An impressive number of teddy bears and assorted stuffed animals were collected at Sunday’s Teddy Bear Toss.

The Providence Bruins won two of their three games this week.

They scored a late goal to beat the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-2, on the road on Wednesday. They lost, 4-1, to the Bridgeport Islanders in Connecticut on Saturday, after beating Bridgeport in their first 10 meetings this season. At home on Sunday, Providence squandered a third period lead before scoring a late goal to beat the Hershey Bears, 5-4.

“Those mistakes can’t happen, but they’re going to happen. It’s how you respond,” coach Ryan Mougenel said after Sunday’s game. “I liked the fact that some of the guys that made that mistake on the game-tying goal went out and got our game-tying goal. That says a lot.

“We’re not a team that can trade chances. We’re not built like that. We get chances out of how we defend and we defend first. That’s important.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins finished the weekend in first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with a record of 43-11-1 for 87 points and a .791 points percentage. They are eight points ahead of second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Atlantic with two games in hand.

— They are 22-6 at home and 21-5-1 on the road.

— Even though the regular season doesn’t end until April 18, Providence clinched a place in the Calder Cup playoffs when Springfield lost to Iowa, 2-1, on Saturday. It will be the 12^th straight season in the playoffs for the P-Bruins, the longest active streak in the AHL.

— Sunday’s win was another of what I’ve been calling the team’s refuse-to-lose games. Providence blew a two-goal lead and then a one-goal lead in the third period and the outlook was grim before Jake Schmaltz and Riley Tufte scored 2:02 apart and the P-Bruins walked away with the victory.

— It was a good week for Matt Poitras. He scored the GWG with 1:49 left on Wednesday. He dished the puck to Tufte for the winner on Sunday and was credited with the primary helper on Christian Wolanin’s power-play goal in the first period. He also played a very physical game on Sunday, handing out several thumping body checks.

— Joey Abate made a nice move to beat a Hershey defenseman, score the first goal of the game and get the Teddy Bear Toss festivities out of the way early in the first period on Sunday.

— Michael DiPietro was brilliant in Hartford, stopping 39 shots and leaving the Wolf Pack shaking their heads in disbelief after several saves. He was credited with an assist on Joey Abate’s goal on Sunday, his second helper of the season. He leads the league with 26 wins.

— Riley Tufte continues to put pucks in the net. After scoring goals in all three games last week, he’s up to a career-high 25 tucks in 48 games. He is tied for the league lead with six game-winning goals.

— Playing wing for the first time this season, Jake Schmaltz went to the blue paint and scored the game-tying goal in the third period on Sunday.

— The P-Bruins trailed by two goals halfway through the game in Hartford before rallying for a 3-2 win.

— Providence signed Christopher Brown, Patrick Brown’s younger brother, to a PTO. The two had never played on the same team as pros. Though they played on different lines on Sunday, stick taps for the coaching staff for putting them in the starting lineup.

BAD

— Epic fail by FloHockey and the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport for not being able to provide a stream of Saturday night’s game between and Bruins and Islanders. I’m not commenting here on anything that happened in that game because I don’t know what the hell happened since I wasn’t able to watch any of it.

— Providence ended up with a win on Sunday, but not before blowing a two-goal lead by giving up three goals in nine minutes in the third period.

UGLY

— Injured: Dans Locmelis, Simon Zajicek

Riley Duran goes to his backhand to finish of a nifty shorthanded breakaway goal on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins.)

After losing two in a row last weekend, the Providence Bruins got back on track by winning all three of their games this week.

They returned from a trip to Pennsylvania with a 6-4 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday. Back at home, they dug deep to rally from two goals down in the third period and beat the Bridgeport Islanders in a shootout, 4-3, on Saturday and posted a 3-2 victory against the Islanders again on Sunday.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence is 41-10-1 and is first in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with 83 points and a .798 points percentage. They are five points ahead of second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with three games in hand.

