Providence’s Vincent Arseneau and Hershey’s Dylan McIlrath engaged in a heavyweight bout a couple of minutes into Saturday night’s game. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The second week of the AHL season was better than the first for the Providence Bruins, but not by a lot.

While they earned three out of six points in three home games, the P-Bruins still have lots of work to do to hit their stride.

On Wednesday, Providence did enough to earn its first victory of the season, a 4-2 decision over the Bridgeport Islanders. On Friday, they didn’t play well in a 3-2 loss to the Hershey Bears.

In a rematch on Saturday night, Providence showed plenty of character in the third period and forced overtime by scoring with nine seconds left in regulation time. They lost, 5-4, in a shootout, but they displayed good pushback in coming from behind twice to get to OT.

“I think it showed a lot. It said a lot. One of the messages before the game was it’s going to be a revealing game for the group. Not just individuals,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

“(Vincent Arsenault) did an amazing job of stepping up for his teammates (by fighting Hartford’s Dylan McIlrath). Unfortunately, the response from some of our guys wasn’t the right thing. Things like that can’t go unaddressed. Your teammate steps up for you, for you guys. He’s fighting the toughest guy in the league. I’m proud of how a lot of the guys responded. I’m disappointed in some of the guys, as well.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly. 

GOOD

— Vincent Arseneau dropped the gloves and went toe-to-toe with Hershey heavyweight Dylan McIlrath early in Saturday’s game. Arseneau was answering McIlrath’s cross-check to the back of Oskar Steen’s head at the end of Friday’s game.

“I can’t say enough about what he did,” said Mougenel.

— Trevor Kuntar had a good week and scored the first goal of his pro career against Bridgeport. Dan Renouf, Justin Brazeau, Georgii Merkulov, Fabian Lysell recorded their first goals of the season during the three games.

— John Farinacci is off to a good start to his rookie season. He’s tied for the team scoring lead with 2-3-5 in 5 games.

“I like everything about Farinacci. He probably hears it a lot, but there’s a reason why he got into Harvard. It’s reflected in the way that he plays. He’s a really good player, he’s smart and he’s building trust with the coaching staff. Those are the guys that go up and have longevity in the NHL is guys that coaches trust. You’re seeing it up (with Boston). (Jim Montgomery) has trust in (Johnny) Beecher,” said Mougenel.

“That’s an important thing and that’s what we’re trying to instill in our guys. You play the right way and the details are there, you are going to get rewarded. If you play on the move and cheat for offense, you’re not. That’s what it’s about sometimes.”

— Michael DiPietro won his first start of the season, stopping 23 of 25 shots against Bridgeport. He made a great stop on Arnaud Durandeau with 4:30 left and Providence shorthanded and protecting a one-goal lead.

— Luke Toporowski smoked a shorthanded goal past Bridgeport’s Jakub Skarek.

— Oskar Steen has started strong and leads the team in goals with 3 in 5 games.

BAD

— Mougenel benched Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov for the entire second period on Saturday night. They did return in the third period and play well.

“They’re young players, but sometimes to get young players’ attention you have to take some things away,” Mougenel said.

— Tough times for the power play, which went 1 for 16 in the three games. Providence had two lengthy 5 on 3s on Saturday night but didn’t score.

— Luckily, Oskar Steen was not injured on Dylan McIlrath’s cross-check, but he certainly could have been. McIlrath, who has played on the edge of the rules throughout his career, was assessed a two-minute penalty at the 20-minute mark of the third period, so he didn’t even have to serve it. The AHL reviewed the play and decided not to suspend McIlrath, though he was fined $200. The bottom line, then, is McIlrath paid a minimal penalty for a cross-check to an opponent’s head.

— The P-Bruins didn’t have much going in the Hershey end of the ice in Friday night’s game, mustering only 16 shots.

— Bridgeport’s first period goal was one that Michael DiPietro stops 9 times out of 10, but it got by him on Wednesday night.

UGLY

— Injured: Anthony Richard