HERSHEY, Pa. – Joel Blomqvist turned in a stellar performance to lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins past the Hershey Bears, 4-1, on Saturday night at Giant Center.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (17-5-1-0) rattled off four unanswered goals to snatch victory from their in-state rival. Blomqvist made 27 saves, including numerous point-blank stops that prevented Hershey from gaining momentum.
A fast-moving first period ended with the Bears holding a 1-0 lead. Brett Leason let loose with a seeing-eye shot through traffic that subtly deflected behind Blomqvist at 11:32 of the opening frame.
Blomqvist was forced to make several breakaway or odd-man rush saves prior to Hershey taking its first-period lead, and that trend continued in the second stanza. Andrew Cristall broke loose for a clean break against Blomqvist, only to be robbed by the outstretched pad of the Penguins’ netminder.
Seconds after Blomqvist’s breakaway stop on Cristall, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tied the game. Valtteri Puustinen swatted in a rebound with 2:34 left in the second period. Phil Tomasino and Jack St. Ivany picked up the assists, as both players extended their point streaks to five games.
Puustinen scored again 58 seconds into the third period. Puustinen’s snap shot was initially denied by Bears goalie Garin Bjorklund, only for the puck to leak out of his equipment and leak down his leg into the net.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton extended its lead to 3-1 at 2:11 of the third, when Gabe Klassen took a slick feed from Sam Poulin and snapped a release through Bjorklund’s five-hole.
Aidan McDonough converted on a power play midway through the final frame to round out the scoring.
Bjorklund also notched 27 saves for the Bears, but suffered the loss.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Wednesday, Dec. 10, when the team treks to play the Hartford Wolf Pack. Game time at PeoplesBank Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m.
With Penguins match report
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