Kane Lafranchise scored the lone goal for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (16-8-0-0), proud AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, but it wasn’t enough as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (16-5-3-0) notched four unanswered tallies en route to a 4-1 final at Webster Bank Arena on Sunday.
David Warsofsky (one goal, two assists), Jake Guentzel (one goal, one assist) and Stuart Percy (one goal, one assist) all recorded multi-point efforts as the Penguins won their fourth game against the Sound Tigers this season.
The loss dropped Bridgeport to fourth in the Atlantic Division standings.
The Sound Tigers opened the scoring with Lafranchise’s third goal of the season at even strength in the first period. Lafranchise received the puck at the left point on a pass from Jesse Graham and wristed a shot from the top of the circle past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s blocker at the 6:18 mark. Josh Holmstrom wasn’t credited with an assist, but helped create the goal with a terrific screen at the doorstep. Meanwhile, Graham earned a helper in his fourth straight game.
The Penguins bounced back with four unanswered tallies, beginning with Teddy Blueger’s goal at 2:22 of the second period. Guentzel slapped a one-timer from the top of the right circle, which was tipped by Blueger in the slot and past Stephon Williams’ blocker for his first professional goal.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got its first lead of the game with a power-play tally from Warsofsky in the final two minutes of the second period. With Stephen Gionta in the box for slashing, Garrett Wilson forced a pass to Warsofsky at the blue line, where the sixth-year defenseman drilled it over Williams’ pads to make it 2-1.
The Penguins extended their lead to 3-1 with Percy’s first goal of the season. At even strength, Percy gained possession at the blue line, shifted to his left and fired a one timer through traffic and over Williams’ glove at 3:51 of the third.
Less than three minutes later, Guentzel capped the scoring and made it a 4-1 with his second point of the game. Jean-Sebastien Dea slid a diagonal pass to Guentzel from the top of the hash marks to the slot, where the rookie danced around Williams at the doorstep before sliding a shot home at the 6:10 mark.
Bridgeport finished the game 0-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Williams (3-8-0-0) made 32 saves in the loss. Meanwhile, Jarry (10-5-1) stopped 26 shots for the win.
The Penguins outshot the Sound Tigers 36-27.