Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

An entertaining and productive season for the Providence Bruins crashed and burned in the first round against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

After finishing at the top of the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference in the regular season, the P-Bruins fell behind, two games to none, at home in the first two games of the playoffs and couldn’t dig their way out of the hole.

They played their best game of the series on Wednesday in Hartford and earned a 6-3 win, but they were outplayed in a 4-0 loss on Friday and lost the series, three games to one.

Season over.

“Disappointing for sure. You look back at the two home games, that’s probably the most disappointing. When you punted the first two games of the series it’s tough to claw your way back in,” coach Ryan Mougenel said after Friday’s loss.

“A lot of good lessons for all of us as a staff, and obviously for some young players – how tough it is in the playoffs and what you have to do to win. Hartford did a real good job of showing us what it takes to win. We weren’t willing to do what they were willing to do.”

Despite finishing first, Providence wasn’t the same team after a 12-day layoff between the end of the regular season and their first playoff game. Hartford deserved the win.

“(The Wolf Pack) did a real good job of limiting our time and space and swarming us,” said Mougenel. “They were on top and us and they were above us. One way for us to nullify that is to play behind them. We had some players that were pretty stubborn in doing it. They learned pretty quickly that Harlem Globetrotter hockey doesn’t win in the playoffs.”

For the final time this season, here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Brandon Bussi was Providence’s best player in the final two games and throughout the series, making some outstanding saves.

He committed highway robbery, as Johnny Pierson used to say on TV38, on Lauri Pajuniemi with the P-Bruins ahead by a goal late in the third period on Wednesday. It was one of the best stops of this or any season.

Pajuniemi had cut Providence’s lead to 4-3 with a goal at 13:34. Shortly after, when there was a stop in play and Bussi came to the bench, he told his teammates, “That’s one’s on me, boys. They aren’t getting any more.”

His next save was the incredible glove save as Pajuniemi bid for the tying tally.

Bussi had a fabulous rookie season. His battle level is elite – he never gives up on the puck.

— Justin Brazeau scored twice and had seven shots on goal in Wednesday’s win.

— Luke Toporowski gave Providence a three-goal cushion on Wednesday as he scored a pretty power play goal on an individual rush and finish in the second period on Wednesday

— Jack Ahcan’s unassisted breakaway goal in the third period of Wednesday’s win increased Providence’s lead to 4-2. It gave his team some breathing room and ended up as the game-winning goal. He earned an assist on Luke Toporowski’s power play goal earlier in the game.

— Joona Koppanen’s not a fighter but credit to him for immediately going after Adam Clendening after the Hartford defenseman’s dirty hit on Fabian Lysell.

— Josiah Didier had two assists on Wednesday.

BAD

— You never want to see a player wheeled off on a stretcher as Mike Callahan was nine seconds into the third period on Friday. Fortunately, Callahan was up and walking around after the game. Will Lockwood of the Wolf Pack received a five-minute penalty for boarding and a game misconduct on the play.

— Providence didn’t put nearly enough heat on Hartford goalie Dylan Garand. The P-Bruins were shut out twice in four games. Six of the seven goals they scored in the series came in Game 3 and two of them were empty netters.

— The P-Bruins have scored nine goals in their last six playoff games.

UGLY

— Adam Clendening of Hartford was suspended for his hit that concussed Fabian Lysell. Ryan Moungenal was on the money when he called the hit “predatory and cowardly.”

— Injured: Marc McLaughlin, Fabian Lysell, Jakub Lauko, Trevor Kuntar

Though he’s not a fighter, Providence’s Joona Koppanen (45) didn’t hesitate in going after Adam Clendening (5), who threw a dirty, dangerous hit on Fabian Lysell. Koppanen went right at Clendening.

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

Luke Toporowski barrels to the net past Hartford’s Zac Jones on Friday. Toporowski scored Providence’s only goal of the weekend on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins dug themselves a hole in their two playoff games this weekend. As a result, their season will be on the line Wednesday night in Hartford.

Because they finished first in the Atlantic Division, the P-Bruins earned a bye in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs. In hindsight, that didn’t help them.

After 12 days between games, Providence wasn’t sharp and was outplayed by the Hartford Wolf Pack in a 1-0 loss in Game 1 of their best-of-five Atlantic Division semifinal at home on Friday. The P-Bruins were better on Saturday, but lost, 2-1.

Now the series moves to Connecticut for a win-or-go-home game on Wednesday. The fourth game, if necessary, will be at the XL Center on Friday.

