PENGUINS BATTLE WITH BRUINS TO 4-3 SHOOTOUT LOSS
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins came up short in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Providence Bruins on Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (25-27-6-6) received two goals from Valtteri Puustinen, as well as a pair of assists from Ty Smith in the latter’s return from injury. However, Bruins rookie Fabian Lysell wowed with his game-tying goal in the third period and then captured the shootout winner.
The Penguins took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission after an outburst of offense from both clubs. All three goals took place over a 74-second span in that opening period, starting with Puustinen’s first tally of the night at 13:20.
Tyler Sikura briefly put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ahead by two, but Samuel Asselin responded for Providence 25 seconds later.
Providence tied things up, 2-1, five minutes into the third period. Luke Toporowski was the beneficiary of the bouncing puck rattling around the Penguins’ net-front, as the rookie swatted it past a sprawling Dustin Tokarski.
The Penguins regained the lead 52 seconds later with Puustinen redirecting a wrist shot from Smith.
Lysell brought the Bruins even again with an eye-popping individual display. Lysell maneuvered his way into the slot, and while being knocked off-balance, he still managed to lift a backhand shot to the top corner of the Penguins’ net. The 3-3 equalizer arrived at 9:05 of the third period.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had a number of chances to seal the win in overtime, but Providence goalie Brandon Bussi held firm. Lysell scored the only goal of the shootout too, as Bussi denied all three Penguins shooters.
Bussi made 21 saves on 24 shots through regulation and overtime, while Tokarski was credited with 28 saves in 65 minutes of work.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Friday, Mar. 31 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Game time for the 12th and final meeting of the season between the Penguins and Phantoms is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at PPL Center.
The following night, the Penguins will adopt the moniker of the “Old Forge Pizzas” for their tilt with the Syracuse Crunch. Puck drop for the Pizzas and Crunch is 6:05 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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