The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had a lead, then another one, and still walked out of Utica with nothing to show for it.
Friday night at NBT Bank Arena ended in a 4-3 loss to the Comets, with Utica scoring the game-winner with 30.8 seconds remaining in regulation. The Penguins, now 4-4-1-0, saw three straight goals disappear and never got a chance to answer the final punch.
It started well enough for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Rookie Melvin Fernström opened the scoring just 2:46 into the game, ripping a wrist shot past 15-year veteran David Rittich’s glove. Utica answered two minutes later when Lenni Hämeenaho finished a breakaway, and the first period stayed tight from there.
The Penguins got back in front on the penalty kill midway through the opening frame. Avery Hayes jumped a puck in the Penguins’ zone, turned the play into a rush the other way and beat Rittich with a bullet over the glove for a shorthanded goal. The marker stretched Hayes’ season-opening point streak to seven games and gave him his 100th AHL point.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pushed the lead to 3-1 at 5:43 of the second period when Atley Calvert set up Bill Zonnon for a one-touch snapshot from between the hashmarks.
Then Utica turned the night on its head in a flash. Ryan Schmelzer redirected a shot from the point, and just eight seconds of game time later Shane Lachance hammered a bar-down shot past Joel Blomqvist to tie it at 3-3 before the 14-minute mark of the period.
The deadlock held deep into regulation until Dmitry Osipov broke it with 30.8 seconds left. The Penguins immediately used their timeout after the go-ahead goal, but there wasn’t enough time left to generate an equalizer.
Rittich and Blomqvist each finished with 20 saves.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton now turns to its first of 12 meetings with Hershey this season. That matchup is set for Sunday at 5 p.m. at GIANT Center.
In Other News...
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Penguins Let A Milestone Night Slip Away In Brutal Finish
Avery Hayes gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a milestone moment in a tight game against Utica, and Melvin Fernstrm also found the net as the Penguins looked positioned to bank a road win. Both goaltenders finished with 20 saves, and the result still hung in the balance deep into the third period, with Hayes adding to a strong stretch that has kept him productive in recent games.
Instead, the night turned late in the kind of way that stings a team trying to build momentum. The Penguins allowed three unanswered goals and dropped a 4-3 decision, leaving a promising performance without the points to show for it as they head into upcoming matchups with Hershey and Utica. [Read more 🡒]