Timesleader

Goalies enjoying the extra rubber

S.Hernandez3 months ago

First Posted:

WILKES-BARRE — For Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Scott Munroe, a shootout has its perks.

A shootout puts the extra point squarely on the goaltender, who can win it or lose it with a single save.

And it also gives a goaltender an opportunity to get his name on one of the game pucks that are posted on a board in the Penguins locker room after each win.

Munroe has four, including two from last weekend when the Penguins went to the shootout in three straight games.

“That’s the only time we can get a puck up there,” Munroe said after Friday’s practice. “It’s nice they do recognize us in the shootouts.”

And rightly so. Without the seven shootout wins, the Penguins would be tied with Hershey at 72 points for third place in the East Division.

Munroe stopped all 10 of the shootout attempts he faced in back-to-back games last weekend, while backup Patrick Killeen stopped four of five attempts in the third game Sunday to earn his first AHL win.

“I can’t remember three games in a row that all went to the shootout,” Munroe said. “We had some fans follow us over the weekend, so we gave them as much hockey as we could.”

Heading into tonight’s home matchup against Worcester, the Penguins have been in 11 shootouts so far this season and won seven. Last season they went to the shootout eight times.

Three consecutive shootout games is only one example of a season that has strayed from normalcy many times. Twice they’ve been in games with two penalty shots, including one while the Penguins were shorthanded. They also had eight-game win streaks followed by agonizing losing streaks, special teams play that has been horrendous at times and brilliant at others, along with 24 road wins – tops in the AHL.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a season like this,” said winger Colin McDonald, who netted two shootout game-winners last weekend. “We’ve kind of seen it all, just about every situation. I hope that going through all of this prepares us for what lies ahead.”

Even Munroe couldn’t help notice how strange of a season it’s been.

“There’s been ups, downs, win streaks, losing streaks, shootouts… it’s been an interesting year,” he said. “We’re on the winning end more often than not, so that’s a good thing.”

Head coach John Hynes agreed and said his players have actually grown accustomed to some of the odd circumstances. For example, when the Penguins went into their third straight shootout against Springfield last Sunday, his players were so used to it that they were eager to jump over the boards to take a shot.

“By Sunday we were in a bit of a rhythm,” Hynes said. “It’s definitely been interesting how we’ve won some games. It hasn’t been the traditional way.”

Winger Steve MacIntyre was suspended four games after he fought virtually every opponent on the ice, including goaltender Paul Dainton, during Sunday’s game in Springfield. MacIntyre, who wasn’t at Friday’s practice, is eligible to return March 24 against St. John’s.

Hynes supported the league’s ruling and also commended MacIntyre for ending things when he did.

“It’s a situation where he went out there and there could’ve been a fight. There wasn’t one and it spurred from there,” Hynes said. “To his credit he kept himself under control and he stopped everything when he could’ve kept going.

“We support the ruling by the league. The situation was dealt with very fairly and we’re moving on.”

Friday’s practice, which followed a rest day Thursday, lasted less than an hour. Hynes said the practices take a different focus this late in the season.

“At this point in the year guys know a lot of the drills and concepts. Now, it’s just a quick reinforcement as opposed to having to implement new things in practice,” he said.

Defenseman Joey Mormina will likely miss tonight’s game due to an illness, Hynes said. He listed Mormina as day-to-day.

NEXT GAME

Worcester at WBS Penguins

Mohegan Sun Arena, W-B Twp.

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