“Definitely a much better willingness to play the right way (than in Game 1), but not enough, obviously,” coach Ryan Mougenel said after Saturday’s loss. “We need everybody going and I don’t know if we had everybody going. But there were some real good things we can build off of and build some momentum and that’s what we’ve got to do now.”

Providence is certainly capable of winning on the road. In fact, they were better on the road than at home during the regular season with a record of 24-9-3 for a .708 points percentage, second in the league behind Calgary’s .750.

“I think it says a lot about our team, a team that can play well on the road. The one thing we’ve had, we’ve had great bounce back. It says a lot about the guys in the room. There’s guys with tons of pride. They don’t want their season to end, they want to extend it,” Mougenel said.

“Kudos to Hartford. They’re doing a good job playing above us and that’s testament that they know we’re fast. We have to do a better job playing behind them, creating anxiety with our feet. You just can’t have three or four guys, we’ve got to do it by committee. We’ve got strong belief and that’s what it’s about.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Brandon Bussi played very well in both games, stopping 57 of 60 shots. He denied Tanner Fritz twice on shorthanded breakaways on Friday. “I just wish we could give him some run support,” said Mougenel.

— Luke Toporowski scored Providence’s only goal of the weekend, a bar-down rip on his former Kamloops teammate Dylan Garand on Saturday night. He posted a team-high total of six shots in the two games.

— The penalty kill was a perfect 5 for 5 on Friday and Saturday.

— Mike Callahan came to Brandon Bussi’s defense and fought 6-foot-6 Tim Gettinger after Gettinger ran over Bussi.

BAD

— The power play went 0 for 4 in the two games.

UGLY

— Providence had only 14 shots in Friday night’s 1-0 loss. Hartford’s Dylan Garand will never have an easier shutout.

— One goal in two games is not going to take you far in the postseason or any other time.

— Going back to last season, in Providence’s last four playoff games, in 264:39 of play, they’ve scored only three goals.

— Injured: Trevor Kuntar

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

Brandon Bussi hugs winning goalie Kyle Keyser (38) after Sunday’s game. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The last weekend of the regular season ended on a high note for the Providence Bruins as they clinched first place in the Atlantic Division in the final period of the final game on Sunday.

The P-Bruins started their three-in-three weekend with a lackluster 7-2 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds on the road on Friday night. They responded in a big way on Saturday at home against the Bridgeport Islanders. Providence trailed 3-1 in the second period before rallying for a 5-3 victory.

Saturday’s win put Providence in position to jump over the Hershey Bears and into first place by beating Springfield at the AMP on Sunday, which they did.

The P-Bruins took an early lead, but the game was knotted at three after two periods.

Before the last period, coach Ryan Mougenel told his team, “We’ve got 20 minutes to just outcompete them and execute and we can put a banner in the stands and you guys can all be a part of that. That’s a pretty special thing to do as a group.”

In the third period, they exploded for four goals and won going away, 7-3.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence finished first in the Atlantic Division and in the Eastern Conference with a record of 44-18-8-2. It’s their third Atlantic Division title in the last four years. They have a bye in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

— The P-Bruins outscored Bridgeport and Springfield by a combined 7-0 in the third period.

— Jack Ahcan had an epic third period on Sunday. He went top shelf for a shorthanded goal that turned out to be the game-winner and added an assist on Marc McLaughlin’s insurance goal. For the weekend, he had 1-4-5 and was plus-eight.

— Chris Wagner had a great weekend. He scored a shorthanded goal on Friday, then scored twice and added an assist on Sunday and was plus-four. He finished with a career-high 19 goals.

— Vinni Lettieri has 8-9-17 in his last 10 games. He put up 23-25-49 in 48 games.

— Eduards Tralmaks had his best weekend of the season and it’s probably not a coincidence that it happened after Ryan Mougenel reunited the 664-pound line of Tralmaks, Joona Koppanen and Justin Brazeau. Tralmaks scored the game-winner from Koppanen and Brazeau on Saturday. The line combined for five points on Sunday, including a goal and an assist by Tralmaks.

— Georgii Merkulov led the team in scoring with 24-31-55 in 67 games. He finished second in the AHL in rookie scoring.

— Connor Carrick’s plus-15 is the best on the team. Dan Renouf is second with plus-10.

— Rookie defenseman Frederic Brunet was impressive in his pro debut on Saturday. He assisted on two goals.

— Rookie forward Brett Harrison posted his first point as a pro with an assist on Saturday.

