Brandon Bussi and Kyle Keyser celebrate Sunday’s win over Hartford. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins wrapped up the regular season by winning two out of three games over the weekend.

They started by beating the Springfield Thunderbirds, 4-2, at home on Friday night. That victory clinched second place in the Atlantic Division and a first-round bye. In Bridgeport on Saturday, the P-Bruins lost, 4-1, to the Islanders. Back home on Friday. Providence scored twice in the third period on the way to a 4-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack.

“I’m real proud of the guys. You look back at the year and their growth was exceptional in a lot of our guys. A game like today to end the season, with back to back three in threes, to play that hard at the end says a ton. They’re not easy,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Sunday’s game.

“It’s a grind as a coach, I can’t imagine it as a player. It says a lot about the group. It says a lot about some of our young kids. It’s tough to fight through. Arguably, our older  guys were some of the best players today. That speaks volumes.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— After going 1-3-1-1 in October, Providence finished the regular season with a record of 42-21-6-3. They ended up second in the Atlantic Division, earning a bye in the opening round of the playoffs. They were fourth in the AHL with 93 points and fourth in points percentage at .646.

— Georgii Merkulov scored two goals and an assist on Friday and two goals on Sunday. He finished the regular season with 30-35-65 in 67 games, a 10-point improvement over last season. He was fifth in the AHL in points. Only five players scored more goals. He is the first P-Bruin to hit the 30-goal mark since Frank Vatrano did it in 2015-16.

— Jayson Megna had a goal and an assist on Friday and three assists on Sunday. With 15 points in his last 10 games, he finished second on the team with 19-37-56 in 69 games, his best offensive season in the AHL. He was voted team MVP by his teammates.

— Anthony Richard recorded three assists on Friday and one on Sunday. He finished third on the team with 25-30-55 in 59 games.

— Patrick Brown scored a goal on Friday and recorded assists on Saturday and on the game-winning goal on Sunday. He has points in five straight games.

— With Providence nursing a one-goal lead on Sunday, Kyle Keyser made a terrific kick save on Alex Belzile with 3:28 left. Keyser stopped all nine shots he faced after taking over in net for the third period.

— Alec Regula’s plus-36 was the best in the AHL. He was presented with the Best Defenseman Award on Sunday. Dan Renouf, Regula’s partner, was second in the league with plus 34.

— In his first game on a tryout contract, former Boston University center Nick Zabaneh scored the game-winning goal with 8:49 left in Sunday’s game.

— Riley Duran potted the GWG on a rebound Friday night against Springfield after Patrick Brown won an offensive zone faceoff and Dan Renouf fired a shot from the point.

— Trevor Kuntar snapped a streak of 16 straight games without a goal when he scored on Sunday. And it was a beauty, as he beat a Hartford defenseman and tucked the puck into the net for his 10^th goal of the year.

— Providence went 22-9-2-1 against the other New England teams. They were 9-3 vs. Bridgeport; 8-3-1-0 with Springfield; and 5-3-1-1 against Hartford.

— The P-Bruins led the AHL with 15 shorthanded goals.

— Attendance on Sunday was 9,643. Providence finished sixth in the AHL with an average crowd of 7,713. That’s 68.42 percent of capacity.

BAD

— The power play is in a 0 for 16 slump.

— Hard to believe Hartford’s Nic Petan wasn’t called for a penalty after he hacked Anthony Richard’s arm as Richard broke in on the Hartford net in the third period. Richard easily could have been injured on the play and it’s no surprise that he went after Petan seconds later and both players drew roughing penalties.

— John Farinacci has gone 20 games without a goal.

— The P-Bruins finished 28^th in the league on the power play at home at 15.1 percent.

— They were 30^th in the AHL on the penalty kill on the road at 75.9 percent. Bridgeport scored two power-play goals on three opportunities on Saturday.

UGLY

— Injured: Alec Regula, Fabian Lysell, Joey Abate

The Providence Bruins won two of their three games over the weekend. One of the wins came in overtime and the other in a shootout, providing four important points as the P-Bruins close in on clinching second place in the Atlantic Division and a first-round bye.

They started with a 5-4 victory over the Utica Comets at home on Friday. Providence led, 4-1, with 10 minutes left in the third period, but needed a Patrick Brown score in OT to escape with the win.

At home again on Saturday against Utica, the P-Bruins wrested a 3-2 win away from the Comets in a shootout as Jayson Megna scored the decisive goal and Mike DiPietro shut the door in net.

