PENGUINS WEEKLY – 1/20/26

Penguins take three of last four, striving for sustained success

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (26-11-1-2) continues jam-packed stretch with home games Wednesday, Saturday

Weekly Rewind

Wednesday, Jan. 14 – PENGUINS 4 at Providence 1
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton usurped first place from Providence with a clinical performance and an AHL career-high 36 saves from Sergei Murashov. Tristan Broz scored twice, and other tallies came courtesy of Joona Koppanen and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.

Friday, Jan. 16 – PENGUINS 3 vs. Hartford 4
Time ran out on a fiery comeback attempt, as the Penguins fell in their first of back-to-back games against the Wolf Pack. Gabe Klassen scored twice, but a three-goal second period by Hartford spelled doom for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Saturday, Jan. 17 – PENGUINS 4 vs. Hartford 1
The Penguins bounced back in a big way, scoring thrice in the first period and never looking back. Harvey-Pinard notched three points (1G-2A) in that explosive opening frame. As insurance, Finn Harding scored his first AHL goal in the second period.

Monday, Jan. 19 – PENGUINS 3 at Springfield 2
Rutger McGroarty returned from the NHL and Avery Hayes returned from injury as offense from Valtteri Puustinen, Chase Pietila and Klassen led the Pens to their second-straight victory.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, Jan. 21 – PENGUINS vs. Belleville
Wednesday marks Belleville’s only visit to NEPA this season, as the two clubs clash for the first time this season. B-Sens forward Artur Kaliyev leads the league with 26 goals and 46 points.

Friday, Jan. 23 – PENGUINS at Hershey
The Penguins and Bears renew their rivalry at Giant Center. Hershey has picked up the pace as of late, piling up a seven-game point streak (4-0-2-1).

Saturday, Jan. 24 – PENGUINS vs. Charlotte
The Penguins and Checkers wrap up their eight-game season series on Saturday. Charlotte has a four-wins-to-three edge, and the visiting team has won six of the seven showdowns.

Ice Chips

– The last time Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held first place in the Division and Conference 40 games into a season was 2016-17.

– Rutger McGroarty has earned at least one point in each of his six AHL games this season (4G-4A).

– Over his last eight games, Gabe Klassen has nine points, including seven of his 10 goals on the season.

– Atley Calvert has seven points (1G-6A) in his last six games.

– Valtteri Puustinen has eight points (2G-6A) in his last six games. Puustinen now has 175 career points, two shy of tying Toby Petersen and Tomáš Surový for the second-most points in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton franchise history.

DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM LEADERS

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE

DATE                  OPPONENT         LOCATION                                    TIME        

Wed, Jan. 21     Belleville              Mohegan Arena                        7:05 p.m.

Fri, Jan. 23         Hershey               Giant Center                              7:00 p.m.

Sat, Jan. 24        Charlotte             Mohegan Arena                        6:05 p.m.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

DATE                   PLAYER                                                    TRANSACTION

Tue, Jan. 13        (D) Ryan Graves                                   Recalled to PIT

Tue, Jan. 13        (C) Tristan Broz                                    Recalled to PIT

Wed, Jan. 14      (C) Tristan Broz                          Reassigned from PIT

Wed, Jan. 14      (RW) Max Graham                      Reassigned to WHL

Thu, Jan. 15       (C) Brayden Edwards                  Reassigned to WHL

Thu, Jan. 15       (D) David Breazeale                    Recalled from WHL

Sun, Jan. 18       (C) Joona Koppanen                           Recalled to PIT

Sun, Jan. 18       (LW) Rutger McGroarty            Reassigned from PIT

Tue, Jan. 20       (C) Joona Koppanen                  Reassigned from PIT