GAME STORY: Flyers AHL Affiliate - 1 at W-B/Scranton - 3 (4/6/22)

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - While 9-2 victories are great, they are few and far between in the American Hockey League (AHL) - especially so late in the season when things tighten up and teams are chasing down spots for the postseason.

On Wednesday night, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were able to close out the Philadelphia Flyers' AHL affiliate on home ice in a low-scoring, tight-checking affair.

After a strong first period netted the Pens a late period goal from Sam Poulin, they needed a strong effort from the penalty kill and goaltender Louis Domingue in the middle frame before Jonathan Gruden extended the lead to 2-0 on a shorthanded tally coming off a forced turnover and subsequent feed from Drew O'Connor.

Hayden Hodgson cut the Penguins' lead in half with 5:30 left in regulation, making things interesting in the waning moments but the Penguins persevered and Gruden added an empty net tally to lift the Penguins to a 3-1 victory - a win that moved Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (.530 PCT) into fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a little bit of breathing room on seventh place Bridgeport (.500) as the Islanders are now closer to sixth place Hartford (.524) in the battle for the sixth and final playoff spot in the division.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Lineup Notes

Louis Domingue got the start in net for the Penguins Wednesday night. Tommy Nappier served as the team's backup.

Forward Alex Nylander missed Wednesday night's game due to a non-COVID related illness and was a late scratch.

Nathan Legare took Nylander's spot in the lineup and was the only lineup change for the Penguins.

Scratches: Taylor Fedun, Corey Andonovski, Alex Nylander, Clayton Phillips, Colin Swoyer and Ty Glover

Lines/Pairings:

Drew O'Connor - Michael Chaput - Valtteri Puustinen Filip Hallander - Sam Poulin - Felix Robert Kyle Olson - Jonathan Gruden - Kasper Bjorkvist Jamie Devane - Jordy Bellerive - Nathan Legare

Juuso Riikola - Mitch Reinke P.O. Joseph - Will Reilly Cam Lee - Matt Bartkowski

Louis Domingue - Tommy Nappier

Flyers' AHL Affiliate's Lineup Notes

Felix Sandstrom got the start in net for the Flyers' AHL affiliate Wednesday night, with Pat Nagle backing him up.

Forward Wade Allison was unable to play Wednesday due to an injury he sustained in Sunday's game at Bridgeport.

Scratches: Samuel Ersson, Kirill Ustimenko, Darion Hanson, Adam Karashik, Garrett McFadden, Linus Hogberg, Ryan Fitzgerald, Maksim Sushko, Jackson Cates, Linus Sandin and Will Riedell

Lines/Pairings:

Max Willman - Cal O'Reilly - Charlie Gerard Garrett Wilson - Tanner Laczynski - Adam Johnson Isaac Ratcliffe - Matthew Strome - Hayden Hodgson Alex Kile - Nick Lappin - Ryan MacKinnon

Adam Clendening - Brennan Menell Egor Zamula - Wyatte Wylie Cooper Zech - Logan Day

Felix Sandstrom - Pat Nagle

GAME STORY

1st Period

Matching minors on the opening shift of the game provided four-on-four hockey, and although the Penguins were unable to score during the two minutes with more open ice to work with they sustained pressure and created several dangerous scoring chances as the period progressed.

While the game remained scoreless, it was evident the Penguins were generating the better chances despite holding a slim margin in shots on goal. They continued to be aggressive on their breakout, most times entering the offensive zone with speed and ease - looking to get to the high-priced real estate in the slot and at the net-front.

The Flyers AHL affiliate's bend but do not break defense kept them afloat in the opening 20 minutes, largely due to the play in net by Felix Sandstrom.

Sandstrom's best save came after Sam Poulin forced a turnover in the Penguins' defensive zone to create an odd-man rush the other way. Poulin joined the odd-man rush as the trailing forward and caught a pass atop the left-wing circle in-stride before ripping a hard uncontested shot from the slot that Sandstrom was able to get enough of to keep it out of his net.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton eventually was able to break through and take a 1-0 lead in the final two minutes of the period - a reward for their sustained pressure/hard work in the opening 18 minutes of play. Filip Hallander worked a puck out of the corner down low and fed it to his linemate Felix Robert for a quick shot from atop the right-wing circle. Sandstrom made the initial save on Robert, but Poulin got to the rebound at the net-front and tapped one home for his 16th of the season.