On the road on Sunday, Providence jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but lost to the Springfield Thunderbirds, 4-2.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence is 40-20-6-3 for 89 points. With three games left in the regular season, they need one point to wrap up second-place in the Atlantic Division.

— With Saturday’s win, the P-Bruins reached 40 wins for the eighth time in the last 12 seasons.

— Patrick Brown continues to play terrific hockey.

His OT goal clinched the win on Friday. On Saturday, he made an outstanding play that culminated in an Oskar Steen shorthanded goal 52 seconds into the second period. Brown outskated and outworked a Utica player all the way up the ice, then got off a shot on net. Steen was there to bury the rebound.

On Sunday he gave the P-Bruins a 1-0 lead 46 seconds into the game and recorded a game-high six shots.

— Rookie Riley Duran was outstanding in Friday’s game. He scored his first goal as a pro in the first period and had the primary assist on two other goals.

— Mike DiPietro stopped 26 of 28 shots, plus all three in the shootout, in Saturday’s win.

— Oskar Steen scored twice on Friday and once on Saturday. He has six goals in his last six games.

— Providence leads the AHL with 15 shorthanded goals.

— Mason Lohrei had two assists and was plus-four on Friday night.

— Good work on the forecheck by Joey Abate paved the way for Georgii Merkulov’s 26th goal of the season on Saturday.

— Jaxon Nelson scored his first goal as a pro on Sunday and Jimmy Lambert scored his first goal as a Providence Bruin on Friday.

BAD

— Providence squandered a 4-1 lead in the third period on Friday night and a 2-0 lead nearly halfway through the game on Sunday.

— Not a great weekend for special teams. Providence went 0 for 11 on the power play and allowed four goals in 11 times shorthanded.

UGLY

— Injured: Alec Regula, Fabian Lysell

After taking a pass from Georgii Merkulov (in the background), Jayson Megna tucks the puck past Rochester goalie Devon Levi for Providence’s second goal on Saturday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The results were mixed for the injury depleted Providence Bruins this weekend. They didn’t win either of their games, but they did earn two points in a pair of overtime losses.

Every team goes through injuries and with regulars Alec Regula, Fabian Lysell and Reilly Walsh out, Providence’s lineup is much thinner than it was a couple of weeks ago.

There’s no sugarcoating Friday night’s result. The P-Bruins did not play well in a 3-2 OT loss at Lehigh Valley. They were much better at home on Saturday, but fell to the Rochester Americans in overtime, 3-2.

“It was a great response. We deserved a better fate, for sure. (Devon Levi) was outstanding – he made some unbelievable saves. The first period, early on, we should have been up by four,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Saturday’s game.

“Did we outplay them? For sure. Did we manage the game better? I don’t think so. That’s something that needs to be addressed. When you’re holding onto a lead and you have the ability to get inside and win a puck – these are some of the things we’re looking for in our players. Especially, because we’re a bit shorthanded right now. We need guys that don’t normally do stuff like that, to do that.

“The game-tying goal, it’s not that it’s a mistake. It’s a competitive lapse. Those are tough, but lesson learned. Our back end had some youth to it and I think they did a real good job of responding the right way.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With six games left in the regular season, Providence is 38-19-6-3 and has 85 points. They are in second place in the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins  and Charlotte Checkers. The P-Bruins have a game in hand on both teams and remain in good position to earn a bye in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs if they take care of business.

— Jayson Megna is on fire with 4-6-10 in his last five games. He earned the primary assist on Ian Mitchell’s power play goal on Saturday and then finished off a pretty passing play for a goal in the second period. It was a well-executed setup as Anthony Richard hit Georgii Merkulov with a pass and Merkulov put the puck right on Megna’s tape at the edge of the blue paint for the goal. Megna has 18-33-51 in 64 games.

— Anthony Richard had a goal on Friday and two helpers on Saturday. He has 5-4-9 in his last six games and 25-26-51 in 54 games for the season.

— Oskar Steen came back from a facial injury to score a goal on Friday. He has three goals in his last three games.

— Ian Mitchell made a nice pass to Anthony Richard for a power play goal on Friday and scored a power play goal himself on Saturday.

— The power play went 1 for 1 on Friday and 1 for 3 on Saturday.

— Saturday’s home game drew a crowd of 10,006.

