AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins Lose 4-2 to Crunch

Published on December 31, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Despite cashing in twice on the power play, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins couldn't put enough pucks past Andrei Vasilevskiy and fell 4-2 at the hands of the Syracuse Crunch on Thursday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Vasilevskiy made 28 saves in net for Syracuse, including several show-stoppers amid a 16-shot third period by the Penguins when the Crunch were nursing just a one-goal lead.

"Our hats are off to [Vasilevskiy], because he played one heck of a game," said Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli. "He made some really good saves in the third, but our body of work is there. I thought five-on-five, we played a really good game, a real solid game. We ran into a hot goaltender."

Adam Clendening made instant impact in his first game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as he helped the Penguins get on the board first. Clendening set up a Jean-Sébastien Dea power play goal at 7:03 of the first period.

Syracuse answered with a power play goal of its own from Adam Erne to tie the game, 1-1, 15:56 into the opening frame.

Mike Blunden earned the Crunch a 2-1 advantage after putting a one-timer over the glove of Penguins goalie Brian Foster immediately following a Syracuse face-off win with 1:38 remaining in the first.

Another power play goal by the Penguins at 8:16 of the second period tied the score, 2-2. Sahir Gill was awarded the goal, his first of the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Erne quickly responded for Syracuse again, scoring 1:19 after Gill's goal putting the Crunch back up, 3-2. The mid-second period marker gave Erne his first career two-goal game.

From there, Vasilevskiy did all he could to prevent Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from equalizing, turning away all 18 shots he faced after Erne's go-ahead goal.

Crunch defenseman Slater Koekkoek hoisted a puck over the heads of his teammates and opponents alike to seal the victory with an empty netter at 18:49 of the third, bringing the game to its final score of 4-2.

The final shot total for the game was 30-17 in favor of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Penguins finished the game two-for-three on the man advantage. Syracuse had three power play opportunities, as well, and only scored once.

The loss drops Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's record on the season to 21-8-0-1, but it still stands as the best in the Atlantic Division as the calendar turns to 2016.

Donatelli and the Penguins' next game is Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza against the Springfield Falcons. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 2-0-0-0 against Springfield this season, out-scoring the Falcons 8-2 in those two match-ups. Puck drop for the third meeting of the season between the Penguins and Falcons is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2015


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