Month: November 2025

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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After faking out Lehigh Valley goalie Aleksei Kolosov, Providence’s Jacob Perreault gets ready to slide the puck into the net for a goal on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

With a depleted lineup, the Providence Bruins split their two home games against quality opponents over the weekend.

On Friday, they beat the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 3-2. On Saturday, they lost to the Wilkes-Barre/Penguins, 1-0.

“I didn’t like how we came out of our zone at all. Our goalie was outstanding. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get to the net for him,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Saturday’s game.

“We’ve got guys that bring it every night. We just need other guys to jump onboard. It can’t always be the (Patrick Browns) and (Billy Sweezeys) of the world. We need some of our depth guys to step up. It’s opportunity for them.

“We’re 15-16 games in, you’ve got to build your brand, your identity, daily. I’m still trying to understand what a couple of our guys are. They’ve just got to figure that part of it out. We’re here to help them get to that identity a little quicker,” he said.

Heading on the road for the better part of the next few weeks could move that process along.

“Still trying to get to know a lot of the guys. We’ve done a good job this year of being a close group. There’s been a lot of new faces here in the last little bit. Messaging is clear, direct: ‘This is what we need from you.’ It’s up to them whether to listen or not listen.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— No one in the AHL has goaltending that matches Providence’s. Simon Zajicek’s .942 save percentage is No. 1 in the league. Mike DiPietro is third with .938. DiPietro deserved a better fate on Saturday. He made a number of 10-bell saves in the 1-0 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

— With a13-3 record, Providence finished the weekend in second place in the Atlantic Division and in the league with 26 points. They are one point behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which has played two more games. They have the second-best points percentage in the AHL at .813.

— Billy Sweezey batted a puck out of the crease on Saturday, possibly saving a goal.

— Victor Soderstrom earned primary assists on Providence’s first two goals against Lehigh Valley.

— Christian Wolanin signed a PTO and played his first game for the P-Bruins on Saturday. A Calder Cup champion last season with Abbotsford and winner of the Eddie Shore Trophy as the AHL’s top defenseman in 2022-23, he is potentially an impact addition.

— Jacob Perreault, brought up from the Maine Mariners, showed off the hands that made him a first-round draft pick by the Anaheim Ducks with a highlight-reel breakaway goal on Friday.

— Dan Locmelis is tied for first in the league with two shorthanded goals.

— The P-Bruins are 10-0 when scoring first.

— Riley Duran doesn’t have a goal yet, but he’s been a standout on the penalty kill and the forecheck.

“He’s not getting rewarded on the scoresheet. If he’s going to go up and play, that’s how he’s going to have to play — go through bodies, go through hands. Disrupt,” said Mougenel.

“Use his feet, use his legs. Be light’s out on the PK. He’s bought into that. He’s a great example of when you have an identity, you’ve got to build on it.”

BAD

— NHL callups are a fact of life in the AHL, but losing Mike Callahan, Matej Blumel, Alex Steeves and Riley Tufte to Boston at the same time is piling on.

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s goal on Saturday was scored while the P-Bruins were on the power play.

— The P-Bruins allowed 32 shots against the Phantoms and 35 against the Penguins.

— Who wants to spend American Thanksgiving on the road? Providence won’t have any choice as they’ll be in Canada for the next four games in Toronto, Belleville (2) and Laval.

— Eleven of Providence’s next 13 games are on the road. They are 5-0 on the road so far, so maybe this doesn’t belong in the bad category.

UGLY

— Injured: Fabian Lysell, Ty Gallagher, Max Wanner

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

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The puck slides over the goal line in overtime after Fabian Lysell banked it off Hartford’s Connor Mackey (14). (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins continued their strong start last week, winning two out of three home games.

They beat the Hartford Wolf Pack in overtime, 3-2, on Wednesday and edged the Utica Comets, 3-2, in extra time on Saturday. On Sunday, the P-Bruins were beaten, 2-0, by an excellent Laval Rocket squad.

“They work extremely hard. We knew that was their identity,” coach Ryan Mougenel said after Sunday’s game.