— Matej Blumel, Riley Tufte and Patrick Brown combined for one of the more flashy goals of the season against Lehigh Valley. In the offensive zone, Blumel tossed the puck to Tufte, who batted it out of the air to Brown, who bunted it into the net for Providence’s fourth goal of the game. The goal made ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10. On the ensuing faceoff at center ice, a Phantoms player turned to a Bruin and said, “So you guys are the Globetrotters now?”

— Brown scored twice against the Phantoms. His plus-34 continues to lead the league.

— Billy Sweezey’s plus-28 is second in the AHL. He threw a number of punishing hits on Saturday night.

— Ty Gallagher had a strong week. In addition to defending well, he posted an assist on Wednesday, a goal and an assist on Saturday and two assists on Sunday. He’s making good strides in his first full year as a pro.

— Georgii Merkulov set up Providence’s first goal on Wednesday, then scored its second, too.

— Blumel had a goal and two assists against Lehigh Valley. He also scored goals on Saturday and Sunday. He has 4-7-11 in his last eight games.

— A pretty pass by Frederic Brunet set up Joey Abate’s goal on Wednesday.

— Riley Tufte’s shootout goal clinched Saturday’s victory. His plus-26 is tied for fourth in the AHL.

— Michael DiPietro stopped all three Bridgeport shooters in Saturday’s shootout win. On Sunday he kicked out 37 of 39 shots. He’s tied for the AHL lead with 24 wins. His .937 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average are No. 1 in the league.

— Riley Duran scored a highlight reel shorthanded goal in Sunday’s win.

— With Providence protecting a one-goal lead late on Sunday, John Farinacci and Brett Harrison came through with key shot blocks.

— The P-Bruins are 10-0 against Bridgeport.

— Sweezey, Mike Callahan, Jake Schmaltz and John Farinacci were standouts in killing a penalty in overtime on Saturday.

BAD

— Providence allowed two goals in 1:29 in the third period against the Phantoms as their 4-1 lead was cut to 4-3.

— Two words to describe the interference penalty that referee Damian Figueira whistled on Patrick Brown in OT on Saturday: Holy crap.

— The P-Bruins were outshot 12-1 in the first 15 minutes of Sunday’s game.

— Providence’s home power play is 25^th in the league at 14.9 percent. Strangely, on the road, the PP is a league-best 28.2 percent.

UGLY

— Injured: Simon Zajicek, Dans Locmelis

— The bus arrived back from Lehigh Valley at 3:45 a.m. on Thursday.

Providence’s Dalton Bancroft and Belleville’s Djibril Touré had a spirited bout on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins haven’t had many – or any — weekends like this one so far this season.

After winning a franchise record 13^th game in a row, 5-2, against Belleville on Friday, the P-Bruins lost in Springfield, 3-2, on Saturday, then got off to a bad start and dropped a 5-2 decision to last-place Hartford at the AMP on Sunday. 

 Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence finished the weekend in first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 38-10-1 and 77 points. They are two points ahead of second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with four games in hand.

— Brett Harrison scored twice against Belleville, including one in the opening 27 seconds of the first period.

— Georgii Merkulov had two assists on Friday and one on Sunday.

— Matej Blumel had a goal and an assist against Belleville and two assists against Springfield.

— Patrick Brown had an assist on Saturday and a goal on Sunday.

— With scores against Belleville and Springfield, Riley Tufte is up to 22 goals. Only eight players in the AHL have more goals than he does.

— Providence scored twice in 24 seconds in the last minute of the second period against Belleville.

— Mike DiPietro stopped Belleville’s Lassi Thomson on a penalty shot on Friday.

— The P-Bruins are second in the league on the penalty kill at 85.4 percent.

BAD

— Fabian Lysell’s careless turnover against Belleville led directly to a shorthanded goal for the Senators on Friday night. Lysell has been held without a point in nine of his last 10 games. He didn’t have a shot on goal on either Saturday or Sunday.

