ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins kicked off their 2023 preseason schedule by defeating the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 4-0, at PPL Center on Tuesday night.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put forth a suffocating defensive effort, allowing only 11 shots on goal. Rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist manned the crease for all 60 minutes of the exhibition affair to earn the shutout.
The Penguins seized a 2-0 lead in the first period with a pair of strikes separated by 40 seconds of game time. First, Austin Rueschhoff muscled a short-side shot through Phantoms netminder Parker Gahagen for a power-play goal at 11:51. Shortly thereafter, Evan Vierling’s wrister from the slot was tipped in by Lukas Svejkovsky.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton limited Lehigh Valley to just two shots on goal during the first period, while creating 14 shots of its own and several great scoring chances.
Matt Filipe extended the Penguins’ lead to 3-0 five minutes into the third period, polishing off a backdoor feed from Svejkovsky.
Louie Roehl and Justin Addamo combined for a pretty, back-and-forth passing play that culminated in the latter tapping in the game’s final goal with 4:14 left in regulation.
Gahagan denied 13 of the 15 shots he faced before he was replaced midway through the game by Nolan Maier. Maier stopped 15 of 17 in relief.
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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton quickly continues its four-game exhibition slate by hosting the Hershey Bears for their annual ‘Learn With Hockey’ School & STEM game tomorrow morning. Puck drop between the Penguins and Bears will take place at 10:35 a.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual-game tickets and 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.
