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After 20 minutes in Allentown on Saturday night, the Penguins hit 10-plus periods with just three total goals.
Nothing else to do but keep on shooting.
Taylor Fedun and Nathan Legare found the net within 34 second of each other early in the second and Pierre-Olivier Joseph fired home the game-winner in the third to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a much-needed 3-2 win over Lehigh Valley.
It wasn’t exactly an opening of the floodgates for the offense, but the Penguins certainly weren’t complaining after having scored just one goal apiece in losses to Providence, Rochester and Belleville in the past week.
Frustration could have easily set in on Saturday against the Phantoms after the Penguins controlled the first period with a 13-4 edge in shots that resulted in no goals for either side.
That changed in the opening minute of the second when a Jordy Bellerive shot off the pads of Phantoms goalie Kirill Ustimenko bounced over to Fedun. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain buried it for the opening goal, and the Penguins weren’t done yet.
Legare managed to chip a shot on net on the next shot that somehow leaked through Ustimenko for a 2-0 lead.
When Cal O’Reilly scored for Lehigh Valley with 3:09 left in the second, the Penguins were able to respond early in the third as Joseph — arguably the Penguins’ best player so far in February — scored for the fourth time in six games when he slotted a shot in the top corner from the left circle.
It proved to be the game-winner as the Phantoms pulled within 3-2 on a Maksim Sushko goal with 3:33 left in regulation, but they couldn’t get the equalizer.
Starting in net for the second straight night, Tommy Nappier earned the win with 20 saves on 22 shots.
Bellerive, Jonathan Gruden and Michael Chaput all picked up an assist for the Penguins.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will now prepare for a road trip to Charlotte, where they will face the Checkers on back-to-back nights on Tuesday and Wednesday.