ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ season came to an end with a 5-4 overtime loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday at PPL Center.
The Phantoms won the best-of-three series, 2-0, by putting forth a stunning, third-period rally that led to Jacob Gaucher’s series-winning goal in OT.
After Joel Blomqvist slid across his crease to deny Brendan Furry on a rush, the rebound came to Gaucher, who deposited it at the 2:11 mark of extra time.
The Penguins got off and running first thanks to Valtteri Puustinen deflecting Jack Rathbone’s shot from the point 2:17 into the game. That 1-0 lead held until a special teams-filled second period.
Ronnie Attard put Lehigh Valley on the board nine minutes into the second period with a power-play goal, the Phantoms’ third attempt of the game. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton swiftly answered with a man-advantage marker of its own. Radim Zohorna jumped on a rebound six seconds into the Penguins’ fifth power play of the night, restoring his team’s lead at 14:06 of the middle frame.
The Penguins took a 3-1 lead on a magnificent effort by Rathbone with 2:02 left before the second intermission. Rathbone took a slick pass from Ville Koivunen in the high slot, made one defender miss, outwaited another, and then released a wicked wrister that beat Phantoms goaltender Cal Petersen.
Things got wild in the third period, beginning with Emil Andrae’s five-on-three power-play goal at the 12:15 mark. Twenty-two seconds later, Tanner Laczynski tipped in another power-play goal, tying the game at 3-3.
Zohorna put the Penguins back ahead, 4-3, with his second goal of the game after Puustinen found him wide open behind the Phantoms’ defense. However, 34 seconds later Laczynski struck again while the teams were skating at four-on-four, tying the game for the second time in mere minutes.
The rivals went to their locker rooms tied at four after 60 minutes. Gaucher’s early tally in overtime sealed the series for Lehigh Valley, eliminating the Penguins in the process.
Blomqvist finished with 29 saves on 34 shots. Petersen got the win after turning aside 24 shots.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ upcoming 2024-25 season are also 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.
