The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins secured a 4-2 victory over the Hershey Bears in Game 1 of their Atlantic Division semifinal series in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The win gives the Penguins a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup. The game took place at Mohegan Arena on Thursday night.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton built a commanding 3-0 lead by the midway point of the second period, with goals from Atley Calvert, Aidan McDonough, and Owen Pickering. Hershey fought back, as Ilya Protas scored at 10:48 of the second period and Henrik Rybinski narrowed the gap to 3-2 just 1:09 into the third. Avery Hayes then sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 54.1 seconds remaining, marking his eighth goal in eight games against Hershey this season and ending the Penguins' seven-game postseason losing streak dating back to 2022. This victory kicked off the ninth all-time Calder Cup Playoff series between the Pennsylvania rivals. Former Hershey defenseman Alexander Alexeyev contributed two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while Sergei Murashov stopped 31 shots for his first career playoff win. Hershey goaltender Clay Stevenson made 27 saves on 30 shots. The Penguins now host Game 2 on Saturday evening at 6:05 p.m. Eastern, with subsequent games scheduled for May 5, potentially May 7, and May 9 if necessary.
