Brian Waksmunski for Inside The Rink
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Springfield Thunderbirds faced off Saturday evening in Game 5, with the Penguins delivering a dominant 8-1 rout to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Championship.
The Penguins wasted no time setting the tone as Tristan Broz opened the scoring just 3:56 into the first period with his second goal of the playoffs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton kept the pressure on throughout the opening frame, adding three more goals before the intermission to take a commanding 4-0 lead into the locker room.
Springfield showed more pushback in the second period, but the Penguins continued to capitalize on their opportunities. Late in the frame, Atley Calvert extended the lead, giving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton even more breathing room heading into the third.
The Penguins struck again early in the final period to make it 6-0 before the Thunderbirds finally broke through with a goal from Akil Thomas. Any hope of a comeback was quickly erased as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton answered with two more goals to cap off the convincing victory and bring Springfield’s season to an end.
With the win, the Penguins now advance to play for the Eastern Conference Championship.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Brian Waksmunski for highlights from the game
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