HARTFORD, Conn. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins unloaded seven unanswered goals in a 7-1 drubbing of the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday night at XL Center.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (30-15-7-1) conceded the opening tally, but dominated from the second period onward. Seven different players scored for the Black & Gold. Seven different players had multiple-point performances as well, including defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov, who posted a career-best three points with a trio of assists.
Hartford struck first, getting a goal from Nate Sucese at 16:09 of the first period.
The Penguins turned the tide and never looked back after striking for a pair 31 seconds apart in the middle frame. First, Mathias Laferriere collected a bouncing puck in the slot and wired it in for his first goal as a Penguin, then Avery Hayes sped past the Wolf Pack defense to light the lamp at 7:25 of the second period.
Valtteri Puustinen made it 3-1 at 12:30 of the second, prompting Hartford to pull starting goaltender Louis Domingue and replace him with Dylan Garand.
Vasily Ponomarev put the Penguins’ first goal past Garand 4:44 into the third, followed by Ville Koivunen tucking the puck around the Wolf Pack netminder 37 seconds later for a commanding 5-1 lead.
Atley Calvert joined the scoring with a backdoor slam dunk midway through the final frame. A similar play resulted in Rutger McGroarty rounding out the night’s offense.
Friday marked the third time this season the Penguins reached seven goals in a game.
Filip Larsson earned his 10th win of the season with 24 saves. Domingue made 10 saves on 13 shots faced, while Garand registered 11 saves on 15 shots in relief.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton returns home for its next game tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 8, against the Belleville Senators. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration game will start at 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
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