The Providence Bruins ended 2022 on a high note, winning their last two games and taking four out of six points on their tough Pennsylvania road trip.

They started the week with a tight 1-0 loss in Hershey against the first-in-the-AHL Bears on Wednesday.

On Friday, Providence’s struggling power play came to life with a pair of goals in a 4-3 victory at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton despite being outshot, 39-27.

Back in Hershey one night later, the road-weary P-Bruins showed tremendous character in grinding out a 4-3 win despite being outshot, 41-21. The Bears, rested and ready after not playing on Friday, tied the game at 5:39 of the third, but Providence quickly responded with Chris Wagner’s power play goal at 7:05, which turned out to be the winner.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins finished the calendar year in second place in the Atlantic Division with 43 points and a .694 points percentage in 31 games. They are 18-6-5-2.

— If you’d told me at the start of the season that Providence would have only six regulation-time losses in their first 31 games I’d have said you were crazy.

— Chris Wagner was a beast all over the ice in the third period of Saturday’s win. He scored the eventual game-winner on the power play seven minutes into the period, then had some tremendous shifts on the penalty kill and won important defensive zone faceoffs as the clock ran down.

— Georgii Merkulov had a productive weekend with a goal and an assist against the Penguins on Friday and two assists against the Bears on Saturday. With 6-17-23 in 28 games, he leads the team in assists and is second in points.

— Oskar Steen hadn’t been producing a lot on offense in the last couple of weeks, but that changed on Friday when he buried the game-winner with 2:49 left. He also recorded two assists that night and chipped in with another helper on Saturday.

— The power play broke a drought with two goals on Friday and another one, for the game-winner, on Saturday.

— After the Pens’ Alex Nylander fell down and lost the puck in the neutral zone, Vinni Lettieri put a perfect pass on the stick of Oskar Steen for the winning goal on Friday.

— After giving up a goal in the first minute on Saturday, Keith Kinkaid delivered a strong performance with 38 saves, including some 10-bell stops with the game on the line.

— Luke Toporowski got a nice break in Saturday’s game when, without a better option, he lofted a backhander toward the goal from a foot inside the blue line and it somehow landed in the net behind Hershey goalie Hunter Shepard.

— Brandon Bussi continues to lead the AHL with a .936 save percentage.

— Jakub Lauko snapped a one-goal-in-15-games slump with an impossible angle goal on Saturday.

— Connor Carrick’s slapshot goal on Friday might have been the hardest shot by a Providence Bruin all season. He leads the team’s defensemen with 3-14-17 in 26 games.

BAD

— Brandon Bussi undoubtedly would like to have back the bad-angle shot by Valtteri Puustinen of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that got past him on Friday.

— After a tough game on Friday, the P-Bruins had to face a Hershey squad that didn’t play the previous night.

— On Saturday, Providence gave up a goal only 27 seconds into the game.

— Hershey had nine power plays to only three for the P-Bruins on Saturday.

— Jakub Lauko didn’t help the cause when he took a misconduct and a game misconduct for abuse of officials four minutes into the third period on Saturday. The tired P-Bruins could have used his legs as they tried to close out the win.

UGLY

— Injured: Johnny Beecher, Kyle Keyser, Eduards Tralmaks, Matt Filipe

The Providence Bruins shuffled home from Charlotte for the Christmas break with one out of four points.

On Thursday night, facing a feisty Checkers team that had lost five in a row, the P-Bruins had a one-goal lead with just over eight minutes left in the third period before giving up a goal to tie it and then losing in overtime, 2-1.

On Friday, Providence failed to cash in on power play opportunities on the way to a 5-2 loss. It was only the second time this season they’ve lost by three goals.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins hit the Christmas break with a record of 16-5-5-2. They are in second place in the Atlantic Division and in the AHL with 39 points and a .696 points percentage.

— With a goal and an assist, Jack Ahcan had a good game on Friday.

— Mike Reilly scored a beauty of a goal in the 5-2 loss.

— It was good to see J.D. Greenway get fired up and toss Charlotte’s Gerry Mayhew around in a fight on Thursday.

— Joey Abate didn’t have any points to show for it, but he continued to be effective with his physical play.

BAD

— The absence of eight-goal scorer Fabian Lysell (playing for Sweden in the World Junior Championship) and nine-goal scorer Luke Toporowski (sick) really put a crimp in the P-Bruins’ attack.

