WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, ALBANY 0
In his first game back from an injury absence which forced him to miss the AHL All-Star Classic, goaltender Brad Thiessen pitched a 21-save shutout to lead Wilkes-Barre/Scranton past Albany, 4-0, on Monday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
The league-leading Penguins (37-14-0-0, 74 points) ended a season-worst three-game losing skid and moved eight points up on surging Hershey for first place in the East Division.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is now a perfect 7-0-0-0 against Albany this season and 13-0-0-0 against the Devils since the franchise began play in Lowell, Mass., in 2006-07.
Thiessen, who now has four whitewashes on the year, collected his first victory since posting a 20-save shutout at Providence on Jan. 20 and improved to 19-4-0 in 25 appearances overall, moving into a tie for second in the AHL with his 19 victories.
Ben Street paced the Penguins’ offense with two goals and an assist and now shows four points (3-1-4) in his last two contests. Brett Sterling netted his 18th goal of the year for Wilkes-Barre, and Keven Veilleux also scored. Geoff Walker and Nick Petersen each chipped in two assists on the night.
The Devils, who dropped an identical 4-0 decision to Manchester on Saturday, have now suffered back-to-back shutouts and five straight losses overall.
