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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — There was plenty on the line for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins entering Wednesday’s game against the Providence Bruins, and Daniel Sprong carried a lot of it on his back.

Back-to-back goals from Sprong sparked a three-goal outburst in the first six minutes of the second period to lead the Penguins to a 5-2 win over the Bruins. With the win, the Penguins move ahead of Providence for second place in the Atlantic Division in what is likely to be a first round playoff matchup.

The Penguins lead the Bruins by one point in the standings and both teams have played 67 games, with their final meeting of the regular season on Saturday.

“It’s going to come down to the wire,” said head coach Clark Donatelli, adding that Wednesday’s game was treated as a playoff preview. “You’re going to have to beat Providence to get out of this division.”

After a torrid opening frame that saw Providence come away with a 1-0 lead on a power play goal in the last minute, the Penguins answered with three straight tallies in a six-minute span to start the second period.

It was the answer that Donatelli wanted, and then some.

“We were getting pucks to the net and sustaining pressure, and we just wanted to keep it going,” he said.

Sprong scored the first goal in dramatic fashion. As he was pinned along the boards with the puck, Sprong spun around and fired a long backhand shot that fooled Zane McIntyre and gave the Penguins a 1-1 tie.

Three minutes later, Sprong struck again when Garrett Wilson hit him in stride in the slot. Sprong quickly settled the puck and fired past McIntyre for his second goal of the night.

Joseph Cramarossa gave the Penguins a 3-1 lead when he followed up a big hit on defenseman Chris Breen with a wrist shot into the top of the net.

Entering the game, the Penguins had been shut out twice by McIntyre this season and had tallied just six goals against him in four contests.

“During the year he had our number pretty good. It was nice to put some past him,” Sprong said.

The only thing that could slow the Penguins down were penalties, and that’s what happened as they were whistled for two minors in the second half of the period.

The Bruins did manage to score before the penalty trouble cut the Penguins lead to 3-2 heading into the third period.

Sprong said the Penguins were comfortable even with a one-goal advantage.

“They’re a good team, but this is our building,” he said. “This is probably a matchup we’re going to face in the playoffs, so we wanted to show them we’re a hard team to play against in the third.”

Teddy Blueger gave the Penguins some breathing room when he drove hard to the net and flipped the puck over McIntyre for a 4-2 lead midway through the third period. An empty-net goal by Jarred Tinordi in the last minute sealed the 5-2 win and gave the Penguins a boost of confidence against their division rival.

More importantly, the win moves the Penguins closer to claiming home-ice advantage if they do face Providence in the first round.

“The first series is a best of five, and if it goes five games, that last game is a huge home-ice advantage,” Sprong said. “We’re going to try to catch Lehigh Valley (for first place), and if not, we want that home-ice advantage against Providence.”

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Daniel Sprong scores twice in what is a likely first round playoff matchup

By Tom Venesky

[email protected]

Penguins 5, Providence 2

Providence`1`1`0 —`2

Penguins`0`3`2 —`5

First Period

Scoring – 1. PRO, Jakub Zboril 3 unassisted, power play 19:18. Penalties – PRO, Hughes (tripping) 8:44; WBS, Wilson (interference) 10:46; WBS, Pedan (interference) 17:39.

Second Period

Scoring – 2. WBS, Daniel Sprong 25 (Wilson) 1:56. 3. WBS, Daniel Sprong 26 (Wilson, Czuczman) 4:49. 4. WBS, Joseph Cramarossa 9 (Haggerty, Lafferty) 6:05. 5. PRO, Anton Blidh 10 (Zboril, Cave) 8:54. Penalties – WBS, Haggerty (slashing) 15:16; WBS, Burton (hooking) 18:12.

Third Period

Scoring – 6. WBS, Teddy Blueger 18 (Trotman) 10:03. 7. WBS, Jarred Tinordi 5 (Dea) 19:41. Penalties – WBS, Czuczman (interference) 3:26; PRO, Clifton (slashing) 11:41; WBS, Burton (tripping) 14:29.

Shots on goal

Providence – 10-9-10-29

Penguins – 14-11-7-32

Power-play Opportunities

Providence – 1 of 6

Penguins – 0 of 2

Goaltenders

Providence – Zane McIntyre 23-14-4 (27 saves-31 shots)

Penguins – Tristan Jarry 7-3-2 (27-29)

Starters

Providence – G Zane McIntyre, D Emil Johansson, D Jeremy Lauzon, LW Kenny Agostino, C Josh Hennessy, RW Peter Cehlarik

Penguins – G Tristan Jarry, D Zach Trotman, D Jarred Tinordi, LW Garrett Wilson, C Jean-Sebastien Dea, RW Daniel Sprong

Three Stars

1. WBS, Daniel Sprong (two goals) 2. WBS, Garret Wilson (two assists) 3. WBS, Joseph Cramarossa (game-winning goal)

Referee – Guillaume Labonte, Evgenii Romasko. Linesmen – Tom George, Jud Ritter.

Attendance

Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky