Jeff Taffe upped his league-leading goal total to seven with his third career AHL hat trick on Saturday, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins posted a 6-1 win against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Penguins, and upped their record to 3-3-0-0 on the season. The Sound Tigers fell to 3-2-0-0 with the loss.
Taffe wasted little time in getting the Penguins on the board, slamming home a power play goal from close range 2:30 into the game. It was Taffe’s fifth goal of the season, and extended his start of the season point streak to six games.
The Penguins’ forward bookended the period with goals, beating goaltender Mike Morrison from the slot during a five-on-three advantage late in the first period to make the score 2-0.
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Bridgeport opened the second period with a quick score, as Tim Jackman picked up a Ben Walter rebound and poked it in short side on netminder Ty Conklin at 1:19 of the middle frame.
Jonathan Filewich put an end to his goal scoring slump minutes later, beating Morrison with a fluttering shot through the five hole at 3:48.
Connor James stretched the lead to 4-1 one minute and 10 seconds later, taking a Kurtis McLean pass and finding the back of the net with a breakaway wrister for his first of the season.
Taffe completed his hat trick 16:08 into the second period, when Chris Minard stole the puck off a Bridgeport defender trying to clear the zone, then fed the team’s leading scorer all alone on the far post. Taffe had a virtually empty net to shoot at, and easily slipped the puck into the twine for his seventh goal of the season.
Filewich finished off the evening’s scoring with his second of the night 10:23 into the third period.
Conklin made 32saves for his third victory of the season. The Pens outshot Bridgeport 35-33 on the night. Attendance was 3,059.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will next take to the ice on Friday, October 26 when the Penguins play host to the Albany River Rats. The first 6,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2007-2008 Penguins Rock 13-month calendar, courtesy of Coors Light and L. T Verastro.
NOTES: Taffe’s hat trick was his third in the AHL. He recorded the other two on Dec. 6, 2002 vs. Syracuse and Dec. 21, 2002 at Syracuse as a member of the Springfield Falcons…Taffe is the second Penguins player to record a hat trick this season. Chris Minard netted the first on opening night against the Hershey Bears. |
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