THIRD PERIOD SURGE STIFLES PENGUINS
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fell to the Springfield Thunderbirds, 6-3, on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (17-14-3-2) stayed in the game for two periods thanks to multi-point performances by both Sam Miletic and Adam Johnson. However, the Thunderbirds unloaded three third-period goals in 2:24 of game time to steal the win away from the Penguins.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton struck first on a tip-in by Miletic at 10:57 of the opening frame.
A little over a minute into the second period, Springfield got on the board with a goal by Thomas Schemitsch. The Penguins responded at the midway mark of the game with a sniper’s shot from Johnson, giving them a 2-1 lead.
Late in the second, the Thunderbirds scored on a power play thanks to a perfectly elevated shot by Dryden Hunt. One minute and 19 seconds later, Springfield scored again. Jake Massie lit the lamp and granted the T-Birds their first lead of the night, 3-2.
The Penguins pulled even, 3-3, on a wild bounce created by the hard work of Jordy Bellerive. The rookie wrestled the puck away from a T-Birds defenseman at the left-side wall, drive to the net, then took a shot that deflected 90 degrees up into the air, fell down on the crossbar and caromed off of Philippe Desrosiers’ back and in at 3:23 of the third period.
Springfield took the lead again on back-to-back-to-back goals by Owen Tippett, Rodrigo Ābols and Hunt, scoring three times in less than three minutes to put an insurmountable margin between their team and the Penguins.
Desrosiers finished the game with 30 saves for Springfield, while Casey DeSmith posted 24 saves in the loss.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Wednesday, Jan. 8, against the Charlotte Checkers. Puck drop between the Penguins and Checkers is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual tickets to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton home games are on sale now and can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, Ticketmaster.com, or by contacting the Penguins offices at (570) 208-7367. Season ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2019-20 regular season, including Full Season, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating 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 state-of-the-art, high-definition streaming service, AHLTV. Subscriptions for AHLTV are available now. Fans can visit theahl.com/AHLTV now to register for a free AHLTV account and purchase 2019-20 subscriptions.