BAD

— The team arrived home from Pennsylvania at 3 a.m. on Saturday, then 16 hours later had to face a Rochester team that had Friday night off.

— The P-Bruins frittered away a 2-0 first period lead against the Phantoms.

— They were outshot, 33-15, against Lehigh Valley.

— Three of Providence’s six defensemen on Saturday were rookies. One of them was playing college hockey a couple of weeks ago and one has spent the season in the ECHL. No disrespect to anyone, but it’s very hard to win in the AHL with inexperienced D.

— John Farinacci’s gone 13 games without a goal. Trevor Kuntar doesn’t have a point in his last 11 games.

UGLY

— Injured: Alec Regula, Fabian Lysell, Reilly Walsh

Any way you slice it, two wins in three road games is a good week.

That’s what the Providence Bruins did last week, with the first victory coming against the AHL’s best-by-a-mile team, the Hershey Bears.

Missing two important players in Alec Regula and Fabian Lysell, the P-Bruins rolled into Hershey last Tuesday night and beat the 12-time Calder Cup champions, 4-1, sending a crowd of 10,000 home disappointed.

The road show moved on to Utica on Friday night and Providence beat the Comets, 7-4.

On Saturday night, the P-Bruins looked like they didn’t have a lot left in the tank as they lost, 4-0, to the Syracuse Crunch, who are in first place in the North Division.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With Friday’s win, the P-Bruins clinched a spot in the Calder Cup playoffs. This will be their 10^th straight trip to the playoffs. They’ve missed the postseason only five times since the team took the ice in 1992-93.

— As of Monday, Providence was in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 38-19-4-3 record and 83 points. With eight games left in the regular season, they are six points ahead of the third-place Charlotte Checkers, who have seven games left. Providence remains in the driver’s seat to earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

— Jayson Megna was a standout in Hershey and Utica. Against the Bears he took a crosscheck in the back from Dylan McIlrath to score Providence’s first goal and added a pair of assists.

He was a factor at both ends of the ice in Utica, with 2-2-4, including a shorthanded goal. He made a fantastic play on the shorty, receiving a pass in his skates, kicking it up to his stick, then going forehand-backhand for the finish, all while skating at high speed.

Later in the game, after coming back to the defensive zone to break up two Utica rushes, he sent Marc McLaughlin in for a breakaway goal.

— Anthony Richard had a goal in Hershey and 2-2-4 in Utica.

— It looked like 23-goal scorer Graeme Clarke was going to give Utica the lead in the opening minutes on Friday, but Brandon Bussi of the P-Bruins made another one of those fabulous saves where he goes side to side and denies what looks like a sure goal.

— The P-Bruins were sour over the questionable and unpenalized hit by Syracuse’s Daniel Walcott that injured Alec Regula on March 24, so it was no surprise that Dan Renouf, Regula’s defense partner, went right at Walcott and dropped the gloves in the opening minutes on Saturday.

— Oskar Steen scored twice against Utica. He has five goals in his last eight games.

— In addition to his usual strong defensive work, Mike Callahan skated in from the point, took a nice pass from Georgii Merkulov, and scored the goal that turned out to be the game-winner against Hershey.

— Marc McLaughlin scored goals against the Bears and the Comets.

— The P-Bruins had one of their best penalty kills of the season in the third period in Hershey. Down two players for a full two minutes, Brandon Bussi, Mike Callahan, Dan Renouf, Patrick Brown, Reilly Walsh, Jayson Megna and Ian Mitchell held the fort.

— Mike DiPietro made 25 saves and allowed no goals in the second period on Saturday.

— Hershey’s Clay Stevenson has the AHL’s best save percentage, but the P-Bruins lit him up for three goals on four shots on the second period.

— The P-Bruins got some very good breaks from the referees in Hershey. They had eight power plays to only four for the Bears.

BAD

— Oskar Steen was poked in the face by the stick of Utica goalie Nico Daws in the third period on Friday. Incredibly, there was no call on the play. As Steen writhed in pain on the ice, the Comets took the puck down to the other end and scored.

— Providence was outshot, 25-6, in the second period on Saturday night. The total of 38 shots against Mike DiPietro were the most he’s faced this season.

— Sitting on a 5-1 lead in the third period, Providence allowed three goals in under six minutes against the Comets before Jayson Megna stopped the bleeding with an empty-net goal.

— Tough defensive zone turnover by Brett Harrison led to Utica’s first goal on Friday.