— Every team is victimized by bad bounces at times over the course of a long season and the P-Bruins saw a bunch in Charlotte. On the Checkers’ tying goal on Thursday, a shot bounced off the glass and right to Connor Bunnaman in front of the net for an easy score. On Friday, a Charlotte shot hit the skate of Providence defenseman Conor Carrick in front and bounced onto the stick of Riley Bezeau, who had most of the net to shoot at for the first goal of the game less than two minutes in. Later, Georgii Merkulov dove to block a shot from the point only to have the puck go directly to a wide-open Lucas Carlsson, who buried it for Charlotte’s fifth goal.

— Oskar Steen has one goal in his last 14 games. He was minus-three on Friday night.

— Referees Stephen Hiff and Jack Young worked both games. They appeared to be younger than many of the players. That’s not a good thing.

— The schedule gets harder in the coming week with two games at first-place Hershey and one at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

UGLY

— Even with Fabian Lysell and Luke Toporowski in the lineup, the power play hasn’t clicked lately. In Charlotte, the PP went 0 for 13 and has now fallen to 31^st in the league at 13.9 percent. Only Hartford (12 percent) is worse with the man advantage.

— Injured/sick: Luke Toporowski, Kyle Keyser, Johnny Beecher, Eduards Tralmaks, Matt Filipe

Vinni Lettieri’s goal in overtime lifted Providence to a 2-1 win on Saturday. He leads the team in scoring with 11-13-24 in 25 games. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

For the second weekend in a row, the Providence Bruins split their two games.

At home on Friday night, the P-Bruins let a two-goal lead get away in the third period and lost in overtime to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 5-4.

In a rematch in Allentown on Saturday night, Providence managed to get rid of the sour taste of Friday night’s loss. They were outshot, 35-19, but pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Phantoms on Vinni Lettieri’s goal in OT.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— As has happened more than once this season, it was Vinny Lettieri to the rescue on Saturday night. He hounded Lehigh Valley’s Egor Zamula into an awful turnover, then skated in and tucked home the winner in overtime. Lettieri leads the team in scoring with 11-13-24 in 25 games.

— Brandon Bussi delivered another strong performance in Saturday’s win, stopping 34 of 35 shots. His .936 save percentage is the best in the league.

— Providence finished the weekend in second place in the Atlantic Division and in the AHL. They have 38 points and a .731 points percentage in 26 games. The only team ahead of them is Hershey, which has 41 points and a .732 points percentage in 28 games.

— Joey Abate had his best weekend of the season. He rattled the boards with solid hits throughout Friday’s game and he tied Saturday’s game with a breakaway goal.

— Joona Koppanen had a goal on Friday and made a good play on Joey Abate’s goal on Saturday night. He alertly fired the puck up to Abate behind the defense at the red line for a breakaway that ended up in the Phantoms’ net.

— In his last game before heading off to play for Sweden in the World Juniors, Fabian Lysell scored a goal and made a razzle-dazzle play to set up Sammy Asselin’s goal on Friday. He is tied for third among AHL rookies with 8-11-19 in 20 games.

— The power play chipped in with two big goals on Friday night. Providence was 30^th in the league on the power play at the end of last weekend, but has now creeped up to 27^th.

— Georgii Merkulov had two assists on Friday, including a perfect pass to Marc McLaughlin for a power play goal.

— The P-Bruins are 6-2-1-2 when trailing after two periods. They are 10-1-3-1 when outshot.

BAD

— They earned a point on Friday, but that was a game Providence should have put away before it got to OT.

— The P-Bruins had lost to Lehigh Valley once in regulation time, once in overtime and once in a shootout – all at home – before winning in OT against the Phantoms on the road on Saturday.

— Providence heads into what looks to be its toughest stretch of the season so far. The next seven games are all on the road and every opponent has a record above .500.

— They were outshot 6-0 in overtime on Friday.

— The P-Bruins had no power plays on Saturday. Zero, zilch, nada.

UGLY

— Injured/ill: Johnny Beecher, Jakub Lauko, Eduards Tralmaks, Kyle Keyser, Matt Filipe

— The bus from Lehigh Valley arrived back in Providence at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Oskar Steen celebrates his first-period goal with teammates on Sunday afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins won one and lost one in their two weekend games.

Trailing 2-1 in the third period at Bridgeport on Saturday night, the P-Bruins scored twice in 53 seconds and earned a 3-2 win against the Islanders.

