BOXSCORE: WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Hershey Bears in overtime, 5-4, on Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (6-5-2-0) battled tooth-and-nail with its bitter rival in a back-and-forth matchup rife with offensive flair. However, Alex Limoges netted the game winner three minutes into overtime to give the Bears an additional standings point over the Penguins.
How Did the Game Go?
Hershey’s Joe Snively opened the scoring 84 seconds into the game. A big bounce off the boards behind the Penguins’ net ricocheted right to Snively, who quickly fired the puck across the goal line. Fortunately for the Penguins, Valtteri Puustinen provided a response with a blazing wrist shot midway through the frame.
Jimmy Huntington found the back of the net at 13:57 of the first period, sending Hershey to the intermission with a 2-1 lead.
Those same boards that plagued the Penguins in the first period helped them tie things up, 2-2, 31 seconds into the second period. Jansen Harkins collected a wide shot from Rem Pitlick and deposited it behind Bears goalie Hunter Shepard.
Six minutes later, while on the power play, Harkins took a cross-ice pass from Puustinen and rifled it past Shepard, giving the Penguins a 3-2 lead. Harkins’ second goal of the evening also gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a power-play marker in nine of its last 10 games.
How Did the Game End?
Huntington scored again when he threw a puck towards the crease that hit a skate and bounded behind Penguins netminder Joel Blomqvist. Vincent Iorio followed suit by tallying another go-ahead goal for Hershey, putting the Bears ahead 4-3 at 10:55 of the second stanza.
Undeterred, the Penguins tied the game again on Jagger Joshua’s first AHL goal. Joshua drove to the net and steered a pass from Corey Andonovski home, all while fighting off a Bears defender who was draped across the rookie’s back.
An uncharacteristically quiet third period gave way to Limoges’ winning strike in sudden-death OT.
Blomqvist made 21 saves for the Penguins. Shepard turned away 17 shots at the other end for the Bears.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is on the road for its next game on Friday, Nov. 17, to take on the Providence Bruins. Opening puck drop at Amica Mutual Pavilion is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Get Your Tickets Now For the Next Penguins Game
The Penguins return home for another matchup against the Bears on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The sixth meeting of the season between the Keystone State rivals will begin at 7:05 p.m. 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 teams’ front office at (570) 208-7367.
