PENGUINS LOSE SHOOTOUT TO LEHIGH VALLEY, 3-2
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost in a shootout to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 3-2, on Friday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (26-12-4-1) never trailed in the contest, but Phantoms forward Rodrigo Ābols netted the only goal of the shootout for Lehigh Valley.
Sam Poulin scored the game’s first goal exactly 13 minutes into the first frame after he deflected a shot that Lehigh Valley netminder Parker Gahagen couldn’t control and slid the loose puck across the goal line.
Just as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton returned to even strength after killing off a minor penalty, Lehigh Valley tied the score after a net-front scramble. Samu Tuomaala got credit for the tally four minutes into the second period.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went to the power play towards the end of the second stanza, where Tristan Broz launched a wrist shot off a textbook set-up by Avery Hayes and Vasily Ponomarev to make the score 2-1 in the Penguins favor.
Lehigh Valley tied the game at two just over seven minutes into the third, answering back with a power-play goal of its own. Jacob Gaucher redirected a pass from Anthony Richard that got launched over the shoulder of Penguins’ goalie Joel Blomqvist.
The Penguins poured it on for the remainder of the third period, putting immense pressure on Lehigh Valley. Gahagen held firm, thus, the game went to overtime with the score tied at two.
All three Penguins shooters, Ville Koivunen, Emil Bemström and Tristan Broz, were denied by Gahagen in the shootout. Blomqvist turned away both Olle Lycksell and Tuomaala in the first two rounds, but Ābols beat him in the third round for the win.
Blomqvist made 25 saves in regulation, while Gahagen stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced in regulation and OT.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 15, against the Hershey Bears. Puck drop for Military Appreciation Night presented by MetLife is slated for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
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