— Providence was outshot, 19-5, in the second period in Springfield and gave up three goals, including two in 38 seconds.

— Mike DiPietro, the AHL’s top goalie, had a difficult first period on Sunday, allowing three goals on 12 shots.

— The P-Bruins lost two in a row for the first time this season.

UGLY

— Injured: Simon Zajicek 

After a few days off for the AHL All-Star break, the Providence Bruins jumped back into action with a pair of wins.

They beat the Bridgeport Islanders, 4-2, on the road on Saturday, then beat them again at home on Sunday, 3-2, in overtime.

Coach Ryan Mougenel called Saturday’s game one of his team’s best all season.

Sunday was a different story

“We weren’t good today. That’s going to happen. It was probably the worst I’ve seen us play in the third period. We found a way,” he said.

Providence has won 12 games in a row, tying a franchise record. They’ve gone 16-2 since the calendar turned to 2026.

“It’s a real good group and our veterans and our back end really make it go. Defensively we’ve been real strong.

“A lot of the credit goes to the leaders of this group. Sweezey’s been outstanding, Callahan, Brunet, Wolanin, all the D,” Mougenel said.

All three of the goalies – DiPietro, Cavallin and Zajicek – “have been amazing.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence is 8-0 against Bridgeport this season after going 11-1 last season.

— The biggest positive from Providence’s season to this point just might be the continued development of Frederic Brunet. He fired in what turned out to be the game-winner in Saturday’s game and scored in OT on Sunday. Brunet has 10-16-26 in 46 games so far. He has already surpassed his numbers from last season, when he had 5-20-25 in 69 games.

— John Farinacci received a nice break on Saturday when Bridgeport’s Marshall Warren, trying to clear the puck, accidently rifled it into the top corner of his own net. Farinacci was the last Bruin to touch the puck so he was credited with the goal.

— You won’t see better execution on a three-on-one than the P-Bruins pulled off for the OT goal on Sunday.

— From 195 feet away, Riley Tufte scored his team-leading 20^th goal into an empty net, and added an assist, on Saturday night.

— Fabian Lysell scored a goal and added an assist on Sunday. It was his ninth multi-point game of the season.

— Christian Wolanin scored goals in both games this weekend.

— Sunday’s game drew 10,038 fans.

BAD

— Luke Cavallin was victimized by tough bounces on both Bridgeport goals on Saturday.

— Bridgeport outshot Providence, 18-1, in the third period on Sunday.

— The P-Bruins allowed Bridgeport to tie the game with 2:01 left in the third period on Sunday.

UGLY

— Injured: Simon Zajicek

The Providence Bruins roared into the AHL All-Star break on a 10-game winning streak.

They started the week with a 2-1 win at Bridgeport. At home on Friday, they beat Hartford, 3-1. The next night on the road they edged the Wolf Pack in a shootout, 2-1.

The P-Bruins are in first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 35-8-1-0 and 71 points.

They are three points ahead of second-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with four games in hand.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Georgii Merkulov had a strong week, starting with a primary assist on a power play goal in Bridgeport. He scored twice in Friday’s win. He recorded assist on Saturday before scoring the only goal in shootout. He is second on the team in scoring with 16-20-36 in 42 games.

— Back in Providence after a short but positive stay with Boston, Matt Poitras made a good pass to set up a Merkulov goal and added another assist in Friday’s win.

— Brett Harrison had an assist on Friday, then scored a goal on Saturday at the end of well-executed power play.

— Mike DiPietro stopped 36 of 37 shots on Wednesday and 28 of 29 on Friday. As he heads to the All-Star Game in Rockford, he continues to lead the league with a .943 save percentage and 1.62 goals-against average. He is tied for the AHL lead with 20 wins.

— Luke Cavallin stopped 25 of 26 shots plus three more in the shootout in improving his record to 4-0 with Saturday’s win.

