Riley Tufte takes the puck to the net against Belleville. He scored his team-leading16th goal in Bridgeport on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins won all three of their games over the weekend.

Two of the games went to overtime and the other was decided in a shootout.

The weekend started with a 2-1 OT win over the Belleville Senators at the AMP. The P-Bruins traveled to Bridgeport on Saturday and came home with a 4-3 shootout victory over the Islanders. Back home on Sunday, Providence beat the Toronto Marlies in OT, 4-3.

Providence finished the weekend in first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with a record of 30-8-1-0 and 61 points. They are three points ahead of the second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with four games in hand.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Down from Boston on a conditioning loan, Jordan Harris scored the winner in OT on Sunday. He also earned an assist on Providence’s OT goal on Friday.

— Fabian Lysell scored the winner in OT on Friday as he and Dans Locmelis worked a slick give and go. Lysell, who has four game-winning goals, also was credited with a helper on Friday. He opened the scoring with a goal on Sunday. With 14 goals, he is tied for second on the team with Patrick Brown, Locmelis and Georgii Merkulov.

— Merkulov had a goal and an assist in Sunday’s game. With 209 points, he is now second all-time in Providence Bruins scoring behind Andy Hilbert, who has 210.

— Matt Poitras had a strong weekend as he scored goals on Friday and Sunday. He had an assist on Sunday, too.

— Michael DiPietro recorded two more wins, beating Belleville and Toronto. He was credited with an assist on the OT goal by Jordan Harris on Sunday. His .938 save percentage and 1.76 goals-against average are best in the AHL.

— John Farinacci scored the only goal in the shootout win on Saturday. On Sunday, he put a perfect pass on Lysell’s stick for Providence’s first goal.

— Luke Cavallin stopped 26 shots on Saturday night in improving his record to 3-0 with a .931 save percentage. He denied all three Bridgeport shooters in the shootout.

— Christian Wolanin had two assists in Bridgeport.

— Off a nice setup by Joey Abate, Dalton Bancroft scored his first goal of the season on Saturday night.

— Frederic Brunet continues to string together strong games. He was a standout in Bridgeport.

BAD

— The P-Bruins were outshot 17-9 in the first period on Sunday.

— Providence was called for too many men in overtime on Saturday. Lysell jumped off the bench too soon.

— In the shootout in Bridgeport, Merkulov lost his chance when he overskated the puck at center ice, much like Brad Marchand did in a Boston game against Philadelphia in January 2020.

— Thirty-six seconds after taking a 3-2 lead in the third period on Saturday, Providence allowed Bridgeport to tie the game.

UGLY

— Injured: Victor Soderstrom, Ty Gallagher, Simon Zajicek

John Farinacci rifles the puck past Cleveland goalie Zach Sawchenko in the first period. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins won two out of three last week and finished the first half of the season in first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference.

They started the week with a 4-1 loss at home to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. On Saturday, they blanked the Cleveland Monsters, 5-0, then beat Cleveland again, 6-2, on Sunday.

Through 36 games, Providence is 27-8-1-0 for 55 points and a .764 points percentage. They are two points up on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with three games in hand in the Atlantic Division.

“There was a lot of growth. It’s a team that enjoys each other, cares for each other, and it’s a little bit indicative of how they play. They do a lot of things that translate to wins, and it’s fun to be around,” coach Ryan Mougenel said, summing up the first half.

“Coming out of our D zone is always going to be a little bit of an adjustment for us as a coaching staff. We’re still finding some of those intrinsic little details. It’s a new D zone system for us so we’re working out the tweaks, learning how to teach it properly, a little simpler.

“For the players, it’s just kind of staying healthy and keeping the focus on what wins and what loses. That’s a big part of it. There were things tonight, when we get away from how we need to play, it doesn’t translate well for us.

“We’ve got good legs and we like our speed. We want to play a north, fast game. We want to get to the walls. We want to complete a lot of plays. For the most part we did that tonight,” Mougenel said.

Who is the MVP of the first half?

