Murray shines as Penguins defeat Sound Tigers W-B/Scranton goalie makes 36 saves in win

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Penguins goaltender Matt Murray stopped 36 out of 37 shots and Jayson Megna and Carter Rowney each registered a goal and an assist in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s 3-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Webster Bank Arena on Sunday

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 70 seconds into the match when Rowney’s wraparound shot was stopped by Sound Tigers goalie David Leggio, but Megna was positioned atop of the crease to backhand home the loose puck for his 14th goal of the season. 

Rowney and Megna then teamed up again at 12:24 of the same period to put the Penguins ahead by two.  After winning a near-circle faceoff over to Megna, Rowney headed toward the right side of the Bridgeport net and put the rebound from Megna’s shot past a fallen Leggio.

With the Sound Tigers pressing in the third period, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got an insurance goal from their captain, Tom Kostopoulos.  Nick Drazenovic led an odd-man rush into the Sound Tigers zone and paused at the left circle before sending a pass across the crease that Kostopoulos tapped in at 9:22.  Conor Sheary collected the second assist on Kostopoulos’ 10th tally of the year.

Bridgeport would foil Murray’s shutout bid with 5:48 left in regulation as Kael Mouillierat converted during a 5-on-3 power play.

Murray raised his record to 13-8-2 with his eighth win in his last 10 starts.  Over that stretch, he has allowed just 12 goals and recorded three shutouts.  The 20-year-old rookie netminder currently leads the AHL with a 1.86 goals against average.