PENGUINS DEFEAT P-BRUINS IN SHOOTOUT, 5-4

BOXSCORE

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Providence Bruins went the distance in a Sunday afternoon showdown, but the Penguins emerged victorious with 5-4 shootout victory at Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Garrett Wilson scored the lone goal for either team in the fourth round of the shootout, granting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (8-1-1-0, first in the Atlantic Division) its fourth-straight win and six-of-six possible points in its three-in-three weekend.

After both teams’ goaltenders stonewalled their opponents in the first, second and third rounds of the shootout, Tristan Jarry came up with one extra stop before Wilson ended the game with a wicked wrister to the blocker-side of Dan Vladař.

After an early onslaught of shots thrown at Providence goaltender Vladař, Reid Gardiner put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the board with the Penguins’ 10^th shot of the game at 6:32 of the first period.

The Bruins responded with a sharp-angle goal by Jordan Szwarz at 13:43, tying the game, 1-1.

Momentum swung back in the Penguins’ favor following another outburst of opportunities, culminating in an Oskar Sundqvist redirect at the crease that put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back up, 2-1, at 16:03 of the opening frame. However, Providence answered again with a tally by Danton Heinen 2:02 after Sundqvist’s goal.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton struck twice in the second period with goals from Tom Kostopoulos and Jean-Sébastien Dea. Kostopoulos’ marker at 10:24 of the middle frame was his third goal of the weekend and gave him goals on four-straight contests.

Peter Cehlárik tipped in a point shot from Alex Grant with less than two minutes left in the period, cutting the Penguins’ lead in half and taking a 4-3 score into the second intermission.

Providence tied the game, 4-4, with a man advantage marker by Wayne Simpson 3:50 into the third period.

Neither squad found a go-ahead goal in regulation or sudden death overtime, so onto the shootout it went during which Wilson secured the win for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Jarry ended up with 38 saves in regulation and overtime and went four-for-four on stops in the shootout. Vladař recorded 25 saves during the game and denied the Penguins on three-of-four shootout attempts.

The Penguins’ next game is Friday, Nov. 11 when they take on the Toronto Marlies at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in a clash of the top two teams in the AHL. Puck drop for the Penguins’ lone home game against the Marlies 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.