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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins goaltender Matt Murray said his team wants opponents to know that any time they travel to the Mohegan Sun Arena, it will be a tough task to carve out a win.

Make that nearly impossible.

Murray stopped all 29 shots he faced and the Penguins killed off three power plays to protect a two-goal lead and beat the Providence Bruins 3-0 on Friday. The win is the Penguins’ ninth straight at home – a new franchise record, and they improve to 15-2-0-0 on the season.

“It’s definitely a big emphasis for us – protecting our house and making sure teams know when they come in here it’s not going to be fun for them,” Murray said.

The Penguins made the Bruins’ night miserable for the first two periods.

The Penguins controlled the first period and thanks to some hard work down low as Conor Sheary connected with less than two minutes left for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Sheary’s 13th point in his last seven games.

Kael Mouillierat gave the Penguins a more comfortable lead with a power-play goal eight minutes in to the second period to make it 2-0. With Murray in net stopping everything that came his way, head coach Mike Sullivan said the lead didn’t seem that slim.

“Any lead is bigger when you have Matt Murray in net,” Sullivan said. “When you have a guy like that who makes a timely save for you, it improves your chances to win.”

Still, Providence had their chances to get back into it, beginning in the closing minutes of the second period when Steve Oleksy was whistled for boarding and promptly dropped the gloves with Dalton Smith.

After the penalty and the fight, Providence had a chance to gain momentum on the ensuing power play, but the Penguins, led by Murray, kept them off the board.

The Penguins’ penalty kill was tested again midway through the third period and once again maintained the 2-0 lead. It came up even bigger with several minutes left in the game after a Dominik Simon goal made it 3-0.

With Reid McNeill in the box for a delay, Providence pulled goaltender Malcolm Subban for a two-man advantage on the power play.

Two days after failing to stop Binghamton on its two power plays, the Penguins penalty kill finished off a perfect night by keeping Providence off the board to preserve the lead.

“That was a key time in the game because there’s still a fair amount of time and if they get a goal there, it’s a hockey game,” Sullivan said. “I thought our penalty kill was a big part of it tonight.”

Dominik Uher, who is a regular on the penalty kill, said going a perfect 4 for 4 against the Providence power play is a nice turnaround after the poor night against Binghamton.

“We knew they were going to do the same things Binghamton did, so there were some things we changed a bit,” Uher said. “We weren’t happy with the penalty kill we had against Binghamton and we knew we had to improve it tonight.”

NOTES

– F Tom Kuhnhackl (injury), D Barry Goers (injury), F Tyler Biggs and D Clark Seymour were scratched for the Penguins.

– C Matia Marcantuoni was assigned to Wheeling on Friday.

Providence goalie Malcom Subban gets a face full of ice as he manages to block Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins winger Conor Sheary’s shot during Friday night’s game at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_pens_pro1_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgProvidence goalie Malcom Subban gets a face full of ice as he manages to block Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins winger Conor Sheary’s shot during Friday night’s game at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Dominik Uher chases a deflected puck past Providence goalie Malcom Subban with defenseman Colton Hargrove on his shoulder.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_pens_pro2_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Dominik Uher chases a deflected puck past Providence goalie Malcom Subban with defenseman Colton Hargrove on his shoulder. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Oskar Sundqvist battles with Providence defenseman Chris Casto. Providence goalie Malcom Subban watches the puck fly toward the goal on Friday night.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_pens_pro3_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins center Oskar Sundqvist battles with Providence defenseman Chris Casto. Providence goalie Malcom Subban watches the puck fly toward the goal on Friday night. Fred Adams | For Times Leader

Penguins Tyler Biggs checks Providence defense man Tommy Cross into the boards along a corner —————Fred Adams|for Times Leader 11-27-15
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_pens_pro4_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgPenguins Tyler Biggs checks Providence defense man Tommy Cross into the boards along a corner —————Fred Adams|for Times Leader 11-27-15Fred Adams | For Times Leader

By Tom Venesky

[email protected]

Penguins 3, Providence 0

Providence`0`0`0`—`0

Penguins` 1`1`1`—`3

First Period

Scoring – 1. WBS, Conor Sheary 3 (Moullierat, Pouliot) 18:22. Penalties – PRO, Breen (Closing hand on puck) 5:37; PRO, Griffith (slashing) 10:40; WBS, Simon (hooking) 11:26.

Second Period

Scoring – 2. WBS, Kael Mouillierat 6 (Wilson, Kostopoulos) power play 8:13. Penalties – PRO, Griffith (interference) 5:40; PRO, Castro (delay of game) 7:38; PRO, Smith (fighting) 15:57; WBS, Oleksy (boarding, fighting) 15:57.

Third Period

Scoring – 3. Dominik Simon 8 (McNeill) 15:47. Penalties – WBS, Erixon (holding) 9:44; WBS, McNeill (delay of game) 16:13.

Shots on goal

Providence – 5-10-14-29

Penguins – 12-12-6-30

Power-play Opportunities

Providence – 0 of 4

Penguins – 1 of 4

Goaltenders

Providence – Malcolm Subban 1-5-2 (27 saves-30 shots)

Penguins – Matt Murray 10-2-0 (29-29)

Starters

Providence – G Malcolm Subban, D Chris Castro, D Chris Breen, LW Brandon DeFazio, C Noel Acciari, RW Rob Bordson

Penguins – G Matt Murray, D Tim Erixon, D Will O’Neill, LW Dominik Simon, C Kevin Porter, RW Carter Rowney

Three Stars

1. WBS, Matt Murray (29 saves, shutout) 2. WBS, Conor Sheary (goal) 3. WBS, Kael Mouillierat (goal, assist)

Referee – Evgeny Romasko. Linesmen – Tom DellaFranco, Jud Ritter

Attendance – 5,303

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