PORTLAND, Maine. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins claimed victory for the fourth straight match and also swept the four-game season series as they defeated the Portland Pirates by a score of 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at Cross Insurance Arena.
With the help of their specials teams, the Penguins were able to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. During a Pirates man-advantage, Josh Archibald caught up to a loose puck at center ice and began a 2-on-1 rush into the Portland zone. The rookie winger slid a pass across the crease to Andrew Ebbett, who swept in his 17th of the season through the pads of goalie Mike McKenna at 15:16 of the frame.
Less than two minutes later, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton found itself on the power play and, after a failed shorthanded break by the Pirates, skated across the Portland blueline 4-on-2. Scott Wilson trailed into the zone, taking a circle-to-circle pass from Ebbett and rifling home a one-timer from the right dot.
The score remained the same until the 7:53 mark of the third period when Carter Rowney ripped a slapshot from the right point that zipped past the blocker side of McKenna. Netting his 10th of the season, Rowney became the ninth Penguins player this season to reach double-digits in goal scoring.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Jeff Zatkoff was at his best later in the period when Portland was awarded two full minutes of time on a two-man advantage that later became a 6-on-3 power play after the Pirates pulled McKenna in favor of the extra attacker. Portland would be unable to convert, but scored a short time later during even-strength play on Brendan Shinnimin’s goal with 7:28 left in regulation.
Zatkoff was otherwise perfect, finishing with 29 saves on 30 shots to raise his record to 16-14-4 on the season. McKenna stopped 24-of-27 as the Pirates winless streak stretched to seven games (0-4-2-1).
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