WILKES-BARRE TWP. — The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were less than 2½ minutes from extending their winning streak.
Then, they got within a shootout stop, but were again unable to close out the last-place Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Instead, the Penguins will have to settle for carrying a streak of seven straight games earning points into the continuation of their homestand.
Simon Holmstrom ended the seven-round shootout with a goal that lifted the Sound Tigers to a 3-2 victory Saturday night.
Bridgeport never led in regulation but managed to come back to tie twice. The Sound Tigers forced overtime by scoring in a four-on-four situation with 2:27 left.
Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon took advantage of the extra space with the reduced skaters by carrying the puck deep down the right wing. He slid a pass through the crease to Josh Ho-Sang, who was wide open for his first goal of the season.
“We just took a breath there where our D didn’t have his guy,” Penguins coach Mike Vellucci said. “It’s just one of those things.
“You can’t let up for one second.”
Bridgeport defenseman Mike Cornell and Penguins forward Thomas Di Pauli slashed each other as a faceoff was being conducted, leading to penalties on each with 4:03 left.
Vellucci did not like seeing his team in a four-on-four situation with a late one-goal lead to protect.
“I thought it was fine,” Vellucci said of the way the team was protecting the lead earlier. “There were no issues. That was a four-on-four goal.
“I don’t like taking those kinds of penalties where it opens up the ice when you have the lead. You’d like to keep it five-on-five.”
After an uneventful, five-minute overtime period, the Penguins converted just two of seven attempts in the shootout.
They fell behind after one attempt of the original three-round shootout, but Jake Lucchini’s shot trickled across the goal line on the team’s second try.
Both teams went 1-for-3, extending the shootout one attempt at a time until one team could score and the other did not.
Di Pauli scored on the fifth attempt, but Travis St. Denis made a fake to pull Penguins goalie Emil Larmi down to the ice and lifted a shot over him to extend the shootout.
Holmstrom ended the game when his fake drew Larmi to one side, allowing plenty of room to tuck the puck inside the left post when he cut back the other way.
Lucchini, the only Penguin to play in every game this season, had just four goals in 44 games this season prior to scoring twice Friday night. He scored again Saturday, giving the Penguins their second lead in the second period.
Joseph Blandisi had opened the scoring on a first-period power play. Positioned at the right post, he stickhandled the puck between his legs, then put a shot inside the left post.
NOTES: Holmstrom, Blandisi and Ho-Sang were the first, second and third stars. … The Penguins drew their second straight crowd of more than 6,000 with a paid attendance of 6,421. Both games were followed by concerts by tribute bands – Proud Monkey (Dave Matthews Band) Friday and No Quarter (Led Zeppelin) Saturday. … The Penguins are home three more times in a four-day stretch. They host the Binghamton Devils Wednesday, then the Hershey Bears Friday, followed by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms the next night.
Bridgeport 3, Penguins 2
Bridgeport`0`1`1`0`1 — 3
Penguins`1`1`0`0`0 — 2
First period — 1, Penguins, Blandisi 5 (Roy, Trotman), 11:33 (PP). Penalties — Cornell, Bridgeport (interference), 9:40; Cornell, Bridgeport (fighting major), 12:01; Bellerive, Penguins (fighting major), 12:01.
Second period — 2, Bridgeport, Wahlstrom 5 (Wotherspoon, Bellows), 15:15; 3, Penguins. Lucchini 7 (Trotman, Miletic), 18:18. Penalties — Bladisi,Penguins (delay of game), 3:30; Schilkey, Bridgeport (interference), 6:59; Blandisi, Penguins (tripping), 7:45; Wotherspoon, Bridgeport (slashing), 12:52; Almari, Penguins (holding), 12:52.
Third period — 4, Bridgeport, Ho-Sang 1 (Wotherspoon, Hutton), 17:33. Penalties — Czuczman, Penguins (tripping), 0:26; Helgeson, Bridgeport (cross checking) 4:07; Kubiak, Bridgeport (diving/embellishing), 4:14; Warsofsky, Penguins (interference), 4:14; Cornell, Bridgeport (slashing), 15:57; DiPauli, Penguins, (slashing), 15:57; St. Denis, Bridgeport (slashing), 18:16.
Overtime — No scoring. Penalties — None.
Shootout — Bridgeport 3 (Lorito G, Wahlstrom NG, Ladd NG, Bellows NG, St. Denis G, Schilkey NG, Holmstrom G), Penguins 2 (Bellerive NG, Lucchini G, Hawkins NG, Warsofsky NG, DiPauli G, Miletic NG, Blandisi NG).
Shots on goal — Bridgeport 9-9-9-3—30. Penguins 7-9-8-3—27.
Power-play opportunities — Bridgeport 0 of 3; Penguins 1 of 4.
Goalies — Bridgeport, Coreau 8-12-1 (27 shots-25 saves). Penguins, Larmi 2-3-3 (30 shots-28 saves).
Referees — Michael Markovic, Jeremy Tufts. Linesmen — Bob Goodman, J.P. Waleski.
A — 6,421.