Penguins Shut Out Springfield 8-1 to Clinch Division Finals Berth

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 8, Springfield 1

Tristan Broz led the way with two goals and two assists as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins dominated the Springfield Thunderbirds 8-1 in Game 5 of the Atlantic Division finals at Mohegan Arena on Saturday evening.

The Penguins scored four times in the first period, with Broz opening the scoring just 3:56 into the game. He then set up Harrison Brunicke’s goal at 7:43 off a two-on-one rush to make it 2-0. Broz notched his second goal of the night on the power play with 3:43 remaining in the frame, putting a wrister past Georgii Romanov’s blocker to extend the lead to 3-0.

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, returning to the lineup after missing five games due to injury, capped off the first period with the first of his two goals, scoring with just 20.4 seconds left before the first intermission. The four-goal onslaught set the tone for a lopsided night.

Atley Calvert extended the lead to 5-0 in the second period, scoring on a rebound past backup goaltender Vadim Zherenko at 17:21. Ville Koivunen added to the margin with a power-play tally at 2:52 of the third period to make it 6-0. Broz picked up an assist on the goal, giving him four points on the night.

Springfield finally got on the board when Akil Thomas scored at 4:30, but the Thunderbirds had no answer for the Penguins’ relentless attack. Harvey-Pinard added an empty-net goal from 170 feet out, and Koivunen sealed the rout with his second of the night at 9:18.

Sergei Murashov made 26 saves on 27 shots to carry a .949 save percentage and a 1.55 goals-against average through the five-game series. The Penguins’ 8-1 win matched the largest margin of victory in a winner-take-all Calder Cup playoff game, joining Grand Rapids (2013) and Quebec (1969).

The Thunderbirds began and ended their playoff run with 8-1 losses, going 7-3 in between despite eliminating two of the top five teams in the AHL.

With the win, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will face the winner of Sunday’s Game 5 in the North Division between the Cleveland Monsters and Toronto Marlies. The Penguins’ first appearance in the conference finals since 2014 will begin in Wilkes-Barre next week.