WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Toronto Marlies, 4-1, on Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (23-16-5-0) received its only goal from Jonathan Gruden. Gruden’s father, Toronto head coach John Gruden, got last laugh when his team pulled away in the third period. It was the first time that the father and son went head-to-head on opposite sides of a matchup, and the Marlies rode two points from captain Logan Shaw (1G-1A) and a 31-save performance by Dennis Hildeby to victory.
Gruden Scores
Toronto broke through for the night’s first tally at 4:08 of the second period. Josiah Slavin buried a rebound that lingered in front of Penguins netminder Joel Blomqvist for the opening goal.
Jonathan Gruden, who returned to the lineup after missing the last five games with an injury, pulled the Penguins even at 7:22 of the third period. In a scramble around Toronto’s net, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward dove ahead and whacked a loose puck behind Hildeby.
However, 18 seconds later, Nick Abruzzese put the Marlies back ahead, 2-1.
A pair of empty-net goals by Shaw and Zach Solow rounded out the scoring.
Blomqvist turned away 18 of 20 shots from Toronto.
Don’t Miss the Next Penguins Game
The Penguins embark on a five-game road trip wrapped around the All-Star break, beginning with a visit to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday, Feb. 2. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at XL Center.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next home game isn’t until Saturday, Feb. 17, when they don the moniker of the Pittston Tomatoes for one night only in the latest installment of the Penguins’ community series presented by Visit Luzerne County. The Tomatoes will take on the Laval Rocket with a 6:05 p.m. puck drop at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 25th season of hockey 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. Individual-game tickets are also available by visiting Ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office or calling the Penguins’ front office at (570) 208-7367.
