SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins swiftly erased a two-goal deficit and came away with a 3-2 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds at MassMutual Center on Monday afternoon.
After knocking in two quick goals in the second period, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (20-12-5-0) received the game-winner on an indefatigable effort by Sam Poulin in the third.
Towards the end of an extended, blue-collar shift, Poulin received a long pass at neutral ice and trudged his way into the Springfield zone. After protecting the puck from Springfield’s backcheck, he dropped a pass to Austin Rueschhoff for a point-blank shot from the slot. Malcolm Subban made the save, but Rueschhoff tossed the rebound back to Poulin, who slammed in the rebound at 6:49 of the third period.
Subban started the game by making several stellar saves during an early blitz by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Penguins out-shot the T-Birds, 16-7, in the opening frame, but Springfield’s seventh shot broke the 0-0 deadlock. Adam Gaudette swept in a wraparound with 65 seconds left in the first period.
Springfield ran its lead to two when Wyatt Kalynuk rocketed a slap shot from the top of the left circle to the back of the net at 6:31 of the middle frame.
The Penguins quickly erased that deficit with a pair of second-period strikes, the first of which was a power-play goal from Will Butcher. By setting up Butcher with a perfect pass from the corner boards, Vinnie Hinostroza picked up his 100th AHL point.
Fewer than five minutes later, Jesse Puljujärvi got behind the Thunderbirds defense for his first goal as a Penguin, tying the game at 2-2.
Poulin later gave the Penguins’ their first lead of the game, scoring for the fourth game in a row.
Joel Blomqvist earned the win in net for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 17 saves, while Subban turned aside 32 shots for Springfield.
The Penguins return home for their next game on Wednesday, Jan. 17 against the Providence Bruins. Puck drop between the Penguins and P-Bruins is slated for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
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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