UGLY

— Injured: Fabian Lysell, Alec Regula, Oskar Steen

The Providence Bruins didn’t win either of their games over the weekend, but they did manage to earn two out of four points by losing in overtime and in a shootout.

On Saturday, the P-Bruins gave up a one-goal lead in the third period before losing, 3-2, in OT to the Charlotte Checkers. On Sunday, Providence came from behind to tie the game in the third period, but then lost in the shootout, 3-2, to the Syracuse Crunch. Both games were at home.

“From a staff perspective, our overall feeling is we played really hard and had a lot of chances. We just didn’t finish. That happens sometimes, but I liked our effort a lot more (Sunday) than I did (Saturday), for sure,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Sunday’s game.

“We’re just not finding the greasy goals that we were early on. We’ve got to get back to that, a little bit more of a workman’s mentality and maybe not be so fine at times offensively.”

Providence now hits the road for games in Hershey, Utica, Syracuse and Lehigh Valley. They are third in the AHL with a points percentage of .667 on the road.

“I think it’s good for the team, for sure, to be on the road and be around each other, enjoy each other and get back to having some fun and playing the way we need to play to have success,” said Mougenel.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence continues to hold tight to second place in the Atlantic Division – and a bye in the opening round of the playoffs — with a 36-18-4-3 record with 11 games left in the regular season. They are six points ahead of the third-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with two games in hand.

— Brandon Bussi made 45 saves on Saturday night. It was the second straight game in which he stopped over 40 shots.

— John Farinacci assisted on both Providence goals on Saturday night.

— Against Charlotte, Reilly Walsh scored his third goal in three games.

— Anthony Richard scored a goal and had six shots against Syracuse.

— Providence’s power play went 2 for 3 on Saturday and scored the game-tying goal on Sunday.

BAD

— Daniel Walcott of Syracuse knocked Alec Regula out of the game with an unpenalized hit along the boards late in the second period on Sunday, then Walcott declined to answer the bell when challenged by Dan Renouf, Regula’s defense partner. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Walcott hears from the league about the hit.

— Providence gave up 48 shots against the Checkers and was outshot in the first period, 18-6.

— The P-Bruins have lost their last three games — one in regulation time, one in overtime and one in a shootout.

— The offense, which is tied for fifth in the AHL with 205 goals, has scored only two goals in each of the last three games.

UGLY

— Injured: Fabian Lysell, Alec Regula.

Lysell, second on the team in scoring with 15-35-50 in 55 games, and Regula, who has an AHL-best plus-36, are important players for Providence.

“He’s gonna miss, probably, significant time, I would imagine. It’s disappointing. He was starting to play really well,” Mougenel said of Lysell.

Honestly, the Providence Bruins were fortunate to come away from the weekend with two out of four points.

They were outplayed on Friday but stole a 4-3 shootout win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms thanks to goalie Brandon Bussi.

On Saturday, the P-Bruins grabbed an early 2-0 lead but then gave up five straight goals (the last one was an empty-netter) in a 5-2 loss to the Phantoms.

“There were a lot of passengers (on Saturday). Our team is not built to have passengers. We’ve done a great job this year of building a team game. I didn’t like some of the individual play. I didn’t like some of the guys’ juice, to be honest with you,” said coach Ryan Moungenel after Saturday’s game.

“We’re looking for guys that are going to play in the playoffs and battle in the playoffs. From an organizational standpoint, it needs to be understood that some of them that we count on can’t play like that. It’s got to get better and it’s going to be addressed this week.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins finished the weekend with a solid hold on second place in the Atlantic Division with a 36-18-3-2 record and 77 points. They are eight points ahead of third-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 13 games to go.

— Brandon Bussi stopped 39 shots plus three more in the shootout on Friday. The save he made on Adam Brooks early in the third period might have been his best of the season. He’s now 3-0 against Lehigh Valley.

— Providence’s second goal on Friday – Fabian Lysell to Jayson Megna to Georgii Merkulov for a tap-in off the rush – was a thing of beauty.

— Vincent Arseneau was a presence, to say the least, on Saturday night. He fought Phantoms’ heavyweight Garrett Wilson after a big (and somehow unpenalized) hit on Trevor Kuntar in the first period. When a melee broke out in the third period, Arseneau buckled 6-foot-4 Will Zmolek with an explosive left.

— Reilly Walsh scored twice and was plus-three on Friday night.