— Christian Wolanin had a productive week. Had scored a power-play goal in Bridgeport and added assists on Friday and Saturday.

— Frederic Brunet scored his eighth goal of the season on Friday.

— Stick tap for Riley Tufte, who came to Brunet’s defense after the Providence defenseman took a big hit in Hartford on Saturday. Tufte scored his team-leading 19^th goal in Bridgeport. It was his 200^th AHL point. His plus-23 is tied for fifth in the AHL.

— Patrick Brown’s plus-28 leads the league and Billy Sweezey’s plus-26 is second.

— Providence’s 84.8 percent penalty kill is second in the AHL. The power play is seventh at 22.2 percent.

BAD

— Once referees Mathieu Menniti and Johnny Daniels whistled Hartford for too many men in overtime on Saturday, it was laughably predictable that a makeup call against Providence was coming. Sure enough, the P-Bruins were called for too many men 73 seconds later.

UGLY

— Let’s be real. They’ve won 10 in a row. They’re in first place. If they’re not the best team in the league, they’re a close second. There’s really not much ugly to be found this week.

— Injured: Simon Zajicek

After a pair of wins in Charlotte over the weekend, the Providence Bruins finished with an 11-2 record in January.

They beat the Checkers by scores of 4-1 on Saturday and 3-0 on Sunday in a game that was closed to the public because of bad weather in North Carolina.

With seven straight wins, the P-Bruins are in first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with a record of 32-8-1-0 for 65 points and a .793 points percentage. They are three points ahead of second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Atlantic with four games in hand.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— It was a weekend to remember for Georgii Merkulov. With an assist on a goal by Dans Locmelis on Saturday, Merkulov tied Andy Hilbert for the most points in franchise history with 210. He broke the record with a helper on a goal by Victor Soderstrom on Sunday. Locmelis grabbed the keepsake puck out of the Charlotte net for Merkulov after the goal. Merkulov has 84-127-211 in 240 games with the P-Bruins.

— Providence is 25-1 when scoring first. They are 25-0 when leading after two periods and 18-0 when leading after one period.

— They are 16-5 at home and 16-3-1-0 on the road.

— With his goal on Saturday, Locmelis is second on the team with 15 goals as he leaves this week to play for Latvia in the Olympics.  

— Riley Tufte scored twice and added an assist in Saturday’s win. He leads the team with 18 goals in 34 games.

— Mike DiPietro was outstanding in stopping 19 of 20 shots on Saturday. When Simon Zajicek apparently reinjured himself and left the game after a period on Sunday, DiPietro stepped in and stopped all 24 shots he faced. He continues to lead the AHL with a .940 save percentage and 1.67 goals-against average.

— Matej Blumel scored twice in Sunday’s win. His first goal was a net-front tip. On the second he kicked the puck to Riley Duran near the blue line and then went to the net and buried a beautiful backhand pass from Duran for the score.

— Stick tap for Mike Callahan for coming to the defense of captain Patrick Brown after Brown took a hit from Charlotte’s MacKenzie Entwhistle in the third period on Sunday.

— After missing several games with an injury, Victor Soderstrom had a productive weekend with an assist on Saturday and a goal and a helper on Sunday.

BAD

— The first four penalties in Saturday’s game went against Providence. When they finally did get a power play 47 minutes into the game, they allowed Charlotte to score a shorthanded goal.

— Six of Providence’s next 13 games are against Bridgeport. No knock on the Islanders, but that’s a lot of games against the same team in a relatively short time.

UGLY

— Injured: Simon Zajicek

Riley Tufte takes the puck to the net against Belleville. He scored his team-leading16th goal in Bridgeport on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins won all three of their games over the weekend.

Two of the games went to overtime and the other was decided in a shootout.

The weekend started with a 2-1 OT win over the Belleville Senators at the AMP. The P-Bruins traveled to Bridgeport on Saturday and came home with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Islanders. Back home on Sunday, Providence beat the Toronto Marlies in OT, 4-3.

