Month: February 2025

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Brandon Bussi, left, and Michael DiPietro celebrates Providence’s overtime win on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

For a while on Sunday, it looked like the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were going to run the Providence Bruins right out of their own building.

The Pens scored three goals in 48 seconds in the opening minutes at the AMP.

That’s when Providence coach Ryan Mougenel called timeout.

Captain Patrick Brown did most of the talking.

“Brownie hit the nail on the head. He just said it’s not good enough,” Mougenel said.

The P-Bruins trailed, 4-1, at the end of the first period, but they clawed their way back into the game, eventually sending it to overtime.

With time winding down in extra time, Brown muscled the puck to the net and Georgii Merkulov popped in the rebound with 0.7 left for an exhilarating 5-4 victory.

“It says a lot about our leadership group. We were pretty emotional after the first and it’s an amazing response. It’s a decision by our leaders in how to play and showing the young guys how to do it,” said Mougenel.

“Brown really shows the guys the way. He was unbelievable today.”

Sunday’s win put an exclamation point on a weekend in which the P-Bruins earned four out of six points.

They beat the Utica Comets, 4-2, at home on Friday and then lost, 6-5, on the road to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, setting the stage for Sunday’s memorable finish.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins finished the weekend with a record of 29-17-4-1. They are tied for second with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 63 points, four behind the first-place Hershey Bears in the Atlantic Division.

— You can’t execute a three-man rush better than Jeffrey Viel, Tyler Pitlick and Brown, the goal scorer, did on Providence’s first score in Hartford.

— It was a good weekend for the power play, which went 2 for 4 on Friday, 1 for 5 on Saturday and 1 for 4 on Sunday.

— The penalty kill was a perfect 8 for 8, including holding Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s best-in-the-league power play off the board on a major penalty on Sunday.

— Brown has a six-game point streak. He had a goal and an assist on Friday, two goals on Saturday and two assists on Sunday.

— Frederic Brunet assisted on Providence’s last two goals on Sunday.

— Vinni Lettieri had a goal and an assists on Friday, two goals on Saturday and an assist on Sunday.

— Tyler Pitlick scored a goal against Utica and had three assists against Hartford.

— Billy Sweezey scored his first goal of the season on Sunday.

— Ian Mitchell was a standout on Friday, scoring the game-winner on a third-period power play and adding two assists.

— Max Jones was around it all day against the Penguins with two goals on five shots.

— Joey Abate made a good pass to Trevor Kuntar, who roofed it for a goal on Saturday.

BAD

— It wasn’t the best weekend for goals-against averages and save percentage as the P-Bruins gave up an uncharacteristic 12 goals in 3 games.

— Providence yielded a goal with three seconds left in the first period in Hartford.

— A Brandon Bussi misplay handed Hartford’s Nate Sucese a gift goal in the first period on Saturday.

— Jackson Edward (minus-three) and Frederic Brunet (minus-two) had a tough night in Hartford. Edward is minus-six in his last seven games.

UGLY

— Allowing three goals in 48 seconds, as Providence did in the first period on Sunday, is the definition of ugly.

— Injured/sick: Mason Millman

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Providence’s Tyler Pitlick cuts in on Nico Daws in the Utica net on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Facing two last-place teams in the Utica Comets and Bridgeport Islanders, the Providence Bruins came away with four out of six points over the weekend.

They beat Utica, 5-1, at home on Friday and notched their ninth straight win over Bridgeport, 5-0, in Connecticut on Saturday. Back home on Sunday, the P-Bruins lost to the Islanders for the first time this season, 4-2.

“Friday and Saturday, fantastic. Sunday, we looked like a team that was playing three games in three nights. It’s tough. It’s not an excuse, but it’s tough,” coach Ryan Mougenel said on Sunday.

“We were making a lot of mistakes that we don’t usually make. It’s a product of being tired, but when you’re tired you’ve got to be smart. I didn’t like any of the penalties we took. It was one of our keys, we have to be efficient and smart and stay out of the box.

“We took two penalties that are inexcusable. There’s a difference between a competitive penalty and dumb. I thought (the penalties) they were dumb.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— As of Sunday night, the P-Bruins were 27-16-4-1 for 59 points. They were tied for third place in the Atlantic Division with the Charlotte Checkers. They are one point behind the second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (60) and five behind the first-place Hershey Bears (65).

— John Farinacci’s hot streak continues. He made a blind, between-the-legs pass to Georgii Merkulov for a goal on Friday, recorded two assists on Saturday and scored a goal on Sunday. He has 3-16-19 in his last 19 games.

— Riley Tufte recorded his second Gordie Howe Hat Trick in six games on Saturday.

— Tyler Pitlick had a goal and an assist on Friday and an assist on Saturday and was plus-five for the weekend. With 14 goals, he’s shooting at 22.6 percent.

— Blueliner Mason Millman chipped in with goals on Friday and Saturday night.

— Brandon Bussi stopped 27 shots for his fourth shutout in Bridgeport. He’s won four of his last five starts.

— Providence is 20-0-2-0 when leading after two periods.

— Jeffrey Viel had two assists and was plus-four on Friday, had an assist on Saturday and a goal on Sunday.