— Georgii Merkulov had a goal and an assist both nights, plus the only shootout goal on Friday. After scoring 24 goals and 55 points in 67 games as a rookie, Merkulov has 25 goals and 55 points in 54 games this year. He is now fourth in the AHL in points.

— Fabian Lysell had two assists on both Friday and Saturday. He had 14-23-37 in 54 games as a rookie. He is up to 15-34-49 in 55 games this year.

— Providence is third in the AHL with 201 goals for.

BAD

— The P-Bruins simply had no answer for Lehigh Valley’s line of Olle Lycksell (0-4), Tanner Laczynski (3-1) and Adam Brooks (2-3) on Saturday.

— Providence was outshot 42-21, including 17-4 in the third period, on Friday, and 39-31 on Saturday.

— Anthony Richard was minus-four on Saturday. Georgii Merkulov and Ian Mitchell were minus-three.

— The refereeing duo of Justin Kea and Samuel Heidemann worked both games, with predictable results. In addition to questionable penalties and missed calls, they disallowed a goal that should have counted and allowed a goal that shouldn’t have counted on Friday night. For good measure, they slapped a game misconduct for abuse of officials on Lehigh’s Adam Ginning at the final horn on Saturday.

UGLY

— Cooper Marody’s two-handed hack caught Providence’s Joey Abate in the face with 13:10 left on Friday. No call.

— Injured: Alec Regula

Brett Harrison lugs a big stuffed animal off the ice after Sunday’s Teddy Bear Toss. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It was an “all’s well that ends well” weekend for the Providence Bruins.

They started with a poor performance in a 7-4 road loss against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday night, their second straight defeat. But they rebounded with a good effort in a 5-0 win at home on Sunday against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

“The guys did a good job responding. It says a lot about the group, for sure,” said coach Ryan Mougenel. “Our leaders led us today. (Patrick) Brown, (Jayson) Megna, (Dan) Renouf. And then (Brandon) Bussi. He was excellent for us.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Springfield had some great chances, but Brandon Bussi stopped all 36 T-Bird shots for his first shutout of the season on Sunday.

— Providence finished the weekend in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 35-17-3-2 record. With 15 games left in the regular season, the P-Bruins are nine points ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hartford.

— Johnny Beecher played one of his better games of the year on Sunday. He was around it all day, setting up Joey Abate for a goal and then converting a pass from Abate for a goal of his own.

— The power play went 3 for 5 on Friday and 1 for 3 on Sunday.

— Jayson Megna got the P-Bruins off on the right foot with a shorthanded goal on a breakaway in the first period against the T-Birds and set up Georgii Merkulov’s power play goal in the final minute of the game.

— Providence is tied for the league lead with 13 shorthanded goals.

— Defense partners Alec Regula and Dan Renouf were plus-three on Sunday. Regula leads the league with plus-37 and Renouf is tied for third with plus-27.

— Patrick Brown scored twice on Friday and set up a goal by Oskar Steen on Sunday.

— Joey Abate, after signing his first NHL contract with Boston on Friday, scored a goal and set up Johnny Beecher for a score on Sunday.

— Georgii Merkulov scored a power-play goal in each game.

— Providence has won six straight against Springfield.

BAD

— The first six power plays on Friday went to Hartford. Providence was down 6-0 before they got their first PP.

— The P-Bruins gave up 20 shots and three goals in the first period against Hartford.

— After allowing five goals on 23 shots versus the Wolf Pack, Michael DiPietro was pulled for the second time in his last three starts.

UGLY

— The P-Bruins gave up three goals in 68 seconds early in the second period against Hartford as a three-goal deficit quickly became a six-goal hole.

— Providence penalty kill on the road is 31^st in the AHL at 75 percent. They gave up four power play goals on Friday.

— Injured: Alec Regula, Reilly Walsh

Johnny Beecher looks to make a play against Springfield. He scored twice in Friday night’s game. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins started the weekend with a solid 4-2 win against the Springfield Thunderbirds at the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday and finished it with a 5-2 home loss (two empty netters) to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday.

Lately, the P-Bruins had been money on Sundays, winning their previous six in a row on that day. But against Hartford they fell behind by two goals in the second period – a period they usually dominate, outscoring opponents, 65-41 — and couldn’t catch up. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With a record of 34-16-3-2, the P-Bruins finished the weekend in second place in the Atlantic Division and in the Eastern Conference, trailing only the runaway train that is the Hershey Bears. With 17 games left, Providence leads third-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by nine points in the Atlantic.

