WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Alex Nylander lifted the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a dramatic, 2-1 triumph over the Rochester Americans on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (14-9-3-0) picked up its third win in a row thanks to Nylander’s goal in the final minutes of the third period. The winning tally was the 100th goal in Nylander’s pro career, and it came against the team he made his AHL debut with in 2016.
An evenly matched third period looked like it was destined for overtime, until Nylander stepped in. Rochester failed to clear a puck up the boards in its own zone, which allowed Nylander to fire home the go-ahead goal with 3:03 left in regulation.
The Penguins struck first in the opening frame, with Sam Poulin giving his team a 1-0 lead. Skating in his first game in 48 days, Poulin looked like he hadn’t missed a beat as he rifled a wrister through Dustin Tokarski’s five hole at the 6:28 mark.
The Americans tied the game, 1-1, five minutes later on a Jiří Kulich one-timer during the power play.
Magnus Hellberg kept the game deadlocked at one with a tremendous save in the second period. With Rochester flying up ice for a two-on-one, shorthanded rush, a perfect pass led to an elevated shot that forced Hellberg to go post-to-post and extend his arm into the air to make the jaw-dropping glove save.
Hellberg stopped all but one of Rochester’s 24 shots on goal. Tokarski turned away 30 shots in the loss for the Americans.
The Penguins will travel north of the border next week for their next game on Thursday, Dec. 21 against the Belleville Senators. Puck drop between the Pens and B-Sens is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next home games feature back-to-back tilts with the Charlotte Checkers on Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30. Friday’s game will begin at 7:05 p.m., and the club’s last game of the calendar year on Saturday night is slated for a 6:05 p.m. puck drop.
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.