Providence finished the weekend in first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with a record of 30-8-1-0 and 61 points. They are three points ahead of the second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with four games in hand.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Down from Boston on a conditioning loan, Jordan Harris scored the winner in OT on Sunday. He also earned an assist on Providence’s OT goal on Friday.

— Fabian Lysell scored the winner in OT on Friday as he and Dans Locmelis worked a slick give and go. Lysell, who has four game-winning goals, also was credited with a helper on Friday. He opened the scoring with a goal on Sunday. With 14 goals, he is tied for second on the team with Patrick Brown, Locmelis and Georgii Merkulov.

— Merkulov had a goal and an assist in Sunday’s game. With 209 points, he is now second all-time in Providence Bruins scoring behind Andy Hilbert, who has 210.

— Matt Poitras had a strong weekend as he scored goals on Friday and Sunday. He had an assist on Sunday, too.

— Michael DiPietro recorded two more wins, beating Belleville and Toronto. He was credited with an assist on the OT goal by Jordan Harris on Sunday. His .938 save percentage and 1.76 goals-against average are best in the AHL.

— John Farinacci scored the only goal in the shootout win on Saturday. On Sunday, he put a perfect pass on Lysell’s stick for Providence’s first goal.

— Luke Cavallin stopped 26 shots on Saturday night in improving his record to 3-0 with a .931 save percentage. He denied all three Bridgeport shooters in the shootout.

— Christian Wolanin had two assists in Bridgeport.

— Off a nice setup by Joey Abate, Dalton Bancroft scored his first goal of the season on Saturday night.

— Frederic Brunet continues to string together strong games. He was a standout in Bridgeport.

BAD

— The P-Bruins were outshot 17-9 in the first period on Sunday.

— Providence was called for too many men in overtime on Saturday. Lysell jumped off the bench too soon.

— In the shootout in Bridgeport, Merkulov lost his chance when he overskated the puck at center ice, much like Brad Marchand did in a Boston game against Philadelphia in January 2020.

— Thirty-six seconds after taking a 3-2 lead in the third period on Saturday, Providence allowed Bridgeport to tie the game.

UGLY

— Injured: Victor Soderstrom, Ty Gallagher, Simon Zajicek

John Farinacci rifles the puck past Cleveland goalie Zach Sawchenko in the first period. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins won two out of three last week and finished the first half of the season in first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference.

They started the week with a 4-1 loss at home to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. On Saturday, they blanked the Cleveland Monsters, 5-0, then beat Cleveland again, 6-2, on Sunday.

Through 36 games, Providence is 27-8-1-0 for 55 points and a .764 points percentage. They are two points up on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with three games in hand in the Atlantic Division.

“There was a lot of growth. It’s a team that enjoys each other, cares for each other, and it’s a little bit indicative of how they play. They do a lot of things that translate to wins, and it’s fun to be around,” coach Ryan Mougenel said, summing up the first half.

“Coming out of our D zone is always going to be a little bit of an adjustment for us as a coaching staff. We’re still finding some of those intrinsic little details. It’s a new D zone system for us so we’re working out the tweaks, learning how to teach it properly, a little simpler.

“For the players, it’s just kind of staying healthy and keeping the focus on what wins and what loses. That’s a big part of it. There were things tonight, when we get away from how we need to play, it doesn’t translate well for us.

“We’ve got good legs and we like our speed. We want to play a north, fast game. We want to get to the walls. We want to complete a lot of plays. For the most part we did that tonight,” Mougenel said.

Who is the MVP of the first half?

“Our leaders have really been our MVP. (Patrick Brown) leads the way. We’ve got that good second tier of leadership with Riley Tufte and Georgii Merkulov. We bring on Christian Wolanin and he’s a leader. Michael Callahan’s been amazing for us. There’s a lot of guys that have done a really good job of setting the bar for us,” said Mougenel.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Mike DiPietro stopped 21 shots for his first shutout of the year on Sunday. He has a 15-5 record and his .938 save percentage and 1.74 goals-against average are first in the AHL.

