PENGUINS STUNNED IN OT ON STAR WARS NIGHT, LOSE 3-2
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost in overtime to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 3-2, on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (25-26-6-5) played neck-and-neck with their turnpike rival all night, but an early OT tally by the visitors stunned the capacity crown in Northeast Pennsylvania.
With a face-off positioned in the Penguins’ zone, Phantoms forward Artem Anisimov won the draw forward, snaked his way to the puck and then lifted it over a sliding defenseman right to Adam Brooks, who rifled it in for the winning goal. Brooks’ sudden-death shot came just 37 seconds into the extra frame.
The Penguins got the scoring started early, as Drake Caggiula turned a shot block into a breakaway goal at 3:22 of the first period. The goal was Caggiula’s seventh strike against Lehigh Valley this season and his 10th point in 10 head-to-head meetings with the Phantoms.
Lehigh Valley tied the game, 1-1, on a bouncing puck that redirected off of a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton backchecker and past goalie Taylor Gauthier. Garrett Wilson was ultimately credited with the goal at 7:07 of the opening frame.
Josh Maniscalco utilized a pinballing puck to his advantage to score his first AHL goal and put the Penguins ahead, 2-1. After Jonathan Gruden worked furiously to win a puck battle during a power play, Maniscalco attempted to feed a backdoor pass that then ricocheted off of two Phantoms before rolling across the goal line at 5:44 of the second period.
Anisimov pulled the Phantoms even again with a man-advantage marker less than three minutes into the third.
The game stayed tied for the rest of regulation, and then Lehigh Valley secured the extra standings point with its slick goal early in OT.
Gauthier recorded 21 saves on 24 shots faced for the Penguins, while Sam Ersson delivered 19 saves for the Phantoms.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 26, a crucial matchup with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Sunday’s game is also a Kids Free Sunday presented by Knoebels. Children age 14 and under can attend the game for free with the purchase of an adult ticket, and the first 1,000 kids in attendance will receive a $5 ride book from Knoebels.
Puck drop for the Penguins and Wolf Pack is 5:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual game tickets for the Penguins’ remaining home games, as well as season-ticket packages for the 2023-24 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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