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AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins Force OT, Fall to Crunch

March 20, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins rallied to force overtime against the Syracuse Crunch, but were unable to secure the extra point in a 2-1 loss on Friday at War Memorial Arena.

The game remained scoreless until the 8:17 mark of the second when Syracuse took the 1-0 lead. Crunch forward Justin Courtnall had his rush into the high slot denied by the Penguins defense, but the puck took a fortuitous bounce to Yanni Gourde, who got free to send a wrist shot past the blocker of Matt Murray.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was finally able to solve Syracuse goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis during four-on-four hockey in the third period. Penguins defenseman Derrick Pouliot skated his way down the left side of the Crunch zone before feeding Tom Kostopoulos in between the hashmarks. The initial shot by Kostopoulos was blocked, but the puck came right back to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain and he deposited his 14th goal of the season over the left shoulder of Gudlevskis to tie the score at one with 8:38 left in regulation.

The two teams would head to overtime, where the Penguins dominated offensive-zone possession for much of the extra session. Syracuse was able to counter-punch with a 3-on-1 rush that saw Jonathan Marchessault flip a pass to the far post that Slater Koekkoek tapped by Murray for the game-winner.

With 27 saves on 29 shots, Murray suffered his first loss of any kind since Jan. 31. The rookie netminder remains undefeated in regulation over his last 10 starts (9-0-1). Gudlevskis won his third straight, turning away 27-of-28.

Limited tickets remain as the Penguins face the Binghamton Senators at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Saturday, March 21 at 7:05 p.m.

Individual tickets for all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office, online at TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

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