WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Pittston Tomatoes delighted a hungry crowd with a 6-3 victory over the Laval Rocket on Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
A career-high three assists from Austin Rueschhoff, 20 saves from Joel Blomqvist, and a dynamic second period was the recipe for success for the Tomatoes (26-17-6-1) to collect two points.
Laval tallied first, as Jan Myšák opened the scoring with a deflection 6:45 into the game.
The message from head coach J.D. Forrest during the first intermission was well-received by the Tomatoes, who then rattled off three goals in the first two minutes of the second period. First, Max Čajkovič tallied his first goal in his first game at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Jagger Joshua followed suit with a roof job over the shoulder of Rocket goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo. The onslaught continued with Justin Addamo gathering a rebound to put the Tomatoes ahead, 3-1.
Myšák quieted down the Tomatoes’ faithful shortly thereafter with his second goal of the night and pulling the Rocket within a goal. Laval almost tied things up before the end of the middle frame, but a miraculous save by Blomqvist kept his team ahead by one.
An early, third-period power-play goal by Jack Rathbone extended the Tomatoes’ lead to 4-2. Rathbone cruised down the slot all alone and wired a wicked shot past Kaskisuo.
Laval earned a man-advantage marker of its own courtesy of Xavier Simoneau with five minutes left to play, but a pair of empty-net goals from Alex Nylander and Corey Andonovski put things away for good, 6-3, in favor of the Tomatoes.
The win was Forrest’s 100th as head coach.
Kaskisuo finished with 25 saves on 29 shots for the Rocket.
The next game at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza features another chapter in the storied rivalry between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Opening puck drop between the Penguins and Phantoms will be at 7:05 p.m.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 25th season of hockey 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.