“We didn’t have enough guys playing at their best. It’s going to happen from time to time, but I think it’s real important that when it’s not going, you’ve got to figure out a way to create.

“For us there’s a recipe for it. It’s playing north, it’s playing straight-line hockey, it’s letting our legs do the talking. I think a lot of us didn’t have our legs today,” he said.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Providence finished the weekend in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 12-2 record and 24 points They are one point behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who have played two more games than the P-Bruins. Providence’s .857 points percentage is second in the AHL.

— Dans Locmelis was a standout against Utica, potting a shorthanded goal in the first period and winning the game in overtime. He had a good game against Laval, too, though he was held without a point.

— Fabian Lysell banked the puck in off a Hartford defender for the winner against the Wolf Pack and dished to Locmelis for the GWG against Utica.

— Simon Zajicek’s .943 save percentage is first in the AHL. Michael DiPietro’s .932 is third.

— Night in, night out, Patrick Brown continues to be the team’s best player. He had a power-play goal and an assist against Hartford and he assisted on Riley Tufte’s goal against Utica.

— Joey Abate scored his first goal of the season against Hartford.

— Wednesday’s OT win wouldn’t have happened if Michael DiPietro hadn’t stopped Brennan Othmann on a clean breakaway shortly before Fabian Lysell’s GWG.

BAD

— The P-Bruins have had only 42 power-play opportunities. That is 29th in the league.

— Providence let a two-goal lead slip away against Utica. And they allowed Hartford to tie the game with 2:20 left in the third period.

— Rookie Loke Johansson’s turnover led to a goal for Hartford on Wednesday night.

UGLY

— Injured: Ty Gallagher, Max Wanner

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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A good team is capable of winning even when it doesn’t play all that well.

The Providence Bruins demonstrated that over the weekend. Even after being outplayed at times, they came home from Cleveland with a pair of one-goal victories.

On Friday night, the P-Bruins made a pair of first-period goals stand up in a 2-1 win over the Monsters. On Saturday afternoon, they tied the game in the third period and then won in overtime, 3-2.

As of Monday morning, Providence had a 10-1 record and a .909 points percentage, second-best in the league. They are in first place in the Atlantic Division and in the Eastern Conference.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Michael DiPietro stopped a career-high 42 shots in Friday’s win. He is 6-0 and his .929 save percentage is eighth in the AHL.

— Simon Zajicek improved to 4-1 after kicking out 28 of 30 shots in the victory on Saturday. His .943 save percentage is best in the AHL and his 1.60 goals-against average is second.

— Matt Poitras couldn’t have picked a better time to score his first goal of the season. He converted a picture-perfect pass from Georgii Merkulov from the edge of the blue paint on the power play in OT on Saturday.

— Providence had the puck for the entire 47 seconds of overtime on Saturday before Poitras scored.

— John Farinacci scored in both games in Cleveland, including the GWG on Friday. He has goals in three straight games. He picked the pocket of a Monsters player and fed Schmaltz for a goal on Saturday.

— Jake Schmaltz scored his first goal of the season – a shortie — and added an assist and was plus-two on Saturday.

— With the shots 16-4 in Cleveland’s favor in the first period on Friday, Dans Locmelis scored a shorthanded goal off a good setup from Patrick Brown at the end of a two-on-none rush.

— After being outshot 26-9 through two periods on Saturday, Providence outshot the Monsters 12-4 the rest of the way.

— Providence’s penalty kill was near the bottom of the league a couple of weeks ago, but has now moved up to 12th at 82.4 percent. They scored a shorthanded goal in both games in Cleveland.

— The season’s only a month old, but Joey Abate threw one of the best hits so far when he blew up Mikael Pyyhtia midway through the third period on Saturday.

— Billy Sweezey pounded out a win over Max McCue in a bout on Friday.

BAD

— There was no call on Roman Ahcan’s high hit that injured Victor Soderstrom on Friday.

— The P-Bruins were outshot 8-0 in the first eight minutes and 20-7 in the first half of Saturday’s game.

