Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ousts Hershey, reaches Atlantic Division final
A shorthanded goal from Harrison Brunicke broke a 1-1 tie and sent Wilkes-Barre/Scranton past Hershey 4-1 on the road. The Penguins won the series 3-1 and advanced to the Atlantic final.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton did more than eliminate Hershey. By closing out the Bears 4-1 at Giant Center and taking the best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals 3-1, the Penguins made a clear statement: this group can win in one of the AHL’s hardest playoff buildings and still look composed doing it.
The turning point came in a game that was tight until Harrison Brunicke changed the script. His shorthanded goal snapped a 1-1 tie and gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the kind of swing play that often decides playoff series. The Penguins added a second shorthanded goal when Gabe Klassen scored into an empty net with 31 seconds left, turning a one-goal game into a 4-1 finish and stripping away any last hope of a Hershey push.
The numbers behind the win explain why this was more than a lucky break. Sergei Murashov made 37 saves, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went 0-for-4 on the power play, and still controlled the most important moments. Hershey outshot the Penguins 38-30 and scored once on six power plays, but the Bears never fully recovered after Brunicke’s goal. In the playoffs, that is often the difference between pressure and panic.
This series also underlined what kind of team Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has become. The Penguins had already opened with a 4-2 win at Mohegan Arena on April 30, then answered Hershey’s push with an overtime win in Game 3 before finishing the job on the road in Game 4. This was the ninth all-time Calder Cup Playoff series between the in-state rivals, and the Penguins handled it with a blend of discipline, depth scoring and goaltending that traveled every night.
The win sent Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to the Atlantic Division final for the first time since 2016, another sign that a 101-point regular season was not empty padding. The Penguins clinched their playoff berth with a shootout win in Belleville on March 20, and now they have translated that regular-season strength into a deep spring run. For a club making its 21st postseason trip in 25 tries since joining the AHL in 1999, this felt like a team stepping into a bigger class. Brunicke, who turned 20 last week, summed up the mood with a smile: “This is probably the most fun I’ve ever had.”
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