PENGUINS SHOCKED IN OVERTIME BY PHANTOMS, 4-3
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were left stunned after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (36-15-6-2) held a two-goal lead with less than six minutes to go in regulation. Lehigh Valley scored on the power play and with an extra attacker to force the extra frame, then converted on its second man-advantage opportunity of OT to steal the two points from the Penguins on their annual St. Patrick’s Day game.
The Penguins struck first when Ryan Graves fired a shot past Carson Bjarnason at the 13-minute mark of the opening frame.
Joona Koppanen, who set up the first goal with a between-the-legs drop pass, added to the lead with a tally of his own five minutes into the second stanza. Koppanen took a feather feed from Tanner Howe and elevated a shot under the crossbar.
Former Penguin Boris Katchouk slammed in a backdoor feed immediately after the expiration of a power play, getting Lehigh Valley on the board midway through the game.
After Koppanen had a second goal rescinded following an official video review, Finn Harding put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back ahead by a pair. Harding’s seeing-eye shot navigated through traffic and found twine at 16:12 of the second period.
The Penguins held onto their lead for most of the third period, but Oliver Bonk pulled the Phantoms within one with a power-play goal with 5:13 remaining in regulation. Lehigh Valley later pulled its goalie for an extra attacker, leading to a tying tally from Lane Pedersen.
Pederson won the game for the Phantoms with 10 seconds left in overtime, burying a one-timer from the left dot on the power play.
Bjarnasson finished the game with 28 saves. Penguins goalie Joel Blomqvist recorded 21 stops in the OT loss.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 15, a rematch with Lehigh Valley. Game time for the final bout in the Penguins’ three-in-three weekend is scheduled for a 3:05 p.m. puck drop at PPL Center.
The Penguins return to home ice on Saturday, Mar. 28 to take on the Laval Rocket for Star Wars Night. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2025-26 season, including 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.
The post PENGUINS SHOCKED IN OVERTIME BY PHANTOMS, 4-3 appeared first on WBS Penguins.