Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is riding a three-game win streak into a packed stretch, and the Penguins have done it with the kind of comeback punch that can flip a week in a hurry.
The latest pair of wins came in Charlotte, where the Penguins erased a 3-0 deficit late in Friday’s game and then came back Saturday to beat the division-leading Checkers again. On Nov.
6, Daniel Russell, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Rutger McGroarty scored in a span of less than four minutes to tie it after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had trailed by three past the midpoint of the third period. After killing off a penalty in overtime, Jake Livanavage finished the rally with the winner.
The next night brought a different script, but the same result. Ryan Johnson scored his first goal in Black and Gold to get the push started in the second period, and Finn Harding and Avery Hayes followed quickly. Hugh McGing added the final goal in the third with a scorching release as the Penguins knocked off Charlotte 4-1.
That surge has set up a demanding week ahead: four games in five days, including a three-in-three.
The first stop comes Tuesday, Nov. 10, when the Penguins host Utica. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost 4-3 in Utica 11 days earlier, and the Comets arrive with four straight wins and the league’s best points percentage at .800 thanks to an 8-2-0-0 record.
The schedule stiffens again Friday, Nov. 13, with a trip to Hershey. The Penguins already won their first visit to GIANT Center earlier this month, 5-0, and they have won their last six games in Hershey including playoffs.
On Saturday, Nov. 14, the Penguins face Hamilton for the first time. The AHL’s newest team comes in at 4-9-0-2 (.333) and sits last in the Eastern Conference. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will celebrate Veterans Day in that matchup.
The weekend closes Sunday, Nov. 15, with the first of 12 meetings against Lehigh Valley in the Turnpike Rivalry. The Penguins have gone 26-3-4-3 (.819) in their last 36 games against the Phantoms.
A few numbers explain why Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has been able to keep stacking wins. The Penguins lead the Eastern Conference and rank second in the league at 3.92 goals per game.
They have scored 20 goals in the second period while allowing only seven. Taylor Gauthier has won his last five starts and owns a .934 save percentage, good for fifth in the AHL.
The scoring has been spread around, too. Jake Livanavage has 11 points, with three goals and eight assists, tying him for sixth among AHL defensemen and placing him second among rookie blueliners. Hugh McGing is in the middle of a career-best six-game point streak with nine points, and Daniel Russell has points in five straight games with two goals and five assists.
One more quirk stands out: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has had a different game-winning goal-scorer in each of its seven victories this season.
Recent transactions also shaped the roster movement around the team. Jake Livanavage was recalled to Pittsburgh on Nov.
3, David Breazeale was recalled from Florida that same day, Livanavage was reassigned from Pittsburgh on Nov. 6, and Rutger McGroarty was recalled to Pittsburgh on Nov. 8.
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