LAVAL, Québec – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Laval Rocket, 5-2, on Friday night at Place Bell.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-10-3-0) saw its four-game win streak come to an end after surrendering three-straight power-play goals during the second period.
William Trudeau opened the scoring, tipping a shot through Magnus Hellberg’s five-hole at 3:19 of the middle frame.
The Penguins clapped back and evened things up midway through the second, when Alex Nylander redirected a point shot from Ty Smith. The goal was Nylander’s team-leading 10th goal of the season and pulled Smith into a tie for the second-most points by AHL defensemen with 22.
Unfortunately for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the 1-1 tie did not last long.
First, Logan Mailloux cranked in a slap shot on the man advantage at 13:53 of the second, followed by another power-play goal by Arber Xhekaj at 15:44. Sixty-six seconds later, Brandon Gignac scored on another power play to put Laval in a commanding 4-1 lead.
The Rocket extended that lead to 5-1 with a Sean Farrell goal two minutes into the third period.
Dmitri Samorukov launched a slap shot to the back of the net late in regulation to round out the scoring.
Hellberg finished with 33 saves on 38 shots faced for the Penguins, while Rocket netminder Jakub Dobeš earned his fourth-straight win with 24 stops.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will take several days off to celebrate the Holidays with its families and loved ones, then return to the ice to take on its hated rival, the Hershey Bears, on Wednesday, Dec. 27. Game time for the Penguins and Bears is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Giant Center.
The Penguins’ 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 is slated for a Saturday night 6:05 p.m. puck drop 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 Penguins’ front office at (570) 208-7367.
