CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins survived a spirited battle with the Charlotte Checkers and earned a 3-2 win in overtime on Saturday night at BoJangles’ Coliseum.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton improved to 7-0-0-0 on the back of 32 saves from Filip Larsson and late-game heroics by the pair of Owen Pickering and Ville Koivunen.
Towards the end of a grueling shift in OT, Pickering stretched across the offensive-zone blue line to prevent Charlotte from completing a breakaway pass. Pickering then swatted the puck down to Koivunen, who picked the far-side top corner for the game-winner with 1:32 remaining.
Larsson got the game to overtime with several key stops throughout the third period, including several impressive post-to-post maneuvers.
After the Penguins drew first blood with an early goal yesterday, Charlotte flipped the script and notched a quick tally to start the rematch. Brian Pinho whipped a wrist shot behind Filip Larsson 2:19 into the game.
However, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton responded in under three minutes, as Tristan Broz chipped in a rebound to tie the game at one goal apiece.
The Checkers notched another swift strike at the start of the second period, when Colton Huard fired in his first pro goal two minutes after the intermission.
Awarded a four-on-three power play midway through the middle frame, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton evened the scales again by tallying 13 seconds into the man advantage. Koivunen thread a pass to Danton Heinen, who cranked home a one-timer for his league-leading 12th point of the season.
Larsson held down the fort throughout a busy third period, leading to Koivunen’s winner in sudden-death OT.
Checkers goalie Cooper Black made 27 stops in the overtime loss.