WILKES-BARRE, Pa. Preseason – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins woke up early and put the Hershey Bears’ offense to sleep in a 3-0 victory on Wednesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
For the second exhibition game in a row, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton shut-out an in-state rival. Following Joel Blomqvist’s shutout in Allentown on Tuesday night, Taylor Gauthier delivered a 20-save blanking of the Bears.
Preseason Highlights
The clean sheet happened in front of over 4,000 students from NEPA-area schools that attended the Penguins’ “Learn With Hockey” School & STEM game. The students in attendance all received special STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) workbooks with hockey-themed puzzles and games.
The students leapt to their feet and roared when Cédric Desruisseaux opened the scoring nine minutes into the first period. Desruisseaux took advantage of a Bears turnover in their own zone, danced towards the net before hoisting a backhand shot across the goal line.
The Penguins’ 1-0 lead persisted through the second intermission, but then David Jankowski buried a rebound attempt at 5:56 of the third period to put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ahead by two.
Hershey had to wait until midway through the final frame to see its first power play of the game, but that man advantage only served to secure the game for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Penguins’ penalty kill held the Bears without a shot during that penalty kill, and Ty Glover scored a shorthanded goal to make it 3-0.
Through two preseason games, the Penguins have out-scored their opponents by a combined score of 7-0, with goals coming from seven different players.
Hershey started Wednesday’s game with Garin Bjorklund in net, who denied 16 of the 17 shots he faced. Bjorklund was replaced by Mitchell Gibson midway through the game, and Gibson recorded seven saves in relief.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton quickly continues its four-game exhibition slate by hosting the Hershey Bears for their annual ‘Learn With Hockey’ School & STEM game tomorrow morning. Puck drop between the Penguins and Bears will take place at 10:35 a.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Don’t Miss the Next Preseason Game
Individual-game tickets and 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.
