After seeing their game postponed on Saturday evening, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins traveled to Quebec to face the Laval Rocket on Wednesday.
Unfortunately, after taking a 3-0 lead and losing their starting goaltender, Filip Larsson, the Penguins gave up four straight goals as the Rocket won in overtime 4-3.
The Penguins opened the scoring in the first period when Avery Hayes scored his ninth of the season at 11:24, off a pass from Rutget McGroarty on a two-on-one.
Jonathan Gruden increased the visitors’ lead at 15:22, scoring a shorthanded goal, beating a Laval defender once Joona Koppanen fired the puck into the neutral zone.
Gruds wins our 6th shorty of the season!
For every shorthanded goal we score, Borland and Borland will donate $250 to our Penguins GOALS Foundation! pic.twitter.com/2dumJXY2va
– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) January 16, 2025
Neither team scored in the second half, but there was an endless parade to the penalty box, with Dan Renouf starting the period with a fight against Lucas Condotta. The Rocket received four consecutive penalties before Renouf ended the period with a hooking penalty.
Emil Bemstrom gave the Penguins a 3-0 lead at 6:14, scoring on a breakaway goal, beating a Rocket defender once Hayes cleared the puck out of his zone.
However, that was the last time the Penguins lit the lamp. The Rocket began their comeback with a goal from William Trudeau at 12:04, followed by another from Florian Xhekaj at 13:20.
Defenseman Gustav Lindström made it 3-3 with a goal at 16:42, meaning the Penguins blew a 3-0 lead in about four and a half minutes.
Ultimately, the game came down to a minor double call by Mac Hollowell at 18:14, with Laval’s power play continuing into overtime. Jared Davidson sent the home crowd happy with a goal at 2:16.
As mentioned, Larsson didn’t come out in the second period, making 12 saves before leaving in favor of Jaxon Castor, who made his AHL debut on Wednesday. He played 42:16 and finished with 26 saves on 30 shots.
In addition to scoring the first three goals of the match, WBS was outshot 42-30 and scored none in overtime. Even though Gruden scored a shorthanded goal, they went 0 for 5 on the power play, while the Rocket scored once, the game-winner, finishing 1 for 6 on the power play.
The Penguins (20-9-4-0) are tied with the Charlotte Checkers (20-10-2-2) for second place in the AHL Atlantic Division behind the Hershey Bears (23-11-3-0) . They are off until Jan. 24, when they open a home set with the Utica Comets.
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