Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Comeback Bid Against Cleveland Falls Short On Sunday

· Yahoo Sports

The NHL may be on its Olympic break, but the AHL season is still in full swing, coming off the AHL All-Star festivities. 

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins got crushed 5-0 by the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday and were trying to bounce back with a win against the Cleveland Monsters on Sunday, but it wasn't meant to be. WBS trailed three times during the game and came back to tie it each time before falling in overtime, 4-3. 

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Rutger McGroarty tied the game at one in the first period after poking the puck in from the net-front. Avery Hayes took the initial shot, and McGroarty was able to finish the play off. 

McGroarty was assigned to WBS after the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 in their last game before the NHL's Olympic break. Before being sent back, McGroarty was playing really well in the NHL and continues to look even faster. He's also improved defensively and is making quicker decisions with the puck on his stick. He's going to be a full-time NHL player very soon.

The Monsters took a 2-1 lead later in the first period before Ville Koivunen tied the game with a little over a minute remaining in the period. The Monsters turned the puck over behind the net, leaving Koivunen with a wide-open cage. He made no mistake with the puck, making it a 2-2 game heading into the first intermission.

Koivunen has had a couple of NHL stints this season and scored his first NHL goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning back on Dec. 4. It was a long time coming since he was getting plenty of chances in other games, but wasn't getting the bounces to go his way. 

He has played in 27 NHL games this season and, according to Natural Stat Trick, has been on the ice for 57.7% of the shot attempts, 58.8% of the expected goals, 58.9% of the scoring chances, and 57.2% of the high-danger chances. The process is there, but now it's about fine-tuning the smaller details of his game so that the results come. He's still a player who will be back in the NHL soon. 

Emil Pieniniemi scored his first AHL goal to tie the game at three in the third period. He ripped the puck from the left circle, and it was a no-doubter. 

Pieniniemi has played in six games for WBS this season, compiling one goal and three points. This is his first full professional season after he finished the 2024-25 season with 10 goals and 60 points for the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. 

Avery Hayes didn't score in Sunday's game, but he still made his presence felt when he dropped the gloves with former Penguin Zach Aston-Reese. He delivered some big right-hand punches and got credit for the takedown. What can't he do at this point?  

Hayes recently scored a hat trick for WBS and scored two goals in his NHL debut against the Sabres. It won't be long until he's a full-time NHLer. 

Despite the back-to-back losses this weekend, WBS is still in good shape in the Atlantic Division. WBS has a 32-13-3-2 record, good for 69 points and second place behind the Providence Bruins. The next closest team is the Charlotte Checkers, who are 14 points behind the Penguins. 

WBS will try to snap this two-game losing streak on Wednesday against the Springfield Thunderbirds, who are in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with an 18-24-4-2 record. They'll then have a home-and-home against the Bridgeport Islanders next weekend.

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