CLEVELAND, Ohio – Alex D’Orio posted the first shutout of his AHL career as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins blanked the Cleveland Monsters, 4-0, on Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-17-1-3) received an 18-save performance from its 22-year-old netminder, who was making his sixth start in 10 days.
The Penguins took advantage of a Monsters miscue to pot the game’s first goal. When Cleveland fumbled the puck at the offensive blue line, it sent Filip Hållander galloping the other way. Hållander then dished the puck to Valtteri Puustinen in the slot, who initially hit the post, but then his rebound glanced off of Sam Poulin in the crease to put the Penguins on the board at 8:01.
Taylor Fedun snuck a slap shot past the blocker of Monsters goalie Jet Greaves with 26.2 seconds left in the first period.
That 2-0 lead persisted through the second intermission, until Anthony Angello unleashed an impressive wrist shot from the slot five minutes into the third period.
Jonathan Gruden notched his first goal of the year midway through the final frame to round out the scoring.
A fracas started by Brett Gallant resulted in the Monsters forward racking up 27 penalty minutes in one sequence and gifting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a seven-minute power play. Given there was only 7:23 left in regulation and the status of the Penguins’ four-goal lead, the lengthy man advantage served as a chance for the team to leisurely give D’Orio the chance to make a shutout on ice.
Greaves finished the game with 28 saves on 32 shots faced.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will face-off against Cleveland again tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 29. The rematch between the Penguins and Monsters is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Penguins’ next home game will be Wednesday, Feb. 2, when they host the Springfield Thunderbirds for a 7:05 p.m. tilt at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
Individual game tickets and season-ticket packages for the 2021-22 season 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.
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