Brett Harrison fires the puck past Cleveland’s Jet Greaves to win the game for Providence in the shootout on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Shorthanded was the theme of the weekend for the Providence Bruins.

They were without top players in Anthony Richard, Justin Brazeau and Mason Lohrei, who are up with Boston and may have seen the last of the AHL if they continue their good play in the NHL.

But in the first two games of the weekend the P-Bruins scored a total of four shorthanded goals – including an absolutely ridiculous three on Friday night.

Providence ended up winning all three of its games, starting with a 4-3 overtime decision at home against the Cleveland Monsters on Friday. On Saturday, the P-Bruins went on the road and beat the Springfield Thunderbirds, 5-4. Back home on Sunday afternoon, Providence climbed out of an 0-2 hole in the first six minutes and edged Cleveland in a shootout, 4-3.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With 19 games left, Providence holds down second place in the Atlantic Division with a 33-15-3-2 record and 71 points, nine points ahead of third-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They are third overall in the AHL behind Hershey and Milwaukee.

— The P-Bruins are 16-3-1 since Jan. 1.

— Dan Renouf is a good defender not known for dangles. But he scored the goal of the season on Friday night, doing a 360-degree swivel in the slot before beating Cleveland goalie Pavel Cajan over the blocker for a dazzling shorthanded goal.

— What a weekend for Georgii Merkulov. He buried the winner in overtime on Friday, scored a goal and set up two others on Saturday, then walked a Cleveland defender and scored a highlight reel goal and added a tuck in the shootout on Sunday. Merkulov is third in the AHL with 21-28-49 in 48 games.

— With three shorthanded goals on Friday and another on Saturday, Providence is tied for the league lead with 12 shorthanded goals. The penalty kill outscored the power play, 4-3, in the three games.

— Springfield beat Providence three times in October when the Bruins were struggling. Since then, Providence has beaten the T-Birds five straight times.

— Terrific performance on Sunday by Brandon Bussi, who came on in relief of Mike DiPietro just over five minutes into the first period and kicked out 32 of 33 shots, then two out of three in the shootout.

— Jayson Megna continued his excellent play with 1-1-2 on Friday and four assists on Saturday. He has 2-7-9 in his last six games.

— Reilly Walsh scored the GWG on a power play in Springfield on Saturday.

— The fourth line was terrific on Sunday. One highlight was an epic shift in the Cleveland end in the second period that culminated in a pretty goal – Trevor Kuntar to Joey Abate to Vincent Arseneau – that tied the game at two.

— Vince Arseneau had a good fight against Springfield’s Sam Bitten early in Saturday’s game, then had a goal and put a perfect backhand pass on Trevor Kuntar’s tape to earn an assist on Sunday.

— Trevor Kuntar had 1-1-2 and deposited a Cleveland player into his own bench with a big hit on Sunday.

— Joey Abate had a strong weekend. He was physical and effective on the forecheck and recorded two assists on Sunday.

— Frederic Brunet had a goal and an assist on Saturday. He got a lucky break on the goal when his shot ramped off the stick of a Springfield defender and floated past goalie Malcolm Subban.

— Brett Harrison scored his first shootout goal as a pro to win the game on Sunday.

— Providence outshot Cleveland, 18-8, in the second period on Friday and 20-9 in the second on Sunday.

— The P-Bruins have swept four three in threes this season.

— They have the most road wins in the league with 19.

BAD

— Johnny Beecher’s gone 12 straight games without a goal. He didn’t register a shot on goal on either Friday or Saturday.

— Off an offensive zone draw, the P-Bruins gave up a goal with one second left on the clock in the first period on Friday night.

— In both games against Cleveland, Providence allowed a goal with the netminder out and an extra attacker on the ice in the final two minutes of the third period.

— Providence took zero penalties on Sunday. That’s only a negative because it stopped them from scoring any more shorthanded goals.

UGLY

— Nothing ugly this weekend. Nope, not one thing.

After dancing a Cleveland defenseman, Georgii Merkulov tucks the puck into the net for Providence’s third goal on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Brandon Bussi and Mikey DiPietro celebrate DiPietro’s 24-save shutout against Hartford on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins split their two games, both at home, over the weekend.

