CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Charlotte Checkers, 3-2, on Friday night at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (23-11-4-0) came within inches of tying the game in the dying embers of the third period, but a backdoor one-timer whipped wide of the Charlotte net. Vasily Ponomarev assisted on both Penguins goals, and Ville Koivunen continued his hot run of scoring.
Charlotte notched its league-leading 11th shorthanded goal of the season with a highlight-reel-worthy, spin-o-rama move by John Leonard at 14:21 of the first period.
Will Lockwood whacked in a loose puck lingering at the Penguins’ net-front eight minutes into the second stanza.
The Penguins buried their first goal of the night by cashing in on their fourth man advantage. Quick puck movement culminated in a wide-open Sam Poulin rifling a shot past Cooper Black at 12:32 of the second period.
The Checkers scored a pivotal goal 21.6 seconds before the second intermission, as Sandis Vilmanis put his team ahead 3-1.
Ponomarev connected with Koivunen on a two-on-one rush midway through the third period, and Koivunen forced a wrist shot through Black, bringing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton within one.
Koivunen had a glorious opportunity to force overtime thwarted when a diving Checkers defender steered his one-time bid just wide of Black’s net. Moments later, time expired.
Tristan Jarry logged 25 saves in the loss. Black posted 21 saves for Charlotte.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will face-off with Charlotte again tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 1, in their last game before the AHL All-Star Break. Puck drop for the rematch is slated for 6:00 p.m. at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
The Penguins return home after the All-Star break on Friday, Feb. 7 for a clash with the Bridgeport Islanders at 7:05 p.m. This game marks another WBRE 28/WYOU 22 Fan Friday with select draft beers on sale for $2 from 6:00-7:30 p.m., presented by Coors Light. Fans are encouraged to stick around after the final buzzer for postgame autographs with two Penguins players, presented by Northeast Music Center.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2024-25 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.
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.
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