ILKES-BARRE TWP. — Clinging to a 2-1 lead with the Portland Pirates on the penalty kill and 20 seconds remaining in the game, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were in a good spot.

But they fell victim to a bad bounce.

Portland capitalized on a puck that caromed off the referee and landed in front of the net to score the tying goal, then they added the game-winner in overtime to beat the Penguins 3-2 on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

It was the second straight overtime loss — both at the hands of Portland — for the Penguins, who fell victim to a pair of shorthanded goals in regulation. The Penguins remain in first place in the Atlantic Division with a .680 win percentage, but Hershey (.635) and Portland (.615) are narrowing the gap.

After they rallied for a 2-1 lead in the third period on Sunday, the Penguins appeared poised for a win.

“It wasn’t money in the bank, but we were sitting in a good spot,” captain Tom Kostopoulos said.

The Penguins wrapped up their three-in-three set with four points out of six. That wasn’t good enough for coach Clark Donatelli, who said Sunday’s game was one the Penguins should have won. Both Portland shorthanded goals in regulation came after the puck bounced off an official and onto the Pirates’ sticks.

“We’re not happy with that,” Donatelli said of the back-to-back overtime losses. But he refused to blame the officials for getting in the way of pucks.

“The ref’s a part of the game — like a bad board, sticks, a bad bounce off the glass,” Donatelli said. “They’re a part of it. It’s just bad bounces.”