Trailing by two goals against the Bridgeport Islanders on Friday night, the P-Bruins clawed back to tie the game but lost on a late goal, 3-2. On Sunday afternoon, Providence bounced back with a very solid 3-0 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack.

“It’s good to see that we responded. I really liked our back end tonight. I thought they did a fantastic job and Michael [DiPietro] was fantastic as well,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence remains a solid second in the Atlantic Division with a 30-15-3-2 record and 65 points. They are six points ahead of third place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They are one of only three teams to reach the 30-win mark so far, along with Hershey (38) and Milwaukee (33).

— After tying Friday’s game on a strong move to the net to score his career-high 18^th goal , Justin Brazeau received a well-deserved NHL contract with Boston on Sunday. It’s a two-year, two-way deal with an AAV of $775,000.

Brazeau has gotten better every year since landing in Providence in 2021. This season his plus-24 is tied for third in the league. With his imposing size, he is a load for opposition defensemen. While he won’t often be the first guy in on the forecheck, he excels at protecting the puck on the walls in the offensive zone and working the net front on the power play.

— Michael DiPietro continued his excellent play with his fourth shutout of the season on Sunday. Once Providence took the lead, DiPietro made some timely saves in the third period on the way to the win. He is 15-6 with a 2.17 goals-against average (fifth in the AHL) and a .927 save percentage (fourth in the AHL).

— Fabian Lysell failed to record a shot on Friday, but had a good game on Sunday with his 14^th goal of the season and an assist. It was his 10^th multi-point game of the season. After scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 54 games last season, he has 14-26-40 in 44 games so far this year.

— Good response from John Farinacci on Sunday. He went right after Hartford’s Mac Hollowell after a big hit on Frederic Brunet.

— Ian Mitchell had two assists on Sunday. He is plus-13 in his last nine games.

— Trevor Kuntar had a goal and five shots against the Wolf Pack.

— Alec Regula continues to lead the league with plus-31.

— Marc McLaughlin broke a streak of 28 games without a goal when he scored Providence’s first goal on Friday.

— Providence has outscored opponents in the second period, 55-35.

— The Providence Fighting Reds sweaters worn on Friday and Sunday were fabulous.

— Attendance on Sunday was 9,698.

— The P-Bruins play their first-ever home games against the Cleveland Monsters this Friday and Sunday.

BAD

— Cole Bardreau of the Islanders was left wide open to score the game-winner with 35 seconds left in the game on Friday.

— Friday’s loss snapped Providence’s streak of eight straight wins against Bridgeport.

— Providence has had the most power play opportunities in the league with 214, but its success rate on the PP is only 25^th at 16.4 percent.

UGLY

— The P-Bruins are 1-8-0-1 when trailing after two periods.

Fabian Lysell scored a goal and assisted on one on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Adam McQuaid, Bruins player development coordinator, was on the Providence bench this weekend. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Coming off a very abbreviated AHL all-star break, the Providence Bruins split their two weekend games.

They lost to the best-in-the-league Hershey Bears, 3-1, at home on Friday night. They rebounded 24 hours later and beat the Wolf Pack in Hartford, 4-1.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence is 29-14-3-2 for 59 points. They are second in the Atlantic Division, 13 points behind Hershey, which is running away from the rest of the league. The P-Bruins are eight points ahead of third-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They are 12-2-1 since Jan. 1.

— Mikey DiPietro was an afterthought in the trade that sent Jack Studnicka from Boston to Vancouver last season, but he’s putting himself back on the map with a terrific year. He stopped 34 of 35 shots in the win at Hartford.

He is 14-6 with a goal-against average of 2.28 (seventh in the league) and a save percentage of .924 (fourth in the league).

— Fabian Lysell blocked a slapshot by Dylan McIlrath with 15:45 left in the game against Hershey. Big deal, you might say, players block shots all the time. True, but McIlrath uncorked a 100.8 mph slapper at the AHL All-Star Skills Competition a week ago, so Lysell deserves a stick tap for standing in there when the big man wound up.  

Lysell has put together a good stretch of games over the last six weeks. It stands to reason Boston is going to give him a look at some point to see what they have (and perhaps to give potential trade partners a peek). This might be a good time to do that, after two stinkers in three games by the parent club. Changing things up a bit couldn’t hurt.

