TORONTO, Ont. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins emerged on the winning end of a 4-3 thriller against the Toronto Marlies in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
The victory evened the best-of-seven series at 2-2 and continued the trend of tightly contested matchups between the Penguins and Marlies. Rutger McGroarty notched the game-winning goal with 2:59 remaining in regulation after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pulled out of an early two-goal hole.
Toronto first took the lead with a shorthanded goal four minutes into the contest. Sergei Murashov left his crease to handle a clear from the Marlies that rocketed behind his net, but the puck spittled away from his paddle and slipped right in front for Bo Groulx to knife into the Penguins’ net.
Vinni Lettieri extended the Marlies’ lead to 2-0 on a power-play goal at 14:14 of the opening frame.
The Penguins’ rally started three minutes into the second period when defenseman Scooter Brickey blasted in his first AHL goal. Brickey unloaded a half-clapper through traffic that glanced off of a Marlies stick and deflected behind Artur Akhtyamov.
Another defenseman lit the lamp to knot things up, 2-2. Chase Pietila sent a rising shot to the top corner at the nine-minute mark of the middle frame.
With 51 seconds left on the clock before the second intermission, Gabe Klassen powered a loose puck past Akhtyamov to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 3-2 lead and stun the Toronto crowd.
The Marlies managed to tie the game with another man-advantage marker at 13:04 of the third, albeit after a referees roundtable. Luke Haymes sent a one-timer through a sea of bodies and past a fallen Murashov, and the referee at the net initially deemed it to be no goal. After a discussion between all four officials, the call was reversed, and the contest was tied, 3-3.
McGroarty snatched a breakout pass away from Toronto for a mini breakaway, and snapped his shot through Akhtyamov’s five-hole for the late, goa-ahead goal that ultimately game Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the hard-fought win.
Murashov finished with 32 saves, while Akhtyamov posted 23 stops.
The series stays north of the border for Game 5 on Friday, June 5. Puck drop between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Toronto is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Coca-Cola Coliseum. By tying the series, the Penguins ensured that there will be Game 6 back in Northeast PA on Sunday, June 7. Game time is 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual playoff game tickets can be purchased by calling the Penguins’ front office at (570) 208-7367 or at wbspenguins.com. Penguins Playoff Packages are also available only by reaching out to the Penguins directly.
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.
Every minute of Penguins playoff 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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