WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Despite generating a mass of glorious scoring opportunities, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Toronto Marlies, 3-1, on Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (23-24-4-5) was foiled time and time again by Toronto goalie Joseph Woll, who secured first-star honors by making 31 head-shaking saves.
The first period ended without a goal, but not for a lack of chances. Both clubs were skating fast, hitting hard and creating scoring chances from the onset. The Penguins and Marlies were both awarded a pair of power plays during that first period, but goalies Woll and Dustin Tokarski refused to yield.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finally solved Woll on its third man advantage of the night when Lukas Svejkovsky broke the scoreless tie. Svejkovsky redirected a point shot from Mitch Reinke at 3:26 of the middle frame, putting the Penguins on top, 1-0.
That lead was short-lived, as Toronto’s Jordie Benn clapped back three minutes later.
Rookies Corey Andonovski and Svejkovsky were both robbed on separate occasions in the latter half of the second period, with Svejkovsky’s chance coming on a breakaway.
Woll continued to stymie the Penguins until the Marlies snatched their first lead of the night at 11:33 of the third period. Joseph Blandisi stuffed in a loose puck after Tokarski initially denied Marc Johnstone on a wrap-around.
Toronto sealed the win with Kyle Clifford’s empty netter with 1:49 left in regulation.
Tokarski posted 22 saves on 24 shots faced in the loss.
The Penguins continue their four-game homestand on Friday, Mar. 10, when they face-off against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. That game is also an Eyewitness News Fan Friday with select draft beers on sale for $2 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Puck drop for the Penguins and Phantoms is 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual game tickets for the Penguins’ remaining home games, as well as season-ticket packages for the 2023-24 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.
