Tristan Broz Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored two goals in the first period to beat Springfield 8-1 on Saturday night in Game 5 of the Atlantic Division finals at Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Penguins will face the winner of Sunday’s North Division Game 5 between Cleveland and Toronto. The Eastern Conference finals begin next week in Wilkes-Barre, making it the Pens’ first trip to the Eastern Conference finals since 2014.
Broz opened the scoring 3 minutes and 56 seconds into the game, breaking through the Springfield defense and hitting a backhand pass. Georgi Romanov.
He then assisted Harrison BrunickThe goal during a two-on-one rush at 7 minutes and 43 seconds made it 2-0, prompting the Thunderbirds head coach Steve Ott Use his timeout.
Broz, who scored his second goal on a power play, found himself alone between the snaps with 3:43 left in the opening period and had time to get his wrist past Romanov’s blocker.
Rafael Harvey PinardReturning to the Penguins lineup after missing the first five games due to injury, he scored his first goal of the playoffs with 20.4 seconds left before the first intermission.
Atlee Calvert When he passed the rebound past the backup goaltender, it extended the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lead to 5-0 Vadim Zhelenko At 17:21 of the second quarter, koivuning townAt 2 minutes and 52 seconds into the third quarter, the team led 6-0. Broz received an assist on the goal, his fourth of the night.
Akil Thomas Springfield finally tied the game at 4:30, but Harvey-Pinard hit a 170-foot shot into the empty net and Koivunen added his eighth goal with 9:18 left.
Sergei Murashov The Penguins stopped 26 of 27 shots and finished the series with a 1.55 goals-against average and .949 save percentage through five games.
The seven-goal victory tied the largest winner-take-all margin in a Calder Cup playoff game, joining Grand Rapids’ 7-0 victory over Houston in 2013 and Quebec’s 8-1 victory over Providence in 1969.
The Thunderbirds started and ended the Calder Cup Playoffs with 8-1 losses; in 10 games during that span, they went 7-3, allowed 16 goals, and eliminated two of the AHL’s top five teams.
(WB/Scranton series win, 3-2)
Game 1 – Tuesday, May 12 – WB/SCRANTON 2, Springfield 0
Game 2 – Thursday, May 14 – Springfield 4, WB/SCRANTON 3 (OT)
Game 3 – Tuesday, May 19 – WB/Scranton 2, SPRINGFIELD 1
Game 4 – Thursday, May 21 – SPRINGFIELD 2, WB/Scranton 0
Game 5 – Saturday, May 23 – WB/SCRANTON 8, Springfield 1
