CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost to the Charlotte Checkers, 4-1, on Saturday night at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
Charlotte exacted the revenge it was searching for after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (1-1-0-0) defeated the Checkers in their 2023-24 season opener a day earlier.
For the second game in a row, the Penguins and Checkers went scoreless through the first period. Charlotte changed that in the middle frame with a pair of goals.
First, Rasmus Asplund buried a shot from the slot at 7:28 of the second period. Patrick Khoderenko finished a backdoor pass from Santtu Kinnunen with 64 left before the second intermission.
Charlotte extended its lead to 3-0 out of a net-front scramble power-play goal midway through the third period. Will Lockwood was credited with the tally, having muscled it across the Penguins’ goal line.
Colin White gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a glimmer of hope by tallying an extra-attacker goal with 3:52 left in regulation. However, any faint hopes of a comeback were dashed when Khoderenko notched an empty netter less than a minute later.
Penguins goalie Joel Blomqvist made 21 saves on 24 shots faced in his season debut, while Checkers netminder Mack Guzda thwarted Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 32 times en route to being named the game’s first star.
The Penguins’ next game will be Friday, Oct. 20 when they visit the Hartford Wolf Pack. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. from XL Center. The team will then host the Springfield Thunderbirds for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s home opener on Saturday, Oct. 21. Game time against the T-Birds is 6:05 p.m.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 25th season of hockey are on sale now. Full-Season, 22-game, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans 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 Sun Arena Box Office or calling the Penguins’ front office at (570) 208-7367.
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