BAD

— Providence finished with the worst road power play in the league at 14.8 percent.

— The penalty kill had a tough weekend, giving up five goals in 14 shorthanded situations.

— Providence allowed a goal 38 seconds into the game on Saturday.

— After taking an early 2-0 lead on Friday, the P-Bruins gave up seven straight goals.

— They gave up two goals in 12 seconds in the second period and two goals in 1:56 in the third period of Friday’s game.

UGLY

—  Injured: Nick Wolff, Trevor Kuntar

Eduards Tralmaks stuffs the puck past Bridgeport’s Jakub Skarek for the game-winner on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

Rookie Mason Lohrei recorded his first point as a pro with an assist on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

At home for three straight games, the Providence Bruins earned four of a possible six points last week.

They snapped a two-game losing streak with a solid 3-1 win over the Hershey Bears on Wednesday. They ground out a 3-1 win against the last-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday. Then they lost to the red-hot Hartford Wolf Pack, 5-3, on Saturday.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins head into the final week of the season in second place in the Atlantic Division with 94 points. They trail first-place Hershey by a point. They have a bye for the first-round of the playoffs.

— Providence went 5-1 against Hershey this season.

— Vinni Lettieri returned from an ankle injury against Hershey and scored the winning goal and added an assist. He scored an empty net goal to clinch the win against WBS. He’s averaging a point per game with 21-24-45 in 45 games.

— Shane Bowers scored twice against Hershey and again against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His first tally against Hershey snapped a 38-game goal-less streak.

— Connor Carrick made a terrific pass to Vinni Lettieri on the winning goal on Friday. Carrick was plus-2 on both Wednesday and Friday.

— Brandon Bussi delivered yet another fine performance on Friday, stopping 36 of 37 shots in the win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His .925 save percentage is second in the AHL.

— Kyle Keyser played well against Hershey, stopping 28 of 29 shots. He was very strong in the third period when the P-Bruins were outshot, 14-4.

— Luke Toporowski had a good weekend. On Friday he made a play to get the puck to the net and it was tipped in by Eduards Tralmaks, giving Providence the lead with 18 seconds left in the second period. On Saturday he smoked a wrist shot past Dylan Garand for his 14th goal of the season. Toporowski would probably be closing in on 20 goals if he hadn’t missed a couple of months with a knee injury.

— On his 30th birthday on Saturday, Josiah Didier scored two goals. He hadn’t scored since Dec. 4. It was the first multi-goal game of his pro career.

— Mason Lohrei recorded his first point as a pro, earning the second assist on Josiah Didier’s first goal on Saturday.

— Eduards Tralmaks scored a goal on Friday and assisted on one on Saturday.

BAD

— The power play went 0 for 8 in the three games. It is 1 for its last 21 and is last in the AHL at home at 14.3 percent.

— Georgii Merkulov has come a long way with his defensive zone play this season, but he was minus-3 on Saturday.

— Three of Hartford’s first 13 shots went in on Saturday.

UGLY

— The AHLTV broadcast from the Amica Mutual Pavilion on Saturday night was unwatchable at times. I don’t see camera work that bad anywhere else in the Atlantic Division.

— Injured: Nick Wolff, Joey Abate, Trevor Kuntar

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

Justin Brazeau celebrates after scoring his 16th goal of the season on a first-period power play on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It wasn’t a particularly good week for the Providence Bruins. They didn’t play very well while winning once and losing twice.

In Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday night, they escaped with a 4-3 shootout win against the last-place Penguins. The road-weary P-Bruins were blitzed, 5-0, by the Hartford Wolf Pack on the road on Friday night, then were beaten, 5-2, at home against the Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With six games left in the regular season, Providence has clinched a place in the playoffs and is in second place in the Atlantic Division with 90 points, one behind Hershey, which visits the AMP on Wednesday night.

— Johnny Beecher’s arrow is pointing up. He didn’t hesitate to drop the gloves with Brandon Scanlin on Friday after the Hartford defenseman blasted Sammy Asselin into the boards and he scored a nice goal on Saturday.

— Attendance continues to be strong. A crowd of 10,503 was at Saturday’s game on Star Wars Night. Providence is fourth in the AHL with an average of 7,787.

— Fabian Lysell scored a slick goal against Wilkes-Barrie/Scranton and buried the only goal in the shootout in Providence’s win.

— Connor Carrick assisted on both Providence goals on Saturday. He has 6-34-40 in 58 games.

