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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Chad Ruhwedel was in no man’s land for a defenseman.
Hobbled after being whacked by an opponent’s stick and pinned at the corner of the Hartford Wolf Pack’s net in the third period, Ruhwedel’s first instinct was to get back to the blueline.
But as it turned out, Ruhwedel couldn’t have been in a better place as he recovered in time to find a loose puck and score the game-winning goal in Tuesday’s 3-2 win. The Penguins (22-7-3-0) snapped a two-game losing streak in their first game of 2017.
Josh Archibald and Teddy Blueger also scored as Tristan Jarry stopped 25 of 27 shots while Hartford scored twice in the third period to cut the lead to one with six minutes left.
“I didn’t like our third period. We were sitting back and kind of got away from our game,” head coach Clark Donatelli said. “They came after us and made it 3-2 and in the last six minutes we were in a dogfight.”
The first period was a different story as the Penguins dominated in all aspects.
Blueger scored the first goal of the night when he found the puck on his stick in the low slot, with space, and walked in and picked a spot for a 1-0 lead.
The goal was Blueger’s second of the season and first in his last nine games.
After the Penguins blanked on a power play midway through the period, Archibald extended the lead when he posted in front of the crease and deflected a David Warsofsky point shot to make it 2-0.
Hartford didn’t register a shot until the 13:30 mark and the Penguins out-shot them 15-4 by the end of the period.
“We were joking with (Jarry) to go get a coffee between the first and second periods because he just wasn’t getting shots,” Ruhwedel said. “That’s tough on a goalie.”
The Penguins had plenty of chances to go up 3-0 in the second period with three power-play opportunities but failed to get anything past Hartford netminder Brandon Halverson.
Ruhwedel cushioned the lead early in the third period when the Penguins went on their fifth power play of the night. Ruhwedel, who was hobbled behind the Hartford net, regained his footing just in time to corral a loose puck at the corner of the crease and backhand it into the top of the net for a 3-0 lead.
“I took a whack down low and I was kind of caught down there,” Ruhwedel said. “It’s kind of tough for a defenseman to stay down there too long because you want to get back to your blueline. But this time it worked out.”
The Wolf Pack answered three minutes later to break Jarry’s shutout bid and cut the lead to 3-1.
Hartford drew to within one with five minutes left when Tanner Glass was left open in the slot and converted on a wrist shot.
The Penguins gave the Wolf Pack a chance to tie it when Derrick Pouliot went off for slashing with six minutes left, but the penalty kill preserved the lead.
Donatelli was happy to put the two-game skid behind him, but said the Penguins need to play better for all three periods.
“In the third we weren’t moving the puck. They came out with a little zip and we were turning it over, got a bit fancy,” Donatelli said. “It gave them a little life.”
NOTES
– Kevin Porter sat out while serving a one-game suspension for a boarding call on Dec. 30 against Providence.
– D Ethan Prow, D Stuart Percy, RW Patrick McGrath, C Carter Rowney (injury), C Jarrett Burton, C Thomas Di Pauli (injury), RW Ryan Haggerty, D Barry Goers and RW Reid Gardiner were scratched for the Penguins.
