The Providence Bruins hit the AHL All-Star break on a positive note, earning five out of six points at home.

They started the week by beating the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday, coming from behind in the third period and winning in a shootout, 3-2.

They beat the Phantoms in regulation time on Friday, 4-3, scoring three times in just under 12 minutes in the second period.

On Saturday, the P-Bruins rallied from a goal down in the third period to take the lead against Hershey, but gave up a late goal, then lost in a shootout.

“I didn’t like our game in the first two periods,’’ coach Jay Leach said after Saturday’s game. “I thought they competed harder than we did in those two periods. However, I liked our response in the third. We responded and played the way we need to play.’’

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins are 6-1-0-1 in their last eight games for 13 out of 16 points.

— It was the best week of the season so far for Zach Senyshyn. With Providence trailing by one in the third period on Wednesday, he picked the perfect time to snap a streak of 12 games without a goal as he tied the game on a breakaway. He assisted on two goals on Friday, including one where he made a good play to win a puck along the boards, carry behind the net and then feed Karson Kuhlman for the score.

— Peter Cehlarik scored the only goal in the shootout on Wednesday, then scored twice in the third period on Saturday. Credit to Brett Ritchie for doing the heavy lifting on Cehlarik’s first goal. His second goal against Hershey was a very well-executed power play set up with Trent Frederic and Cooper Zech.

— Karson Kuhlman, who will undoubtedly be recalled by Boston after their bye week, scored two shorthanded goals on Friday. The first one came on a picture-perfect feed from Jack Studnicka. The P-Bruins lead the AHL with 14 shorthanded goals.

— Good stick by Oscar Steen, freeing up the puck on Brendan Gaunce’s goal on Friday. Steen scored a goal in a deflection on Wednesday.

— Brendan Woods made a spectacular pass to Ryan Fitzgerald for a goal on Friday.

— Max Lagace was a rock in the shootout against Lehigh Valley on Wednesday. Dan Vladar made some big stops in the third period to protect a one-goal lead against the Phantoms on Friday.

BAD

— With Jack Studnicka in the penalty box for cross-checking, Providence gave up the game-tying goal against Hershey.

— Hershey outshot Providence in overtime, 7-2.

— Announced attendance for Wednesday’s 6 p.m. game was 6,102, but  there looked to be under 1,500 people in the building,

— The P-Bruins don’t have another home game until Feb. 9.

UGLY

— Injured: Cameron Hughes, Jakub Lauko, Chris Breen, Brendan Woods

 

The Providence Bruins on Sunday were less than a minute away from closing out the weekend on a high note with a come-from-behind win in their third game in three nights.

Instead, the Springfield Thunderbirds scored twice in the last minute of regulation time to tie the game, then won on a power-play goal in overtime. It was a defeat that left a sour taste after the P-Bruins showed great resilience by rallying in the third period to take the lead.

Providence came away from the weekend with three out of six points.

They probably deserved a better fate in Friday’s 2-1 home loss to Bridgeport after they outshot the Sound Tigers, 44-26. In a rematch on the road on Saturday, the P-Bruins scored a goal in every period in a 3-1 win.

On Sunday, Providence had a 5-3 lead in the final minute before Springfield’s Owen Tippett (19:19) and Alexei Saarela (19:51) scored to force OT. Saarela’s power play goal with 1:40 left in extra time sent the T-Birds home with a W.

“We have a group over here that’s certainly trying their hardest and (is) perhaps a little fatigued. Then you have a group over there that’s excellent offensively,’’ said Providence coach Jay Leach.

“You’re going to get these games. These two teams always have entertaining games. Some nights they’re fun to be a part of and some nights, like tonight, they’re not.’’

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Trent Frederic was a standout all over the ice on Saturday with a goal and two assists.

— Newcomer Brett Ritchie had a strong weekend. He scored twice in Bridgeport and did a good job screening the goalie on Peter Cehlarik’s goal on Sunday.

— Paul Carey and Brendan Gaunce scored two goals each on Sunday.

— With three assists on Sunday, Jack Studnicka snapped a streak of nine straight games without a point.

— Zach Senyshyn had gone 12 games without a point before earning an assist on Sunday.

— Josiah Didier had to be helped to the dressing room after blocking a couple of shots in the second period in Bridgeport, but he returned for the third period.

BAD 

— The P-Bruins outshot Bridgeport, 19-4, but scored only once in the third period of Friday’s loss.

— Late goals were a problem on Sunday. Springfield scored with 1:55 left in the first period, with five seconds left in the second, and then with 41 seconds and with 9 seconds left in the third.

— Providence had 56 seconds of five-on-three in the third period on Friday but couldn’t score. The power play is 22^nd in the AHL at 15.7 percent.