— Riley Duran scored twice in Friday’s win.

— In his only game of the weekend on Saturday, Matt Poitras scored a goal and played a solid game at both ends of the ice.

BAD

— Fabian Lysell had the go-ahead goal on his stick when he was awarded a penalty shot early in the third period on Sunday, but he was stuffed by Islander goalie Henrik Tikkanen.

— All good things come to an end. Providence’s nine-game winning streak against Bridgeport went down the drain with Sunday’s loss.

UGLY

— After going without a goal in six tries on the weekend, the power play has dropped to 25th in the league at 16.9 percent.

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Vinni Lettieri rifles the puck past Springfield’s Vadim Zherenko for the decisive goal in the shootout on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It was a one step forward, one step back kind of weekend for the Providence Bruins.

After not practicing for most of the week because of the AHL All-Star break, the P-Bruins returned with a 3-2 shootout win at home over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday. The next night they dropped a 5-2 decision against the T-Birds on the road.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence finished the weekend with a record of 25-15-4-1. With 55 points, they are fourth in the Atlantic Division, a point behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and tied in points with the Charlotte Checkers.

— The line of Jeffrey Viel, Patrick Brown and Trevor Pitlick had an exceptional night on Friday as they combined for a goal and 12 shots in the shootout win over Springfield.

— Nice pass from John Farinacci to Max Jones, who tied Friday’s game with 3:55 left in the third period. Farinacci has 2-13-15 in his last 16 games.

— Brandon Bussi stopped 25 of 27 shots, plus all three Springfield shootout attempts in the victory on Friday. He’s won three of his last four starts.

— Providence’s 2.56 goals-against average is second in the AHL.

— Back after a very solid stint with Boston, Vinni Lettieri tucked in the shootout winner on Friday and scored his team-leading 15th goal on Saturday.

— Billy Sweezey pounded out a solid decision over Dylan Peterson of Springfield in a first period bout on Saturday.

— Michael DiPietro was a standout in the first period on Saturday night, stopping all 13 shots and making some 10-bell saves.

— Max Jones scored a goal on Friday and had two assists on Saturday. He has 4-2-6 in his last six games.

— Providence’s Jeffrey Viel and Sam Bitten of the T-Birds engaged in one of the better fights of the season on Saturday.

— Providence doesn’t play outside New England again until a March 12 game at Toronto.

— The penalty kill is seventh in the league at 84.5 percent.

BAD

— They gave up the game-tying goal with eight seconds left in the second period on Saturday.

— I’m still looking for the crosscheck that referee Jake Kamrass called on Brett Harrison of the Bruins on Saturday night. Don’t think I’m going to find it.

UGLY

— Providence is being outshot in overtime, 30-13. Helps explain why they are 1-4 in OT games.

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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There have been bumps along the way, but the Providence Bruins reached the AHL All-Star break in good shape.

After struggling early in the season, they are 24-14-4-1 with 29 games left in the regular season.

With 53 points, they are tied for second in the Atlantic Division with the Charlotte Checkers, a point ahead of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. As expected, the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears are first with 61 points.

With two of their top players, Vinni Lettieri and Michael Callahan, on recall with Boston, Providence played two games on the road against the Cleveland Monsters over the weekend.

They won Friday’s game, 4-2, and lost on Saturday, 3-2.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Michael DiPietro stopped 27 of 29 shots in Friday’s win. His record is 16-5-4 and he is first in the AHL with a .932 save percentage and 1.91 goals-against average.

— Patrick Brown scored twice and added an assist on Friday.

— Riley Tufte brought his big man’s game with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in Friday’s win. He assisted on Providence’s first goal and sniped his 12th goal of the year late in the first period. Later on he bulldozed Cleveland goalie Jett Greaves and then dropped Max McCue in the fight that followed.

— They went 7-3-1 in the month of January.

— The P-Bruins scored in the first minute of both weekend games, Patrick Brown at 24 seconds on Friday and Joey Abate 50 seconds in on Saturday.

— Providence scored a power-play goal in both games.

— Ian Mitchell’s goal on Friday, off a pass from Georgii Merkulov, was his second game-winner of the season.

— In the last minute on Friday, Tyler Pitlick could have put the puck in the empty net himself, but generously slid it over to Patrick Brown, who scored his second of the game.

— Riley Duran didn’t touch the puck so he did not get credit for an assist on Brown’s first-minute goal on Friday, but Duran’s strong forecheck pressured Cleveland into a turnover that led to the goal.

— They are 18-0-2-0 when leading after two periods.

— Frederick Brunet was plus-three on Friday and is now seventh in the league with plus-18.

— Joey Abate’s goal on Saturday was his second in two games.

BAD

— The P-Bruins allowed the Monsters to tie Friday’s game with a goal just 37 seconds into the third period.

— They let a 2-0 lead get away from them on Saturday.

— Trailing by a goal, they shot themselves in the foot with penalties at the end of Saturday’s loss. Forty seconds after Riley Tufte was whistled for a four-minute high-sticking infraction at 15:12, Providence was called for too many men on the ice at 15:52.

UGLY

— Providence is 0-10-2-0 when trailing after two periods.