
Justin Brazeau scored twice on Saturday and added another goal on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)
Okay, it wasn’t a perfect week for the Providence Bruins, but they’ll take two wins in three games all season long.
The P-Bruins started the week with a 5-2 win at Bridgeport on Wednesday. They traveled to Bridgeport again on Saturday for their eighth straight road game and won, 6-3. Back home on Sunday for their first game at the Amica Mutual Pavilion since Dec. 16, Providence lost to the Utica Comets, 2-1.
“It’s tough. They come in (having played) three in three and at the end of the day we had opportunities to get it done and we fell short,” said coach Ryan Mougenel. “There’s lessons in it, for sure. I haven’t really liked our Sundays at all here. It’s something to address and get better at.”
Here’s the good, bad and ugly.
GOOD
— As of Sunday night, Providence was in second place in the Atlantic Division – two points behind Hershey — and tied for second in the AHL with 47 points. They’ve lost only seven of 34 games in regulation time.
— Providence went 5-2-1 in its eight straight road games from Dec. 17 to Jan. 7.
— A pair of quick strikes left the P-Bruins in good shape in Bridgeport. They scored two goals in 13 seconds (Oskar Steen and Jakub Lauko) on Wednesday and twice in 30 seconds (Joona Koppanen and Vinni Lettieri) on Saturday.
— Justin Brazeau is on a hot streak with 3-4-7 in his last five games. He had two goals and was plus-4 on Saturday night and added another goal on Sunday afternoon.
— Joona Koppanen had a goal and an assist in each of the games in Bridgeport.
— Vinni Lettieri scored the game-winner and added an assist on Saturday. With 12-16-28 in 33 games he continues to lead the team in goals and points.
— Jakub Lauko has a goal and three assists in the last three games. He is plus-10 so far after finishing last season at minus-28.
— Oskar Steen is playing some of his best hockey of the season with 3-4-7 in his last five games.
— Joey Abate had a strong game on Wednesday with a goal and five shots. He’s tied for second in the league with six fighting majors.
— Mike Reilly scored the longest goal of the season on Saturday, hitting the empty net from 198 feet near the end of the game. Brandan Bussi earned his first assist of the year.
— After drawing 8,562 fans on Sunday, the P-Bruins are fourth in the AHL with an average crowd of 7,027.
BAD
— Utica scored on its second shot of the game on Sunday.
— Going into Sunday’s game, Providence was allowing an average of 33.97 shots per game, second-most in the AHL.
— Starting on Saturday, P-Bruins play five straight games against Hartford.
UGLY
— The power play remains a problem. After going 0 for 5 on Sunday, the PP is 30th in the AHL at 14.5 percent.
— Injured: Eduards Tralmaks, J.D. Greenway, Matt Filipe