It was another strong weekend for the Providence Bruins as they earned four out of six points.
On Friday, the P-Bruins ground out a 2-1 home win against Bridgeport. Their six-game winning streak and 12-game point streak was snapped at Bridgeport on Saturday when they dropped a 4-2 decision. At home on Sunday against a rested Syracuse team that is one of the best in the AHL, the injury-riddled P-Bruins won, 4-0.
“Our guys showed a lot of courage to go out there and play that way. They had some excuses they could have leaned on, but they didn’t. They were pros,’’ said Leach after Sunday’s game.
Here’s the good, bad and ugly.
GOOD
*** Zane McIntyre stopped 52 of 53 shots in his two starts. He has won 11 games in a row and is tied for second in the league with 19 wins. He posted his 10th career shutout with the P-Bruins on Sunday and now is one behind Tim Thomas and Hannu Toivanen, who hold the franchise record with 11.
*** Providence finished the weekend in third place in the Atlantic Division. With a .590 win percentage, the P-Bruins are just behind second-place Bridgeport (.595).
*** The P-Bruins are 16-3-3 at home. Their .795 win percentage is the best in the AHL.
*** Karson Kuhlman scored twice against Syracuse. His plus-22 is tied for fifth in the league.
*** Zach Senyshyn made a nice play to set up Kuhlman for a shorthanded goal with 25 seconds left in the second period against Syracuse.
*** Cameron Hughes scored goals on Saturday and Sunday.
*** Gemel Smith continues to play well. He had four assists on the weekend.
*** In his first game with the P-Bruins since 2012, Steven Kampfer blew up Syracuse’s Taylor Raddysh with a clean check on Sunday. It was one of the hardest hits seen at The Dunk this season.
BAD
*** The P-Bruins blew a 2-0 lead on Saturday night.
*** Providence went 0 for 8 on the power play in Bridgeport. For the weekend, the PP was 0 for 15.
*** The holding call on Chris Breen in the second period on Sunday by referee Reid Anderson was weak.
*** The schedule will be a challenge, with five straight three-in-three weekends coming up.
UGLY
Injured: Ryan Fitzgerald, Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril, Kyle Cumiskey, JFK, Austin Fyten, Paul Carey, Anders Bjork.