning next Friday night in Binghamton.

NOTES:  The win was the 16^th regular season victory in a row against the Admirals at Wachovia Arena...The Penguins used the same lineup as they did on Friday night, scratching Aaron Boogaard and Jon D’Aversa…The shootout was the second at home for the Penguins this season.  They had 11 overall in 2006-07, but only one on home ice.