They’re no longer the last-place Providence Bruins.
After a rocky first month, a pair of road wins over the weekend vaulted the P-Bruins over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the Springfield Thunderbirds and into fifth place in the Atlantic Division.
In Springfield on Friday, Providence trailed early but rallied for a 7-6 win on a goal 11 seconds into overtime by Ivan Ivan. Moving on to Allentown, Pa., the P-Bruins did everything right on Sunday and routed the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 8-0.
After struggling to score early in the year, Providence has put up 20 goals in the last three games, all wins.
Here’s the good, bad and ugly.
GOOD
— Since falling behind 4-1 in the first minute of the second period on Friday, Providence has scored 14 goals and allowed only 2.
— Before taking a puck in the mouth in the third period against the T-Birds, Mikey Eyssimont had a goal and two assists. His 10 goals leads the AHL.
— Alex Steeves scored his first goal of the season and added four assists against Lehigh Valley. He was originally credited with a fifth assist before a late scoring change.
— Brendan Gaunce continues to play excellent two-way hockey. He had 1-1-2 on Friday and 1-2-3 on Sunday. He is second on the team with 6-3-9 in 11 games.
— Ty Gallagher was a standout in both games. He had 1-2-3 in Springfield and a goal against the Phantoms.
— Ivan Ivan scored twice, including the game-winner on Friday, and added an assist.
— Lukas Reichel scored a goal against Springfield and a goal and an assist against Lehigh Valley.
— Dans Locmelis scored his first goal of the season on Sunday. He assisted on Ivan’s OT winner on Friday. He has 1-7-8 in 11 games.
— After taking a long pass from Jordan Harris, Joey Abate sauced a nice feed to Jake Schmaltz for a well-executed goal in the first minute of the second period on Sunday.
— Jiri Patera posted his first shutout with 21 saves on Sunday against Lehigh Valley. He’s won his last three starts, allowing just three goals. His save percentage is .926.
— The power play is headed in the right direction. It was 32nd in the league to start the week, but after going 3 for 7 in the two weekend games, it’s moved up to 29th at 11.1 percent.
— Last time Providence opened a can of whoop ass on the road like they did on Sunday was a 10-2 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in March 2025.
BAD
— Providence outshot Springfield 14-10 in the first period on Friday, but fell into a 3-1 hole. Then they gave up a shorthanded goal just 42 seconds into the second period to make it 4-1.
— Simon Zajicek fought it most of the night in Springfield, allowing six goals on 30 shots. His save percentage is .882.
— When you give up a goal to an opposition player who hasn’t scored in nearly four years, well, that’s not a good thing. Before scoring on a tip on Friday, Springfield’s Kale Kessy last goal came on Dec. 11, 2022, when he played for Hershey.
UGLY
— Injured: Mikey Eyssimont, Max Wanner
