
Jack Studnicka is leading the Providence Bruins in scoring. (Photo by Chris Emerson)
The Providence Bruins lost one and won one on their trip to New York over the weekend.
After a 3-1 loss to the Binghamton Devils on Friday, the P-Bruins rebounded with a 6-2 victory against the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday.
The win kept Providence in third place in the very tight Atlantic Division playoff race.
“We played the way we wanted to play for the first 15 minutes of the game. It was a good response from (Friday night),’’ coach Jay Leach said after the win in Syracuse. “We got into some penalty trouble and our goaltender stood tall for us. We were able to score on the power play and I thought we had a really solid third on the road for a big two points.’’
Here’s the good, bad and ugly.
GOOD
— It was a very good week for Jack Studnicka. After scoring three goals at the AHL All-Star Classic on Monday, he tallied Providence’s only goal in Binghamton on Friday. The next night in Syracuse, Studnicka scored twice and added two assists. His first goal came on a nifty finish on a breakaway in the first period. His second assist was a beautiful setup to Joona Koppanen. He leads the P-Bruins in scoring with 17-18-35 in 46 games.
— After scoring a goal and two assists against Syracuse, Oskar Steen has 5 points in 5 games.
— Nice work by Dan Vladar in Syracuse. After coming in cold when Max Lagace left the game with an injury with 17:18 left, Vladar stopped all seven shots that he faced.
— The power play went two-for-four on Saturday.
— Stick tap for Josiah Didier, who was signed to a two-year contract extension. Didier stood up for Dan Vladar after Binghamton’s Nathan Bastian collided with him.
— Steven Kampfer was hit in the upper body with a slapshot in Syracuse, but returned to the game and scored his first goal of the season. Stick tap for the equipment staff, which quickly handed Kampfer a new stick after he snapped one. He has 1-4-5 in 8 games.
BAD
— A pileup in the corner that grew out a big hit by Josiah Didier late in the game in Binghamton somehow resulted in 36 minutes in penalties. Seems like three or four minor penalties would have covered it.
— Despite a four-point game in Syracuse, Jack Studnicka was not selected as one of the three stars of the game.
— Providence gave up 21 shots in the first period on Saturday.
— Not sure if it was missed assignments or a bad bounce off a defensive zone draw, but the puck ended up in Providence’s net for Binghamton’s first goal on Friday.
— The P-Bruins gave up a power play goal and a shorthanded goal in the loss to Binghamton.
— A power play goal by Providence was taken off the board in the second period in Binghamton because the net was off its pegs, but it appeared to be Devils’ goalie Gilles Senn who knocked it off.
UGLY
— Injured: Cameron Hughes, Chris Breen, Peter Cehlarik, Jakub Lauko