WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins suffered their first loss of the season, falling to the Providence Bruins, 3-1, on Wednesday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
In a battle between two of the American Hockey League’s few unbeaten teams, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (7-1-0-0) fell behind in the second period. Providence tallied all of its offense during the middle frame, clinching the Bruins their 13th-straight win at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
The Penguins almost got on the board first with a shorthanded opportunity in the first period, but the snap-shot from Rafaël Harvey-Pinard struck the iron and stayed out of the net.
The contest remained level until 4:45 into the second frame when Brett Harrison found twine with a low-driven wrister. Riley Tufte made it 2-0 on a breakaway effort at the 13-minute mark of the second.
Valtteri Puustinen and the Penguins made things interesting by pulling back within one 67 seconds later. Chase Pietila beat three defenders and fed Puustinen with a drop pass, who then beat Michael DiPietro past his glove side.
However, Providence regained it two-goal lead when Georgii Merkulov knocked in a backdoor pass from Matěj Blümel with 2:29 left in the second period.
In the final frame, the Penguins kept the majority of play in the attacking zone, pushing for anything to get them back in it. The Bruins blocked many of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s shot attempts, preventing the mounting pressure from converting into goals.
By the end of the contest, DiPietro made 25 saves for Providence. Penguins netminder Sergei Murashov made 13 saves.
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