June 22, 2025 - 134 Games Today

Penguins Take Down Crunch in Game 1, 5-1

April 24, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were buoyed by a two-goal performance from 18-year old rookie Kaspari Kapanen and a three-point effort from Carter Rowney (1G-2A) in claiming Game 1 of the best-of-five Eastern Conference Quarterfinal versus the Syracuse Crunch with a 5-1 final on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton came into the second period holding a 1-0 lead and would break the game open with three goals in a span of 100 seconds. Making his North American postseason debut, Kapanen doubled the score for the Penguins at 6:03, pulling a puck out of the scrum in the near faceoff circle and sending a wrister to the top left corner of the Crunch net.

Thirty-one seconds later, the Penguins pushed the lead to three on a circle-to-circle feed from Barry Goers that Rowney one-timed past a sprawling Kristers Gudlevskis.

Kapanen capped off the flurry for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 7:43 of the period, gathering the rebound off a shot by Goers and depositing the puck into the open net for his second goal of the match and a 4-0 Penguins lead. Adam Wilcox would enter the game in relief of Gudlevskis, who took the loss after stopping 16 of 20 shots over 27:43 of play.

The Crunch would get the puck past Matt Murray with six minutes left until the second intermission as Mike Angelidis picked up a turnover in the left corner of the offensive zone and slid a pass to the crease that Matthew Peca tipped through the pads of the Penguins netminder.

Danny Syvret added another for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 12:32 of the final period on a fluttering shot from the center point that made its way through a screen and past Wilcox to put the Penguins on top by four once again.

The opening frame remained a stalemate between the two teams until the Penguins took control during the final five minutes of the period. Outshooting Syracuse, 7-0, during that stretch, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went ahead at 16:52 when Tom Kuhnhackl centered a pass from the behind the net that Dominik Uher banged past Gudlevskis.

Making his first start in the Calder Cup Playoffs, Murray turned aside 22-of-23 in the win for the Penguins. Wilcox allowed only one goal on 15 shots during the remaining 32:17 of regulation.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Syracuse continue their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with Game 2 on Saturday, Apr. 25 at 7:05pm.

Tickets for kids ages 14 and younger are FREE with a paid adult admission. Get your seats by calling the Pens at 570-208-7367 or online at TicketMaster.com.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

American Hockey League Stories from April 24, 2015

Late Surge Lifts Hogs to 1-0 Series Lead - Rockford IceHogs
Stars Fall to Rockford in Game 1, 4-2 - Texas Stars
Comets Head Home with a Split Series vs Chicago - Utica Comets
Wolves Square Series with 2-1 Triumph - Chicago Wolves
Penguins Take Down Crunch in Game 1, 5-1 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Sharks Drop Game 1 to the Bears 4-1 - Worcester Sharks
Bears Power Past Sharks Late, Grab Series Opener - Hershey Bears
Crunch Fall to Penguins, 5-1, in Game 1 - Syracuse Crunch
Griffins Face Marlies in Western Conference Quarterfinals - Grand Rapids Griffins
Wings Return Pulkkinen to Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
Lauridsen Excited to Represent Denmark at 2015 Hockey World Championship - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Dallas Signs Janmark to Entry-Level Deal - Texas Stars
IceCaps Annual Stick Sale Saturday - St. John's IceCaps
Penguins Reassign Ruopp to Wheeling - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Barons Take Game One, 5-2 - Oklahoma City Barons
Pirates Fall to Monarchs 5-2 in Game One - Portland Pirates

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.

Other Recent Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Stories