— The P-Bruins are tied with the Cleveland Monsters for most goals in the AHL with 186.

— After earning an assist on Providence’s first score, Anthony Richard scored a brilliant goal for his 20th of the season on Sunday. Entering the zone (maybe it was offside and maybe it wasn’t), he turned on the jets, knifed between two Hartford defensemen and beat goalie Dylan Garand. It’s the third time he’s reached the 20-goal mark in the AHL.

— Playing on the wing, Johnny Beecher scored twice in just over two minutes in the third period on Friday night, snapping a 12-game goal-less streak. Patrick Brown assisted on both goals. “It was really nice to see,” said coach Ryan Mougenel. “It looked like (Beecher) was having a little bit of fun.”

— With Trevor Kuntar scoring twice, the physical fourth line of Vinny Arseneau, Kuntar and Joey Abate had a strong performance in Friday’s win. “One thing that fourth line does is put a lot of anxiety on D because they finish their routes,” said Mougenel.

— Ian Mitchell did a good job finding a shooting lane on his goal on Sunday.

BAD

— There’s a lot to like about the way Trevor Kuntar plays the game, but he leads all AHL rookies in minor penalties with 29.

— Providence has been outshot in the third period, 572-494.

— No doubt this is nit-picking considering where the P-Bruins are in the standings, but they have a 1-6-0-1 record when trailing after two periods.

UGLY

— The P-Bruins gave up a goal just 43 seconds into the first period on Sunday and another only 1:58 into the second period. On Friday night, they allowed a goal at 2:40 of the third period.

Trevor Kuntar gets ready to celebrate after tucking the puck past Malcolm Subban for Providence’s first goal on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Brett Harrison fires the puck past Cleveland’s Jet Greaves to win the game for Providence in the shootout on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Shorthanded was the theme of the weekend for the Providence Bruins.

They were without top players in Anthony Richard, Justin Brazeau and Mason Lohrei, who are up with Boston and may have seen the last of the AHL if they continue their good play in the NHL.

But in the first two games of the weekend the P-Bruins scored a total of four shorthanded goals – including an absolutely ridiculous three on Friday night.

Providence ended up winning all three of its games, starting with a 4-3 overtime decision at home against the Cleveland Monsters on Friday. On Saturday, the P-Bruins went on the road and beat the Springfield Thunderbirds, 5-4. Back home on Sunday afternoon, Providence climbed out of an 0-2 hole in the first six minutes and edged Cleveland in a shootout, 4-3.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With 19 games left, Providence holds down second place in the Atlantic Division with a 33-15-3-2 record and 71 points, nine points ahead of third-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They are third overall in the AHL behind Hershey and Milwaukee.

— The P-Bruins are 16-3-1 since Jan. 1.

— Dan Renouf is a good defender not known for dangles. But he scored the goal of the season on Friday night, doing a 360-degree swivel in the slot before beating Cleveland goalie Pavel Cajan over the blocker for a dazzling shorthanded goal.

— What a weekend for Georgii Merkulov. He buried the winner in overtime on Friday, scored a goal and set up two others on Saturday, then walked a Cleveland defender and scored a highlight reel goal and added a tuck in the shootout on Sunday. Merkulov is third in the AHL with 21-28-49 in 48 games.

— With three shorthanded goals on Friday and another on Saturday, Providence is tied for the league lead with 12 shorthanded goals. The penalty kill outscored the power play, 4-3, in the three games.

— Springfield beat Providence three times in October when the Bruins were struggling. Since then, Providence has beaten the T-Birds five straight times.

— Terrific performance on Sunday by Brandon Bussi, who came on in relief of Mike DiPietro just over five minutes into the first period and kicked out 32 of 33 shots, then two out of three in the shootout.

— Jayson Megna continued his excellent play with 1-1-2 on Friday and four assists on Saturday. He has 2-7-9 in his last six games.

— Reilly Walsh scored the GWG on a power play in Springfield on Saturday.

— The fourth line was terrific on Sunday. One highlight was an epic shift in the Cleveland end in the second period that culminated in a pretty goal – Trevor Kuntar to Joey Abate to Vincent Arseneau – that tied the game at two.