“Our leaders have really been our MVP. (Patrick Brown) leads the way. We’ve got that good second tier of leadership with Riley Tufte and Georgii Merkulov. We bring on Christian Wolanin and he’s a leader. Michael Callahan’s been amazing for us. There’s a lot of guys that have done a really good job of setting the bar for us,” said Mougenel.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Mike DiPietro stopped 21 shots for his first shutout of the year on Sunday. He has a 15-5 record and his .938 save percentage and 1.74 goals-against average are first in the AHL.

— Frederic Brunet had one of his best games of the season Sunday, with a goal, two assists and strong defensive play.

— John Farinacci assisted on two goals on Saturday and scored Providence’s first goal on Sunday.

— After a nice give and go with John Farinacci, Fabian Lysell snapped a 10-game goal-less streak with a wraparound goal on Saturday.

— Riley Tufte had a goal and an assist on both Saturday and Sunday. He leads the team with 15 goals in 29 games and is seventh in the AHL with plus-19.

— Matej Blumel scored twice on Saturday and once on Sunday. He had an assist on Wednesday.

— Brett Harrison went to the blue paint and potted his first goal since Dec. 27 on Saturday night.

— Christian Wolanin, who has been a tremendous addition, had a pair of assists on Saturday and a power-play goal on Sunday.

— Patrick Brown had an assist on Saturday and three more on Sunday. He leads the team with 13-26-39 in 36 games. His plus-26 is best in the league.

— Back in the lineup for the first time since suffering a lacerated kidney in November, Max Wanner made a good play with 6:50 left in the first period to lift the stick of a Cleveland player and prevent a goal.

— Providence scored on two of its first three shots on Saturday night.

BAD

— The P-Bruins scored just once on 37 shots against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. They didn’t get nearly enough traffic in front of Pens’ goalie Sergei Murashov.

— Late in Wednesday’s loss, with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, a pass by Dans Locmelis in the offensive zone traveled some 180 feet and ended up in the Providence net for an own goal.

UGLY

— Frederic Brunet had a couple of teeth knocked out when he was blasted into the glass from behind by Boko Imama of the Penguins on Wednesday. There was a referee standing 15 feet away, but there was no penalty on the play.

— Injured: Ty Gallagher

Ty Gallagher celebrates after tucking the puck behind Lehigh Valley goalie Aleksei Kolosov for a breakaway goal on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It was another positive weekend for the Providence Bruins as they won two out of three in their first three-in-three of the season.

They beat Bridgeport, 4-1, at home on Friday, had a tough night in losing, 5-1, in Hartford on Saturday, and rebounded with a solid 4-2 win over Lehigh Valley at home on Sunday.

“The most important thing is how you respond (to an off night) and I loved our response today,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Sunday’s game.

“The guys we needed to respond did, the Abates, the Durans. John Farinacci did a lot of really good things. He’s not always rewarded on the game sheet right now. He did a lot of good things – closing in the D zone — subtle things that translate to wins.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins finished the weekend in first place in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference with a record of 25-7-1-0 and 51 points. Their points percentage of .773 is second in the AHL, behind only Grand Rapids, which is at .909.

— Dans Locmelis, who as expected was named to Latvia’s Olympic team, scored a goal on Friday and made a smart play to steal the puck and set up Riley Tufte for a shorthanded goal on Saturday.

— Patrick Brown was selected as one of two playing captains for the AHL All-Star Classic next month.

— Brown’s plus-24 leads the league. Billy Sweezey is second with plus-23.

— Mike DiPietro stopped 24 of 25 shots on Friday and 28 of 30 on Sunday, including a tremendous stop on Jacob Gaucher with four minutes left and Providence ahead by a goal.

— Frederic Brunet played another strong game at both ends on Sunday and scored the game-winner on a wraparound. He scored the GWG last Sunday, too.

— Ty Gallagher showed off an impressive burst of speed to sail in on a breakaway and score Providence’s first goal on Sunday. He earned an assist on Frederic Brunet’s score later in the game.

— Stick taps for Billy Sweezey. He played his 300th AHL game on Friday night.

