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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Entering Friday’s game against the Cleveland Monsters, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had one of the worst home records in the American Hockey League.
They took a step toward remedying that by scoring the most goals at home all season in a 7-2 win.
Sam Miletic led the way with a goal and three assists while Jean-Sebastien Dea and Joseph Blandisi each turned in three-point nights.
“It’s big. Our home record wasn’t that good and it’s good to get those two points,” Dea said. “Every two points is important this time of year.”
Critical, considering the Penguins remain in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, trailing Providence by two points for the fourth and final playoff spot.
The Penguins made it clear all week that any chance to make the postseason starts with righting the ship at home, where their record stands at 10-11-1.
“We’ve been talking about that a lot lately,” Miletic said. “We want to make this place a hard place to play for other teams.”
The Penguins dominated the first period and established a 3-0 lead, leading off with a goal from Blandisi after he stickhandled through traffic and fired a shot from the low slot.
The goal gave Blandisi a tally in each of his three games since being reassigned by Pittsburgh.
Ethan Prow followed with a power play tally and Dea finished off a pass from Adam Johnson.
Even after Cleveland scored on the power play to cut the lead to 3-1 in the second period, the Penguins didn’t miss a beat.
Ryan Haggerty answered back when he deflected a Chris Summers shot to make it 4-1, and by the end of two period the Penguins were out-shooting Cleveland 30-17. Just as important, mistakes and turnovers were non-existent and Tristan Jarry was dialed in.
Not bad for a team coming off a break.
“You don’t know what to expect with how you’re going to feel on the ice,” Dea said. “I guess rest is a weapon for me. I felt really good and the whole team looked really good.”
The positive vibes continued into the third period as Dea scored his second of the game during a power play – marking the second man advantage tally for the Penguins. Cleveland scored 30 seconds later, but a wicked wrist shot from Anthony Angello gave the Penguins a 6-2 lead.
And it didn’t end there as Miletic scored his first goal in 12 games, giving him a four-point night and a 7-2 lead for the Penguins.
“We scored a bunch of goals because we simplified and got pucks to the net,” said head coach Clark Donatelli. “We talked about how we have to play better at home. We have to start taking advantage of our home games.”
Injury report
Defenseman Kevin Czuczman left Friday’s game with an injury and is considered day-to-day.
No Dea?
Dea is likely to miss Saturday’s home game against Bridgeport after he received a game misconduct for leaving the bench during a third period scrum.
“It was an emotional game. Sometimes you don’t think. You’re just too much in the game,” Dea said. “We’ll see what happens but hopefully I can play.”
