WBS Penguins build big lead, hold on to edge Phantoms

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins raced ahead in the first period and built enough of a cushion to secure a 4-3 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday night at Mohegan Arena.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2-1-0-0) unloaded four goals in 8:15 of game time in the first period to build a commanding lead on their turnpike rival. Although Lehigh Valley eventually climbed back into the game, the Penguins rode a strong performance from goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic across the finish line.

Boris Katchouk potted a pair of goals in the opening frame, the first of which was a bar-down rifle on the power play at 7:43. Five minutes later, Sam Poulin slipped a pass from below the goal line into the slot for a Katchouk one-timer to make it 2-0.

Tristan Broz buried a rebound on the Penguins’ second man-advantage opportunity of the game, running his team’s lead to three at 14:52.

Lehigh Valley elected to take its timeout after Broz’s tally, but things continued to come unglued as goalie Alexei Kolosov played the puck right to Boko Imama, who accepted turnover and promptly scored his first goal as a Penguin.

Nedeljkovic had to be sharp late in the first period, making several post-to-post saves to prevent Lehigh Valley from cutting into Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s four-goal lead. However, the Phantoms solved Nedeljkovic not once, but twice in the first two minutes of the second period. Oskar Eklind and Jacob Gaucher scored 16 seconds apart to suddenly slice Lehigh Valley’s deficit down to two.

All was calm until late in regulation, when the Phantoms pulled Kolosov for a six-on-four power play. Ethan Samson wired a shot through traffic and made it 4-3 with 51.8 seconds left, but Nedeljkovic and the Penguins ultimately held on for the win.

Nedeljkovic, assigned on a conditioning loan from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, stopped 33 shots. Kolosov recorded 29 saves for the Phantoms, but his first-period gaffe proved costly and turned out to be the game-winner.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is a rematch with Lehigh Valley on Saturday. Game time for the second faceoff in this home-and-home set is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at PPL Center.

The Penguins’ next home game is also part of a home-and-home weekend, the second of two meetings with the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, Oct. 26. The Penguins and Crunch will drop the puck at 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.