Robert's effort sends Pens to long-awaited win

Apr. 11—WILKES-BARRE TWP. — At the end of a complicated night, Felix Robert had a simple theory. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he said, simply wanted this more than Binghamton.

If anybody could say that for sure, it was the 21-year-old center.

Robert's dazzling goal in the closing minute of the second period changed the tenor of a spiraling night for the Penguins, and Jordy Bellerive's goal 3:44 into overtime capped a stirring comeback, earning the Penguins a 5-4 win over the Devils at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The win was the first for the Penguins at home since Feb. 26, and the first there in front of fans since last March 7. And for a while, it looked like this could be little more than another bitter disappointment for the home club.

Mostly, they were dominant from the outset. The Penguins outshot the Devils, 11-8, in the first period, and they were well on their way to doing it again in the second. But, their many chances weren't finding the back of the net, while Binghamton's few good chances were.

Nate Schnarr took a pass from Fabian Zetterlund to send the Devils into the locker room with a 1-0 lead in the first period, and just moments into the second, Nolan Foote made it 2-0.

Justin Almeida's second goal of the season came at 6:17 into the second, but it didn't completely shatter the barrier Binghamton goalie Gilles Senn had built in front of his net. And when Schnarr's second goal blasted past Max Lagace with 11 minutes to play in the second, it kicked off the best couple minutes of hockey the Devils played all night. Fast. Crisp. Dominant.

As the time ticked away in the second, the Penguins needed something good to happen. Robert's goal gave it to them.

After a strong stand in the Devils zone, the Penguins finally lost the puck behind the net. Binghamton defenseman Riley Walsh looked content to skate it out, maybe flip it down the ice and let the final seconds go by.

Robert wouldn't have it. He dove from the circle, poked the puck off Walsh's stick, found it, spun, and buried a backhanded shot over Senn's shoulder to make it 3-2.

"It was maybe just a little lucky bounce," Robert smiled. "I fell on the ice, and when I got up, the puck was there.

Robert said it was "an important goal," one inspired by the work ethic of the entire team's effort Saturday.

Coach J.D. Forrest insisted, though, it was pretty typical of what Robert has brought to the team this season.

"It really gave us a lot of life and also just played into the work ethic that the rest of these guys have," he said. "We want to emulate that, and Felix was a great example for that."

The goal sent the Penguins soaring to the locker room, and they came out with energy for the third. Defensively, they allowed just four Binghamton shots in the period, and Robert assisted on the goal that tied the game. He skated around a wayward stick and found a streaking defenseman Cam Lee, whose wrister past Senn tied it, 3-3.

That's when the Penguins' other star of the game took over.

The penalty killing unit stifled four Binghamton power plays in the game, and it netted them the goal that gave them the lead. Jonathan Gruden hustled the puck out of the zone, and after his shot was blocked by Senn, he dug it off the boards and found Chase Berger skating toward the net for his third goal of the season and a 4-3 edge.

The Schmelzer goal sent the game came in the final minute, with Senn skating off the ice to give the Devils a man advantage. But it provided another chance to highlight what went right for the Penguins all night. Led by his two blocks, Jon Lizotte, Berger and Kevin Czuczman killed off another power play in the first three minutes of the overtime.

Ultimately, Pierre-Olivier Joseph picked up the puck, rushed out of the zone and made a perfect pass to Bellerive for the winner that gave Pens fans a long-awaited reason to celebrate.

"We really have a team that just puts a lot of hard work in on a day-in, day-out basis," Forrest said. "To get (fans) a win like this, where it's a comeback and the see the type of team that this is, where there's just no quit, it's really nice that we could put that on display for the Penguins faithful tonight."

Contact the writer:

dcollins@timesshamrock.com;

570-348-9125;

@DonnieCollinsTT;

@PennStateTT