Penguins Blitzed by Crunch to Start New Year
Published on January 3, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release
SYRACUSE, NY - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were shut-out for the first time this season in their 6-0 loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (22-9-1-2) was doomed by a five-goal first period, but never solved Syracuse goalie Brandon Halverson on its 17 shots on goal, either.
Tristan Allard collected a bouncing puck after a Penguins shot block and blasted a one-timer to the top corner 2:12 into the game, kickstarting Syracuse's barrage. Dylan Duke tipped in a power-play goal at 3:04, and Jarred Tinordi picked up an extra-attacker goal during a delayed penalty at 4:34.
Syracuse ran its lead to 4-0 when Jakob Pelletier buried a breakaway when the teams were skating at four-on-four at 14:36. Conor Geekie snuck one in with 54.6 seconds left before the first intermission, putting the Crunch ahead by five.
The score remained unchanged through the second period, but multiple fights kept the crowd alive. Boko Imama dropped the gloves with Tinordi for a center-ice showdown, followed by Max Graham scrapping with Allard in his AHL debut.
Nick Abruzzese swept in a second man-advantage marker for Syracuse 45 seconds into the third period, making it 6-0.
Sergei Murashov was pulled for the second-straight game after stopping six of 11 shots faced. In relief, Filip Larsson turned away 19 of 20 shots against.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's next game is Friday, Jan. 9 against the Charlotte Checkers. Game time between the Penguins and Checkers is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Bojangles' Coliseum.
The Penguins' next home game is Friday, Jan. 16, when the Hartford Wolf Pack come to town for a back-to-back set. Puck drop for the Penguins and Wolf Pack is set for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins' 2025-26 season, including Full-Season, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans, as well as Corporate Partnership opportunities 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 Arena at Casey Plaza Box Office or calling the Penguins' front office at (570) 208-7367.
Every minute of Penguins hockey can be watched online with the league's streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. AHLTV on FloHockey provides its subscribers access to not just every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, but also more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, as well as access to all other live event streams and replays across FloSports.
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