Penguins' Streak Snapped, Return to Atlantic Division Play with Three-Game Week
AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins' Streak Snapped, Return to Atlantic Division Play with Three-Game Week

Published on February 17, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (32-12-3-2) takes on Springfield before home-and-home with Bridgeport

Weekly Rewind

Saturday, Feb. 14 - PENGUINS 0 vs. Syracuse 5

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton saw its five-game win streak stalled by being shut-out for the second time this season. On both occasions, the culprit was the Syracuse Crunch, who held the Penguins to a season-low 16 shots on goal in Saturday's loss out of the All-Star break.

Sunday, Feb. 15 - PENGUINS 3 vs. Cleveland 4 (OT)

The Penguins fought tooth and nail against the Monsters in a back-and-forth bout, but Cleveland captain Brendan Gaunce put his team over the top in OT. Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen both scored in the first period, while Emil Pieniniemi potted his first AHL goal early in the third.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday, Feb. 18 - PENGUINS at Springfield

The Penguins take on the T-Birds at the Thunderdome, where they have won five of their last six visits. Since Steve Ott took over as the T-Birds' head coach on Jan. 23, Springfield has a 5-5-0-0 (.500) record.

Saturday, Feb. 14 - PENGUINS vs. Bridgeport

The Penguins and Islanders go head-to-head for the fifth time this season. The Black and Gold are 4-0-0-0 against the Isles so far, out-scoring them 14-4 in third periods. Saturday is also Military Appreciation Night presented by MetLife, including specialty, military-inspired uniforms that will be available for auction on the DASH app.

Sunday, Feb. 15 - PENGUINS at Bridgeport

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hops on the bus and heads to Bridgeport for the second game of a home-and-home. The Isles have quietly compiled points by going 7-4-1-2 (.607) in their last 14 games, pushing them up to fifth place in the Atlantic. The last time Bridgeport held a playoff spot this late into a season was 2019.

Ice Chips

- Over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's last six games, its power play has gone 6-for-21, good for 28.6%.

- Emil Pieniniemi became the third Penguin to tally his first AHL goal this month, joining Tanner Howe and Melvin Fernström.

- Ville Koivunen has produced 13 points (3G-10A) in his last nine games.

- Despite playing in only 22 of the Penguins' 50 games this season, Koivunen leads the team with nine multi-point games.

- Phil Kemp is the only Penguin to skate in all 50 of the team's games this season.

- With Sunday's overtime loss, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is now 13-0-2-0 (.933) at home all-time against the Cleveland Monsters.

ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS Pts%

1. Providence 46 37 8 1 0 75 .815

2. PENGUINS 50 32 13 3 2 69 .690

3. Charlotte 46 27 16 3 0 57 .620

4. Hershey 47 21 18 6 2 50 .532

5. Bridgeport 47 20 21 3 3 46 .489

6. Lehigh Valley 47 21 22 2 2 46 .489

7. Springfield 48 18 24 4 2 42 .438

8. Hartford 47 17 24 4 2 40 .426

TEAM LEADERS

SKATERS GP G A PTS

Tristan Broz 40 14 16 30

Avery Hayes 34 16 11 27

Ville Koivunen 22 7 20 27

Atley Calvert 48 9 17 26

Valtteri PuustinenX 35 7 19 26

GOALIES GP W-L-OT GAA SV% Shutouts

Sergei Murashov* 26 18-6-1 2.22 .920 2

Joel Blomqvist 16 8-4-3 2.54 .913 1

* = rookie

^ = recalled to Pittsburgh

X = no longer in organization

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME

Wed, Feb. 18 Springfield MassMutual Center 7:05 p.m.

Sat, Feb. 21 Bridgeport Mohegan Arena 6:05 p.m.

Sun, Feb. 22 Bridgeport Total Mortgage Arena 5:00 p.m.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

DATE PLAYER TRANSACTION

Fri, Feb. 6 (RW) Avery Hayes Reassigned from PIT

Fri, Feb. 6 (LW) Rutger McGroarty Reassigned from PIT

Fri, Feb. 6 (C) Brayden Edwards Reassigned to WHL

Fri, Feb. 6 (LW) Zach Urdahl Reassigned to WHL

Sat, Feb. 14 (RW) Nolan Renwick Reassigned to WHL

Sat, Feb. 14 (D) Scooter Brickey Reassigned to WHL




American Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2026


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