The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins saw the Charlotte Checkers come from behind and snag a 3-2 win in overtime on Friday night at Mohegan Arena.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (17-8-3-0) held a two-goal lead after goals from Ville Koivunen and Nate Clurman, but Charlotte charged back with a blitzkrieg in the third period. Joel Blomqvist recorded 36 saves for the Penguins including several stellar saves in the final frame.
Koivunen redirected in a shot from the point by Isaac Belliveau with just 5.8 seconds on the clock to give the Penguins the lead late in the opening frame.
After nearly two minutes of end-to-end action, Clurman found the back of the net on the rush at 4:34 of the second period. Avery Hayes and Vasily Ponomarev picked up the assists on Clurman’s second goal of the season.
Shortly after a Charlotte power play, Will Lockwood lifted a rebound over a sprawling Blomqvist to cut the Penguins’ lead to one midway through the second period.
Charlotte’s league-leading power play had two opportunities in the second frame, but the Penguins stood tall defensively, killing both.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton staved off another Checkers man advantage in the third period, but when Charlotte got a fourth crack at the power play, its No. 1-ranked unit came through in the clutch. Ben Steeves tied the game, 2-2, with 3:32 left in regulation.
John Leonard scored the game-winner 72 seconds into overtime, clinching the come-from-behind victory for Charlotte.
Checkers goalie Ken Appleby denied 23 shots for his sixth-straight win.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Saturday against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Puck drop is slated for 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.
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