ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Matt Murray made 32 saves to collect his 10th shutout of the season as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins put an end to a three-game winless streak with a 3-0 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday at PPL Center.
Murray became just the fourth goaltender in American Hockey League history reach 10 shutouts in a season, while also breaking the record for shutouts in a season by a rookie. The previous mark was set by Gordie Bell of the Buffalo Bison during the 1942-43 season and later tied by Bridgeport’s Wade Dubielewicz in 2003-04. 
With the game scoreless in the second period, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went up, 2-0, in quick fashion on back-to-back goals by Tom Kostopoulos and Bobby Farnham. After the Penguins won a battle in the corner of the Phantoms zone, Kostopoulos circled off the near wall with the puck and let loose with a wrist shot that beat Lehigh Valley goalie Rob Zepp over the blocker at 11:15.
Farnham doubled Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lead 63 seconds later when he outraced a defender to a loose puck at the near dot before hammering a shot that found the top right corner of the net for his fifth goal of the season.
Down by two to start the third period, Lehigh Valley outshoot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 13-4, in the frame, but would be unable to get the puck past Murray. Defenseman Scott Harrington completed the scoring for the Penguins with an empty-net goal with 0.8 seconds left in regulation.
Murray’s record goes to 21-8-3 on the season as the 20-year-old is 16-2-1 in his last 19 starts. Zepp turned aside 16-of-18 in net for Lehigh Valley.
You must be logged in to post a comment.