— Scheduling a 1 p.m. puck drop on Saturday following a 6 p.m. game on Friday isn’t conducive to good hockey.

UGLY

— Injured: Victor Soderstrom, Max Wanner, Ty Gallagher

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

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Matthew Poitras drops the gloves with Charlotte’s Jack Devine on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Nothing lasts forever. Especially winning streaks.

The Providence Bruins’ franchise-record seven-game winning streak to start the season bit the dust on Saturday night, but even so it was a good week for the team as they sandwiched wins against two of the Atlantic Division’s stronger teams around the one loss.

The week started on Wednesday night with a 3-1 road win against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Penguins, who were unbeaten at 7-0 going into the game. Providence’s win streak went down in flames on Saturday in a lackluster 2-0 home loss to the Hershey Bears. The P-Bruins bounced back on Sunday at the AMP with a 5-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers.

“They’re a really good team. They’re really fast. Their forecheck is really heavy,” coach Ryan Mougenel said of Charlotte. “I thought the guys did a really good job of responding. I had to get on them a little bit in the first just because guys were trying hard and sometimes when you’re trying too hard you make some mistakes.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With a record of 8-1 and 16 of a possible 18 points, Providence’s points percentage is an AHL-best .889.

— Riley Tufte scored a goal on Wednesday, then added two more plus an assist on Sunday. As of Monday morning, he was tied for the lead in points in the AHL with 14 (7 goals, 7 assists) in 9 games. His plus-12 is first in the league. “When he goes to the net, he’s a presence,” said Mougenel.

— Patrick Brown had two assists against the Penguins and a goal and an assist against the Checkers. He is in the top 10 in scoring with 5-7-12 in 9 games and is plus-10.

— Fabian Lysell scored a pretty goal on Sunday, using his speed to beat the defense and then finishing on the backhand. After hitting a bump against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Lysell responded with two good games in a row.

— Matt Poitras had his first fighting major as a pro on Sunday, taking on Jack Devine in a quick bout. Late in the game Lysell was ready to throw down with Riese Gaber. “Potsy, I’m shocked that it’s his first one because he seems to be in the middle of a lot of stuff,” said Mougenel. “It’s good to get it out of the way. It’s not something I want to see Potsy or Fabian doing on a regular basis but it shows passion and it shows that they care and sometimes you’ve got to stick up for yourself. I’m a big believer in that and it’s good to see.”

— Colin Felix had a fight on Saturday, two assists on Sunday and continues to defend well. If there’s a scrum, odds are he’s in the middle of it. “I like everything about Colin. I like the person. I like the kid. I like that he’s got tons of gratitude. He wants to be here. He’s bounced up and down. He’s had not the easiest path in pro hockey and he’s always kind of found a way. I root for kids like that,” said Mougenel.

— After going five games without a point, Alex Steeves recorded two assists on Sunday.

— John Farinacci scored his first goal of the year on Sunday.

— Simon Zajicek continued his strong start, kicking out 27 of 28 shots and keeping the score close against Hershey. He has a .945 save percentage and 1.51 goals-against average.

— Michael DiPietro stopped 25 of 26 on Wednesday and 21 of 23 on Sunday. He is 5-0 with a .914 save percentage and 2.40 goals-against average.

— The P-Bruins have been shorthanded only 26 times in 9 games. That’s 27th in the league.

— Providence is tied for the league lead in goals with 36.

BAD

— Fabian Lysell’s turnover led to the only goal by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday. That was Lysell’s last shift in the game, as he was benched for the final 25-plus minutes. “Sometimes you’ve got to get their attention,” said Mougenel. “That’s all that was, just a little bit of a reset, get his game back on track.”

— John Farinacci and Victor Soderstrom combined for a turnover that led to Charlotte’s second goal on Sunday.

— The power play went 0 for 6 in the three games.

— Not for the first time, referee Morgan MacPhee made some head-scratching calls – against both teams – on Saturday.

UGLY

— It was after 3 a.m. on Thursday when the team bus arrived back at the AMP from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.