Pens Finally Get Out Of The Cellar Locals In 3rd Place After Edging Bears
By SCOTT REINARDY Times Leader Sports Writer
Monday, December 20, 1999 Page: 1B
HERSHEY – For two months and 19 days the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
have made the Empire Division cellar their unwanted home. Although they didn’t
necessarily enjoy the accommodations, long winless streaks prevented them from
moving elsewhere. Until Sunday. In a game littered with oddities, perfection
awaited the Penguins by game’s end. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton moved from the
basement to third place with a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory against the
Hershey Bears on Sunday. “It feels unbelievable,” coach Glenn Patrick said.
“What a load off our backs that is. The first win was a load off our backs.
Putting two together was a load off our backs. Now we’re out of the cellar.”
The Penguins won despite starting goalie Craig Hillier literally losing his
jockstrap, and Dylan Gyori scoring the game-tying goal after receiving 20
stitches for a five-inch gash on his neck. Finally, just 28 seconds into
overtime, Valentin Morozov made the perfect shot to end this unusual game.
Moving down the left boards, Morozov crossed Hershey’s blue line and gave a
head fake toward the slot. The fake pulled goalie David Aebischer off the left
post, providing a puck-sized window above his shoulder. Morozov then zipped
his shot through that window. “I thought we were going two-on-one and I
watched the net and the goalie moved from the left side and I shot,” Morozov
said. “I couldn’t see it. You kidding me,” Patrick said. “I don’t think
anybody in the building saw it it was so fast. Where did it go? I can’t wait
to see it on the tape.” With idle Hamilton ahead of the Penguins by two
points in the standings, and Albany losing to Rochester, 5-4,
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton leapfrogs to a tie for third place in the division. The
victory was the fifth in the last six Penguins’ games, and third overtime win
this month. Personally for Hillier, it ends nearly a year-long drought of
losing. It was his first victory at any level of hockey since Dec. 29, 1998.
“It’s a monkey off my back. I’ve been waiting for this for awhile,” said
Hillier, who made 21 saves. “I’ve been trying to work hard and tried to get a
win and it played on my mind a bit.” With Martin Sonnenberg, Tyler Wright and
Robert Dome all being recalled to Pittsburgh this weekend, the local Penguins
relied on their blue-collar lineup to provide the scoring punch. Dennis Bonvie
scored his second goal of the season just 1:06 into the game. Hershey’s Brian
Willsie and enforcer Frank “The Animal” Bialowas scored back-to-back
second-period goals for a 2-1 lead. Then, for the fourth consecutive game and
seventh time in their last 14 opportunities, the Penguins scored a power-play
goal. Mike Yeo tied the game when he tipped in John Slaney’s shot to score his
first goal of the season. He missed 24 games because of a knee injury. A
late-period goal for the second consecutive night almost doomed the Penguins.
Hershey’s Dan Hinote scored with just nine seconds left in the second period
to give the Bears a 3-2 advantage. Against Philadelphia on Saturday, the
Phantoms scored a short-handed goal with 7.8 remaining in the first period.
“Giving up that goal in the second period, everybody was upset about it,”
Patrick said. “They just stuck together and kept encouraging each other and
dominated the third period.” They certainly did. The Bears had only four
shots on goal in the third period, and went 17 minutes without one. Hillier
made two saves in the first 2:04, and then left the game. The jockstrap he’s
been wearing since junior hockey broke. Dave Weninger replaced Hillier for
showed them, `Hey, maybe we don’t want this game as much as maybe you do,”’
Hershey coach Mike Foligno said. “Instead of having them on their heals, they
were on their toes. And they kept coming, and coming and coming.” Pressuring
the Bears all period, Gyori finally broke the ice with his first goal of the
season. After being accidentally slashed in the neck with a skate blade in the
first period, Gyori had to receive 20 stitches. He returned to play a regular
shift in the final two periods. With 1:28 remaining, Bonvie fed Gyori a pass
in the slot from the left boards. Gyori shot once, but Aebischer made a save.
Gyori’s second shot found the net and tied the game. “I saw the puck there
and I thought, `God, it’s been so long it has to go in,”’ he said. “I didn’t
see it go in. I just saw it in the back of the net.” Gyori hadn’t scored
since a preseason game against Syracuse on Sept. 24. “We had out lunch pail
crew tonight,” Patrick said. “Guys who are going to go out there and work
hard every shift. If there’s mistakes, they were going to bail each other
out.” And when it came time to move out of the cellar, they also were willing
to lend a hand. “We don’t want to get back in that spot again,” Patrick
said. “Tonight was a real character win.”
* * *
ICE SHAVINGS: The Penguins have a 1-5 record against in-state teams Hershey
and Philadelphia ... Sunday’s three stars were: No. 1, Valentin Morozov; No.
