Sports

By Tom Venesky tvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Game 2 between the Portland Pirates and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins was an evolution. The first period was lackluster by both teams, by the second period the offenses opened up and in the third it looked like things would explode.

But the Pirates, led by two goals from Bobby Ryan and another steady effort in net from J.S. Aubin, weathered a third-period barrage from the Penguins to win 3-2 and tie the Eastern Conference Finals series 1-1.

The series shifts to Maine for Games 3-5 starting on Sunday.

The Penguins started the game flat, managing only one shot on two power-play opportunities. For the first 18 minutes of the period, the Penguins only had two shots on net.

Despite the lack of offense, both teams played with an edge, exchanging big hits and throwing elbows behind the play.

Things boiled over during a scrum in front of the Penguins net. Deryk Engelland took exception to a few shoves from Simon Ferguson, and both players dropped the gloves.

The fight seemed to spark the Penguins offense as it roared down to the Portland end and fired two shots on J.S. Aubin, doubling their shot total for the period.

At the end of the period, the Pirates had outshot the Penguins 11-4, but goalie John Curry held his ground and didn’t allow a rebound while saving all 11 shots.

Although the Penguins picked up their shots on net in the second period, it was Portland who put one of theirs in the net first.

With Ryan Stone in the penalty box for goaltender interference, the Pirates set up their power play in the Penguins end. Brian Salcido launched a slapshot from the top of the slot, and Andrew Ebbett tipped the puck past Curry for a 1-0 lead.

Later in the period, Portland struck again. With both teams down a man, Ryan took advantage of the open space and picked up a Penguins turnover deep in their own end. Ryan threw two quick dekes that froze Curry before putting the puck in the wide side of the net for a 2-0 lead.

But the Penguins answered back on their first odd man rush of the night. Alain Nasreddine gained control of the puck inside the Portland blueline and passed to Luca Caputi in the middle. Caputi skated toward the faceoff circle and dished the puck down to Nathan Smith, who beat Aubin on with a shot to the left side of the goal.

Smith’s fourth goal of the playoffs brought the Penguins within a goal, 2-1, to closeout the period.

Still, head coach Todd Richards wasn’t pleased with the Penguins effort through the first two periods.

“For the first 40 minutes, we had no more than five scoring chances. For the first 40 minutes, they were clearly the better team – winning races to loose pucks and creating a lot of motion in the offensive zone. We ended up chasing,” he said.

But it was the Penguins who created the motion to start the third period. Pressure from the Penguins kept the puck in the Portland end for most of the first eight minutes, and Aubin faced nine shots in that span. Some he saved, others missed the back of the net by luck, including a flip by Connor James behind the net that hit Aubin’s back and rolled out of the crease.

“That’s what we have to do early in the game – get pucks behind their defense and get a good forecheck going and create some havoc down there,” Smith said.

Penalties haunted the Penguins again later in the third period when Smith went off for hooking. On the ensuing power play, Salcido hit Ryan with a clearing pass through the middle. Ryan sped down the ice and beat Curry with a shot in close to score what would be the game-winning goal. The win gave Portland a crucial split at home as the series shifts to Portland for three games.

“I’m not going to say we’re going to close it out (at home), but we’re certainly going to have an advantage for a little while,” Ryan said.The Penguins did answer back with a power-play goal of their own when Alex Goligoski lofted a shot from the top of the slot. Dave Gove and then Smith deflected the puck past Aubin to make it 3-2 with under three minutes to play.

Aubin was forced to make 15 of his 26 saves during the third period.

“We can take that to the next game,” said Penguins forward Tim Wallace. “We weren’t on top of our game and we had some lapses, but we know what we can do and we’ll be ready on the road.”

Notes: Jonathan Filewich started Thursday’s game, his first playoff action since he was injured on April 19 in Game 2 against Hershey. He had one shot on goal.