WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins rode a five-goal first period to a 5-2 defeat of the Hershey Bears on Saturday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (22-7-1-1) sprinted off the starting blocks in their first game out of the holiday break, with all four forward lines cashing in for the team’s five opening-period tallies.
The Penguins made their presence felt two minutes into game, when Nolan Renwick muscled in a rebound at the side of Hershey’s crease. Ninety-two seconds later, Raivis Ansons rifled in a shot off a faceoff win for a 2-0 Penguins lead.
It took the Bears eight and a half minutes to register their first shot on goal, but that shot made it 2-1. Bogdan Trineyev uncorked a wicked snap shot from the high slot and tucked it under the crossbar to cut his club’s deficit in half.
However, Gabe Klassen scored twice in short order to propel the Penguins ahead by three. Klassen’s first goal arrived at 10:58, galloping down the left wing for a pinpoint release over Garin Bjorklund’s glove. At 14:10, Klassen launched a bar-down backhander behind Bjorklund for a 4-1 lead.
Bjorklund was then replaced by backup Clay Stevenson, but that didn’t stem Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s roaring offense. Phil Tomasino utilized several shifty moves along the goal line before depositing the puck through Stevenson for a power-play goal late in the opening frame.
Hershey received an extra-attacker goal from Ivan Miroshnichenko during a delayed penalty early in the third period, rounding out the night’s offense.
Sergei Murashov posted 19 saves, improving his record on the season to 11-2-0. Bjorklund denied five of nine shots faced before being relieved by Stevenson, who thwarted 11 of 12.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 28, when the team travels down the PA Turnpike to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Game time for the Penguins and Phantoms is listed as 3:05 p.m. from PPL Center.
The Penguins’ next home game is their last contest before the New Year, Tuesday, Dec. 30. The Penguins host the Charlotte Checkers for a New Year’s Eve Eve Bash with a 7:05 p.m. puck drop at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
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