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The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated the Syracuse Crunch, 3-2, in the second game of their weekend home-and-home series on Saturday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (4-2-0-0) rode a 32-save performance from Tristan Jarry to return to the win column. Jarry had to handle a flurry of opportunities late in regulation, but did his part to stave off Syracuse’s comeback attempt in his first AHL action since Apr. 7, 2019.
Sam Poulin opened the scoring for the Penguins five minutes into the second frame on a wrist shot that beat Crunch goalie Matt Tomkins. Nearly five minutes later, Avery Hayes found the back of the net on the man advantage.
Syracuse struck back with eight minutes left in the second when Steven Santini notched his first goal of the season, making it 2-1.
Tristan Broz tickled the twine to put the Penguins back ahead by two with a power-play goal with only 0.4 seconds left before the second intermission.
Gemel Smith provided Syracuse with an early third-period strike that brought them within one. Jarry clamped down on the next 10 shots he faced in the third, including one final stop in the last second of regulation.
Jarry, who was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan from Pittsburgh on Saturday morning, ranks third on the Penguins’ all-time record book in games played by a goaltender (142) and wins (78).
Tomkins finished with 24 saves for Syracuse.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Wednesday, when the Penguins travel to take on the Bridgeport Islanders. Game time at Webster Bank Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
The Penguins return to Mohegan Arena for their next home game on Saturday for an Atlantic Division matchup against the Hartford. Puck drop for the Penguins and Wolf Pack will take place at 6:05 p.m.