WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins took the ice at home for the last time in their 2023-24 regular season and delighted their fans with a 4-1 win over the Hershey Bears on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pens (38-22-8-1) scored four times on the top-ranked team in the league and a received a 22-save effort from Ludovic Waeber to secure its seventh win in a row.
How Did the Pens Beat the Bears?
Avery Hayes, now with six goals in his last six games, lit the lamp for the Penguins 11:02 into the first period. Beau Jelsma entered the zone, dropped a pass for Hayes, and Hayes unleashed a wicked, bar-down wrister from the top of the slot.
The Bears knotted the game at 1-1 after a series of bad bounces around Waeber’s crease resulted in a goal for defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell. The response from the Penguins came four and a half later as Jansen Harkins took a pass from Evan Vierling and deposited it into the back of the net. With the helper on Harkins’ goal, Vierling now has points in six-straight games to begin his AHL career, the longest streak in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton franchise history.
Corey Andonovski’s power-play goal 4:42 into the third period put the Penguins ahead by two. Sam Poulin deflected a point shot from Jack Rathbone past Clay Stevenson, extending the Penguins’ lead to 4-1 late in the final frame.
The Pens went 1-for-4 against Hershey’s No. 1-ranked penalty kill, and the Penguins were a perfect 4-for-4 on the P.K. themselves.
Stevenson turned away 26 shots for Hershey.
Don’t Miss the Next Penguins Game!
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is a rematch with Hershey tomorrow, Sunday, Apr. 14, when the setting switches to Chocolatetown. Opening puck drop for the third game of this three-in-three weekend for the Penguins and their final regular-season clash with the Bears is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at Giant Center
Calder Cup Playoff packages 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.
