Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rallies from 2-0 deficit to beat Bridgeport 4-3

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton overturned a 2-0 first-period deficit to beat the Bridgeport Islanders 4-3 at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza on Military Appreciation Night. The Penguins scored four consecutive goals after Adam Beckman and Julien Gauthier gave Bridgeport a rapid 2-0 lead, and Joel Blomqvist made timely saves down the stretch as the Pens improved to 34-13-3-2.

Bridgeport opened the scoring at 6:06 when Adam Beckman rifled a bar-down shot for his 19th of the year, assisted by Cole McWard and Travis Mitchell. Less than two minutes later, Julien Gauthier slammed home a net-front rebound at 7:55 for his fifth goal of the season to make it 2-0. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton answered late in the period when Filip Hallander (also listed in some accounts as Filip Hollander) buried a rebound at 17:26, and Atley Calvert tied it at 19:29 with a wrist shot high over goalie Jeremy Smith as the first intermission horn sounded.

The lone second-period goal put the Penguins ahead for the first time. Tanner Howe intercepted a neutral-zone pass, his rush shot was blocked and the puck caromed to Sebastian Aho, who slipped a shot through the five-hole at about 16:14-16:16 of the period. The Aho goal was noted repeatedly as a finish off the deflection and carried added weight because Aho is a former Bridgeport blueliner. The broadcast transcript credited Tanner Howe with two assists and said he has back-to-back multi-point games, and the period also featured a brief altercation when Daylan Kuefler and Tristian Broz dropped the gloves; the bout ended quickly after Broz lost his footing.

Midway through the third period Ville Koivunen appeared to hit the back bar on a shot that was initially ruled no goal; after play continued the officials convened at the scorer’s table and video review confirmed the puck had crossed the line, awarding Koivunen the goal and stretching Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lead to 4-2. Bridgeport cut it to 4-3 at 13:30 of the third on a shorthanded breakaway by Liam Foudy, but the Islanders couldn’t complete the comeback. Team reports credit Joel Blomqvist with 25 saves and say Jeremy Smith took the loss with 27 saves; the Penguins’ game story described Blomqvist and the defense as “a fortress” in the final minute, including a clutch battle for a loose puck in the crease.

A note on conflicting boxscore data: fragmented raw AHL tables circulating after the game list Sergei Murashov (Penguins) with 29 saves on 32 shots and Parker Gahagen (Islanders) with 23/29, which conflicts with the team narratives that identify Blomqvist and Smith as the starters. The team accounts and local recaps from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Bridgeport consistently name Blomqvist and Smith and are treated as the primary narrative here.

Danton Heinen was named first star after a 1-2 night, and Sam Poulin was second star with a goal and an assist, according to the Penguins. The game drew over 7,100 fans for Military Appreciation Night, and the clubs meet again tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 22 at 3:00 p.m. at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport in the second game of the home-and-home.