Penguins captain Josh Currie is held down by Syracuse defenseman John Ludvig in front of Crunch goalie Christopher Gibson in Friday’s game at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Zach Nastasiuk battles with Syracuse defenseman Devante Stephens on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Fans finally had the opportunity to see Wilkes-Barre/Scranton play in-person in Friday night, but a slow start from the Penguins proved to be too much to overcome as they fell 4-2 to the Syracuse Crunch.
“It was great to look up in the stands and see some bodies up there,” Penguins coach J.D. Forrest said. “We really appreciate that support, especially after being away for so long, and it shows the type of community that we have around this hockey team.”
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was originally set to play the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but the Phantoms were unable to play due to COVID-19 protocols, and the AHL arranged for Syracuse to step in as a replacement.
“It didn’t have an impact on us,” Forrest said. “It was a seven o’clock game on a Friday night. Whoever shows up, it shouldn’t matter. So I don’t think it played a factor at all.”
After spotting Syracuse four goals, the Penguins finally got on the board thanks to Tim Schaller, who picked a corner to make it 4-1.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton grabbed its second goal of the game with seven minutes left in the third period on a 4-on-3 power play. After two Crunch skaters were tied up on the boards, the Penguins created a mini 2-on-1, which led to Drew O’Connor’s goal.
Emil Larmi started the game in net for the Penguins, but the Crunch chased him out of the game in the second period after he allowed four goals on 12 shots.
“I didn’t think that it was (Larmi’s) fault or anything,” Forrest said. “I just wanted to change things up and get a spark.”
Shane Starrett came into the game in relief of Larmi, hoping to provide just that. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton needed Starrett to be strong early on in his appearance, as he shut down multiple shots from a Syracuse power play and he made a couple other saves in high-danger spots. He finished the game with eight saves on all eight shots he faced.
“I thought (Starrett) was great. It’s not easy coming off the bench cold like that,” Forrest said. “It’s especially hard when your team gives up some grade-A chances right away against a couple of good goal scorers.
“Under the circumstances, he couldn’t have really done much better. He kept the score where it was and gave us a fighting chance to try and mount a comeback.”
The Crunch used a strong performance from Christopher Gibson in net, as he stopped 39 of the 41 shots he faced, including multiple Penguins scoring chances as they attempted to comeback in the third period.
“They play a good team system type of game,” Penguins defenseman Kevin Czuczman said. “It’s just one of those things where goals seem to come in bunches, and we haven’t seemed to hit our stride the last couple of games.”
Down 5-2, the Penguins came at the Crunch with everything in the final seven minutes, but Gibson refused to be beaten again.
The Penguins will need to regroup now, after losing two straight against the Crunch, including last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat.
“Even with going back to the last game, it seems like they were able to bury the chances that they had,” Forrest said. “We really carried play (in the last game) and we’ve done well on the penalty kill, but we have to find a way to produce on the power play.
“We need to take advantage of those situations because we did have opportunities tonight.”
Up next is a third straight matchup against Syracuse as the Penguins host them again on Wednesday.