GOVE GOAL GIVES PENGUINS WIN

POST-GAME AUDIO: Todd Richards | Ryan Lannon | Dave Gove

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Dave Gove scored with less than seven minutes to play, and John Curry made 19 saves for his first career playoff shutout, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins posted a 2-0 win against the Portland Pirates in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night.  Game Two takes place at the Wachovia Arena on Thursday night at 7:05pm.

The combatants spent most of the first two periods feeling each other out, as the clubs combined for 25 shots through 40 minutes of play.  The best scoring chance of that time period came when Nathan Smith dinged a shot off the cross bar during a shorthanded two on one early in the first period.

Things started to open up a bit for the Pirates in the third, as the visitors controlled play in the Penguins’ zone for several minutes, forcing head coach Todd Richards to call a timeout to rally the troops.

“I didn’t like the way we managed the puck in the third, early in the third.  Some turnovers, we weren’t able to execute, didn’t get pucks out,” said Richards.  “But the guys battled and found a way to win.  John Curry made some big saves, and again we had guys paying the price, blocking shots, diving in front of those pucks to try to get a piece of it.”

Those efforts paid off when Gove squeaked a shot between Jean-Sebastien Aubin’s pads during a scramble in front of the Portland net with 6:57 to play.

“[Ryan Stone] got the puck behind the net.  I saw him look at me and I just went to the net,” said Gove, who picked up his second goal of the playoffs.  “First shot wasn’t the shot I wanted to get off, but it came right back to me.  I was able to put it on my backhand.  It had eyes and went to the net, it was a garbage goal that went right through his legs, but we’ll take it.”

Ryan Lannon made sure the victory was in the Pens’ pocket with a looping empty net tally from about 150 feet.

“Lannon, he’s like a putter playing golf out there.  I think he read the green right and it was a sharp break, right to left, and he got it to go in,” laughed Richards.
 
“I was just trying to get the puck out.  I was on my backhand and I was just trying to get it as high and hard off the glass as I could.  It started off going straight down the ice, then I don’t know if it hit a bump of something and started curving,” Lannon said.  “It was nice to score, but at that point I think the game was over.”

Curry was solid in net, recording the first Penguins shutout since April 25, 2006 against Bridgeport.

“It’s not easy for a goaltender to go through a game and not get a lot of action,” said Richards.  “They did have traffic, so he had to be on top of his game there.”

NOTES:  The game was delayed about 15 minutes when referee Francois St. Laurent suffered a leg injury early in the first period.  Dean Morton, who is scheduled to call Game Two, was in the arena and suited up to fill in.