WOLF PACK LOCKE IN ON POWER PLAY, DEFEAT PENGUINS 5-3

Written by Penguins Manager Friday, 20 November 2009 03:18

HARTFORD, Conn. – Corey Locke scored two power play goals and added two assists, leading the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 5-3 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Thursday night at the XL Center.

The Penguins were without their top-four defenseman, as Chris Lee was recalled by Pittsburgh earlier in the day. Lee joins fellow Wilkes-Barre/Scranton blueliners Ben Lovejoy, Deryk Engelland, and Nate Guenin in the National Hockey League.

With the loss, the Penguins fell to 8-6-1-1 on the season, while the Wolf Pack improved to 11-7-0-1.

Hartford entered the game with the American Hockey League’s top power play unit, and jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period thanks to goals that came on both halves of a five-on-three advantage.

Locke, who leads the entire AHL with 29 points in 19 games, assisted on Dale Weise’s goal that opened the scoring at the 8:59 mark of the opening frame. Paul Crowder doubled the Wolf Pack’s lead just 30 seconds later.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enjoyed a brief revival following the pair of goals, with Tim Wallace shoving a rebound past the pad of Wolf Pack goaltender Matt Zaba at 12:53.

But Locke scored his first goal of the game at 15:34 to restore Hartford’s two-goal advantage, and the center assisted on a goal by Dane Byers at 17:30 that gave the Wolf Pack a 4-1 lead after one period.

Over the closing 40 minutes of play, the Penguins cut the deficit to 4-3.

Rookie defenseman Robert Bortuzzo scored his first professional goal 2:55 into the middle stanza, and tough guy Wade Brookbank scored his first goal of the campaign midway through the final frame.

But that was as close as the Penguins would come, as another Hartford power play allowed Locke to score his team-leading 11th goal of the season with 8:25 remaining in regulation.

John Curry suffered the loss for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, stopping 28 shots.

The Penguins return to action this Saturday night, November 21, when the Adirondack Phantoms make their first ever visit to the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza at 7:05 PM.





NOTES:  Thursday’s game marked the fourth straight loss the Penguins have suffered at the hands of the Wolf Pack, dating back to March of 2007… With an injury and call-up depleted line-up, four players made their season debuts for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They include defenseman Mitch Ganzak, forward T.J. Fox, defenseman Alex Grant, and forward Joey Haddad… Grant picked up his first professional fighting major in the first period, fighting to a draw against Hartford’s Weise.