— Frederic Brunet had one of his best games of the season Sunday, with a goal, two assists and strong defensive play.

— John Farinacci assisted on two goals on Saturday and scored Providence’s first goal on Sunday.

— After a nice give and go with John Farinacci, Fabian Lysell snapped a 10-game goal-less streak with a wraparound goal on Saturday.

— Riley Tufte had a goal and an assist on both Saturday and Sunday. He leads the team with 15 goals in 29 games and is seventh in the AHL with plus-19.

— Matej Blumel scored twice on Saturday and once on Sunday. He had an assist on Wednesday.

— Brett Harrison went to the blue paint and potted his first goal since Dec. 27 on Saturday night.

— Christian Wolanin, who has been a tremendous addition, had a pair of assists on Saturday and a power-play goal on Sunday.

— Patrick Brown had an assist on Saturday and three more on Sunday. He leads the team with 13-26-39 in 36 games. His plus-26 is best in the league.

— Back in the lineup for the first time since suffering a lacerated kidney in November, Max Wanner made a good play with 6:50 left in the first period to lift the stick of a Cleveland player and prevent a goal.

— Providence scored on two of its first three shots on Saturday night.

BAD

— The P-Bruins scored just once on 37 shots against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They didn’t get nearly enough traffic in front of Pens’ goalie Sergei Murashov.

— Late in Wednesday’s loss, with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, a pass by Dans Locmelis in the offensive zone traveled some 180 feet and ended up in the Providence net for an own goal.

UGLY

— Frederic Brunet had a couple of teeth knocked out when he was blasted into the glass from behind by Boko Imama of the Penguins on Wednesday. There was a referee standing 15 feet away, but there was no penalty on the play.

— Injured: Ty Gallagher

Ty Gallagher celebrates after tucking the puck behind Lehigh Valley goalie Aleksei Kolosov for a breakaway goal on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It was another positive weekend for the Providence Bruins as they won two out of three in their first three-in-three of the season.

They beat Bridgeport, 4-1, at home on Friday, had a tough night in losing, 5-1, in Hartford on Saturday, and rebounded with a solid 4-2 win over Lehigh Valley at home on Sunday.

“The most important thing is how you respond (to an off night) and I loved our response today,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Sunday’s game.

“The guys we needed to respond did, the Abates, the Durans. John Farinacci did a lot of really good things. He’s not always rewarded on the game sheet right now. He did a lot of good things – closing in the D zone — subtle things that translate to wins.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins finished the weekend in first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with a record of 25-7-1-0 and 51 points. Their points percentage of .773 is second in the AHL, behind only Grand Rapids, which is at .909.

— Dans Locmelis, who as expected was named to Latvia’s Olympic team, scored a goal on Friday and made a smart play to steal the puck and set up Riley Tufte for a shorthanded goal on Saturday.

— Patrick Brown was selected as one of two playing captains for the AHL All-Star Classic next month.

— Brown’s plus-24 leads the league. Billy Sweezey is second with plus-23.

— Mike DiPietro stopped 24 of 25 shots on Friday and 28 of 30 on Sunday, including a tremendous stop on Jacob Gaucher with four minutes left and Providence ahead by a goal.

— Frederic Brunet played another strong game at both ends on Sunday and scored the game-winner on a wraparound. He scored the GWG last Sunday, too.

— Ty Gallagher showed off an impressive burst of speed to sail in on a breakaway and score Providence’s first goal on Sunday. He earned an assist on Frederic Brunet’s score later in the game.

— Stick taps for Billy Sweezey. He played his 300th AHL game on Friday night.

BAD

— Providence fell behind early in Hartford and never caught up. “We weren’t ourselves. Those games are going to happen from time to time,” said Mougenel.

