HERSHEY, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were handed their first loss of the preseason, suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Hershey Bears on Friday night at Giant Center.
The Penguins found themselves in a hole when they surrendered their first goal of the preseason to Pierrick Dubé at 7:51 of the first period. The Dubé goal snapped Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s preseason shutout streak at 127:51.
Despite being beaten on the fifth shot faced, Penguins goalie Joel Blomqvist was unfazed. Blomqvist made a number of desperation saves before the end of the first period to hold the team’s deficit at one.
The goalie duel continued through the middle and third frames, with Blomqvist and Clay Stevenson trading big saves.
Still down by one goal with less than three minutes left to play, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pulled Blomqvist in favor of an extra attacker. The Penguins wreaked havoc around Stevenson’s crease as best they could, but an equalizer never materialized.
Blomqvist finished the night with 24 saves, while Stevenson was credited with a 12-save shutout.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wraps up its exhibition schedule at home tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 7. Game time between the Penguins and Lehigh Valley Phantoms is slated for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
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.
