PORTER SCORES TWICE AGAIN AS PENGUINS DEFEAT CRUNCH, 6-1

BOXSCORE

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Kevin Porter continued his strong play against Syracuse, posting his second two-goal performance in as many games against the Crunch, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins skated to a 6-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

The win upped the Pens record to 5-1-1-0 (11 points, first in the Atlantic Division) on the season, while the Crunch fell to 4-3-0-0 (8 points, third in the North Division).

Porter, who also scored twice in the Penguins last meeting with Syracuse on Oct. 22, helped the Penguins build a sizable first period lead with two more tallies, bringing his season total to a team-leading four goals.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got on the board first, thanks to Carter Rowney’s tip-in goal at 3:52 of the first period. Porter then put the Penguins up 2-0, and later 3-0, by scoring his third and fourth goals of the season at 14:51 and 18:37 of the opening frame, respectively.

With a chance to chip away at the Penguins’ lead late on their first power play of the game in the final minute of the first period, Casey DeSmith denied Syracuse on a redirect attempt in the slot, maintaining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s three-goal advantage heading into intermission.

Tom Kostopoulos potted his first goal of the season at 13:54 of the second period, bringing the score to 4-0, before Mike Halmo snapped DeSmith’s shutout bid at 4:56 of the third when he found loose change at the right of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s net.

Later, Patrick McGrath took advantage of a turnover right at the Crunch blue line and rifled a wrist shot a Kristers Gudļevskis. The Crunch goaltender couldn’t hang on to the high-velocity shot, and Jean-Sébastien Dea smacked the rebound out of mid-air to build the Penguins’ lead back up to 5-1.

Oskar Sundqvist added an insurance marker with the Penguins’ second man advantage goal of the game, bringing the contest to its final score of 6-1.

DeSmith finished the afternoon having made 22 saves on 23 shots faced, while Gudļevskis stopped 23 of the 29 pucks thrown his way.

McGrath, Barry Goers and Ethan Prow all recorded their first points of the season with assists scattered throughout the contest.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Friday, Nov. 4 against the Binghamton Senators at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Puck drop between the Pens and Sens is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Individual tickets for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton home games can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, through Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

Season ticket packages for the 2016-17 season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey, including full season, 22-game, 12-game and Flexbook plans, are available by contacting the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.