WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were defeated, 6-3, by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in their second night of an offensively charged home and home series.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (4-2-0-0) started the first period strong thanks to rookie Sam Miletic’s two goal showing, but was unable to hold the Lehigh Valley offense at bay long enough to get the win.
Miletic scored his first goal of the evening for the Penguins at 7:27 of the first period by redirecting a shot from Will O’Neill. The 21-year-old forward struck again less than four minutes later on a rebound that jutted right in front of Phantoms goalie Alex Lyon. Miletic’s two swift strikes marked the first time this season that a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton player tallied twice in the same game.
The Phantoms started their roll 1:11 after Miletic’s second goal, when Mark Friedman unloaded a slap shot to the opposite side corner of the Penguins’ net.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton started the second stanza with ferocity; determined to get Miletic a hat trick opportunity. Some deft defensive play denied Miletic the chance to score again, allowing German Rubtsov to even the score, 2-2, at 6:40 of the middle frame. The Phantoms translated their momentum into a Phil Varone goal that came six seconds into Lehigh Valley’s first power play opportunity of the game.
Undeterred, Ethan Prow responded at 14:38 of the second with a top-shelf slap shot from the blueline, tying the matchup, 3-3. The back-and-forth scuffle did not end there as the Phantoms capitalized yet again on another Rubstov goal with 51 seconds left in the period.
Philippe Myers was banged in an insurance marker for the visitors at 8:49 of the third period, and Chris Conner sealed the Phantoms’ victory with another man advantage marker.
Goaltender Anthony Peters made 31 saves while being handed his first loss of the season, while Lyon turned away 42 of the 45 shots he faced.
The Penguins’ next contest is a next Friday, Oct. 26 against another in-state rival, the Hershey Bears. Puck drop between the Penguins and Bears is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual tickets for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton home games can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, through all Ticketmaster outlets, or by contacting the Penguins’ offices at (570) 208-7367. Season ticket packages for the 20th season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey, including full season, 22-game, 12-game and Flexbook plans, are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.
Fans can also keep up with the Penguins through the AHL’s brand new high definition streaming service, AHLTV. Subscriptions for AHLTV, which include live and archived games, begin at just $79.99 for the entire 2018-19 regular season. Fans can visit theahl.com/AHLTV now to register for a free AHLTV account and purchase 2018-19 subscriptions.
"*" indicates required fields
By providing a telephone number, e-mail address, and submitting this form, you are consenting to be contacted by e-mail & SMS text message. Message & data rates may apply. You can reply STOP to opt-out of further messaging. See our privacy policy for more information.