PENGUINS WEEKLY – 12/5/23

Penguins to host Cleveland and Providence during weekend home games

WEEKLY – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (10-8-3-0) getting production from newcomers Abbandonato, Butcher

Penguins Weekly Rewind

Wednesday, Nov. 29 – PENGUINS 5 vs. Hershey 7
Peter Abbandonato notched two assists in his Penguins debut, and Sam Houde potted a pair of first-period goals in his return from injury. However, Hershey used a four-goal second period to flip a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton couldn’t recover.

Friday, Dec. 1 – PENGUINS 3 at Springfield 2 (OT)
Will Butcher made his Penguins debut, and the team rallied for a third-period comeback to force overtime. Rem Pitlick’s team-leading sixth goal put them on the board, followed by Matt Filipe’s first tally as a Penguin. Jack Rathbone played the hero’s role, burying the winning marker 68 seconds into the extra frame.

Saturday, Dec. 2 – PENGUINS 3 vs. Springfield 4 (OT)
Both the Pens and T-Birds trekked from New England to NEPA for a rematch, and the second game of their home-and-home also went to OT. Abbandonato started the scoring early in the second period, but then the game turned into a track meet in the third. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton received extra-attacker tallies from Valtteri Puustinen and Abbandonato to force extra time.

The Week Ahead

Friday, Dec. 8 – PENGUINS vs. Cleveland
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton faces off against the Cleveland Monsters for the first time this season. Cleveland boasts a high-powered offense and the North Division’s best record, but the Penguins are 14-2-2-0 (.833) all-time against the Monsters.

Saturday, Dec. 9 – PENGUINS vs. Providence
The Penguins take on the Providence Bruins for the fourth time this season. The away team has won each of their previous three matchups, but the Black & Gold took back-to-back wins over the P-Bruins in mid-November. Saturday is also the Pens’ annual Teddy Bear Toss Night. Fans will throw new, unwrapped stuffed animals onto the ice after the team’s first goal. All of the stuffed animals will be donated to children in need this holiday season through Tobyhanna Operation Santa Claus.

Ice Chips

– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hartford are the only two AHL teams to rank Top 10 in both the power play and penalty kill.

– Peter Abbandonato has two goals and two assists for four points in his first three games as a Penguin. Abbandonato had one goal and two assists in 12 games with the Chicago Wolves before being traded to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Monday.

– Defenseman Will Butcher has three assists in his first two games as a Penguin. Butcher missed the first 19 games of the season with an undisclosed injury suffered at Pittsburgh training camp.

– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has had a different game-winning goal-scorer in each of its 10 victories this season.

DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM LEADERS

* = rookie
X = not on current roster

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE

DATE                 OPPONENT     LOCATION                                  TIME      

Fri, Dec. 8         Cleveland         Mohegan Sun Arena                 7:05 p.m.

Sat, Dec. 9        Providence      Mohegan Sun Arena                 6:05 p.m.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Fri, Dec. 1        (D) Will Butcher                                          Assigned by PIT

Sat, Dec. 2       (C) Joona Koppanen                                    Recalled to PIT

Sun, Dec. 3      (RW) Alex Nylander                                     Recalled to PIT

Mon, Dec. 4    (RW) Lukas Svejkovsky       Reassigned by PIT from WHL

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