1/10- WBS Penguins 3 Norfolk 2
By: Phil Schoener
Updated: January 11, 2012
NORFOLK, Va. - Paul Thompson notched his first two-goal game as a pro and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins won their fifth straight road game in 3-2 win over the Norfolk Admirals on Tuesday at the Norfolk Scope. The Penguins went to 20-12-1-4 on the year and pulled into a tie for second place in the East Division with the Admirals (21-13-1-2).
The Penguins sprinted ahead to a 2-0 lead thanks to the fourth and fifth goals of the season by Paul Thompson. Taking a pass from Ben Street, Thompson went upstairs with a snapshot to break the scoreless tie at 5:06. Sixteen seconds later, Thompson's wraparound attempt pinballed off of a skate in front of Norfolk netminder Dustin Tokarski and skittered across the goal line.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton upped the score to 3-0 on its third power play of the game. Geoff Walker worked the puck along to Street, who whipped a shot through the pads of Tokarski with 3:26 left in the first for his 12th goal of the season.
Michel Ouellete got Norfolk on the board quickly in the second period, tipping Jeff Dimmen's blueline shot past Penguins goalie Brad Thiessen just 53 seconds into the frame.
The Admirals made things even more interesting at 6:09 of the third period when Radko Gudas' deflection goal made it 3-2.
Consecutive delay of game penalties on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the final seven minutes of regulation gave Norfolk the opportunity to knot the contest, but the Penguins' penalty kill and Thiessen would stand strong to secure the win.
Thiessen finished with 24 saves for his 13th win of the season, while the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins take ice on Saturday, January 14 at 6:00 PM for their first-ever meeting against the St. John's IceCaps. For more information, call the Penguins at (570) 208-PENS or visit www.wbspenguins.com.
