HEINEN, KOIVUNEN LEAD PENGUINS PAST CHECKERS, 4-0
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins received three-point games from Danton Heinen and Ville Koivunen in their 4-0 blanking of the Charlotte Checkers on Friday night at BoJangles’ Coliseum.
Both Heinen and Koivunen posted one goal and a pair of assists in front of a 25-save shutout by goaltender Sergei Murashov. The victory improved Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to 6-0-0-0 to start the 2025-26 season.
The Penguins started hot, lighting the lamp 86 seconds into the game. Alex Alexeyev let loose with a shot from the top of the left circle, and while Cooper Black made the initial save, the rebound bounced off of a Checkers defender and floated back into Charlotte’s net.
After a successful penalty kill, Danton Heinen poked the puck out to the neutral zone for a streaking Ville Koivunen, who had just exited the penalty box. Koivunen then juked out Black on the breakaway and made it 2-0 at 16:27 of the first period.
Heinen and Koivunen both picked up their third points of the night when Heinen whipped in a power-play goal at 14:49 of the middle frame.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton increased its lead to four at the seven-minute mark of the third period. Joona Koppanen set a screen in front of Black as Finn Harding let loose with a shot from the right half-wall. Harding’s shot navigated through Koppanen and to the back of the net for the rookie defenseman’s first pro point.
Black made 18 saves in the loss for Charlotte.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Charlotte will battle again tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 25. Game time for the rematch between the Penguins and Checkers is 6:00 p.m. at BoJangles’ Coliseum.
The Penguins’ next home game is Wednesday, Oct. 29 against the Providence Bruins. Puck drop for the Pens and P-Brins is slated for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2025-26 season, including Full-Season, 22-game, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans, as well as Corporate Partnership opportunities are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367. Individual-game tickets are also available by visiting Ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza Box Office or calling the Penguins’ front office at (570) 208-7367.
Every minute of Penguins hockey can be watched online with the league’s streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. AHLTV on FloHockey provides its subscribers access to not just every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, but also more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, as well as access to all other live event streams and replays across FloSports.
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