Owen Pickering made sure the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins left Mohegan Arena with something they had not had yet this season: a home win.
Pickering scored with 80 seconds left in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and push the Penguins past the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-2, on Saturday night. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (4-3-1-0) did all of its scoring in the third period, and Finn Harding had his hand in every bit of it, finishing with a goal and two assists.
Hartford had controlled the game for much of the night and grabbed the first lead five minutes into the second period. Glenn Gawdin buried a centering pass through Taylor Gauthier’s five-hole to make it 1-0, and that score held into the third.
The Wolf Pack nearly added to it early in the final period on their first power play. Marc Del Gaizo’s slapshot slipped across the goal line, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton challenged the play for offside. Video review wiped the goal away, keeping the Penguins within one.
That miss loomed large once Harding got the Penguins moving. Midway through the third, Daniel Russell delivered a shoulder to a Hartford puck-carrier to force a turnover in the neutral zone, and Hugh McGing quickly fed Harding for a one-timer that evened the score at 1-1.
Four minutes later, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had its first lead. Harding’s point shot was redirected by Tristan Broz, who extended his point streak to five games, the longest of his AHL career.
Hartford still had one last answer. After the Penguins were whistled for a penalty with 2:48 left, the Wolf Pack used their timeout and pulled Callum Tung for a six-on-four setup. Justin Dowling found Juuso Pärssinen on the back post for a tap-in with 2:08 remaining, tying the game again at 2-2.
But the Penguins responded almost immediately. McGing set up Pickering, and the defenseman ripped a slap shot past Tung to restore the lead for good.
Gauthier finished with 25 saves in the win, while Tung stopped 27 shots in defeat.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is back on the road Friday, Oct. 30, against Utica at Adirondack Bank Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
The Penguins’ next home game comes against the Comets on Nov. 10, the team’s first Winning Weekday of the season. If the Penguins win, fans in attendance will receive a free ticket to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next mid-week home game. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.
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For the Islanders, the more frustrating wait remains Mathew Barzal, who is still sidelined with no clear timeline for a return because of knee inflammation. In a division where every healthy center matters, the lack of a real update leaves New York in limbo, and for the Penguins it only adds to the sense that a familiar rival is still trying to piece together its options down the middle. [Read more 🡒]