PENGUINS WEEKLY – 2/13/24

Penguins play pair of road games before returning home for first time in February

WEEKLY – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (24-16-6-1) will become the Pittston Tomatoes for one night only on Saturday

Penguins Weekly Rewind

Friday, Feb. 9 – PENGUINS 4 at Lehigh Valley 5 (SO)
In its first game after the all-star break, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton engaged in a back-and-forth contest with its PA Turnpike rival. When the dust settled, it was the Phantoms who emerged victorious in a four-round shootout. Down 4-2 heading into the third period, goals by Alex Nylander and Ty Smith pushed the game to overtime.

The Weekly Ahead

Wednesday, Feb. 14 – PENGUINS at Toronto
In the second installment of the Gruden Bowl and final matchup between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Toronto this season, the Penguins and Marlies will square off with an 11 a.m. puck drop. When the clubs met on the final day of January, Jonathan Gruden’s father, Marlies head coach John Gruden, had the last laugh with his team gathering a 4-1 win at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Friday, Feb. 16 – PENGUINS at Rochester
The Penguins travel to Rochester for their fifth-straight road game. The Penguins took a 2-1 victory over the Americans back on Dec. 16 on a late game-winner from former Amerk, Alex Nylander. Rochester has scored seven shorthanded goals this season and has been awarded more penalty shots than any other team (3).

Saturday, Feb. 17 – TOMATOES vs. Laval
Saturday night is Pittston Tomatoes Night presented by Visit Luzerne County. The Penguins will adopt the name of the Pittston Tomatoes for one night only as the latest installment in the team’s community series, complete with uniforms, in-arena merchandise and game presentation. In the only other matchup of the season, the Rocket unloaded four goals in the second period, three on the power play, on the way to a 5-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Ice Chips

– Friday marked Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s first shootout of the season. The team went 54 games between shootouts, with the last one occurring on Mar. 29, 2023 vs. Providence.

– Joel Blomqvist ranks third in the league with a 2.10 goals against average.

– Alex Nylander has eight points (2G-6A) in his last eight games.

– Jonathan Gruden has amassed five points in his last four games (2G-3A).

– Ty Smith’s goal on Friday marked his 100^th point as a pro.

DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM LEADERS

* = rookie
X = not on current roster

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE

DATE                  OPPONENT       LOCATION                             TIME      

Wed, Feb. 14       Toronto            Coca-Cola Coliseum        11:00 a.m.

Fri, Feb. 16           Rochester         Blue Cross Arena            7:05 p.m.

Sat, Feb. 17          Laval                  Mohegan Sun Arena       6:05 p.m.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Fri, Feb. 9          (LW) Dillon Hamaliuk     Reassigned by PIT from WHL

Fri, Feb. 9          (RW) Lukas Svejkovsky  Reassigned by PIT from WHL

Mon, Feb. 12    (LW) Raivis Ansons         Reassigned by PIT from WHL

Tue, Feb. 13       (G) Garret Sparks             Reassigned to WHL