The kid did it again.
Rookie Bill Zonnon’s goal in the third period proved the game-winner as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins held off the Springfield Thunderbirds, 2-1, in Game 3 of the AHL Calder Cup Atlantic Division Final on Tuesday night at the MassMutual Center in Massachusetts.
Rutger McGroarty also scored and goalie Sergei Murashov made 27 saves for the Penguins, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 set. They can wrap it up with a win in Game 4 on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at Springfield. If necessary, a fifth and deciding game would be Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.
McGroarty gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal with 19.1 seconds left in the first period. Avery Hayes stole the puck in his zone, skated to center ice and feathered a pass to McGroarty, sending him on a breakaway. McGroarty beat Springfield goalie Georgii Romanov to the blocker side.
Despite the fact the Penguins outshot Springfield in the second, 12-4, the period was scoreless. But they struck again early in the third. Atley Calvert picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and led a 3-on-1 rush. He passed Boko Imama, who fed Zonnon and Zonnon beat Romanov at 5:58 to make it 2-0.
Zonnon, Pittsburgh’s first-round pick (21st overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft, scored a goal in each game of the series. He made his pro debut in Game 1 after joining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton when his junior team Blainville-Boisbriand was eliminated from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoffs.
In Game 2, Springfield rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period to win in overtime. This time down two goals in the third, the Thunderbirds mounted another comeback bid.
Juraj Pekarcik made things interesting when his shot trickled through Murashov and slid across the goal line with 3:39 remaining to cut the deficit to 2-1. Springfield pressed for the tying goal and pulled Romanov for the extra attacker, but the Penguins withstood the pressure and hung on for the victory.