— Vince Arseneau had a good fight against Springfield’s Sam Bitten early in Saturday’s game, then had a goal and put a perfect backhand pass on Trevor Kuntar’s tape to earn an assist on Sunday.

— Trevor Kuntar had 1-1-2 and deposited a Cleveland player into his own bench with a big hit on Sunday.

— Joey Abate had a strong weekend. He was physical and effective on the forecheck and recorded two assists on Sunday.

— Frederic Brunet had a goal and an assist on Saturday. He got a lucky break on the goal when his shot ramped off the stick of a Springfield defender and floated past goalie Malcolm Subban.

— Brett Harrison scored his first shootout goal as a pro to win the game on Sunday.

— Providence outshot Cleveland, 18-8, in the second period on Friday and 20-9 in the second on Sunday.

— The P-Bruins have swept four three in threes this season.

— They have the most road wins in the league with 19.

BAD

— Johnny Beecher’s gone 12 straight games without a goal. He didn’t register a shot on goal on either Friday or Saturday.

— Off an offensive zone draw, the P-Bruins gave up a goal with one second left on the clock in the first period on Friday night.

— In both games against Cleveland, Providence allowed a goal with the netminder out and an extra attacker on the ice in the final two minutes of the third period.

— Providence took zero penalties on Sunday. That’s only a negative because it stopped them from scoring any more shorthanded goals.

UGLY

— Nothing ugly this weekend. Nope, not one thing.

After dancing a Cleveland defenseman, Georgii Merkulov tucks the puck into the net for Providence’s third goal on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Brandon Bussi and Mikey DiPietro celebrate DiPietro’s 24-save shutout against Hartford on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins split their two games, both at home, over the weekend.

Trailing by two goals against the Bridgeport Islanders on Friday night, the P-Bruins clawed back to tie the game but lost on a late goal, 3-2. On Sunday afternoon, Providence bounced back with a very solid 3-0 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack.

“It’s good to see that we responded. I really liked our back end tonight. I thought they did a fantastic job and Michael [DiPietro] was fantastic as well,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence remains a solid second in the Atlantic Division with a 30-15-3-2 record and 65 points. They are six points ahead of third place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They are one of only three teams to reach the 30-win mark so far, along with Hershey (38) and Milwaukee (33).

— After tying Friday’s game on a strong move to the net to score his career-high 18^th goal , Justin Brazeau received a well-deserved NHL contract with Boston on Sunday. It’s a two-year, two-way deal with an AAV of $775,000.

Brazeau has gotten better every year since landing in Providence in 2021. This season his plus-24 is tied for third in the league. With his imposing size, he is a load for opposition defensemen. While he won’t often be the first guy in on the forecheck, he excels at protecting the puck on the walls in the offensive zone and working the net front on the power play.

— Michael DiPietro continued his excellent play with his fourth shutout of the season on Sunday. Once Providence took the lead, DiPietro made some timely saves in the third period on the way to the win. He is 15-6 with a 2.17 goals-against average (fifth in the AHL) and a .927 save percentage (fourth in the AHL).

— Fabian Lysell failed to record a shot on Friday, but had a good game on Sunday with his 14^th goal of the season and an assist. It was his 10^th multi-point game of the season. After scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 54 games last season, he has 14-26-40 in 44 games so far this year.

— Good response from John Farinacci on Sunday. He went right after Hartford’s Mac Hollowell after a big hit on Frederic Brunet.

— Ian Mitchell had two assists on Sunday. He is plus-13 in his last nine games.

— Trevor Kuntar had a goal and five shots against the Wolf Pack.

— Alec Regula continues to lead the league with plus-31.

— Marc McLaughlin broke a streak of 28 games without a goal when he scored Providence’s first goal on Friday.

— Providence has outscored opponents in the second period, 55-35.

— The Providence Fighting Reds sweaters worn on Friday and Sunday were fabulous.

— Attendance on Sunday was 9,698.

— The P-Bruins play their first-ever home games against the Cleveland Monsters this Friday and Sunday.

BAD

— Cole Bardreau of the Islanders was left wide open to score the game-winner with 35 seconds left in the game on Friday.

— Friday’s loss snapped Providence’s streak of eight straight wins against Bridgeport.

— Providence has had the most power play opportunities in the league with 214, but its success rate on the PP is only 25^th at 16.4 percent.

UGLY

— The P-Bruins are 1-8-0-1 when trailing after two periods.

Fabian Lysell scored a goal and assisted on one on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)