HOWE, KOPPANEN, HARVEY-PINARD STAR IN PENS’ 5-1 WIN
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins ended their March slate by trouncing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (41-16-6-2) staved off two early penalties, then erupted for three goals in the first period. The Penguins kept their foot down over the next two periods to win their fourth game in a row.
The Penguins’ line of Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Joona Koppanen and Tanner Howe spearheaded their first-period flurry, creating each of the team’s three goals. An odd-man rush midway through the opening frame saw all three linemates touch the puck before Koppanen elevated a shot under the crossbar.
Howe snapped a pass from low to high for Chase Pietila, whose drive navigated through traffic and behind Carson Bjarnason at 13:13. Howe completed a three-point first period fewer than five minutes later, slamming in a backdoor feed from Harvey-Pinard for a 3-0 lead.
Aidan McDonough collected his 20th goal of the season with a sinister release on the power play with 1:36 left in the second stanza.
Howe logged his fourth point of the day with an assist on Harvey-Pinard’s rebound bury at 4:20 of the third period, putting the Penguins ahead by five.
The Phantoms spoiled Joel Blomqvist’s shutout bid with a redirect by Zayde Wisdom with only 78 seconds remaining in regulation. Blomqvist still posted 30 saves in the win, improving his personal record to 13-5-4 this season.
Bjarnason posted 29 stops for the Phantoms.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is once again at home against Lehigh Valley on Friday, Apr. 3. Game time between the Penguins and Phantoms is set for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
The Penguins have seven games left in their regular season before starting their run in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Postseason opponents and schedules are yet to be determined, but fans can cheer on the team throughout its entire playoff run by purchasing a Penguins Playoff Package.
Playoff packages, which are billed on a pay-as-we-play basis, include tickets to every confirmed home game during the postseason. Each package also comes with an $8 voucher for every home game, which can be redeemed at Savor concession stands or at the Penguins Igloo Team Store located inside Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza on each designated game date.
Penguins Playoff Packages, as well as individual-game tickets for the remaining regular-season home games are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367 or at wbspenguins.com.
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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