But one player who wasn’t too concerned about the Pittsburgh brass was Pouliot, who notched three goals – although the official score sheet reflected two tallies and an assist on a Noah Welch marker – as of late Wednesday night.

“The other was the whole Pittsburgh staff was here to see how they play. I did mention all those things before the game.”

Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero, head coach Michel Therrien, assistants Mike Yeo and Andre Savard, as well as scouts Ed Johnston and Gilles Meloche were on hand, as the parent Pens are scheduled to take on the Flyers on Thursday.

“I just wanted to win tonight. It’s been a while, especially on the road,” said Pouliot. “They’re a good team and they beat us pretty bad last game. I just wanted to make sure that wasn’t happening a second time.”

Pouliot was the biggest presence in the goal column, but Dennis Bonvie might have been the most noticeable player on the ice, especially since he squared off with Tristan Grant just two seconds into the contest.

“Dennis Bonvie really set the tone,” said Richards. “We weren’t happy the way we played the last time. Dennis said ‘We’re going to stand up, this is how we’re going to play today.’”

The Pens never trailed, taking a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Daniel Carcillo and Mclean.

Darren Reid pulled the Phantoms back within one goal late in the first before Pouliot took over. He sandwiched goals around a failed McLean penalty shot, then hit the empty net to record the second Pens’ hat trick of the season.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton returns home to face the Portland Pirates on Friday, with the first 5,000 fans in attendance receiving an Alain Nasreddine figurine.

NOTES: Jeff Pietrasiak was signed to a PTO before the game to back up Dubnyk. Andrew Penner did not make the trip due to illness...Alain Nasreddine and Erik Christensen were in attendance, and visited their former Wilkes-Barre teammates in the locker room after the game.