As the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finished their locker room cleanout and exit interviews Monday evening, the sentiment of disappointment remained less than 24 hours after their postseason run came to an end in overtime of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.
“Yeah, it was a good year, but I think it's always tough to end like this. The guys did a great job. There was a lot of growth, but it's still pretty disappointing. I'm sure as the weeks go on we'll look back with good memories, but I think it's a lot harder when three losses are really overtime losses (with) Game 1 and then Game 2 and (Sunday) night. Really three plays, like we talked about, made the difference,†Penguins coach Kirk MacDonald said Monday afternoon during his final media availability of the season. “And it's tough right now to really talk about the big picture. I know this was great for everybody, and the experience and blah blah blah, but there's not a guy in there that isn't disappointed that we didn't move on.â€
After dropping the first two games of the series on home ice, the Penguins rallied to win two of three games in Toronto to force the series back to Wilkes-Barre for what Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hoped would be for two games.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, an overtime goal from Toronto Marlies forward Alex Nylander — a former Penguin — ended the series and the Penguins' season Sunday night, leaving a disappointed, but prideful, group of players who took one final lap around the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza ice to give their fans one final stick salute before exiting the ice for the final time until fall.
“The one thing to be proud of, for sure, is how we came together as a group. Obviously, it sucks and doesn't really feel real right now, but hopefully a lot of us can play together for a long time,†Penguins forward Tristan Broz said. “I said to (Rutger McGroarty) if this group plays together for a long time, we're going to win championships. That's the way we're all built, that's the way that all of us are wired.â€
Future in net bright
If Pittsburgh Penguins management learned anything during their top minor league affiliate's extended post-season run, it's that they have a legitimate goaltending prospect with future No. 1 duties in the NHL in 22-year-old Sergei Murashov.
Of the AHL goaltenders who appeared in more than five postseason games, Murashov ranked fifth with a goals-against average of 2.11 and second in save percentage at .931.
Furthermore, Murashov's 182 saves across the six games in the Eastern Conference Final ranked second most in a playoff series in franchise history. Only Rich Parent in the 2001 Calder Cup Final had more (199).
Even after a heartbreaking overtime loss, a game which he stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced, Murashov addressed the media with the same humility and philosophical perspective as any other media availability — a sign of his mental fortitude and maturity well beyond his age.
“I've been saying the whole season, it's an amazing group and I'm so blessed to be here,†Murashov said. “It's not about today. It's not about this game. It's about the moment we all came to this small town and went through so many challenges together, so many fun moments, and I think the main thing there are no regrets. We played for each other. Obviously, it's tough in the moment, but looking back on the season, no regrets.
“That's probably the main thing, that we gave everything we could. We did everything we could. We were not afraid to step up for each other and going through so many challenges together, and it's precious.â€
It's very likely Murashov played his last game in a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins uniform Sunday night, with the net in Pittsburgh essentially looking like it's his job to lose after a stellar season in his first full year at the AHL level.
Defensive depth rallied around injuries
The Penguins were a sum-of-their-parts team all season, with a revolving door that saw the team use 48 players in their game-night lineups in their first 48 games.
That point was especially prevalent at the end of the team's playoff run on the blue line, as six defensemen sustained injuries in the postseason that caused them to miss playoff games.
Scooter Brickey, David Breazeale and Emil Pieniniemi became the eighth, ninth and 10th defensemen to appear in the Penguins' postseason run, and all received praise from MacDonald and their Penguins teammates — especially so in the case of Brickey.
“It was unreal. (Scooter) was kind of getting the short end of the stick all year, and he jumps in and he's just a dog and he performs,†said defenseman Owen Pickering, who broke his foot and tried to return during the Eastern Conference Final. “(Pieniniemi and Breazeale) too. They make it to the Eastern Conference Final in the ECHL, and they're jumping in and you have to play, like we need you to play, and they're doing well. It was great to see.â€
Brickey played sparingly down the stretch and hadn't played since mid-April when he was called upon in the Eastern Conference Final at the end of May, but it didn't stop him from making a big impact — recording three assists in his five games and serving as a bit of a reward for an unsung hero who continued to put in the work even when he was on the outside looking in in terms of the game-night lineups.
“It was tough for sure, but at the same time the coaches and players kept me in it. It's playoffs, anything could happen,†Brickey said. “I was just waiting and to be ready to help the team any way I could. Everyone kept me involved, coming to the rink every day and just a joy to be around everybody. Credit to them for helping me through it.â€
Growth for young forwards
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was one of the youngest AHL teams this season, with 13 players under the age of 23 appearing in the team's postseason run and a 14th — 20-year-old forward Melvin Fernstrom — who recorded eight points (two goals, six assists) in his first nine games with the team in late February before an injury at the end of March ended his season.
“It sucks. It's really hard, but at the same time it's a learning experience,†Broz said. “It was the first seven-game series I ever played in, and a lot of other guys ever played in, sothere's a lot to learn from, as well.â€
Broz led the Penguins with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 15 postseason games, rising to the occasion when the team needed it most with a two-goal, two-assist performance to lead his team to an 8-1 blowout victory in a winner-take-all Game 5 of the Atlantic Division Final against Springfield to advance Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2014.
Rutger McGroarty had a six-game points streak in the postseason and finished with nine points in (four goals, five assists) in 15 games.
Ville Koivunen had the same stat line as McGroarty, as the two had similar years this season spending time bouncing between the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the NHL with Pittsburgh.
Both will likely vie for an NHL roster spot out of training camp in the fall.
Newcomer Mikhail Ilyin joined the team in April following his season in the KHL, and the 21-year-old made an immediate impact, adjusting to the smaller ice in North America quickly and finishing the playoffs with nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 15 games.
MacDonald, Kemp establish strong culture
Every team says they have a tight-knit locker room, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton proved it this season with the way the team rallied during adversity throughout the regular season and postseason.
That camaraderie provided an environment conducive to not only on-ice success, but growth and character development over the course of the season, from development camp in the summer, to training camp in September and the postseason stretching into June.
“The standard has been set for Penguins hockey at the NHL level, obviously it's a pretty concrete standard. For us, it was really just about competing. We weren't coming in talking about all this rah-rah stuff. It's just we're going to compete,†Pickering said. “We have confidence in ourselves that we think we can beat anybody. Obviously, that didn't happen in the end, and it's unfortunate. It's going to hurt for a while, but I feel the culture we built this year was pretty special.â€
The foundation was lain in Wilkes-Barre, and with several young, talented prospects returning in 2026-27 under the guidance of MacDonald and the coaching staff — along with returning captain Phil Kemp — there's no reason to think a return toward championship contention is out of the question.
“It's everything. Once you go to bed and wake up and look in the mirror, that's the biggest thing. I think every guy on this team built a winning culture, just a bunch of goodguys in that locker room and it was some of the most fun I've ever had playing hockey,†McGroarty said. “Just growing every day together, battling each other in practice and going to war with other teams in games was super fun and huge (for our development).â€
