Penguins Erupt Again in Third to Edge Hershey, 4-1
Published on February 5, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins downed the Hershey Bears, 4-1, on Wednesday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton picked up its 30th win of the season (30-12-2-2) by unloading four goals in the third period for the second-straight game. The contest was deadlocked at 0-0 going into the final frame thanks to stalwart penalty killing and a strong showing in net by All-Star goalie Sergei Murashov.
Murashov stonewalled the Bears at every turn in the first period, coming up with 17 stops during the opening stanza. His most jaw-dropping denial came on a backdoor pass to Brett Leason, who had a wide-open net taken away by the lightning-quick pads of the Penguins' 21-year-old netminder.
Early in the second period, Hershey was awarded a lengthy five-on-three power play. The Bears even called their timeout prior to the 79-second two-man advantage, but Murashov and the Penguins held firm.
By the end of 40 minutes, the Penguins were five-for-five on the penalty kill.
The third period opened with Aaron Huglen's wrist shot riding up the paddle of Bears goalie Mitch Gibson and into the top corner of Hershey's net 99 seconds in. However, Grant Cruikshank quickly evened the scales by going coast-to-coast for the Bears' first and only goal.
Avery Hayes put the Penguins back in the lead with a man-advantage marker that beat Gibson through his five-hole at 7:55 of the third.
Tanner Howe, playing in his second AHL game, picked up his first pro goal at 14:40 of the third, redirecting a shot from the point on a designed face-off play. Less than a minute later, Aidan McDonough slithered through the Bears defense and across Gibson's crease for a dazzling finish that put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a commanding 4-1 lead.
Murashov finished with 30 saves. Gibson took the loss with 25 stops.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's next game is Friday, Feb. 6 against its other Keystone State rival, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Game time for the Penguins and Phantoms is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. at PPL Center.
The Penguins' next home game isn't until after the AHL All-Star Break, a date with the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, Feb. 14. The Valentine's Day clash is set for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins' 2025-26 season, including 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.
American Hockey League Stories from February 5, 2026
- Reign Ride Fast Start past Tucson - Ontario Reign
- Barracuda Extend Win Streak to Four, Edge Firebirds 2-1 - San Jose Barracuda
- Gulls Score Seven to Subdue Henderson - San Diego Gulls
- Roadrunners Open Road Trip with 5-1 Loss to Reign - Tucson Roadrunners
- Nyman Scores Late, Ostman Makes 41 Saves in 2-1 Loss to San Jose - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Sens Pull Away from Amerks in Third - Rochester Americans
- Penguins Erupt Again in Third to Edge Hershey, 4-1 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Bears Drop 4-1 Road Decision to Penguins - Hershey Bears
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
