PENGUINS FALL IN OVERTIME TO ISLANDERS, 6-5

BOXSCORE

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost in overtime to the Bridgeport Islanders, 6-5, on Thursday night at Total Mortgage Arena.

In their last-ever, regular-season visit to Bridgeport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (43-16-7-2) let a three-goal, third-period lead slip away. Both Mikhail Ilyin and Daniel Russell posted assists in their AHL debuts, while Aidan McDonough became the first Penguin to reach 40 points on the season.

Bridgeport tallied first, as Daylan Kuefler stole the puck from the Penguins and streaked his way to the net for an unassisted goal 92 seconds into the game.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton responded within five minutes, tying things up. Russell, making his pro debut, connected with defenseman Finn Harding for a tap-in on the back post.

The Penguins took a two-goal lead with a pair of strikes 59 seconds apart early in the second period. First, Tanner Howe had a feed bounce off of his skate and arch over the 6-foot-8 shoulders of Islanders goalie Henrik Tikkanen for a go-ahead goal at 5:02 of the middle frame. Shortly thereafter, Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen set up Gabe Klassen for a dazzling, backhand finish.

Victor Eklund knifed in a loose puck around the Penguins’ crease at the midway point of the game, briefly pulling Bridgeport within one. However, Harrison Brunicke sent a rocket behind Tikkanen at 14:58 while the teams were skating at four-on-four, putting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back up 4-2.

Fewer than two minutes into the third period, Atley Calvert cleaned up a loose puck to extend Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lead to three. Unfortunately for the Penguins, the Islanders’ rally started 35 seconds later with a swift response from Joey Larson.

The Penguins almost escaped a five-minute major penalty kill unscathed, but Liam Foudy eventually smacked in a rebound with 49 seconds left in Bridgeport’s man advantage. That goal brought the Islanders within one with 9:27 left in regulation.

Matt Luff buried a backdoor feed with 2:19 left in the third, evening the scales at 5-5.

Bridgeport capped off the comeback with a power move by Pierrick Dubé that resulted in the OT winner at 4:22.

Both Tikkanen and Penguins netminder Sergei Murashov were credited with 22 saves.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is this Saturday, Apr. 11, when the team adopts the one-night moniker of the Steamtown Gandy Dancers for the latest installment of its Community Night Series presented by Visit Luzerne County. The Gandy Dancers will take on the Cleveland Monsters with a 6:05 p.m. departure at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.

The Penguins have four games left in their regular season before starting their run in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Postseason opponents and schedules are yet to be determined, but fans can cheer on the team throughout its entire playoff run by purchasing a Penguins Playoff Package.

Playoff packages, which are billed on a pay-as-we-play basis, include tickets to every confirmed home game during the postseason. Each package also comes with an $8 voucher for every home game, which can be redeemed at Savor concession stands or at the Penguins Igloo Team Store located inside Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza on each designated game date.

Penguins Playoff Packages, as well as individual-game tickets for the remaining regular-season home games are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367 or at wbspenguins.com.

Every minute of Penguins hockey can be watched online with the league’s streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. AHLTV on FloHockey provides its subscribers access to not just every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, but also more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, as well as access to all other live event streams and replays across FloSports.