BAD

— Providence fell behind early in Hartford and never caught up. “We weren’t ourselves. Those games are going to happen from time to time,” said Mougenel.

— Simon Zajicek gave up five goals on 28 shots on Saturday, a rare off night for him, but he had very little help from his teammates.

— The power play went 0 for 11 in the three games.

— Wednesday night’s home game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be Providence’s fourth game in six nights.

UGLY

— Providence gave up two shorthanded goals in Hartford. They’ve allowed five so far this season.

— Injured: Jordan Schmaltz

Freddy Brunet, second from right, is mobbed by his teammates after scoring the go-ahead goal on Sunday against Springfield. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins finished up 2025 and rolled into 2026 last week, winning two of their three games.

For starters, they lost a 4-2 decision to the Thunderbirds in Springfield on New Year’s Eve. They rebounded with a 4-1 win against the Wolf Pack in Hartford on Friday, then returned to the AMP and beat Springfield, 3-1, on Sunday.

As of Monday morning, Providence has 47 points, tied with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Atlantic Division with a record of 23-6-1-0. The P-Bruins have played four fewer games than the Pens.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The AHL announced on Sunday evening that coach Ryan Mougenel will represent the Atlantic Division at the 2026 All Star Classic in Rockford, Ill., next month. It’s well-deserved recognition for the Providence coach.

“It’s an amazing honor, but it’s the players. We have a good bunch here and they work hard. I just really enjoy coming to the rink. I appreciate it, but it’s the players that make it happen,” Mougenel said.

— After missing a couple of weeks with a muscle pull, Michael DiPietro returned with wins against Hartford and Springfield. He stopped 47 of 49 shots in the two games. DiPietro is second in the AHL in both save percentage (.935) and goals-against average (1.86).

— On Friday night and again on Sunday, Patrick Brown could have put the puck into an empty net himself, but instead passed to Georgii Merkulov and Riley Tufte for easy scores. Brown had a goal and an assist on Wednesday. He leads the team in scoring and is fourth in the AHL with 12-22-34 in 30 games. His plus-22 is tied for the league lead. Brown, Providence’s captain, also dropped the gloves with Hartford captain Casey Fitzgerald on Friday shortly after Brown flattened Adam Sykora with a clean hit. Both Brown and Fitzgerald were captains at Boston College.

—  Dans Locmelis had a good week. He scored twice on Friday and had a goal and an assist on Sunday. He is tied with Brown for second on the team with 12 goals

— With a goal in Hartford, Matej Blumel snapped a streak of 12 games without a goal.

— Frederic Brunet scored the winner on Sunday on a shot from distance with 1:11 left in the game. It was his fifth goal of the season in his 30^th game, matching his total from last season in 69 games.

— Stick tap for Georgii Merkulov, who jumped in after Patrick Brown took a hard hit from Springfield’s Hunter Skinner on Wednesday. Merkulov had an assist on Wednesday, a goal on Friday and an assist on Sunday. He leads the team in goals with 13. With 206 points, he now ranks second all-time in P-Bruins scoring behind Andy Hilbert (2001-2005) with 210.

— Riley Tufte, to his credit, came to the defense of Merkulov in Springfield after Merkulov was decked by Wagner. Tufte had two helpers in Hartford and a goal on Sunday, when his physical play sparked Providence to the win in the third period. He has 11-12-23 in 23 games.

— Providence continues to get production from the top of the lineup. Merkulov has 13 goals, Brown and Locmelis have 12, Fabian Lysell and Tufte have 11.

— The P-Bruins are up to third in the league on the power play at 25.8 percent.

BAD

— On Wednesday, an egregious no-call by referees Mike Dietrich and Jim Curtin after Chris Wagner knocked down Merkulov, who didn’t have the puck, led to a bench minor and a game misconduct for abuse of officials on Ryan Mougenel.

— Inadvertently, Locmelis came close to scoring an own goal against Hartford, but DiPietro made the save.

— Providence plays its first three-in-three of the season next weekend.

UGLY

— Injured: Max Wanner, Jackson Edward