PENGUINS WEEKLY – 2/18/25

Penguins embark on lengthy road swing, starting with New England three-in-three

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (27-12-5-1) owns second place in the Atlantic, five points behind Hershey

Weekly Rewind

Tuesday, Feb. 11 – PENGUINS 4 at Hershey 5
Emil Bemström, Valtteri Puustinen, Avery Hayes and Mac Hollowell found the back of the net for the Pens, but a tying goal with 2.2 left in regulation was nullified after the on-ice officials determined it was touched by a high stick.

Friday, Feb. 14 – PENGUINS 2 vs. Lehigh Valley 3 (SO)
The Penguins never trailed, but the Phantoms hung around long enough to have the Pens their first shootout loss of the season. Sam Poulin and Tristan Broz tallied the Pens’ goals.

Saturday, Feb. 15 – PENGUINS 3 vs. Hershey 4 (OT)
A thrilling, back-and-forth bout ended in heartbreak for the Pens. Hayes scored twice, and Puustinen lit the lamp, but Hershey equalized with 12.5 left in regulation before their OT win.

Sunday, Feb. 16 – PENGUINS 4 at Lehigh Valley 3
Hayes, Poulin, Broz and Filip Král provided the offense on Sunday afternoon as the Penguins held off Lehigh Valley’s rally thanks to a stellar, 31-save effort by Joel Blomqvist.

The Week Ahead

Friday, Feb. 21 – PENGUINS at Hartford
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton kicks off its road trip with a matchup against the Wolf Pack. The Pens are unbeaten against Hartford this season, going 3-0-0-0 with a 13-3 (+10) goal differential.

Saturday, Feb. 22 – PENGUINS at Springfield
The Penguins have scored nine goals in their two victories over the T-Birds this season, including an Emil Bemström hat trick on Dec. 14. Springfield is 6-2-0-2 (.700) in their last 10 games.

Sunday, Feb. 23 – PENGUINS at Providence
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 2-0-0-0 in the third game of three-in-threes this season, but in the team’s only matchup with the P-Bruins this year, they were blanked, 5-0, in Providence.

Ice Chips

– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 17-5-2-1 (.740) on home ice this season, the best home record in the Eastern Conference.

– Avery Hayes is riding a career-best five-game point streak, and he has collected 18 points in his last 14 games (8G-10A).

– Ville Koivunen is tied for the most points among AHL rookies (39).

– Sam Poulin notched nine points in his past nine games (6G-3A).

– On Sunday, Poulin posted the second “Gordie Howe hat trick” of his career with a goal, assist, and a fight. Poulin’s previous Gordie Howe hat trick was also at PPL Center on Jan. 26, 2024.

– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s power play is 2-for-19 (10.5%) in February, but is still No. 1 overall in the AHL at 23.7% on the year.

DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM LEADERS

* = rookie
x = not on current roster

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE

DATE                    OPPONENT              LOCATION                                TIME        

Fri, Feb. 21          Hartford                  XL Center                                  7:00 p.m.

Sat, Feb. 22        Springfield              MassMutual Center                7:05 p.m.

Sun, Feb. 23       Providence             Amica Mutual Pavilion           3:05 p.m.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

DATE                  PLAYER                                                              TRANSACTION

Thu, Feb. 13      (RW) Corey Andonovski                              Traded by PIT to STL

Thu, Feb. 13      (RW) Mathias Laferrière                              Traded by STL to PIT; Assigned to WBS

Thu, Feb. 13      (D) Isaac Belliveau                                       Reassigned by PIT from WHL

Thu, Feb. 13      (G) Sergei Murashov                                    Reassigned by PIT to WHL