The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were shut out for the first time this season in their 6-0 loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday night at Upstate Medical University Arena.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (22-9-1-2) was doomed by a five-goal first period but never solved Syracuse goalie Brandon Halverson on its 17 shots on goal either.
Tristan Allard collected a bouncing puck after a Penguins shot block and blasted a one-timer to the top corner 2:12 into the game, kickstarting Syracuse’s barrage. Dylan Duke tipped in a power-play goal at 3:04, and Jarred Tinordi picked up an extra-attacker goal during a delayed penalty at 4:34.
Syracuse ran its lead to 4-0 when Jakob Pelletier buried a breakaway when the teams were skating at four-on-four at 14:36. Conor Geekie snuck one in with 54.6 seconds left before the first intermission, putting the Crunch ahead by five.
The score remained unchanged through the second period, but multiple fights kept the crowd alive. Boko Imama dropped the gloves with Tinordi for a center-ice showdown, followed by Max Graham scrapping with Allard in his AHL debut.
Nick Abruzzese swept in a second man-advantage marker for Syracuse 45 seconds into the third period, making it 6-0.
Sergei Murashov was pulled for the second straight game after stopping six of 11 shots faced. In relief, Filip Larsson turned away 19 of 20 shots against.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Friday against Charlotte. Game time between the Penguins and Checkers is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Bojangles Coliseum.
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