The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins kicked off their season in the AHL with a 0-1-1 week.
Quick game recaps from WBSPenguins:
Saturday, Oct. 3 – PENGUINS 2 vs. Springfield 3 (OT) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened its 2026-27 season in front of an excited, passionate crowd in Northeast PA. However, Springfield scored payback after being eliminated by the Penguins in last year’s playoffs. Atley Calvert scored both of the Penguins’ goals, including a shorthanded tally midway through the second period. The Thunderbirds
won 1:50 into overtime.
Sunday, Oct. 4 – PENGUINS 2 vs. Hartford 3
The Penguins seized an early lead a mere 86 seconds into the contest when D-man Jake Livanavage notched his first AHL goal. The Wolf Pack flipped the game in the middle frame, scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. Hartford ran its lead to 3-1 late with its second man-advantage marker of the day, but Avery Hayes quickly buried an extra-attacker goal to pull the Pens within one.
The Pens used 11 forward + seven defensemen lineups in both games. Ideally from the AHL perspective the crowded house in Pittsburgh with a couple forwards on IR will eventually lead to a quality player at this level dropping down, like David Gustafsson did in time for the second game lineup here.
Overall on the week there weren’t a lot of standouts with the team scoring four total goals and losing both games, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying with the team piling up 85 shots over the two games. Atley Calvert continues to impress, he scored a pair of those goals. The goalies posted identical stat lines over the two games, with both Joel Blomqvist and Taylor Gauthier stopping 20 shots on 23 attempts for an .870 save percentage. Blomqvist picked up the overtime loss, Gauthier fell in regulation.
The slow start continues this weekend, WBS plays only two games in the upcoming week with Saturday and Sunday matchups scheduled on the road for a tour of New England. The Penguins will be in Hartford on Saturday night then turnaround quickly for a Sunday afternoon game in Providence.
