Penguins Open Road Trip with 5-1 Loss at Laval
Published on March 18, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release
LAVAL, Québec - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Laval Rocket, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Place Bell.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (37-16-6-2) started its week-long trip through Canada by letting a promising first few minutes slip away against the top team in the North Division. With the victory, Laval clinched a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs and snapped the Penguins' 12-game road point streak.
The Penguins jumped on the Rocket to start, piling up a 9-1 edge in shots on goal in the first six-and-a-half minutes of play. However, they failed to convert on any of those nine shots.
A late-period penalty for too many men on the ice allowed Laval to secure a 1-0 lead before the first intermission. Jared Davidson let loose with a one-timer from the right dot, lighting the lamp with 1:49 left in the frame.
Former Penguin Nate Clurman roped a pass from the hashmarks in his own zone all the way to the far blue line to spring Sammy Blais in for a breakaway, which resulted in Blais extending the Rocket lead to two at the midway mark of the game. Eighty-five seconds later, Sean Farrell made it 3-0.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got on the board early in the third period, with Gabe Klassen finishing off a tic-tac-toe setup 2:55 into the frame.
Joshua Roy reestablished the Rocket's three-goal edge on a drop pass from Farrell at 13:48 of the third. An empty netter by Florian Xhekaj polished things off less than three minutes later.
Kaapo Kähkönen turned aside 29 shots in the win for Laval. Sergei Murashov made 24 saves on 28 shots against.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton continues its Canadian road trip and will take on the Belleville Senators for its next game, Friday, Mar. 20. Game time for the Pens and Sens is slated for 7:00 p.m. at CAA Arena.
The Penguins return to home ice on Saturday, Mar. 28 to take on the Rocket again for Star Wars Night. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins' 2025-26 season, including 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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