UGLY

— With points at a premium in the Atlantic Division, giving up two goals in the last minute of regulation, then losing in overtime, is a tough way to end a weekend.

— Providence is 8-10-1-1 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Only Bakersfield and San Jose have worse home records.

—   Injured: Jakub Lauko, Cameron Hughes, Robert Lantosi

Finally snapping out of their scoring funk, the Providence Bruins won both of their games over the weekend.

The P-Bruins beat the Springfield Thunderbirds, 5-2, on the road on Saturday night, then won in a rematch at home, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon. The wins helped them keep pace in the Atlantic Division playoff race.

“We were ready to play today,’’ coach Jay Leach said after Sunday’s game. “We certainly know the importance of these games. When you play a team 14 times and you’re two points away from each other in the standings, you’re certainly looking at your season and your opportunity to be in the playoffs. We did a good job of recognizing that opportunity.’’

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— After scoring a total of three goals in their previous four games, Providence put up five goals in two consecutive games.

— The P-Bruins helped themselves with strong starts in both games. They took the lead at 3:13 on Saturday and at 2:52 on Sunday. They are tied for the AHL lead with 17 wins when scoring first.

— Karson Kuhlman scored an empty netter on Saturday for his first goal of the season. He was a standout on Sunday, winning races all over the ice and scoring a goal and an assist.

— Anton Blidh scored a greasy rebound goal from the top of the crease on Saturday, then converted a penalty shot on Sunday for his first two scores of the season.

— Brendan Woods had a good weekend. He earned an assist on Saturday, then scored Providence’s first and last goals on Sunday. He was involved physically in both games. Woods has seven goals, matching his total for last season.

— Trent Frederic has hit a lot of posts and crossbars this season, but he got a very lucky bounce on Saturday when a carom off the boards left him with an empty net for Providence’s first goal. It was Frederic’s first goal in nine games. Frederic had a Gordie Howe hat trick on Saturday.

— Dan Vladar’s save percentage is .935 after he stopped 26 shots on Saturday.

— On his 27^th birthday on Sunday, Max Lagace made some of his most spectacular saves of the season, absolutely robbing Jonathan Ang, Henrik Borgstrom and Joel Lowry.

— Brendan Gaunce had a goal and an assist on Saturday and has 1-3-4 in his last three games.

BAD

— The P-Bruins lost Robert Lantosi to an eye injury early in Saturday’s game after he was checked into the boards by Joel Lowry.

— Since returning from injury on Dec. 21, Zach Senyshyn has gone eight games without a point.

— The P-Bruins’ power play is 21^st in the league at 16.3 percent.

UGLY

— Injured: Cameron Hughes, Robert Lantosi, Jakub Lauko

The Providence Bruins are off to a rocky start in the new year. Their struggles at the end of 2019 have carried over into the early days of 2020.

Providence dropped all three games over the weekend, extending their losing streak to four. They are now 1-6 in their last seven.

The weekend started with a tough-luck 3-1 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday in a very well-played game. They played poorly in 4-0 loss to the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday and weren’t much better on Sunday, losing 4-1 to the Checkers. All three games were at home.

“We’ve had a tough go with scoring lately,’’ said coach Jay Leach after Sunday’s loss. “We just haven’t been able to score goals for whatever reason.

“I thought Friday night’s game was a good game. We put a lot of energy into trying to get a couple of goals and we just couldn’t do it. We lost in a heartbreaking fashion and then we chased it for the rest of the weekend.’’

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Jack Studnicka and Paul Carey were selected to play in the AHL All-Star Classic later this month. Well-deserved.

— Paul Carey scored a brilliant unassisted shorthanded goal in the first period of Friday’s game against Hartford.

— Attendance was better than it’s been recently, with crowds of 7,983, 7,820 and 8,246.

BAD

— After scoring 11 straight goals in wins over Springfield and Scranton / Wilkes-Barre a couple of weeks ago, Providence has scored only seven goals in the last seven games while being shut out three times.

— Providence’s power play is in a 0-for-22 slump.

— The P-Bruins gave up 43 shots in Saturday night’s loss.

— Talk about bad luck, Trent Frederic hit the post or crossbar four times on Saturday, according to Jay Leach.

— Urho Vaakanainen was outmuscled by Boo Nieves on Hartford’s winning goal with 26 seconds left on Friday.

— Jakub Zboril was on the ice for all four of Charlotte’s goals on Saturday.

— Providence has given up empty-net goals in the last three games.

UGLY

— Providence’s nine losses at home is tied for second-worst in the AHL.

— Between Paul Carey’s goal in the first period on Friday and Robert Lantosi’s in the final minute on Sunday, the P-Bruins went 172:13 without scoring.

— Injured: Cameron Hughes, Jakub Lauko