PENGUINS DOWN PHANTOMS, 3-1
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins emerged triumphant against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 3-1, on Friday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (42-16-6-2) jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period and didn’t look back. Avery Hayes posted a point on each of his team’s three goals as the Penguins won their fifth game in a row.
The Penguins put the Phantoms under siege from the start, eventually leading to an opening strike from Gabe Klassen. Klassen collected a bouncing puck between the hashmarks, then whipped a shot between the five-hole of Aleksei Kolosov six-and-a-half minutes into the game.
Hayes picked up the assist on Klassen’s opening goal, then Klassen returned the favor seven minutes later. Klassen sprung Hayes up ice for a breakaway, a golden opportunity he converted into his team-leading 23rd goal of the season.
After special teams play throughout the second and third periods proved fruitless, the Penguins’ two-goal lead persisted until the late stages of the final frame. For the second game in a row, Lehigh Valley broke up a shutout bid with 1:18 remaining in regulation. This time, it was Oliver Bonk redirecting an extra-attacker goal over Sergei Murashov’s shoulder
The Phantoms pulled Kolosov for an extra skater again to try and force overtime, but Rafaël Harvey-Pinard scored into the empty net. Both Hayes and Murashov secured assists on the insurance marker, the first point of Murashov’s AHL career.
Murashov finished the game with 23 saves and improved his personal record to 23-8-3. Kolosov stopped 30 of 32 shots in defeat.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wraps up its 12-game season series against Lehigh Valley with a rematch tomorrow, Saturday, Apr. 4. Game time for the final meeting between the Penguins and Phantoms is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at PPL Center.
The Penguins’ next home game is next Saturday, Apr. 11, when the team adopts the one-night moniker of the Steamtown Gandy Dancers for the latest installment of its Community Night Series presented by Visit Luzerne County. The Gandy Dancers will take on the Cleveland Monsters with a 6:05 p.m. departure at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
The Penguins have six 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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