The Wilkes-Barre Penguins remain in first place in the Atlantic Division after a week that saw them go 1-1-1. Nick Hart recaps the games here:
Saturday, Dec. 27 – PENGUINS 5 vs. Hershey 2
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton came roaring out of the holiday break, burying five goals in the first period of its first game back. The scoring started early, with Nolan Renwick potting his first of the season two minutes in. Raivis Ansons lit the lamp 92 seconds later, followed by a pair of strikes by Gabe Klassen and a late power-play goal from Phil Tomasino.Sunday, Dec. 28 – PENGUINS 3 at Lehigh Valley 4 (SO)
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard had a day, but the Penguins ultimately fell in a shootout to their turnpike rival. Harvey-Pinard tucked in a slick feed from Valtteri Puustinen three minutes into the game, then went coast-to-coast for a snipe on the rush early in the second period. David Breazeale notched his first AHL goal swiftly after the Phantoms took the lead in the third period, where Harvey-Pinard picked up an assist. However, Lehigh Valley scored on both of its shootout attempts, whereas Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton was shut down.
Harvey-Pinard was named AHL player of the week for his four point effort in those two games (2G+2A). RHP has been sort of a forgotten player in the NHL mix with the depth and sheer number of bodies the organization has, but he’s having a fine season and is in very good form recently.
Advertisement
Missing from that is last night’s 6-2 loss to Charlotte. Sergei Murashov got touched up for five goals against on 24 shots and got pulled in the rare off outing for himself, Aaron Huglen and Joona Koppanen scored the goals for WBS. The Checkers have given WBS problems this season, winning three of the five matchups so far. Those games count for a sizeable portion of the 11 total losses on the season for the Penguins. WBS is in first place, though they have played a whopping six more games than Providence, who are only four points behind and hold an edge in points percentage.
Since the AHL regular season is only 72 games, the Pens are approaching their halfway point and are in firm control for an easy playoff qualification (the top six teams in the division will make the postseason). Looking beyond that, as always in the AHL format, finishing in the top-two within the division will be the season’s primary focus to get a bye in the first round that is only a three-game series and has tripped WBS up in the last two seasons. That should be a big battle that looks like it’s coming down to Wilkes-Barre, Providence and Charlotte fighting for the two top spots. So far the Pens are well-positioned in that battle, despite their mediocre head-to-head results so far against Charlotte.
The Pens are back in action on Saturday, facing off against Syracuse (second place in the North division with 36 points in 30 games) in what could be a strong test for WBS on the road.
Advertisement
—
To cram another topic into the minor league roundup, the 2026 World Junior Championships is well underway, with several big New Year’s Eve games as is tradition in that tournament. The unbeaten Canadians take on Finland in what should be their toughest early tournament matchup, ditto the unbeaten Americans who will face off against fellow medal favorite (and unbeaten) Sweden today.
Overall it’s been a fairly quiet opening to the tournament for the two Penguin prospects involved. 2025 first round pick Will Horcoff has one goal and one assist in the three games while playing on the top line for the Americans. Harrison Brunicke has one assist in his three games for Canada, playing second pair but also getting a heavy dose of special teams time while wearing an A on his jersey as an alternate captain.
Horcoff’s goal against the Germans was a highlight we’ve seen often this season for getting towards the front of the net and using the shooting ability that’s led him to the top of the statsheet in the NCAA this year to find the back of the net.
The true tests for both of these players and teams lays ahead. Today is the last day of round robin action, the single elimination games start on Friday, followed up by a quick turn to the semi-finals on Sunday and championship game on Monday. The US/Sweden and Canada/Finland games today will determine where all of those clubs sit within the bracket. All along many have expected a high probability of a US/Canada collision in the finals, both teams will have to win today to ensure that stays on track. That is no guarantee – especially in the case of a strong Sweden team that should provide an excellent challenge to the Americans today. Many eyes will be on Horcoff to see what he’s got in these crucial moments in the next few days ahead, which will make for exciting watching by the Penguins to see how their budding prospect can perform.
