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Jake Guentzel earned his 20th goal of the season as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins rallied past Toronto, 2-1 for their fifth straight victory.
The Penguins (26-7-3-0) entered the third period down 1-0 to the Marlies, but tallies from Guentzel and Tom Sestito powered them to another come-from-behind victory.
Both teams found a number of quality chances in the first period, yet went into the first intermission scoreless.
In the middle frame, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton continued the press and almost had the game’s opening goal when Guentzel rocketed a shot off the crossbar at 13:27 of the second period.
The first tally of the game finally arrived at 15:37 of the second. Toronto’s Tony Cameranesi fired a high, sharp-angle shot past Tristan Jarry for his first goal of the season, giving the Marlies a 1-0 lead.
Guentzel had an answer.
He picked up a Toronto turnover and rifled the puck past Marlies goaltender Garret Sparks for an equalizer at 6:46 of the third period.
Then, wiith 3:10 remaining in regulation, Sestito picked the top corner on an odd man rush and gave the Penguins the late 2-1 lead.
Jarry made 27 saves on 28 shots — including several on a last-minute push by Toronto.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next game is Friday, against the Rochester Americans at 7:00 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. The Penguins’ next home game will be Saturday, Jan. 21, against the Hershey Bears.
