WILKES-BARRE TWP. — The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are back to their winning ways.
The locals scored two goals in the third period to break a 1-1 tie as the Penguins got back in the win column with a 3-2 victory over the Bridgeport Islanders on Friday night at Mohegan Arena. The victory comes after WBS sustained its first loss of the season Wednesday night to Providence.
WBS remains on top of the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of Providence. Lehigh Valley and Hershey round out the top four.
The offense was firing Friday night as the Penguins attempted 34 shots, sneaking three of them past Bridgeport keeper Marcus Hogberg.
Sam Poulin’s second goal of the year gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 1-0 lead not even six minutes into the match before the Islanders knotted it at 1-1 on Alex Jefferies’ score.
It stood that way until the third period when back-to-back scores put the locals up for good. Poulin added another goal with 13 minutes left for the 2-1 lead before the Penguins added an empty-net goal by Danton Heinen at the 18:18 mark for the two-goal edge.
Ryan Graves added two assists in the win, while keeper Filip Larsson stopped 22 of 24 shots.
WBS (8-1) finishes off the weekend Saturday with a road match at Utica, which is currently winless. The team has three matches next week, hosting Toronto on Wednesday and traveling to Rochester on Friday. The Penguins finish the weekend on home ice against Utica next Saturday.