As the American Hockey League enters the last month and a half of regular season play, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins find themselves towards the top of the Atlantic Division. Before heading down the turnpike to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, let’s take a quick look back at Penguins hockey this past weekend against the Charlotte Checkers. The Penguin’s current magic playoff number is 28.
Friday, March 1 vs Charlotte, 4-1 Victory:
Allowing the first goal in the first of the two-game series allowed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to gain control of the game. Radim Zohorna, Sam Poulin (welcome back to the lineup), and Vinnie Hinostroza led the team to victory. Hinostroza scored twice, including the game-winning goal. Zohorna notched a goal and an assist, and Poulin swept in, tallying three assists. Rookie and All-Star Goaltender Joel Blomqvist earned his 17th win of the season and made 21 saves on 22 shots.
Saturday, March 2 vs Charlotte, 4-2 Loss:
Charlotte answered the bell on Saturday, March 2, and the Penguins fell 4-2. Hinostroza and Austin Rueschhoff scored and tied the game in the final frame. However, Charlotte defenseman Mike Benning scored the game-winner with less than 3 minutes left in regulation. Magnus Hellberg was between the pipes and made 28 saves on 31 shots.
Down The Turnpike:
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, who is currently 28-19-7-1, will face the foes down the turnpike in Lehigh Valley on Friday, March 8th, at the PPL Center at 7:05 pm. This will be game one of three in a series. In the five games played against Lehigh this season, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has picked up a point in each of those games. The record against Lehigh is 2-0-2-1 this season so far. The Penguins powerplay unit has managed to find the net in back-to-back games.
Lehigh Talk
Lehigh is currently in 7th place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 23-22-5-2. Lehigh has a staggering 841 PIMS in the season thus far, which puts them second in the league. The Phantoms sit sixth in the AHL with a 20.7% on their powerplay, however, polar opposite when it comes to their penalty kill, where they sit 23rd in the league and at 80.7%. Lehigh’s last winless streak was from December 1st through December 8th with a 4-game stretch of losses.
Veteran Cooper Marody is leading Lehigh in points at 44. He has tallied 14 goals and 30 assists currently. Marody is also third in the league with Power Play Assists at 17. Rookie Jon-Randall Avon is leading the league in shootout goals at 5. Forward Wade Allison, who is in his third professional season, is second in shootout-winning goals.
Lehigh’s biggest problem is keeping goals at bay. They have allowed 164 goals, which leaves them at 25th in the AHL. When it comes to the +/- column, Lehigh currently has three players, including Marody, Emil Andrae, and all Avon, with double digits in that column.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton returns home for game two of three on the week against Lehigh on Saturday, March 9th, at 6:05 pm. This is the annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, which will include throwback jerseys.
The Penguins are 5-5-0-0 in the last 10 St Patrick’s Celebration Day Games.
The third game against Lehigh will take play on Wednesday, March 13th at 7:05 pm at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Important Notes:
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton currently allows 2.82 goals per game. They are fourth in the Eastern Conference and eighth overall in the AHL.
- Sam Poulin, who has shared his fair share of injuries, tallied five assists this past weekend in the back-to-back series against Charlotte. The last Penguin to do so was Drew O’Connor in December of 2022. He currently has notched 11 points in the last eight games (3 goals, 7 assists).
- Radim Zohorna has been heating up lately, with eight points in his last eight games. He has also scored three goals and five assists in those eight games.
- The Penguins’ Penalty Kill is tied for second in the AHL at 84.9%. It has gone 25 for 27 in the last eight games.
- Max Čajkovič was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on 2/29 and then sent back to ECHL affiliate Wheeling Nailers on 3/3. Avery Hayes and Owen Headrick were recalled from Wheeling on 2/29. Jonathan Gruden was recalled to Pittsburgh on 2/29 and scored his first NHL goal on 3/2/2024 against the Calgary Flames.
