Sports

KELLY TOMLINSON ktomlinson@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Robert Nilsson had heard it before – the roar of a Wachovia Arena playoff crowd.

The last time was exactly one year ago Sunday.

Nilsson, who at the time was a member of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, can still remember the sound that signaled the end of his season.

On Sunday, he heard it again.

Only this time the cheers were for him.

Nilsson snapped a tie score with 2:35 to play in Game 6 of the East Division semifinals, sending the 5,907 fans in attendance into a frenzy and the Penguins to a 3-2 win over the Norfolk Admirals as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

The Penguins, who won the best-of-seven series 4-2, will face first-place Hershey in the next round. Game 1 is set for 7 p.m., Wednesday at Giant Center.

“It feels a lot better when you’re playing for this team,” Nilsson said of the Wachovia Arena atmosphere.

Nilsson’s goal, his second of the series, came off a frantic scramble in the Norfolk crease.

Center Marc-Antoine Pouliot started the sequence with a nifty little spin move along the right wing boards to get free. Pouliot sent a pass over to defenseman Tom Gilbert. Gilbert’s one-timer was stopped by Norfolk goalie Corey Crawford, bounced around in the crease and ended up at the right post, where Nilsson pounced on it for the game-winning goal.

His late-game heroics allowed the Penguins to close out the series in six games.

“It’s always nice not to have to go to a seventh game,” Nilsson said. “A seventh game is always hard. You never know which team will take over. It was nice to end it tonight.”

The Penguins produced possibly their best effort of the series in the eliminator.

They came out hitting in the first, goaded Norfolk into taking four first-period penalties, and made the Admirals pay with a Micki DuPont power-play goal with just 23 seconds to play in the first.

A Joe Jensen slap shot from the left circle put the Penguins up 2-0 early in the second.

“I thought the first period we really came out and established our game,” said Penguins head coach Todd Richards. “We were in good control. Most of the shots they got were on the power play. I thought five-on-five we played really well.

“That was a huge goal, getting the first goal, considering that out of the (first) five games the team that’s scored first won. Then, up 2-0 in the second, I thought we were in good control of the game. You have to give them credit because more desperation, they had to play harder and take some chances. But we didn’t execute well, (made) some sloppy plays.”

Norfolk got within a goal at 2-1 on a Pierre Parenteau power-play wrister with 2:54 to go in the second. Just 2:16 later, the Admirals tied it when winger Carl Corazzini floated a shot through goalie Nolan Schaefer’s pads to make it 2-2 with 38 seconds left in the period.

The surprise softy against Schaefer, who might have been the Penguins’ best player in the series, gave the Admirals the momentum headed to the third.

The Penguins shrugged it off, though, and played a strong period, getting the winner from Nilsson and then holding off Norfolk for the final 2:35 to advance.

“The guys found a way,” Richards said. “We talked about that all year. Certain guys have to step up. Guys get put in certain situations to make plays and they have to make them. Robert is a guy that needs to make plays for us. He scored the game-winning goal.”

“In the third, their desperation went up even higher,” Nilsson said. “But if we play our game against these guys, they won’t win against us. And, they didn’t.”