HARTFORD, Conn. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins dropped their penultimate game of the season to the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-2, on Friday night at XL Center.
Joel Blomqvist kept Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (38-24-8-1) from slipping too far behind after a slow start, and then two third-period points from Jack Rathbone (1G-1A) gave the team new life. Unfortunately, a lengthy two-man advantage led to the deciding goal for the Wolf Pack.
Blomqvist was lights out from the get-go, keeping the Wolf Pack off the board despite the Penguins being out-shot 12-3 in the first period and 9-6 in the second. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also killed off its first five penalties of the game, adding to Hartford’s frustration.
Hartford finally snapped the deadlock on its 19th shot of the game. Bryan Yoon knocked in a rebound with 2:34 left in the second period.
The Wolf Pack quickly ran their lead to two when Nikolas Brouillard picked the top corner 43 seconds into the third period. However, the Penguins pulled even in the blink of an eye.
First, Rathbone rocketed a shot from the slot past Louis Domingue’s blocker at 7:58 of the final frame. Just 39 seconds later, Austin Rueschhoff tucked in a loose puck around the crease for his new career-best 15th goal of the season.
Hartford was awarded a 65-second five-on-three power play later in the period, but only needed 33 seconds to score. Nic Petan blasted a one-timer from the right circle through Blomqvist for a man-advantage marker that proved to be the game-winner.
Blomqvist recorded 32 saves in the loss for the Penguins, while Domingue registered 22 stops for the Wolf Pack.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is its last game of the regular season, one final bout with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Game time for the Penguins’ regular-season finale is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at PPL Center.
2024 Calder Cup Playoff packages as well as season-ticket packages for the upcoming 2024-25 regular season 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.
