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Forward scores goal, sets up a second as Penguins blank Syracuse.
The Penguins’ Kurtis McLean chases after the puck along the boards behind the goal during the first period on Wednesday.
Times Leader Staff Photo\Fred Adams
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Stephen Dixon, along with Wachovia Arena fans, celebrates his first-period goal on Wednesday night.
Times Leader Staff Photo\Fred Adams
WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Connor James laughed when the word “boring” was used to describe Wednesday’s 2-0 win by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over Syracuse at Wachovia Arena.
Later he said that he preferred the words, “mistake-free.”
“That is boring hockey, right?” said James, who scored one goal and set up the other for the Penguins. “I guess it was boring, but it was good for us.”
It was great for the Penguins, who’ve had an unfortunate knack for making games against teams well below them in the standings highly entertaining.
There was that overtime loss to Toronto, where the Penguins gave up a short-handed goal to the Marlies with 1:15 to go in regulation.
There was that shootout loss to Binghamton — the only team in the league with fewer points than Syracuse — where the Penguins blew a 5-1 lead.
There was the last outing against the Crunch, where the Penguins needed 58 shots and a third-period comeback to eke out a shootout win.
Not so on Wednesday.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored a short-hander midway through the first, added a power-play goal in the second and did an all-around great job protecting goalie Andrew Penner, who blanked his former team to pick up his third shutout of the season.
“It wasn’t overly pretty, but when we had to execute we did execute,” said Penguins head coach Todd Richards. “Our goaltender … when we needed him to make a big save he made a big save for us. And, the guys in front of him played really well.”
James was one of those guys.
His efforts, along with Stephen Dixon and the rest of the Penguins’ penalty killers, kept Syracuse’s power play off the board despite seven chances, including a five-on-three kill for 1:01.
“Our penalty killers were excellent again tonight,” Richards said. “The big five-on-three we killed was a huge point in the game.”
Not only was the penalty kill sharp, it was deadly.
Just 9:16 into the opening period, with the Penguins killing an Alexei Mikhnov minor for goalie interference, James and Dixon broke out of their own end two-on-one. James carried down the left side, set up Dixon in the middle and it was 1-0 on the Halifax, Nova Scotia native’s ninth goal of the year.
Early in the second, James picked up his sixth of the season, this one on the power play, by burying the second rebound of Micki DuPont’s point shot that rang off the goal post behind Syracuse starter Dan LaCosta.
“Our power play wasn’t particularly good all night,” Richards said. “But when we needed to execute and score goals we did.”
The Penguins’ win, combined with Norfolk’s 3-2 loss to Albany means that this weekend’s home-and-home between the Penguins and Admirals will be for first place. The Penguins also play at Hershey on Sunday.
“We have three tough games (this weekend),” James said. “Let’s take it one at a time.”
on the web
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