— Brandon Bussi stopped all three Penguins shooters in the shootout win on Wednesday.

BAD

— The P-Bruins’ eight-game win streak ended with the loss in Hartford.

— They gave up a goal 19 seconds into Saturday’s game.

— Providence gave up two goals in 49 seconds in the first period against the Penguins and two goals in 44 seconds in the first period against the Islanders.

— Confusion between defense partners Mike Callahan and Josiah Didier led to a goal for Hartford with two seconds left in the first period on Friday.

— Don’t know how there was no penalty called on Bridgeport’s Chris Terry for dangerously shoving Joona Koppanen into the boards at the end of the second period on Saturday. Referee Chad Ingalls was 10 feet away and looking right at the play.

— The power play went 1 for 13 in the three games.

— Fabian Lysell has been minus-1 in five straight games. His minus-12 is the worst on the team.

— The team bus from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton didn’t pull into the AMP until around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday.

UGLY

— Injured: Vinni Lettieri, Mike Reilly, Joey Abate, Nick Wolff, Matt Filipe

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

The Providence Bruins continue to pile up wins. They extended their winning streak to seven with a pair of road victories against a good Charlotte Checkers team over the weekend.

In the first game on Saturday, Providence won, 3-1, despite being outshot, 31-18. On Sunday, the P-Bruins trailed by a goal early in the second before scoring four straight in a 5-2 victory.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence is in first place in both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference as of Monday. They are 39-14-8-2 with a .698 points percentage. Only the Calgary Wranglers (.734) and the Coachella Valley Firebirds (.726) are ahead of them.

— Goaltending has been a strong suit all season. In Saturday’s win, Brandon Bussi stopped 30 of 31 shots and improved his record to 19-4-4 with a .928 save percentage, which is second in the AHL. His glove save on Cory Conacher on Saturday was one of the best of the year. On Sunday, Kyle Keyser kicked out 19 shots, including a great stop on Connor Bunnaman with three seconds left in the second period. Keyser is 11-3-2 with a .913 save percentage.

— Georgii Merkulov scored a goal in each game after picking off bad passes by Charlotte. He leads all AHL rookies in scoring with 23-27-50 in 58 games and has 16 goals in his last 22 games.

— After missing two months with a knee injury, Luke Toporowski buried a breakaway goal in first game back on Saturday.

— The power play went 2 for 7 in Sunday’s win.

— Chris Wagner’s score on Saturday gave him a career-high 16 goals.

— Connor Carrick had a power play goal on Sunday on a bomb from long range and has 2-8-10 in his last 7 games.

— Fabian Lysell was credited with three assists on Sunday.

— Dan Renouf was plus-three on Sunday.

BAD

— Providence gave up a two-on-one while on the power play and allowed a shorthanded goal by Lucas Carlsson on Sunday.

— The roughing call on Justin Brazeau by referee Jackson Kozari on Sunday was a joke.

— Mike Reilly took a terrible fall into the boards in the third period on Sunday. Luckily, he wasn’t seriously hurt.

UGLY

— Injured: Vinni Lettieri, Mike Reilly, Joey Abate, Nick Wolff, Matt Filipe

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

Michael DiPietro stopped 33 shots in his first start for Providence, a 4-2 win over Syracuse. He was one of three P-Bruins goalies to record a win last week. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins won all three of their games over the last week and they continue to hold down first place in the Atlantic Division.

They started with a solid 4-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch at home on Wednesday. On Saturday, Providence played very well on the road in a 4-1 victory against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Back home before a big crowd on Sunday, the P-Bruins earned a 3-2 shootout win against the Thunderbirds.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence has won five games in a row. With 11 games left in the regular season, they have a record of 37-14-8-2 and 84 points. They are three points ahead of second-place Hershey, which has a game in hand.

— Joona Koppanan had a tremendous week. He scored a goal and an assist against Syracuse and an assist in Springfield. Then on Sunday he scored a shorthanded goal and a power play goal and buried the only goal for the win in the shootout.

— The power play went four for nine in the three games.

— The P-Bruins got wins from three different goalies. Playing his first game with Providence, Michael DiPietro stopped 33 shots in the win against Syracuse. Brandon Bussi stopped 32 of 33 shots and improved his record to 18-4-4 with the win in Springfield. Kyle Keyser made one of the best saves of the year on Adam Gaudette at the final buzzer, then denied all three Thunderbirds shooters in the shootout in Sunday’s win.

