Offense Leads Penguins to 6-4 Win Over Binghamton

Penguins hold on for a 6-4 win in a gritty East Division game against Binghamton. Photo credit: Bob Howard (@PPPShow)

In Binghamton, offense took over for both teams but it was the Penguins landing the final blow in a 6-4 win over the Senators.

Bryan Rust continues to impress and with two goals tonight moves into first place among rookie goal scorers with six. Conor Sheary now has three goals in four games after adding one tonight. Josh Archibald tallied his first goal in what was just his second game of the season. The rookie forwards have come in and made a difference through the first 13 games of the season.

Chris Wideman has continued to pour on the offense for Binghamton, and with four points tonight (1G-3A) now has 17 points (8G-9A) in 13 games this season. The BSens power play was potent, going 4-for-5, but a bit of a lapse in the middle frame doomed the home team tonight.

The Penguins finish the weekend with a 4:05 p.m. ET face-off at home against another team who will be playing in their third game in three days, the Syracuse Crunch.

A back-and-forth first period saw the Penguins and Senators trade power play goals less than two minutes apart.

First, Jean-Sebastien Dea fed a pass to Derrick Pouliot at the point after a series of good passes and puck control on the Pens power play. Pouliot's point shot was tipped home by Bryan Rust to give the Pens a 1-0 lead 12:51 into the contest.

The Penguins lead was short lived, however, as Reid McNeill was whistled for delay of game for accidentally shooting a puck out of play in the WBS defensive zone. On the ensuing BSens power play, Matt Puempel got a puck to Patrick Mullen at the top of the face-off circle and Mullen's shot beat a screened Murray to tie the game at 1-1 with 5:21 left in the opening period.

The flood gates opened in the second period as the Penguins three goals in a span of 4:43 to open up a 4-1 lead. Rust added his second of the night, followed by Sheary's third in four games and Archibald's 1st of the season to give the Pens a three-goal lead halfway through regulation.

The Pens' three goal lead was quickly trimmed to one after back to back Reid McNeill penalties led to back-to-back BSens power play goals. Chris Wideman continues his dominance in the offensive zone, scoring his 8th of the season and teaming up with Cole Schneider to set up Matt Puempel to bring the BSens within a goal at 4-3 heading to the third.

In the third, the Penguins held off the BSens in the first half of the period and tacked on two more goals in the final 8:39 to preserve the win. Andrew Ebbett and Carter Rowney put the icing on the cake for the Penguins tonight with their third period goals.

Matt Puempel tallied his 2nd of the game on the tail end of what turned out to be a 6-on-3 for the BSens with Hammond pulled to bring the score to 6-4 but time ran out on Binghamton tonight.

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

8:26: BNG - (PP) Camper, minor (holding)
11:20: BNG - (PP) Wideman, minor (unsportsmanlike)
12:51: WBS - PPG Rust (5) - Pouliot, Dea
13:20: WBS - (PP) McNeill, minor (delay of game)
14:39: BNG - PPG Mullen (2) - Wideman, Puempel

2nd Period

5:27: WBS - Rust (6) - McNeill
7:17: BNG - (PP) Johnson, minor (cross-checking)
8:58: WBS - PPG Archibald (1) - Dumoulin, Chorney
10:10: WBS - Sheary (3) - Archibald
11:32: WBS - (PP) McNeill, minor (roughing)
11:54: BNG - PPG Wideman (8) - Mullen, Pageau
16:48: WBS - (PP) McNeill, minor (kneeing)
17:41: BNG - PPG Puempel (3) - Schneider, Wideman

3rd Period

11:21: WBS - Ebbett (3) - Megna
17:43: WBS - Rowney (1) - unassisted
17:54: WBS - (PP) Dea, minor (hooking)
18:39: WBS - (PP) Farnham (bench minor - too many men)
19:42: BNG - PPG Puempel (4) - Wideman, Schneider
19:42: BNG - Kramer, game minute misconduct (unsportsmanlike)
19:42: WBS - Boak, ten minute misconduct (unsportsmanlike)
19:42: BNG - Guptill, major (fighting)
19:42: WBS - McNeill, major (fighting)

ROSTER NOTES - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Matt Murray (saves - shots) got the start in net tonight for the Penguins, with Eric Hartzell backing him up.

No changes on defense for the Penguins tonight, as the pairings were the same as they were last night in Wilkes-Barre.

Up front, Beau Bennett and Adam Payerl were scratched and Conor Sheary and Bobby Farnham. Bennett's absence was planned and he will likely be in the lineup tomorrow vs. Syracuse.

Lines

Scott Wilson - Andrew Ebbett - Jayson Megna

Josh Archibald - J-S Dea - Tom Kostopoulos

Conor Sheary Cater Rowney - Bryan Rust

Bobby Farnham - Dominik Uher - Tom Kuhnhackl
Brian Dumoulin - Taylor Chorney
Philip Samuelsson - Derrick Pouliot
Reid McNeill - Alex Boak

Matt Murray - Eric Hartzell

Scratches: Jeff Zatkoff, Nick Drazenovic, Beau Bennett, Anton Zlobin, Nick D'Agostino, Adam Payerl, Pierre-Luc Leblond and Barry Goers