WBS Penguins vs Toronto Marlies 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals Game 4
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins evened the Eastern Conference Finals 2-2 after emerging victorious 4-3 on Wednesday night.
The scoring would open up with a short-handed goal at 4:19 in the first period when Penguins goaltender Sergei Murashov would go to play the puck from behind the goal, putting the puck right on the goal line, enabling Marlies center Bo Groulx to put it right over the line to go up by one. Toronto would score one more before the first intermission at 14:14, but this time on the power play, with Vinni Lettieri scoring his league-leading eighth goal of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Being down by two, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would look to answer back in the second period, and they did just that. Scoring for the Pens would open up at 3:14 into the second period with Scooter Brickey scoring his first-ever AHL career goal. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would tie the game at two at the 9:00 minute mark with defenseman Chase Pietila scoring his first of the postseason. The Penguins would end the second going up by one with a goal coming from center Gabe Klassen.
Toronto would open the scoring to even the game at three at 13:03 of the third, with Luke Haymes scoring his third of the playoffs. The Marlies and Penguins would trade shots and saves until 17:01, when a Marlie was trying to break out of their zone but fumbled the puck, turning it over to Rutger McGroarty to score on a short breakaway to put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton up by one. The game would come to an end with every player on the ice receiving two minutes for roughing at the 20:00 minute mark.
Sergei Murashov earned the win for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with a strong performance between the pipes, stopping 32 of 35 shots faced for a .914 save percentage. Murashov was tested throughout the game but made several key saves to keep the Penguins in position to secure the victory. On the other end, Toronto goaltender Artur Akhtyamov turned aside 23 of 27 shots in the loss, finishing with a .852 save percentage. Despite the defeat, Akhtyamov made many timely stops to keep the Marlies within striking distance before Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pulled away.
Game 5 will be played Friday, June 5th, at 7:00 p.m. at Coca-Cola Coliseum. A watch party will be held at Miller's Ale House in Wilkes-Barre for Penguins fans to watch the game and to cheer on the boys in the black and gold!
Lexis Woodard / Olde City Sports Network
Photos Credit / Melissa Molyneux / Olde City Sports Network
