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The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were shut out by Brandon Halverson and the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night, falling by a 2-0 score at Upstate Medical University Arena.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (3-2-0-0) was the latest team to fall victim to Halverson’s hot start to the season. The Crunch netminder stopped all 22 shots he faced on Friday for his second shutout in three games. Furthermore, Halverson has only allowed one goal in nine periods of hockey to start the year.
Crunch rookie Dylan Duke notched the night’s first goal at 7:55 of the first period. When a Penguins breakout was stymied at the blue line, a bouncing puck fell right to the stick of Duke, who took several steps towards the net before sweeping the puck underneath Filip Larsson.
Larsson matched Halverson save for save through the rest of the game, keeping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton within striking distance.
With time dwindling down, the Penguins pulled their goalie for an extra skater. An empty-net goal from Max Groshev sealed Syracuse’s win with 33.2 seconds left in regulation.
Larsson finished with 17 saves on 18 shots faced but fell to 1-2-0 on the season despite his effort.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is a shot at revenge against Syracuse, as the two clubs go head-to-head again on Saturday. The Penguins host the Crunch for a 6:05 p.m. puck drop at Mohegan Arena.