— Simon Zajicek gave up five goals on 28 shots on Saturday, a rare off night for him, but he had very little help from his teammates.

— The power play went 0 for 11 in the three games.

— Wednesday night’s home game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be Providence’s fourth game in six nights.

UGLY

— Providence gave up two shorthanded goals in Hartford. They’ve allowed five so far this season.

— Injured: Jordan Schmaltz

Freddy Brunet, second from right, is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the go-ahead goal on Sunday against Springfield. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins finished up 2025 and rolled into 2026 last week, winning two of their three games.

For starters, they lost a 4-2 decision to the Thunderbirds in Springfield on New Year’s Eve. They rebounded with a 4-1 win against the Wolf Pack in Hartford on Friday, then returned to the AMP and beat Springfield, 3-1, on Sunday.

As of Monday morning, Providence has 47 points, tied with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Atlantic Division with a record of 23-6-1-0. The P-Bruins have played four fewer games than the Pens.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The AHL announced on Sunday evening that coach Ryan Mougenel will represent the Atlantic Division at the 2026 All Star Classic in Rockford, Ill., next month. It’s well-deserved recognition for the Providence coach.

“It’s an amazing honor, but it’s the players. We have a good bunch here and they work hard. I just really enjoy coming to the rink. I appreciate it, but it’s the players that make it happen,” Mougenel said.

— After missing a couple of weeks with a muscle pull, Michael DiPietro returned with wins against Hartford and Springfield. He stopped 47 of 49 shots in the two games. DiPietro is second in the AHL in both save percentage (.935) and goals-against average (1.86).

— On Friday night and again on Sunday, Patrick Brown could have put the puck into an empty net himself, but instead passed to Georgii Merkulov and Riley Tufte for easy scores. Brown had a goal and an assist on Wednesday. He leads the team in scoring and is fourth in the AHL with 12-22-34 in 30 games. His plus-22 is tied for the league lead. Brown, Providence’s captain, also dropped the gloves with Hartford captain Casey Fitzgerald on Friday shortly after Brown flattened Adam Sykora with a clean hit. Both Brown and Fitzgerald were captains at Boston College.

—  Dans Locmelis had a good week. He scored twice on Friday and had a goal and an assist on Sunday. He is tied with Brown for second on the team with 12 goals

— With a goal in Hartford, Matej Blumel snapped a streak of 12 games without a goal.

— Frederic Brunet scored the winner on Sunday on a shot from distance with 1:11 left in the game. It was his fifth goal of the season in his 30^th game, matching his total from last season in 69 games.

— Stick tap for Georgii Merkulov, who jumped in after Patrick Brown took a hard hit from Springfield’s Hunter Skinner on Wednesday. Merkulov had an assist on Wednesday, a goal on Friday and an assist on Sunday. He leads the team in goals with 13. With 206 points, he now ranks second all-time in P-Bruins scoring behind Andy Hilbert (2001-2005) with 210.

— Riley Tufte, to his credit, came to the defense of Merkulov in Springfield after Merkulov was decked by Wagner. Tufte had two helpers in Hartford and a goal on Sunday, when his physical play sparked Providence to the win in the third period. He has 11-12-23 in 23 games.

— Providence continues to get production from the top of the lineup. Merkulov has 13 goals, Brown and Locmelis have 12, Fabian Lysell and Tufte have 11.

— The P-Bruins are up to third in the league on the power play at 25.8 percent.

BAD

— On Wednesday, an egregious no-call by referees Mike Dietrich and Jim Curtin after Chris Wagner knocked down Merkulov, who didn’t have the puck, led to a bench minor and a game misconduct for abuse of officials on Ryan Mougenel.

— Inadvertently, Locmelis came close to scoring an own goal against Hartford, but DiPietro made the save.

— Providence plays its first three-in-three of the season next weekend.

UGLY

— Injured: Max Wanner, Jackson Edward