— Jayson Megna had a strong game on Saturday with a shorthanded goal and an assist. He was selected as the first star.

— Taking advantage of a Hartford turnover, Justin Brazeau put a backhand pass on the tape of Georgii Merkulov, who went bar down for Providence’s first goal on Saturday night. As of Sunday morning, Merkulov was fourth in the AHL in scoring with 18-25-43 in 43 games.

— Johnny Beecher’s speed backed off the Hartford defense and helped lead to Patrick Brown’s goal early in the second period on Saturday.

— Rookie Brett Harrison got a good bounce on Friday when his shot deflected off a Hershey defenseman and into the net for his fifth goal of the year. After a slow start, the 20-year-old winger’s play has picked up. He has 2-6-8 in the last eight games.

— Attendance on Friday night was 8,578. The last six home games have drawn crowds of over 8,000. Providence is sixth in the 32-team AHL in average attendance.

BAD

— I’ve watched a lot of Providence Bruins games over the years, but can’t recall ever seeing them put the puck in their own goal from 190 feet away. Until Friday night, that is. With Providence trailing by a goal in the final minute and Brandon Bussi pulled for an extra skater, Justin Brazeau flung the puck from near the Hershey goal line toward the blue line, figuring that a teammate would be there to grab it. Instead, the puck went all the way down the ice and into the Providence net.

— Providence wasn’t able to get much going at all on offense against Hershey, managing only 13 shots.

— The P-Bruins are winless against the Hershey juggernaut this season, with three losses in regulation time, one in overtime and one in a shootout.

UGLY

— Injured: Mason Lohrei, Jakub Zboril, Frederic Brunet

After the Providence Bruins won only one of their first seven games in October, it appeared they might be in for a long season.

That idea seems almost laughable now.

The P-Bruins rolled into the AHL All-Star break with a firm grip on second place in the Atlantic Division, behind only the Hershey Bears, who are in the midst of what could be a historic season. With a record of 28-13-3-2, Providence is second in the league in points and fourth in points percentage.

This week they went to Charlotte for games on Friday and Saturday and won both by a 4-2 score, stretching their winning streak to six games. They are 15-2-1 since losing three in a row in December.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Brandon Bussi, who stopped 26 of 28 shots in Friday’s win, has won his last eight starts. His save percentage in those games is .929.

— Michael DiPietro kicked out 35 of 37 shots on Saturday. His .921 save percentage is sixth in the AHL.

— With two assists on Friday and a goal on Saturday, Georgii Merkulov continues to lead the team and is sixth in the league with 17-25-42 in 41 games. He’ll play in the All-Star Game on Monday night in San Jose.

— Fabian Lysell scored a goal in each game. He is now second on the team with 13-25-38 in 42 games. On a team that is short on trade chips, his value is trending up.

— Off a beautiful setup by Johnny Beecher, Patrick Brown’s shorthanded goal was the winner on Friday night.

— Justin Brazeau had a goal on Friday and two assists on Saturday. His plus-23 is fifth in the AHL.

— Ian Mitchell has 1-5-6 and is plus-12 in his last five games.

— Dan Renouf scored his fourth goal of the year on Friday. That’s a career-high. He is sixth in the league with plus-22.

— Jayson Megna potted a goal in both games. He’s scored three times in the last four games.

— The P-Bruins haven’t had much trouble with Spencer Knight so far. After beating him five times last Sunday and four times on Friday, they scored twice on four shots in the first nine minutes on Saturday before he got the hook. Knight is making $4.5 million playing in the AHL this season.

— The P-Bruins are 17-8-2 on the road. Their .667 points percentage on the road is tied for fifth in the league.

BAD

— The disparity between the power play at home (28^th in the league at 14 percent) and on the road (19^th in the league at 19.1 percent) is a head-scratcher.

— Providence is 0-2-1-1 heading into their home game against mighty Hershey on Friday. It’s been close, though. Every game has been decided by one goal.

— Marc McLaughlin is without a goal in his last 26 games.

— The P-Bruins were outshot 10-2 and 16-6 in the second period in Charlotte.

UGLY

— Injured: Mason Lohrei, John Farinacci, Reilly Walsh