PORTLAND – Dustin Penner scored in the first period and Mike Wall notched his first American Hockey League shutout as the Portland Pirates beat the Providence Bruins 1-0 on Sunday.

Penner scored his fifth goal of the season on a slapshot from the left circle at 5:44 of the first period, then his teammates played tenacious defense to make it stand up. The former University of Maine standout has a goal in each of his last four games.

Wall turned aside 24 shots, including Nate Thompson’s breakaway 30 seconds into the second period.

The Pirates (8-3-0-0) are riding a six-game winning streak at home and remain tied for first in the AHL’s Atlantic Division. The Bruins (3-5-0-0) stay in the cellar.