The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins found their rhythm in a hurry on Saturday night, and once the second period started, the game belonged to them.
After falling behind 1-0 in the opening frame, the Penguins erupted for five goals in the second period and rolled past the Hartford Wolf Pack, 7-1, at PeoplesBank Arena. The victory was Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s first of the season and ended Hartford’s three-game winning streak to open the year.
Hartford struck first midway through the first period when Liam Greentree scored on the power play for the first professional goal of his career. From there, the Penguins took over in every part of the ice.
Bill Zonnon answered just 96 seconds into the second period with his first goal of the season, and Atley Calvert put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in front at 4:38 when he redirected a Caleb Jones shot for his third goal of the season. Avery Haye kept the pressure coming with a shorthanded goal at 9:15, giving him goals in back-to-back games.
Zonnon wasn’t done. He struck again at 10:52 to make it 4-1, and Mikhail Ilyin followed with a power-play goal after setting up Zonnon’s second tally. That closed the book on the middle period and left Hartford buried.
The Penguins kept their foot on the gas in the third. Tanner Howe and Owen Pickering scored 50 seconds apart early in the period to push the lead to 7-1 and finish off the scoring.
Joel Blomqvist handled the rest with confidence, turning aside 24 of 25 shots and earning the 50th victory of his American Hockey League career.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is back in action tomorrow afternoon against the Providence Bruins. Puck drop is set for 3:00pm at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The Penguins’ next home game comes Friday, Oct. 23 against the Belleville Senators, their first 28/22 News Fan Control Friday of the season. Select draft beers will be available for $2 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. courtesy of Coors Light, and postgame player autographs are scheduled, presented by Northeast Music Center.
It is also a Kids Free Friday, with children ages 12 and under admitted free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Game time is 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2026-27 regular season are available, including Full-Season, 22-game, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans, along with Corporate Partnership opportunities, by contacting the Penguins at (570) 208-7367. Individual-game tickets can also be purchased at wbspenguins.com, at the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza box office or by calling the front office at (570) 208-7367.
Every minute of Penguins hockey can be watched online with AHLTV on FloHockey, which carries every regular-season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, plus more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, along with access to live event streams and replays across FloSports.
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