WILKES-BARRE — When he was called up late last month, winger Michal Sivek seemingly won the title of best power forward prospect in the Penguins organization. And, as a 6-foot-3, 210-pound 21-year-old with a penchant for going to the net, Sivek may very well earn that honor some day. But the competition is not a one-horse race. In fact, an unlikely Baby Pens winger has thrown his hat into the ring in the last couple of weeks. After missing the first two months of the season with hernia surgery, second-year pro Tomas Surovy has returned to the Baby Pens lineup with a vengeance. His point totals — one goal and four assists in his first six games back — are not surprising. After all, Surovy was a 20-goal scorer for the Baby Pens as a rookie last season. What is surprising is that he is showing a bit of a physical side to his game. Most strikingly, he is using his 6-1, 204-pound frame to protect the puck from defenders better than anyone else on the Baby Pens roster. “I would consider Tomas a power forward,” assistant coach Mike Yeo said. “He’s willing to go in the corners.” Previously, Surovy had earned praise only for his goal-scoring touch. The Slovakian winger wasn’t drafted until he was 20, when the Penguins took him in the fourth round in 2001. He struggled defensively and with the physical aspect of the game last season, before going on a goal-scoring binge in the finals weeks of the season to finish with 23. “He’s such a natural scorer,” teammate Tom Kostopoulos said. “He knows how to get in the spots to score and put the puck in the net.” HEATING UP Center Milan Kraft is heating up. He nearly single-handedly gave the Baby Pens three points on a two-game trip to Saint John last weekend. Kraft scored two third-period goals in a 4-3 overtime victory last Friday, then scored with less than a minute left in regulation to force a 2-2 tie Saturday. Kraft has three goals and three assists in his last four games heading into this weekend. That brings his season total to 15 points in 18 games, numbers more commensurate with the previous American Hockey League stints in his career. “For whatever reason, he hasn’t been getting the points he’s capable of getting,” coach Glenn Patrick said. “It’s not even a surprise he’s starting to play well right now. It’s something we’ve expected, and we’ll continue to expect it.” SLAP SHOTS After a rough 4-10-1 start, the Baby Pens are a respectable 4-1-1-2 in their last eight games. … Veteran goalie Robbie Tallas stopped 63 of 68 shots and helped the Baby Pens to a tie and an overtime loss in back-to-back road games last weekend. Tallas was limping along with a 5.99 goals-against average and .824 save percentage before the solid two-game stint. … D Ross Lupaschuk is second among AHL defensemen with seven goals. He also is saddled with a minus-15 rating. … RW Colby Armstrong, a first-round pick in 2001, has been a healthy scratch for four of the last five Baby Pens games. … Of players who have appeared in at least 10 games, D Mike Wilson is the only member of the Baby Pens without a point this season.

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