Through four preseason games, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins only scored a total of five goals, with one of those goals being into an empty net. Offense was clearly at the forefront this past week, as WBS signed Stefan Noesen to an AHL contract the morning of the first day of the season to bolster the forward lines. The signing proved immediate dividends, as Noesen tallied two goals in his first game for WBS as the Penguins outlasted a dangerous Hershey Bears team 4-3.
Opening lines and defense pairings for the first game of the season looked like this:
The season opener didn’t begin encouragingly for the Penguins, as highly touted Washington defense prospect Alexander Alexeyev scored his first pro goal for Hershey just 1:02 into the first period to give the Bears an early 1-0 lead.