Battle Of Ahl Opposites Arrives
By STEVE SEMBRAT [email protected]
Sunday, October 28, 2001 Page: 3C
WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Maybe it’s time to stop asking what’s wrong with
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Maybe it’s time to start asking what’s right.
That way, at least the Penguins (1-8-1-0, three points) might find
something to build upon following a dismal start to their American Hockey
League season.
“It seems our team plays so much on how our confidence is,”
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton assistant captain Tom Kostopoulos said. “If our
confidence is up, it seems like nobody can stop us. When our confidence is
down, we can’t beat anybody.”
The Penguins’ confidence level is near zero now, and that’s bad news with
one of the league’s top teams coming to town. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hosts
Quebec (5:05 p.m. faceoff, First Union Arena) today in a contest featuring
teams at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
Quebec improved to 7-0-1-0 following Friday’s 4-1 victory over Philadelphia
at the First Union Spectrum. That’s the same building where
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost 7-1 earlier this month.
The Citadelles were one of only two undefeated teams in the AHL entering
their game at Hershey on Saturday night. Actually, a Quebec victory over the
Bears would be a good thing for the Penguins, as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is just
ahead of both Hershey and Cincinnati (each with two points) in the standings.
“We have to start thinking about playoffs,” Kostopoulos said. “We’re
already far behind some teams. We have to start catching up right away.”
First, the Penguins need a positive to build upon. Those, however, are hard
to find. The goaltending has been inconsistent. Rookie mistakes have hurt the
defense. The offense is producing almost three goals per game, but that
doesn’t help much when you’re giving up five per contest.
“The team has to find a little bit of identity right now,”
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain Jason MacDonald said. “We have to find what is
going to make our team successful.
“Hopefully, with a couple of games at home, we can start winning.”
After tonight’s game against Quebec, the Penguins host Hershey on Tuesday,
the only team they’ve beaten in their first 10 games.
“The work ethic is there,” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Eric Meloche
said. “It’s just a matter of putting everything together. It just seems we’re
working hard, but nothing is coming out of it.”
A reason for that, MacDonald said, is inconsistency. Lapses and key
mistakes cost the Penguins in a pair of 4-2 losses at Utah on Wednesday and
Thursday, and the miscues weren’t just made by the team’s nine rookies.
MacDonald, for instance, said he took some silly penalties that cost the team
in Wednesday’s contest.
“It seems there is a pattern where we’re there for 40 minutes, and then
there’s a 20-minute lapse,” MacDonald said. “We have to get rid of that 20-
minute lapse. We have to be more consistent. In this league, if you’re not
consistent, the teams are just too good and they’ll put you away in that
amount of time.”
So there you have what’s right with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
It’s the 40 minutes of quality hockey they play in most games. Until they can
find that final 20 minutes of consistently good hockey each night, this
current skid is going to seem interminable.
“Right now, we’re trying to find some positives in what’s going on,”
MacDonald said. “It’s tough.”