In fact, if not for some sharp saves from Sandstrom in net, the Penguins likely would have opened the scoring and built up a bigger lead.

Michael Chaput was whistled for slashing with 51.5 seconds left before the first intermission, sending the Penguins to the locker room with some carry-over penalty time to kill off to begin the middle frame.

2nd Period

While Penguins goaltender Louis Domingue had a relatively quiet first period, he made some crucial saves early in the middle frame to keep his team ahead 1-0.

After the Pens killed off the carry-over penalty to begin the period, WBS enforcer Jamie Devane was whistled for a kneeing minor - sending the Flyers' AHL affiliate right back to the power play. They had some good looks at the Penguins' net on the ensuing man advantage, but Domingue made the necessary saves to get the Penguins back to five-on-five hockey.

The penalty parade continued for the Pens when Will Reilly was whistled for tripping 7:15 into the period, but WBS persevered.

Not only did the Penguins make it 3-for-3 on the PK, they scored shorthanded to extend their lead to 2-0 after Drew O'Connor forced a turnover in the Pens' defensive zone.  O'Connor stole a puck along the right-wing wall and led a 2-on-1 rush before feeding over to his left for Jonathan Gruden atop the crease for a tap-in past Sandstrom with 10:58 left in the period.

Tempers flared shortly after, after Domingue held on to a puck for a whistle. Isaac Ratcliffe and P.O. Joseph got involved in a post-whistle scrum, with Ratcliffe taking an extra two minutes for roughing to give the Penguins their first power play opportunity of the contest.

The Pens were unable to score on the ensuing power play, but it allowed them to get back to their game after spending most of the first half of the period shorthanded.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's relentless forecheck and smothering defense didn't allow the Flyers' AHL affiliate to generate much of anything in the way of dangerous scoring chances. When they were able to get pucks through to Domingue, the Pens goalie was equal to the task.

WBS was buzzing to end the middle frame, appearing to be in control heading to the final frame with a 2-0 lead.

Third Period

The first half of the third period was low-event hockey as the two teams combined for just three shots on goal (2-1 in favor of WBS).

The Penguins' hard-working and often frustrating style of play continued to stymie the Flyers' AHL affiliate. The Pens also continued to win a majority of the loose puck battles, and a few races to pucks to prevent icing calls.

As the period progressed, the Flyers' AHL affiliate began applying pressure much as a team trailing 2-0 should.

They were able to cut the Penguins' lead in half with 5:30 left after Hayden Hodgson let one rip from the slot for his team-leading 19th of the season. Max Willman and Cal O'Reilly were credited with assists, and all of a sudden a game the Penguins had control of in the opening 54:30 quickly became a one-goal hockey game in the waning moments of regulation.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was able to close it out, though, as Gruden hit the empty net with 1:35 left to play for his second tally of the evening to lift the Penguins to another big two points in the Atlantic Division standings.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

0:41: LV - Willman, minor (unsportsmanlike) 0:41: WBS - Reilly, minor (roughing) 18:12: WBS - Poulin (16) - Robert, Hallander 19:08: WBS - (PP) Chaput, minor (slashing)

2nd Period

3:18: WBS - (PP) Devane, minor (kneeing) 7:15: WBS - (PP) Reilly, minor (tripping) 9:02: WBS - SHG Gruden (9) - O'Connor 11:34: WBS - Joseph, minor (roughing) 11:34: LV - Ratcliffe, minor (roughing) 11:34: LV - (PP) Ratcliffe, minor (roughing)

3rd Period

14:30: LV - Hodgson (19) - Willman, O'Reilly 18:25: WBS - ENG Gruden (10) - Bartkowski 18:58: WBS - (PP) Poulin, minor (holding)

BOXSCORE

AHL Flyers       0 - 0 - 1 = 1 W-B/Scranton  1 - 1 - 1 = 3

Shots

AHL Flyers       9 - 12 - 10 = 31 W-B/Scranton  11 - 9 - 3 = 23

Goalies

LV: Felix Sandstrom (20 saves - 22 shots) WBS: Louis Domingue (30 saves - 31 shots)

Power Play

LV: 0-for-4 WBS: 0-for-1

Penalty Kill

LV: 1-for-1 WBS: 4-for-4