Thompson, Payerl Lead Pens Past Marlies

Saturday, January 26, 2013
With Mark Eaton off for delay of game 6:44 into the third period, Tim Conolly scored and tied the game at one for the Marlies. But Paul Thompson wasn't about to let the Marlies back into the game.

Off the ensuing face-off, Thompson got in on the forecheck, stole a clearing pass and beat goalie Mark Owuya to give the Pens the lead back at 2-1 just 59 seconds after the Marlies tied it.

Adam Payerl, who had a strong game on a line with Zach Sill and Tom Kostopoulos, added a power play goal with 5:28 to play to put the icing on the cake for the Penguins 3-1 victory.

Riley Holzapfel opened the scoring midway through the second period, using a Marlies defender as a screen and beating Owuya to the stick side. Dylan Reese added the lone assist at 11:21 of the middle frame.

So the Penguins head into the All-Star break winning six of their last seven games. Recent addition to the team, Chad Kolarik, will represent the Penguins in the All-Star festivities in Providence. Beau Bennett was also named an All-Star but after sitting out both of this weekend's games his status is questionable. It might be better for Bennett to have the extra time off.

Jeff Zatkoff got the start in net tonight and played well, being named the game's first star with 27 saves on 28 shots.

Lineup changes included Dominik Uher in for Steve MacIntyre and Warren Peters in for Joey Mormina. The Penguins went back to 12 forwards and six defensemen tonight. With seven veterans on the team now, two must sit out every night as the league rule is a 5 maximum. With Phil Dupuis out with injury, Mormina was scratched as the 2nd veteran so Peters could return to the lineup.

After being in the locker room last night in Rochester, I wouldn't be surprised if Mormina was held out as a precaution after the big collision he had at center ice with Rochester's Mark Mancari last night in the third period.

The time off should help guys like Mormina, Bennett and Dupuis get closer to making a return to the lineup. It also can help the new guys (Kostopoulos, Eaton and Kolarik) get more acquainted with their new teammates and new home.

The next Penguins update won't come until after Wednesday's practice, but I will look to run feature stories on some players I have interviewed throughout the past few weeks. So check back for that early on in the week.

0 comments:

Post a Comment