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The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins put forth a valiant effort in a 4-3 loss to the Providence Bruins on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Valtteri Puustinen found the back of the net twice for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (13-9-2-3), but a late, third-period turnover proved costly in an otherwise diligent, hard-working performance by the Penguins.
The Penguins opened the scoring on the power play. With the Bruins in the box for too many men on the ice, Sam Houde labeled a pinpoint shot over the glove of Bruins goalie Brandon Bussi at 7:47 of the first period.
However, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was quickly booked for its own too many men bench minor, which allowed Providence’s Georgii Merkulov to tie the game.
Providence notched another man-advantage marker midway through the second period. Mike Reilly’s seeing-eye shot through traffic gave the visitors their first lead of the night, 2-1.
Puustinen’s first of the game arrived late in the middle frame. Puustinen caught Bussi cheating off his near-side post and rifled a shot past the unsuspecting netminder with 1:47 left before the second intermission.
The Bruins climbed back ahead, 3-2, with a bar-down blast from Connor Carrick three minutes into the third period.
That tender, one-goal lead persisted until the late stages of the third. Rushing through the neutral zone, the Penguins lost the puck – and their balance – affording the Bruins a two-on-one rush. Oskar Steen buried his look with 2:49 to go, securing him a three-point night (1G-2A).
The Penguins kept pushing and pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, which led to Puustinen’s second goal of the night and 11th of the season.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton continued to wreak havoc in the final minute of play but couldn’t muster an equalizer.
The Penguins outshot the Bruins 39-27 but Bussi held firm with 36 saves to earn the win. Penguins netminder Dustin Tokarski recorded 23 saves.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is back on the ice Saturday for a New Year’s Eve clash with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at PPL Center in Allentown. Game time for the Penguins and Phantoms is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The Penguins return home again for their first game of 2023 on Wednesday against the Charlotte Checkers. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.