
Crosscheck Cancer Night Highlights Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Upcoming Slate
Published on January 27, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release
Penguins (27-12-2-2) have diligent week of practice before Saturday, Sunday games
Weekly Rewind
Wednesday, Jan. 21 - PENGUINS 2 vs. Belleville 3 (OT)
A goalie duel between two old friends took place, as Joel Blomqvist and Leevi Meriläinen went save-for-save in a starry display. However, Meriläinen's 25 saves in the first two periods kept his team in it, leading to an OT win for the B-Sens. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Atley Calvert both scored for WBS.
Friday, Jan. 23 - PENGUINS 4 at Hershey 3 (SO)
A back-and-forth thriller at Giant Center ended with the Penguins surviving in a shootout. Owen Pickering and Ville Koivunen lit the lamp in the first period, and Avery Hayes forced OT with his late, tying goal. Rutger McGroarty posted an assist on all three goals. Koivunen scored again in the shootout, while Sergei Murashov thwarted all three of Hershey's attempts.
Saturday, Jan. 24 - PENGUINS 2 vs. Charlotte 5
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wrapped its eight-game season series with Charlotte with a loss. Gabe Klassen and Aidan McDonough found twine for the Penguins, but Blomqvist's season-high 35 saves weren't enough. Charlotte won each of its for visits to Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza this season.
The Week Ahead
Saturday, Jan. 31 - PENGUINS vs. Syracuse
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton holds Crosscheck Cancer Night presented by Geisinger as the Black and Gold try to avenge a 6-0 shutout loss to Syracuse that kicked off the calendar year. Crunch forward Nick Abruzzese ranks third in the AHL with 29 assists.
Sunday, Feb. 1 - PENGUINS at Lehigh Valley
The Penguins and Phantoms officially hit the mid-point of their 12-game season series with their sixth meeting. The Black and Gold are 4-0-0-1 against the Orange and Black this season and 20-3-3-3 (.793) in their last 29 regular-season matchups. Harvey-Pinard has four goals in four games against LV.
Ice Chips
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has allowed 2.56 goals against per game, fourth in the league and second in the Eastern Conference.
- In eight career games at Giant Center, Rutger McGroarty has 11 points (3G-8A).
- Over his last 11 games, Gabe Klassen has 10 points, including eight of his 11 goals on the season.
- Finn Harding leads all rookie defensemen in the AHL with his +16 rating.
- The Penguins are 4-0-0-0 when allowing a shorthanded goal.
ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS
TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS Pts%
1. Providence 39 30 8 1 0 61 .782
2. PENGUINS 43 27 12 2 2 58 .674
3. Charlotte 39 24 12 3 0 51 .654
4. Lehigh Valley 40 20 16 2 2 44 .550
5. Hershey 39 18 14 5 2 43 .551
6. Bridgeport 39 17 18 2 2 38 .487
7. Hartford 40 16 19 4 1 37 .463
8. Springfield 40 14 20 4 2 34 .425
TEAM LEADERS
SKATERS GP G A PTS
Tristan Broz 36 14 14 28
Valtteri PuustinenX 35 7 19 26
Atley Calvert 42 9 15 24
Aidan McDonough 38 8 13 21
Avery Hayes 28 10 10 20
Sam PoulinX 22 9 11 20
GOALIES GP W-L-OT GAA SV% Shutouts
Sergei Murashov* 21 15-5-0 2.18 .922 2
Joel Blomqvist 13 6-4-3 2.26 .920 1
Filip Larsson 9 3-2-1 3.51 .876 0
* = rookie
^ = recalled to Pittsburgh
X = no longer in organization
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME
Sat, Jan. 31 Syracuse Mohegan Arena 6:05 p.m.
Sun, Feb. 1 Lehigh Valley PPL Center 3:05 p.m.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
DATE PLAYER TRANSACTION
Sun, Jan. 18 (C) Joona Koppanen Recalled to PIT
Sun, Jan. 18 (LW) Rutger McGroarty Reassigned from PIT
Tue, Jan. 20 (C) Joona Koppanen Reassigned from PIT
Tue, Jan. 20 (RW) Valtteri Puustinen Traded by PIT to COL
American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2026
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- Utah Mammoth Recall Dmitri Simashev - Tucson Roadrunners
- Autism Awareness Night Set for January 31 - Charlotte Checkers
- Game Preview- Tucson Roadrunners at San Diego Gulls - Tucson Roadrunners
- Emil Pieniniemi Reassigned to Pens, Breazeale Sent to Wheeling - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- AHL All-Star Classic Jerseys Revealed - Rockford IceHogs
- Ryan Hofer Re-Assigned to Bears - Hershey Bears
- Wolf Pack Loan Forward Zakary Karpa to ECHL Bloomington - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Forward Jakob Pelletier, Defenseman Simon Lundmark to Syracuse Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Ontario Reign Weekly - Week 17 - Ontario Reign
- 90's Night, $3 Beer Friday, and Oilers Night this Weekend - Bakersfield Condors
- Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 32, No. 16 - Syracuse Crunch
- Crosscheck Cancer Night Highlights Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Upcoming Slate - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Record-Setting Griffins Close out January - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Last Week around the Leagues - OSC Original by Fran Stuchbury
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Other Recent Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Stories
- Emil Pieniniemi Reassigned to Pens, Breazeale Sent to Wheeling
- Crosscheck Cancer Night Highlights Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Upcoming Slate
- Penguins Lose to Checkers, 5-2
- Penguins Best Bears in Shootout, 4-3
- Penguins Holding Donation Drive on Crosscheck Cancer Night


