CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins pulled themselves out of a three-goal deficit in the third period to stun the Charlotte Checkers with a 4-3, overtime victory on Friday night at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (6-4-1-0) was behind 3-0 midway through the third period, but rattled off three goals in under four minutes of game time to tie the game and force an extra frame. Rookie defenseman Jake Livanavage tallied a pair of assists during the surge, then capped off the comeback by scoring the OT winner.
Fresh off of a successful penalty kill in sudden-death overtime, Livanavage raced up ice for a three-on-one rush with Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Rutger McGroarty. The three teammates strung together a series of passes, leading to Livanavage’s one-timer that trickled under the arm of Checkers goalie Cooper Black at 2:59 of OT.
Both Harvey-Pinard and McGroarty scored during the Penguins’ third-period comeback, as well.
Charlotte collected the game’s first goal on the power play. Jack Devine swept in a back-post feed from former Penguin Sam Lafferty at 16:10 of the opening frame.
The second period saw Charlotte generate the bulk of the shots and scoring chances, but Taylor Gauthier was there to keep the Checkers in check. Gauthier halted all 16 bids he faced during the second stanza, keeping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s deficit at one.
However, the Checkers received goals from Mikuláš Hovorka and John Beecher four minutes apart in the third period to extend their lead to 3-0.
The first spark the Penguins’ got was a breakaway goal from Daniel Russell at 10:22. Harvey-Pinard sashayed around a Checkers defender for a one-on-one look against Black and beat him on his glove side to make it 3-2 at 13:14.
Shortly thereafter, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was awarded a four-on-three power play. McGroarty blasted a one-timer under the crossbar from the bottom of the right circle, pulling the Penguins even, 3-3, at 14:02.
Three goals during the game were scored while the two teams were skating at four-on-four: Beecher and Harvey-Pinard’s third-period strikes, as well as the winner from Livanavage.
Gauthier extended his personal win streak to five games by making 29 saves for the Penguins. Black recorded 27 saves for the Checkers.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Charlotte will go head-to-head again tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 7, with a 6:00 p.m. puck drop at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
The Penguins’ next home game is against the Utica Comets on Tuesday, Nov. 10, and it is the Penguins’ first Winning Weekday of the season. If the Penguins secure a win over the Comets, fans who are in attendance will receive a free ticket to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next mid-week home game. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2026-27 regular season, including Full-Season, 22-game, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans, as well as Corporate Partnership opportunities are also available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367. Individual-game tickets can also be purchased at wbspenguins.com, at the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza box office or by calling the Penguins’ front office at (570) 208-7367.
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