Heading into a massively important game against the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had led the season series 5-0 and had outscored Hartford, 24-5.
Credit: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
It didn't come easy on Wednesday. But they got it done - and they punched their ticket to the dance in the process.
The WBS Penguins defeated Hartford, 4-3, on a thrilling overtime breakaway finish from forward Avery Hayes. Hayes - who signed an entry-level contract with the Penguins on Mar. 13 - had two goals on the night, while Ville Koivunen and Valtteri Puustinen also lit the lamp for the Penguins.
Rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov earned the win in a 35-save effort, giving him an 11-0-0 AHL record this season. His 11th straight win also tied him with John Curry (2008-09) for the most consecutive wins in team history.
Puustinen got things started in the first period when he buried a rebound, giving WBS the early lead. Hartford responded with a shorthanded goal a few minutes later, then Hayes tallied his first goal of the game on the same power play sequence to make it 2-1.
Hartford took the lead in the second period with two tallies, and one of them came via Brendan Brisson - son of Sidney Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson - on the power play.
The score didn't remain 3-2 in favor of Hartford for long, however, as Koivunen registered his 21st of the season 28 seconds into the third period off of a perfect stretch pass from defenseman Sebastian Aho. The game remained tied through the end of regulation, forcing overtime.
And with time dwindling on the overtime clock, Vasily Ponomarev worked hard along the wall to win a puck battle and guide the puck up ice to a breaking Hayes, who sealed the deal with 12 seconds remaining in overtime on a shot fake that rolled off of his stick and through the five-hole of Hartford goaltender Dylan Garad.
Credit: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsIt was an impressive win for the Penguins, but they know their work isn't finished.
"We've raised our standards where, to us right now, our goal is getting second place [in the Atlantic Division]," WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald told reporters after the game. "Maybe we can catch Hershey, we've got to win the games against them... I think just being satisfied with just making the playoffs now isn't good enough. I think the guys have set the tone for that."
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