Avery Hayes Records Second Hat Trick This Month in Penguins' 7-2 Rout

Avery Hayes completed a hat trick 91 seconds into the third period as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins scored a season-high seven goals in a 7-2 rout of the Springfield Thunderbirds at MassMutual Center on Feb. 18, 2026. The victory improved the Penguins to 33-13-3-2 and featured contributions across the lineup.

The game started as a dream for Springfield, as defenseman Theo Lindstein lit the lamp 33 seconds into the action on the first shot of the night. The Penguins responded quickly; Hayes chopped in a rebound to tie things up at 1:14. Thirty seconds later, Ville Koivunen was left wide open in the slot and lifted a shot over the pads of T-Birds goalie Will Cranley for a 2-1 lead.

Midway through the opening frame Hayes took advantage of a turnover by Cranley and fired the puck into an empty net for his second tally of the night. Once again, a goal by Koivunen followed shortly thereafter, who whipped a shot through Cranley’s five-hole. Springfield head coach Steve Ott, who had already called his team’s timeout after the Penguins’ first two goals, elected to pull Cranley and replace him with Vadim Zherenko following Koivunen’s second strike.

Zherenko steadied Springfield in the middle frame, as he "thwarted all 19 of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s shots in the second period." The Thunderbirds got back into the game when Dillon Dubé logged a power-play goal at 8:27 to cut Springfield’s deficit down to 4-2. The Penguins, however, finished the night in dominant fashion.

"Hayes solved Zherenko with a one-time blast from the left circle 91 seconds into the third frame, completing the hat trick," and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton kicked the lead further when Boko Imama set up Tanner Howe in the slot at 8:26 of the third to run the Penguins’ lead to four. Sebastian Aho found Howe in the exact same spot at 11:45 for the rookie to notch his second goal and for the team to reach the seven-goal mark.

Avery Hayes’ performance capped a night of balanced scoring: "Avery Hayes scored a hat trick, his second this month, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (33-13-3-2) also received two-goal contributions from Ville Koivunen and Tanner Howe. Eleven different players recorded a point in front of 30 saves by Sergei Murashov." Sergei Murashov recorded 30 saves for the Penguins as the club spread the offense across its depth chart.

Hayes arrived at MassMutual Center riding a torrid February, with CBSSports/RotoWire noting that "Hayes has eight goals and an assist over six AHL outings in February" and that he "has 19 goals and 30 points in 35 AHL contests this season." CBSSports added that the forward "could be a candidate to rejoin Pittsburgh after the Olympic break, especially if Sidney Crosby's leg injury costs him some time." That lineup-management implication ties the on-ice production to a broader industry trend: AHL scoring surges now carry immediate NHL roster consequences as teams balance Olympic absences and injury windows.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s seven-goal night and the fact that 11 players recorded points give the Penguins organizational momentum and marketing currency as they head deeper into the schedule. Hayes’ second hat trick of the month, he also netted a Feb. 7 overtime power-play winner against Hershey, strengthens his case for promotion and injects a storyline that matters to Pittsburgh decision makers, fantasy managers, and local fans tracking the pipeline between the AHL and NHL.