— Georgii Merkulov scored twice against Syracuse and once in Springfield.

— Connor Carrick had three assists against Syracuse. He has 1-7-8 in the last five games. He also stepped up and fought Keean Washkurek after the Springfield player snowed Kyle Keyser.

— Fabian Lysell had a goal and an assist against the Crunch.

— Curtis Hall scored his first goal of the season in Springfield.

— The crowd of 10,054 got its money’s worth at Sunday’s entertaining game. Providence’s average attendance is up to 7,697, which is an increase of over 700 fans per game from 2021-22.

BAD

— I looked high and low and couldn’t find anything bad this week.

UGLY

— Injured/sick: Vinni Lettieri, Fabian Lysell, Luke Toporowski, Nick Wolff, Matt Filipe

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

Chris Wagner takes the puck to the net against Hershey goalie Zach Fucale on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

A weekend that started on a sour note turned out to be one of the most impressive of the season for the Providence Bruins.

They had lost four of their last five games after they dropped a 6-3 decision in Springfield on Friday night. And the outlook was grim going into Saturday night’s home game against the first-place Hershey Bears as the P-Bruins were without Vinni Lettieri, Georgii Merkulov, Marc McLaughlin and Jakub Lauko.

But after falling behind by two goals in the opening 10:42, the P-Bruins rallied for a 3-2 win.

Then on Sunday, Vinni Lettieri turned in one of the great performances in recent franchise history. He scored a hat trick and added an assist in the first 10:20 as Providence jumped out to an early lead on their way to a 5-3 victory and a sweep of the two games against Hershey.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The weekend ended with Providence in first place in the Atlantic Division with 78 points, three ahead of Hershey.

— Lettieri’s hat trick in 10:20 on Sunday was the fastest by a P-Bruin since Randy Robitaille scored three in 14:14 on Nov. 25, 1998. In that game, Providence scored 10 goals in the first period in a 14-2 win at Syracuse. Lettieri finished with 3-2-5 on Sunday and has 19-23-42 in 43 games.

— After going 11 games without a goal, Oskar Steen scored twice in Springfield on Friday and notched the game-winner and added an assist on Saturday.

— Connor Carrick scored a goal on Saturday and assisted on all three of Lettieri’s goals on Sunday.

— Eddie Tralmaks had a goal and an assist on Saturday. Chris Wagner had a goal and a helper on Sunday.

— Even though he gave up five goals on Friday, Kyle Keyser kept the score close with several brilliant stops.

— Providence’s come-from-behind win in the third period on Saturday is even more impressive when you consider that before then Hershey’s record when leading after two periods was 20-1-0-1.

— Brandon Bussi made 21 saves in Saturday’s win, improving his record to 17-4-4. His .925 save percentage is second in the AHL.

— Dan Renouf scored his first goal of the season in Springfield on a nifty setup from Jakub Lauko. Renouf dropped the gloves with Greg Printz after Printz dropped Fabian Lysell with a hard hit.

— Johnny Beecher threw his best hit of the season with 3:50 left on Saturday. His clean shoulder check lifted Hershey’s Jake Massie off his skates and knocked him to the ice. Beecher had a goal and an assist on Sunday.

— After drawing crowds of 9,112 and 8,186, the P-Bruins are fourth in the league with an average attendance of 7,673.

BAD

— Going into Sunday’s game, Providence’s power play at home was dead last at 14.3 percent. (But they did score a power play goal in the first period.)

— The P-Bruins are giving up 32.05 shots per game. That’s 29th in the AHL.

UGLY

— Injured: Luke Toporowski, Marc McLaughlin, Joey Abate, Matt Filipe

Johnny Beecher reacts after Jake Massie of Hershey objected to Beecher’s crushing check on him in Saturday night’s game. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

The Providence Bruins have hit a rough stretch. Struggling to score goals, they were fortunate to return from a three-game road trip with two out of six points.

Coming off an ugly home loss to Rochester on Feb. 26, the P-Bruins got off to a great start in Bridgeport on Thursday night as Georgii Merkulov scored a power play goal 68 seconds in. They held onto the lead well into the second period before giving up seven straight goals and losing, 7-1, to the Islanders.

In Hershey on Saturday, Providence managed only 11 shots, but snuck away with a 1-0 victory over the first-place Bears.

On Sunday, they were outplayed for long stretches and lost to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 3-1.

 Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence is in second place in the Atlantic Division, just one point behind Hershey.

