WBS Penguins Extend Unbeaten Streak – What’s Fueling Their Surprising Dominance?
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are showing no signs of slowing down as the AHL season kicks off with a bang. After sweeping their opening weekend, they doubled down with back-to-back wins Friday and Saturday — a solid 5-2 over the Hartford Wolfpack and a 6-3 triumph against the Bridgeport Islanders. It’s not just the wins, though; the spotlight is on some of the top Penguins prospects lighting up the ice. Sergei Murashov, the goaltending prodigy, stood tall in net, fending off 28 of 30 shots for a .933 save rate and following that with 29 of 32 saves at .906. With players like Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Atley Calvert making decisive plays, and others like Ryan Graves and Danton Heinen stepping up big time, the team’s momentum feels palpable—like they’re building something special this season. If you’re a Penguins fan or just love good hockey stories about grit and rising stars, ain’t no better time to tune in. LEARN MORE
The good times continue to roll in the early part of the AHL season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins.
After sweeping their set of games to start the season last weekend, the WBS Penguins managed to do it all again Friday and Saturday. The first was a 5-2 victory over the Hartford Wolfpack, while the second leg of the back-to-back was a 6-3 win over the Bridgeport Islanders.
And – as was the case in the first two games of the season – many of the top Penguins’ prospects shined. Goaltender Sergei Murashov earned both starts, and he stopped 28 of 30 shots Friday for a .933 save percentage as well as 29 of 32 Saturday for a .906 save percentage.
Against Hartford, the scoring opened with Penguins’ forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard a tick more than 12 minutes into the opening frame. Just under three minutes later, Atley Calvert – an undrafted signee who registered nine goals and 14 points in 26 games – scored his first of the season to put the Penguins up, 2-0, heading into first intermission.
Avery Hayes added his second of the season on a power play within the opening six minutes, and the Penguins led, 3-0. Gabe Perrault did score for the Wolfpack before the end of the middle frame, and Adam Sykora added a Hartford tally in the first part of the third period to pull the game to within one.
Then, Calvert came through again. With little more than eight minutes remaining in regulation, Calvert battled for positioning in the blue paint and was able to put one home to put the Penguins up, 4-2. Tristan Broz added his third of the season – and empty-net shorthanded goal – with less than three minutes left to cap off the 5-2 win.
Saturday went quite a bit differently for the Penguins – and for Murashov – in comparison to the other three games up to that point in the season. Murashov surrendered three goals in the first period to Alex Jefferies (shorthanded), Adam Beckman, and Hunter Drew.
Then, Murashov turned things around – and so did the Penguins.
In a tightly-contested second period, defenseman Ryan Graves – waived by Pittsburgh at the conclusion of NHL training camp – recorded his first goal of the season with less than five minutes left until second intermission. It was the Penguins’ only goal that period, but it gave them some momentum heading into the final frame, where the onslaught ensued.
In the third, the Penguins erupted for five consecutive goals by Harvey-Pinard, Sam Poulin, Ville Koivunen, Danton Heinen, and Calvert – which was a shorthanded goal – in 11 minutes and 10 seconds. Their six unanswered goals led them to the 6-3 victory.
Heinen – also waived by Pittsburgh – led the way with six points on the weekend, giving him a team-leading seven points in four games on the young season.
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