PENGUINS WEEKLY – 12/3/24

Penguins come away from measuring stick weekend with two wins

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (11-4-1-0) defeated two division leaders, hosts rematch with Hershey on Wednesday

Weekly Rewind

Friday, Nov. 29 – PENGUINS 5 vs. Laval 3
With the North Division-leading Laval Rocket in town, the Penguins erased a two-goal deficit with a sterling performance on the power play. The Penguins’ first three goals all came on the man advantage, coming from Sam Poulin, Boris Katchouk and Ville Koivunen. Nikolai Knyzhov’s first goal as a Penguin put them in the lead, and an insurance marker from Joona Koppanen put things to bed.

Saturday, Nov. 30 – PENGUINS 5 at Hershey 4
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took the first decision in its 12-game season series with Hershey by surviving a thrilling, back-and-forth contest. Filip Král spearheaded the Penguins’ offense with four points (2G-2A). Vasily Ponomarev tallied his first goal of the season, but Rutger McGroarty saved the game-winner for 1:15 left in regulation.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, Dec. 4 – PENGUINS vs. Hershey
The Penguins and Bears square off for a rematch just four days after their electrifying bout in Chocolatetown. The Bears’ Ethen Frank is tied for the AHL lead with 15 goals this season.

Saturday, Dec. 7 – PENGUINS at Hartford
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won its first showdown against the Wolf Pack, 2-1, on Nov. 2. Hartford had a strong start to the season at home, but they have lost their last three games at XL Center and suffered four-straight losses overall.

Sunday, Dec. 8 – PENGUINS at Providence
The Penguins and P-Bruins go head-to-head for the first time this year. Providence is the most penalized team in the Atlantic Division and owns the league’s 19^th-ranked penalty kill (81.9%). The P-Bruins are led by veteran forward Vinni Lettieri, who boasts nine goals and 16 points in 20 games this season.

Ice Chips

– The Penguins have scored five goals in three-straight games.

– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ranks top 10 in the league in goals for per game (3.5, 8^th), goals against per game (2.56, 6^th), power play (21.7%, 7^th) and penalty kill (84.2%, 10^th).

– The Penguins’ power play went five-for-eight (62.5%) in its two wins last weekend.

– Filip Král’s four-point game on Saturday was not only the first of his career, but the first by a Penguin this season.

– The last four-point game by a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman was Apr. 6, 2024 when Ty Smith had four assists.

– Emil Bemström has 10 points (4G-6A) in his last seven games.

DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM LEADERS

* = rookie
x = not on current roster

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE

DATE                    OPPONENT              LOCATION                                TIME        

Wed, Dec. 4         Hershey                  Mohegan Arena                      7:05 p.m.

Sat, Dec. 7            Hartford                  XL Center                                6:00 p.m.

Sun, Dec. 8          Providence             Amica Mutual Pavilion          3:05 p.m.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

DATE                  PLAYER                                                              TRANSACTION

Fri, Nov. 22       (D) Phip Waugh                                       Reassigned to WHL

Sat, Nov. 23      (C) Vasily Ponomarev                               Reassigned by PIT

Mon, Nov. 25    (C) Sam Poulin                                          Reassigned by PIT

Thu, Nov. 28     (RW) Valtteri Puustinen                          Reassigned by PIT

Fri, Nov. 29       (G) Luke Richardson                               Released from PTO

Fri, Nov. 29       (G) Sergei Murashov             Reassigned by PIT from WHL