WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins emerged with a 2-1 victory in the second game of a home-and-home set with the Utica Comets on Saturday night.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (21-10-4-0) continued their season-long trend of playing well on home ice, with Sergei Murashov backstopping the team in its long-waited return to Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Murashov was under siege for parts of the first period, turning away shots from every angle early on. Eventually, Utica’s Shane Bowers opened the scoring at 13:34 of the first frame.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s response came swiftly. One minute and nine seconds later, Rutger McGroarty finished off a spectacular passing play to tie the game at one. Ville Koivunen slid the puck across the offensive zone to Dan Renouf, who quickly found an open McGroarty at the backdoor for a one-timer past Utica goaltender Nico Daws.
A fiery but unfruitful second period kept the 1-1 score intact.
Three minutes into the third period, Valtteri Puustinen provided pressure on the forecheck and forced a turnover to an open Jesse Puljujärvi at the right faceoff circle. Puljujärvi then thread the puck to Vasily Ponomarev, who deposited a wrist shot into the wide-open cage.
After a few more key saves from Murashov, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton prevented Utica from finding an equalizer.
Murashov stopped 29 shots for the Penguins and improved to 3-0-0 in the AHL. Daws made 22 saves on 24 shots for Utica.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is tomorrow, Sunday, Jan. 26, when the Penguins host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Puck drop from Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza is slated for 3:05 p.m.