WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins dispatched of the Laval Rocket, 3-1, on Saturday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (40-16-6-2) earned its 40th win of the 2025-26 season while hosting its annual Star Wars Night. The Force was strong with Avery Hayes, who scored twice and recorded a point on each of his team’s three goals. Sergei Murashov also demonstrated the mental acuity of a Jedi Knight, fending off 33 shots in front of 7,340 fans.
The Penguins blitzed the Rocket from the start, racking up the first eight shots of the game in less than four minutes of gameplay. However, it wasn’t until Laval went to the power play that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s ninth shot found twine. Hayes beat Hunter Shepard through his five-hole for a shorthanded goal at 16:16 of the first period.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held onto that one-goal lead through a second-period uprising from Laval, but a power-play goal by Alex Belzile pulled the Rocket even with 57.6 seconds remaining in the frame.
The tie game did not last long, as Aidan McDonough provided a response swifter than an X-wing starfighter. McDonough rifled a shot past Shepard on the rush a mere 14 seconds after Laval tied things up.
Hayes extended the Penguins’ lead to 3-1 four-and-a-half minutes into the third, posting his team-leading 22nd goal of the season with a dart past Shepard’s blocker.
Murashov and his defense held off a chaotic surge by Laval late in regulation and restored peace to the galaxy.
Shepard finished the night with 21 saves for Laval.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 29 against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Game time for the Penguins’ Sunday matinée is 3:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
