WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins earned their fifth-straight win by downing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Five different goal-scorers led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (36-22-8-1) to its season-best fifth victory in a row, including rookie Mathieu De St. Phalle. Joel Blomqvist delivered another stellar performance in net too, banking 35 saves for his 24th win of the season.
The Penguins went to the penalty kill three times in the first period, but came away with a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal by Jack Rathbone. Avery Hayes picked off a pass in the Penguins’ zone, then charged up ice for a two-on-one rush that led to Rathbone’s first career shorty at 13:29.
Vinnie Hinostroza doubled Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lead 11 seconds into the second period. Starting the middle frame on the power play, Radim Zohorna came roaring down the left-wing wall before snapping a perfect backdoor pass to Hinostroza for the tap in. Both Hinostroza and Zohorna ran their point streaks to five games on the sequence.
De St. Phalle gathered his first pro goal when he tipped in a blast by Xavier Ouellet four and a half minutes into the third frame.
Desperate to solve Blomqvist, Phantoms head coach Ian Laperrière got aggressive and pulled his goalie with over six minutes left in regulation. The gamble resulted in a Jacob Gaucher goal with 5:03 left to play, but Hayes put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back ahead by three with an empty netter 34 seconds later.
Lukas Svejkovsky tacked on another power-play tally in the last minute of the game.
The Penguins went 2-for-7 on the power play and 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. Phantoms goalie Felix Sandström posted 23 saves on 27 shots faced.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Friday, Apr. 12 against the Bridgeport Islanders. Game time between the Penguins and Islanders is slated for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual-game tickets for the remaining contests in the Penguins’ 25th season as well as season-ticket packages for the 2024-25 campaign 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. Individual-game tickets are also available by visiting Ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office or calling the Penguins’ front office at (570) 208-7367.
