TORONTO, Ont. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins broke the Toronto Marlies’ hearts with a 6-1 win in a Valentine’s Day game on Wednesday afternoon at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (25-16-6-1) unloaded four goals in the third period to turn a close game into a decisive victory.
Jonathan Gruden opened the scoring at 14:30 of the first period, polishing off a slick back-and-forth setup between he and Jonna Koppanen with a one-timer.
Toronto was quick to even the scales in the second period, with Dylan Gambrell slamming one in on the back door 65 seconds into the frame.
Jack St. Ivany put the Penguins back on top, 2-1, scoring right off of a faceoff win at 15:46 of the second stanza.
The Penguins’ third-period onslaught started with Ontario native Corey Andonovski rifling in a wrist shot on the rush three and a half minutes into the period. Their lead ballooned to 4-1 at 12:22 when Jack Rathbone fed a perfect pass to Alex Nylander, who then utilized his deft puckhandling to beat Marlies goaltender Keith Petruzzelli to the short side.
The Marlies pulled Petruzzelli for an extra attacker with four minutes left to play, but the gamble led to Radim Zohorna notching an empty netter one minute later. With Petruzzelli back in the net, St. Ivany tacked on his second goal of the day with 1:48 left in regulation.
Joel Blomqvist recorded 16 saves in the victory, while Petruzzelli was bested five times on 31 shots faced.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Friday, Feb. 16 against the Rochester Americans. Game time between the Penguins and Amerks is 7:05 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena.
The Penguins’ next home game isn’t until Saturday, Feb. 17, when they adopt the moniker of the Pittston Tomatoes for one night only in the latest installment of the Penguins’ community series presented by Visit Luzerne County. The Tomatoes will take on the Laval Rocket with a 6:05 p.m. puck drop 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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