— Chris Wagner willed Providence to a win in their last visit to Hershey on Dec. 31 and his all-out effort helped deliver Saturday’s victory. In a scoreless game in the third period, Wagner threw a couple of hard checks on the boards and in open ice. Then his hit knocked a Hershey defenseman off the puck behind the net, allowing the P-Bruins to gain possession. Seconds later, Wagner fed Marc McLaughlin for the only goal of the game.

— Brandon Bussi rebounded from a tough night in Bridgeport with a standout performance against Lehigh Valley. It could have been a one-sided loss if not for Bussi, who stopped 36 of 38 shots.

— Kyle Keyser stopped all 22 shots in Hershey for his first shutout of the season. It was exactly the kind of performance that was needed after Thursday’s tough game.

BAD

— The P-Bruins have scored three goals in the last three games. They didn’t generate nearly enough chances in the last two games. The absence of Vinni Lettieri and Luke Toporowski leaves a big hole.

— Fabian Lysell is minus-10 and has no goals in the last seven games. Oskar Steen has gone 11 games without a goal. Joona Koppanen hasn’t scored in 10 games. Curtis Hall has no goals in 31 games this season and one goal in his last 62 games.

— Providence went 17 minutes without a shot in Hershey and finished the game with only 11.

— Even though Paul Thompson of the Islanders was in the crease and getting in Brandon Bussi’s way in what looked to be a clear case of interference, referees Reid Anderson and Jason Williams allowed his goal that tied the game in the second period in Bridgeport.

The P-Bruins appeared to lose focus, allowing another goal just 21 seconds later, and a third goal only 19 seconds into the third period. The final score was 7-1, the worst loss of the season.

While there was more than enough blame to go around, it was a rare poor performance for Bussi as he allowed six goals on 26 shots.

— Third-place Charlotte is closing the gap on Providence. The Checkers are now five points back with the P-Bruins holding a game in hand.

UGLY

— On Sunday, Marc McLaughlin’s nose was cut when his face was rammed into the glass by Garrett Wilson with 9:17 left in the third and he was cut near the eye in his fight with Wilson with 1:17 left in the game. He gushed an alarming amount of blood, but was OK after the game.

— Injured: Vinni Lettieri, Luke Toporowski, Joey Abate, Matt Filipe

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

Celebrating Friday’s overtime win are, from left, Johnny Beecher, Jakub Lauko, Justin Brazeau and Connor Carrick. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It wasn’t a particularly good weekend for the Providence Bruins.

They pulled out a sloppy 6-5 win in overtime against the Charlotte Checkers at home on Friday.

“We weren’t good tonight, at all,” coach Ryan Mougenel said after the game.

Things got worse on Sunday, that’s for sure, as the P-Bruins fell behind by four goals to the Rochester Americans at the AMP before the game was 12 minutes old. The final score was 5-1.

Providence managed to finish the weekend still in first place in the Atlantic Division with 72 points, one point up on the Hershey Bears.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Mike Reilly had a tremendous game on Friday with his first hat trick since peewees and two assists. He recorded an assist on Sunday, too. He has 24 points (7 goals, 17 assists) in 27 games.

— Johnny Beecher had a good game against the Checkers with a goal and three assists. In overtime, he rocketed into the offensive zone and fed Jakub Lauko for the game-winner. He added another goal on Sunday. He has 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in his last 7 games. His plus-11 leads Providence’s forwards.

— Jakub Lauko had just one shot on Friday, but he made it count. He potted the winner off the rush in overtime.

— Georgii Merkulov scored a goal on Friday. He has 10 goals in the last 12 games.

— Connor Carrick’s plus-10 is best among the team’s defensemen.

— Providence is tied for the league lead with 19 wins on the road, which is where their next four games will be.

BAD

— Fabian Lysell has one assist and is minus-7 in his last four games.

— Providence is 0-3-1 in its last four Sunday games.

— The P-Bruins led three times on Friday, but gave up the lead each time.

— Providence had a tough time in its two games against Rochester this season. In addition to Sunday’s debacle, they blew a two-goal lead and lost with six seconds left in overtime in November. Something to keep in mind if they meet again down the road.

— After going 1 for 9 on the power play this weekend, they are 31st in the AHL on the PP at home.

UGLY

— To say that Providence was loose in the defensive zone in both games is understating it.

— Kyle Keyser was beaten four times on seven shots in the first 11:27 on Sunday before he got the hook.

— Injured: Vinni Lettieri, Luke Toporowski, Joey Abate, Matt Filipe