PENGUINS LOSE TO LEHIGH VALLEY, 3-1
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fell, 3-1, to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (27-23-6-2) lost two players to injury early in the second period, while its opponent drove in a goal in all three periods.
Perhaps an early turning point in the game took place when Penguins defenseman Kevin Czuczman powered to the Phantoms cage, tucked the puck around Alex Lyon and across the goal line. However, Lyon lost his helmet in the play resulting in a no-goal ruling and a charging penalty to Czuczman. Lehigh Valley converted on the ensuing man advantage at 11:25 of the first period.
The Penguins knotted the contest, 1-1, early in the middle frame. Matt Abt carried the puck low on the left circle before taking a chance on Lyon who denied the initial shot. Adam Johnson pounced on the rebound and lifted it to the top corner 1:55 into the second period.
The even ratio didn’t last long with Pascal Laberge scoring on a backdoor feed from Chris Conner at 4:03 of the second period. Laberge’s go-ahead tally was his first goal of the season and Mikhail Vorobyev collected his second assist of the game.
Both Chris Wideman and Ryan Scarfo left the game in the second period and did not return.
The Penguins pressed in the third period, out-shooting the Phantoms 10-7, but nothing was beating Lyon. Lehigh Valley added an insurance marker with 4:12 remaining in regulation. Byron Froese completed a tic-tac-toe set up from David Kaše and Greg Carey and tapped in the puck for a two-goal edge.
Jarry turned aside 31 shots for the Penguins, while Lyon denied 27 bids in the victory.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Friday, Mar. 8, when they take on the Hartford Wolf Pack at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Puck drop between the Penguins and Wolf Pack is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Individual tickets for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton home games can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, through all Ticketmaster outlets, or by contacting the Penguins’ offices at (570) 208-7367. Season ticket packages for the 20th season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey, including full season, 12-game and Flexbook plans, are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.
Fans can also keep up with the Penguins through the AHL’s brand new high definition streaming service, AHLTV. Subscriptions for AHLTV, which include live and archived games, begin at just $79.99 for the entire 2018-19 regular season. Fans can visit theahl.com/AHLTV now to register for a free AHLTV account and purchase 2018-19 subscriptions.
