KATCHOUK’S FOUR GOALS LIFT PENS OVER CHECKERS, 6-4
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – Boris Katchouk led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a four-goal game as the team raced past the Charlotte Checkers, 6-4, at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza on Wednesday night.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (13-6-1-0) scored five times in the third period to rally past their division rival. Katchouk nabbed three of those five third-period tallies to secure the fourth four-goal night in Penguins history and the club’s first in eight years (Oskar Sundqvist, Dec. 10, 2016 vs. Hershey).
Katchouk was awarded a penalty shot 12 minutes into the game and used that opportunity to open the scoring. With a nifty forehand-backhand deke, Katchouk slipped the puck around Chris Driedger to put the Penguins on the board.
Charlotte scored a pair of goals in under a minute to seize the lead. Zac Dalpe notched a power-play goal nearly eight minutes into the middle frame, followed by Mikuláš Hovorka’s first AHL goal 54 seconds later.
In the third period however, the Penguins quickly turned the tide. An early goal from Tristan Broz knotted the score at 2-2. Then, Katchouk swept in a loose to puck and gave the Penguins back the lead. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took advantage of a Charlotte turnover as Jonathan Gruden fed Boko Imama for a point-blank chance in the slot, making it 4-2.
Katchouk completed the hat trick and extended the Penguins’ lead to three with a short-side snipe on the power play.
All four of those goals came in exactly five minutes of game time.
The Checkers cut into their deficit with goals from Wilmer Skoog and John Leonard with 2:58 and 1:29 left in regulation, respectively.
Katchouk sealed his team’s 13th win of the season and his four-goal night by launching a shot from atop the Penguins’ crease into the Checkers’ empty net at the other side of the ice.
Joel Blomqvist made 38 saves in the win. Driedger denied 17 of 22 shots faced.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is a rematch with Charlotte on Friday, Dec. 11. The tilt marks another WBRE 28 / WYOU 22 Fan Friday, featuring select draft beers on sale for $2 from 6-7:30, courtesy of Coors Light and postgame player autographs presented by Northeast Music Center.
Puck drop between the Penguins and Checkers is 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
Season-ticket packages for the Penguins’ 2024-25 season are on sale now. Full-Season, 22-game, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.
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