PENGUINS RACK UP 6-1 WIN OVER SENATORS
BELLEVILLE, Ont. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ offense was on fire and their goaltender was cool as ice as the team defeated the Belleville Senators, 6-1, on Friday night at CAA Arena.
Joel Blomqvist celebrated his 23rd birthday by recording 39 spectacular saves as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (20-8-3-0) extended its season-high point streak to eight games.
It took almost five minutes before either team registered a shot on goal, but once they did, there was no looking back. The Penguins scored on each of their first three shots of the contest, starting with Avery Hayes at 4:55. A little more than a minute later, Sam Poulin took advantage of a Senators defensive-zone turnover and tucked it around Mads Søgaard for a 2-0 lead.
Valtteri Puustinen polished off a slick power-play sequence, giving his team a three-goal lead before the game was eight minutes old.
Boris Katchouk kept the Penguins’ offense humming by scoring his 13th goal of the season two minutes into the second period. However, Belleville netted its only tally of the night 91 seconds later.
Things quickly devolved in the middle frame, with the two clubs exchanging post-whistle scrums, as well as hits and slashes behind the play. Jonathan Gruden dropped the gloves with B-Sens captain Garrett Pilon at the eight-minute mark. Eight seconds later, Boko Imama and Hayden Hodgson squared off for a spirited fight.
Things eventually calmed, and Gruden set up Imama for a goal in his return to Belleville late in the second period.
Rutger McGroarty notched his third assist of the night on a back-and-forth passing play with Poulin, culminating in the latter earning a shorthanded goal at 7:36 of the third.
Søgaard was replaced by backup Michael Simpson after making eight saves on 12 shots. Simpson denied 14 of 16 bids in relief.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has another tilt with Belleville on Sunday, Jan. 12. The next matchup between the Pens and Sens will start at 3:00 p.m. at CAA Arena.
The Penguins’ next home game is Saturday, Jan. 18, also against Belleville. Next Saturday also serves as the Penguins’ “Crosscheck Cancer” night presented by Geisinger. Game time is slated for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2024-25 season are on sale now. Full-Season, 22-game, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.
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