The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins picked up a big conference win Saturday night on the road.
One goal proved to be enough as Rutger McGroarty’s first-period shorthanded goal was the difference as the Penguins beat the Providence Bruins, 1-0, at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Both the Penguins and Providence entered the clash at the top of the Atlantic Division standings. The victory vaults the Pens (13-4-1) back to the top of the conference, one point ahead of Providence (13-3). Lehigh Valley and Hershey are three and four in the division.
WBS finished the road weekend with a 1-1 record.
For McGroarty, it was his second goal of the year as WBS held an edge in shots, 35-27, as both teams were 0-for-3 on the power play.
Joel Blomqvist stopped all 27 shots he faced to earn the shutout.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has three games next weekend all squeezed around Thanksgiving. The team travels to Hershey on Wednesday, and hosts Lehigh Valley on Black Friday. The team then heads back to the Giant Center on Saturday for another matchup with the Bears. The Penguins are 2-0 against Lehigh Valley this year, while it’s the first matchup with Hershey.