Sports

Paul Sokoloski

In the middle of a losing battle against their arch-rival, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins asked Adam Berkhoel to help them save face.

He did even more.

Berkhoel took it upon himself to save their season.

No matter what happens for the Penguins against Hershey during tonight’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Berkhoel deserves most of the credit for carrying his team there.

Without him, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s hopes in the Calder Cup playoffs may have already melted.

The Penguins were on their way to a 2-0 series deficit and looking like a team about to get swept when Berkhoel turned things around.

After the Penguins’ starting goaltender, John Curry, looked helpless while allowing three goals during the first period of Game 2 against Hershey, it became clear he was too broken and battered to be effective.

He was replaced by Berkhoel, a move that appeared to give the Penguins new life and revive their playoff chances

Berkhoel, a well-traveled backup goalie who started the season as the Penguins’ primary net-minder while Curry recovered from an injury, came off the bench playing like a front-line star.

He sprawled to snuff out shot after Hershey shot. He speared one-timers. He slapped away rebound attempts from impossible angles.

“He’s made every save he’s supposed to… and some he shouldn’t have,” said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton interim coach Todd Reirden.

Berkhoel’s teammates say they are inspired by his play.

“I can’t imagine what being a backup goalie’s like, trying to stay sharp,” Penguins winger Nick Johnson said. “He’s making so many big saves when things aren’t going well for us. We want to play well for him.”

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman Joey Mormina said it’s no secret how the Penguins swept three games at home to crawl out of a huge hole in the series.

“We got great goaltending again by Berkie,” Mormina said. “He works hard every day. He’s been patient all year. We have 1,000 percent trust in him.”

The Penguins should hang that refrain somewhere in their locker room.

In Berkhoel, they trust.

He couldn’t lift the Penguins to victory in a 3-1 Game 2 loss, but after shutting out Hershey over the final two periods that night he strung together three strong games to give his team a 3-2 series lead. Berkhoel controlled his crease throughout those games at Wachovia Arena and punctuated his importance Saturday with a spectacular 39-save effort in a 4-1 victory.

He wasn’t able to close out the series Sunday in Hershey against a desperate Bears team that won 3-0 to tie the series. Then again, Berkhoel wasn’t hadn’t even anticipated playing in the game when the series began..

“I wasn’t expecting to play this many (playoff games),” said Berkhoel, a fifth-year pro who played in nine NHL games with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005-06 but had never started an AHL playoff game before last week. “You don’t like to put a lot of pressure on yourself. You just try to take it each game and try to give your team a chance to win.”

Before he entered the picture, the Penguins appeared to have no chance of doing that in this series. But thanks to Berkhoel, they’ll play a deciding Game 7 tonight.

If he turns away enough pucks, the backup goalie’s biggest save will have been his team’s season.

Paul Sokoloski is a Times Leader sports columnist. You may reach him at 970-7109 or email him at psokoloski@timesleader.com.