CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Cleveland Monsters in overtime, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (30-20-8-1) held a one-goal lead late in the third period, but Cleveland rallied with an extra-attacker tally and a power-play goal in overtime to steal the victory from the visiting Penguins.
Cleveland lit the lamp 25 seconds into the second period to take game’s first lead. Roman Ahcan snapped a centering pass from below the goal line to an open Justin Pearson, who slammed in the one-timer.
The Penguins pulled even with a man-advantage marker midway through the middle frame. With Sam Poulin setting the screen in front of Monsters goaltender Jet Greaves, Vinnie Hinostroza ripped a wrister to the back of the net.
Hinostroza and Jonathan Gruden combined to set up Poulin for a go-ahead tally at 8:43 of the third period.
The Monsters pushed the game to extra time on a slap shot by David Jiříček with 1:21 left in regulation. The winning goal came from the stick of Stanislav Svozil, who notched a power-play goal at 2:57 of OT.
The Penguins doubled the Monsters in shots, out-shooting the home team 34-17. It was tied for the fewest shots allowed by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton all season, but the 16th shot by Cleveland forced overtime, and the 17th shot proved to be the winner.
Greaves collected his league-leading 27th win of the season with 32 saves, while Penguins netminder Joel Blomqvist recorded 14 stops in the overtime loss.
The Penguins’ next game is a rematch with the Monsters tomorrow, Monday, Mar. 18. Opening faceoff from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next home game is also its annual Star Wars Night, as they take things into hyperdrive against the Utica Comets. Star Wars Night is Saturday, Mar. 23 with a 6:05 p.m. puck drop at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual-game tickets for the remaining contests in the Penguins’ 25th season as well as season-ticket packages for the 2024-25 campaign 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.
