BUFFALO – It was a bumpy ride for the Boston Bruins rookies in the opener of the Prospects Challenge on Friday.

The Bruins squandered a 3-1 first period lead on the way to a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins prospects.

“I thought (the Pens) got through the neutral zone extremely easy. We didn’t get a lot of skin on guys, watched them skate by us. Those are all fixable, teachable moments. We’ll be better at it tomorrow,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

Goal scorers for the Bruins were free agent Markus Vidicek (Halifax) and Providence Bruins John Farinacci and Brett Harrison.

“I really liked a lot of the guys that were in Providence last year,” said Mougenel, mentioning Farinacci, Harrison and Riley Duran, who bull-rushed the net leading to Harrison’s goal.

Here are quick hits on three players.

FREDERIC BRUNET

A play in the third period put an exclamation point on the progress Brunet has made over the last 12 months.

The second-year defenseman took out a Pens player hard along the boards and when the player pushed back, Brunet added a stiff arm that earned him a roughing penalty.

A year ago in Buffalo, Brunet wouldn’t have made such a physical play. He hadn’t yet signed his entry-level deal. His lack of confidence was evident.

Now, after spending a year in Providence, Brunet’s confidence is growing.

“Just that play showed – I got a penalty, I’m not proud of it – but just taking the guy out, having that mindset, that physicality, is a huge step,” said Brunet, who wore an “A” for Friday’s game.

“I approach it the same as last year – I want to prove myself, leave a good image. The difference is my confidence, to make better plays, hold onto the puck a little more, have confidence to not force it and make some plays that maybe last year I didn’t have. I’m here to compete like last year but the difference is confidence.

“I’m working a lot on my defense right now. I define myself as a hybrid D-man,” combining strong offense and defense.

“I really want to work on my physicality. It’s really a big thing in my game. If I can do that, maybe I can show I’m ready for the next step,” he said.

TREVOR KUNTAR

Kuntar was in the thick of the action throughout the game, from a hard finish on Pittsburgh’s Rutger McGroary on the boards in the first period to a scrum in the closing minutes that landed him in the box.

“You don’t have to tell Kuntar twice that you have to play harder, that’s for sure. It’s built into him,” said Mougenel.

“He’s easy to sell to (Jim Montgomery): This is what he is, this is what he does. He plays hard every shift. There’s a market for that. There’s not a lot of guys like that around. He recognizes that, he’s a smart kid. He’s another kid you root for. “

Kuntar put up 20 points and 113 penalty minutes as a rookie pro.

“He’s got to build a little bit more finish into his game, for sure. He got a lot of opportunities to score last year in Providence. First-year player, what did he have, 10 (goals)? Probably should have had 15 with some of the looks he had. Just rounding out his game, he’s got to be a guy we rely on on the PK,” said Mougenel.

If and when Kuntar reaches the NHL, penalty killing would be a handy skill to have.

“He’s going to have to kill penalties at the NHL level, I think. That’s going to be a little bit of his DNA up there,” said Mougenel.

DREW BAVARO

Early in the game the rookie from Notre Dame made a slick play at the offensive blueline and fired a shot that was tipped in by Vidicek for Boston’s first goal.

That was the good news. The bad news was a third period turnover that resulted in a three-on-one for Pittsburgh, which they capitalized on for their sixth goal.

With the Bruins trailing by two goals at the time, you can understand Bavaro’s decision to take a chance.

“I hold myself to a high standard, so you never want that to happen, but in terms of how the game was going, I knew we had to make a push there,” he said.

“It was a little bit of a high-risk play, but if things are cleaned up a little bit that’s still a play I can execute. Maybe a little less fluff, as Moug likes to call it, getting that thing to the net, that’s a strong point in my game. Making that extra pass worked (in the first period) but it doesn’t always work. You learn from it.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Mougenel on Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov heading into NHL training camp next week:

“I do think they’re in a really good spot to push (to make the big club). They’ve got the right staff for those guys. Monty has a ton of patience for young players. They’vd got Chris Kelly, who is really good at the details and (coaching players) to value what’s important in the NHL. Then you’ve got Joe Sacco, who is great for those young players, too. When (Lysell and Merkulov are) ready to graduate, they’ll be in good hands.”