DUMBA HATTY HAUNTS PHANTOMS IN PENS’ 6-5 WIN
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Matt Dumba spearheaded the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 6-5 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday night at PPL Center.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (31-12-2-2) won its fourth-straight game with Dumba notching four points at PPL Center for the second time in a week. This time, Dumba secured the first hat trick of his professional career, with the final tally proving to be the game-winner at the end of a frenzied finish to regulation.
Both Ville Koivunen (1G-2A) and Tristan Broz (3A) snagged three points, while 19-year-old Melvin Fernström posted a pair of assists in his AHL debut.
The Penguins wasted no time getting on the board, stringing together a dizzying series of passes before Dumba blasted home a one-timer 74 seconds into the game. Three minutes later, Koivunen snapped in a wrister from in-tight to put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a two-goal lead.
The Phantoms slashed their deficit in half when Tucker Robertson buried a shorthanded breakaway at 15:34 of the opening frame.
Maxence Guénette wired one to the top corner of the Penguins’ net early in the second period, briefly tying things at two apiece. However, Dumba launched in his second goal of the night shortly thereafter, reestablishing Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lead.
Former Penguin Phil Tomasino swept in a loose puck in the last minute of the second period, once again evening the scales, 3-3.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton gashed Lehigh Valley for three-straight goals to kick off the third period. The first of which was Aidan McDonough collecting a missed shot off the end boards and wiring the puck over an unsuspecting Carson Bjarnason four minutes into the frame. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard muscled a rebound across the goal line at 7:32 while the Penguins had an extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty.
Dumba completed his hat trick midway through the third period, putting the Penguins ahead 6-3.
Lane Pederson cranked in a one-timer from the left circle for a power-play goal at 10:49 to make it 6-4, and an extra-attacker strike by Jacob Gaucher with 1:36 remaining made it a one-goal game. Joel Blomqvist made two huge saves on Pederson in the dying seconds of regulation to secure Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the win.
Blomqvist ultimately posted 36 saves on 41 shots against. Bjarnason logged 17 stops for Lehigh Valley.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 7, against its other Keystone State rival, the Hershey Bears. Game time for the Penguins’ last contest before the AHL All-Star Break is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Giant Center.
The Penguins’ next home game is a Valentine’s Day date with the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, Feb. 14. Puck drop for the Penguins and Crunch is set for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2025-26 season, including 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans, as well as Corporate Partnership opportunities 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 Arena at Casey Plaza Box Office or calling the Penguins’ front office at (570) 208-7367.
Every minute of Penguins hockey can be watched online with the league’s streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. AHLTV on FloHockey provides its subscribers access to not just every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, but also more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, as well as access to all other live event streams and replays across FloSports.
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