PENGUINS IMPRESS IN SEASON OPENER WITH 6-2 WIN

BOXSCORE

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins opened the 2016-17 season on a high note, defeating the Hartford Wolf Pack, 6-2, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Saturday night.

The Penguins received contributions from six different goal scorers, but perhaps none bigger than Jake Guentzel’s four points (1G-3A) to start the season 1-0-0-0.

Josh Archibald scored the Penguins’ first goal of the season and put his team into a 1-0 lead by converting on a mini-breakaway chance at 1:48 of the first period.

Moments after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton killed its first penalty of the game, Hartford’s Nicklas Jensen fired a shot bar-down over Tristan Jarry’s shoulder and tied the game, 1-1, at 15:17 of the first.

The Penguins went back ahead, 2-1, with a power play goal from Carter Rowney at 5:51 of the middle frame.

A tic-tac-toe passing play by Tom Kostopoulos, Stuart Percy and finish from Oskar Sundqvist put the Penguins up 3-1 at 13:49 of the second period.

Guentzel scored an unassisted, highlight reel goal 2:09 later, giving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 4-1 lead.

Jean-Sébastien Dea and David Warsofsky both got in on the scoring for the Penguins in the final period of regulation, making it 6-1 in favor of the Penguins. Matt Carey tucked in a final goal for the Wolf Pack with 1:25 remaining in the game, bringing the contest to its final score of 6-2.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was perfect on the special teams front, going two-for-two on the power play and successfully killing off all six of Hartford’s man advantage opportunities.

Jarry finished the game with 24 saves for the Penguins, while Mackenzie Skapski ended up with 29 stops while manning the crease for the Wolf Pack.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is next Friday, Oct. 21 against the Springfield Thunderbirds at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Game time 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 Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

Season ticket packages for the 2016-17 season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey, including full season, 22-game, 12-game and Flexbook plans, are available by contacting the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.