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AHL

By Tom Venesky tvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Adam Berkhoel has never come close to what he has accomplished in his last five starts.

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Not many goaltenders have.

When the third period ended on Wednesday, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beat the Syracuse Crunch 3-0 in a game filled with oddities, not the least of which was Berkhoel’s third straight shutout as a starter.

Ryan Stone scored what would be the game-winner early in the second period after he returned from being jarred into the boards the period before.

And then the night took a strange turn that included a penalty shot awarded to Dustin Jeffrey while he was killing a penalty, a shorthanded goal by Connor James and an empty net goal credited to Dave Gove, even though the puck never came near the net.

But while the unusual was occurring, the play in the Penguins net was a familiar sight.

Berkhoel stopped all 33 shots he faced to earn his third shutout in as many starts. What makes the feat even more amazing is that the shutout was Berkhoel’s fourth of the season – tops in the American Hockey League.

Berkhoel has now gone 183 minutes without allowing a goal, and has stopped 155 of 158 shots during his last five starts.

And all this from a goaltender who started the season as the backup.

“I never had anything like this,” Berkhoel said. “In the NCAA tournament I had two in four games, but this is crazy.

“Right now I have luck on my side. I don’t know what I did to deserve it.”

So crazy that if Berkhoel shuts out the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday night and plays another seven minutes of scoreless hockey in the next game, he will break the AHL scoreless streak set by Johnny Bower of the Cleveland Barons in 1957.

While Berkhoel’s success speaks for itself, he attributed it to his teammates in front.

“I’m seeing pucks, but first and foremost the guys in front are doing everything right,” he said. “It’s been awesome the last few games, but it’s been easy because they have played so well in front of me.”

After Stone opened the scoring when he slammed home a nifty pass from Luca Caputi, James followed suit with his third shorthanded goal of the season.

As Crunch defenseman Jonathan Sigalet skated into the neutral zone, James picked the puck from between his skates and broke in on Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta for the goal and the 2-0 lead.

“It’s basically you get a lucky bounce and any goal you get is a bonus,” James said.

Jeffrey almost made it two shorthanded goals for the Penguins when he was awarded a penalty shot eight minutes later. During his attempt, Jeffrey skated to the wide side and tried to lift the puck over LaCosta, who made the save.

The Penguins are now 1-for-17 all-time in penalty shots.

As the game wound down in the third period, Syracuse pulled LaCosta with 1:40 left. With two seconds to play, Gove pounced on a puck sliding toward the Syracuse net and was hooked down by Clay Wilson as he attempted to shoot. Referee David Banfield awarded a goal for Gove, as dictated by the rulebook.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a goal like that,” said Gove. “James came up to me after the play and said it’s a goal. I thought about the rule and realized it was.”

Head coach Dan Bylsma was happy to close out the homestand with a win, acknowledging that Berkhoel’s effort had a lot to do with it.

“Right now he’s a big part of why we’re winning,” Bylsma said. “When you keep that zero, it’s pretty easy to win. There were a lot of things in this game that bring a smile to my face.”

NOTES: Chris Minard’s 14-game point scoring streak ended. … After his jersey was torn during a third period fight with John Mirasty, Paul Bissonnette returned to the game wearing number 16 instead of his usual 20.