Things didn’t go nearly as well back home on Sunday afternoon. Providence fell behind early, took the lead on two goals in less than three minutes and then gave up the next four goals on the way to a 5-2 loss to Bridgeport. It was their first defeat of the year by more than two goals.

“We’ve been winning games but our details haven’t been good. That’s what you get when you play as loose as we did. We know Bridgeport. We know they’re going to come in and play the brand of hockey that they play and we fell right into it. It’s just disappointing,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Sunday’s game.

“If you’re going to be like that, your toughness has to be your power play and our power play let us down. It actually, I think, hurt us. It hurt our momentum. Special teams, we’ve got to make sure we’re dialed in here this week. That’s what it’s going to be, getting back on track.

“Those games are going to happen. There’s young players that make young mistakes and some of our older guys weren’t there to pick it up.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The Hershey Bears slipped ahead of Providence and took the lead in the Atlantic Division and overall in the AHL, but Providence remains in good position in second with 35 points and a .729 points percentage.

— After stopping 28 of 30 shots in Saturday’s 3-2 win, Brandon Bussi is tied for the AHL lead with a save percentage of .932.

— Fabian Lysell returned to the lineup after missing three games because he was sick and scored twice in Bridgeport. Snipes and toe-drags are great, but going to the front of the net and converting good opportunities, as he did on Saturday, is important, too, and should result in a lot of goals for the flashy rookie.

— Oskar Steen knew what to do when a Bridgeport defender handed him the puck in the slot on Sunday: He buried it for his fifth goal of the season.

— Providence caught a break when veteran goalie Cory Schneider turned the puck over to Vinni Lettieri in the first period on Sunday. Lettieri dished to Georgii Merkulov, who slid the puck into the open net. Somehow Fabian Lysell also was credited with an assist on the play.

— Vinni Lettieri has points in five straight games. His assist on Georgii Merkulov’s goal on Sunday was his 100^th in the AHL.

— Georgii Merkulov made a very nice pass to Fabian Lysell for the game-winner on Saturday.

— Connor Carrick had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s win.

BAD

— Providence had a golden opportunity to get back in the game on the power play on Sunday when Bridgeport was hit with a five-minute penalty and then a two-minute penalty in the last minute of the second period. They not only didn’t score, they failed to generate any Grade A chances. Providence has fallen to 30th in the AHL on the power play at 14.4 percent. Only Hartford (14.3 percent) and Chicago (12 percent) are worse.

— Tough break for Keith Kinkaid and the P-Bruins on Sunday when a Bridgeport shot bounced off the glass behind the net and right to Otto Koivula for an easy tap-in goal.

— Going into Sunday’s games, Providence was allowing an average of 34.13 shots per game, the most in the league.

— The P-Bruins fell behind just over five minutes after the opening faceoff on both Saturday and Sunday.

UGLY

— Injured: Kyle Keyser, Eduards Tralmaks, Matt Filipe

The P-Bruins thought they had a goal at the end of the second period, but the puck didn’t cross the line until time had run out. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

A heavyweight bout between Nick Wolff of Providence and Matt Rempe of Hartford enlivened Sunday afternoon’s game. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins.)

The Providence Bruins won two of their three games and earned four out of six points over the last week.

Playing their fourth road game in a row, the P-Bruins lost to the Bridgeport Islanders, 4-3, in Connecticut on Wednesday.

They trailed 50 minutes into the game at home on Saturday before scoring two late goals for a 2-1 win against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

At home again on Sunday, they took advantage of subpar goaltending in the Hartford net and beat the Wolf Pack, 3-1.

“I’m not complaining. There’s a lot to like, but there’s things we have to get better at,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Sunday’s game.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins again finished the weekend in first place in the Atlantic Division and in the league. They’ve earned 33 of a possible 44 points.

— Providence’s goaltending continues to be excellent.

Brandon Bussi kicked out 25 shots in the win over the Thunderbirds, including a couple of 10-bell stops on Nikita Alexandrov during a five-on-three Springfield power play in the third period. He is tied for first in the AHL with a .932 save percentage.

Keith Kinkaid, pulled after giving up three goals in the first period in Bridgeport, responded with a season-high 46-save performance on Sunday. He made some terrific stops during a five-on-three in the first period. His .921 save percentage is eighth in the league.

— Kai Wissman scored his first AHL goal in Bridgeport. Josiah Didier scored his first goal of the season on Sunday.

— Jack Ahcan scored his first goal of the year and it was the winner against Hartford. He has a five-game point streak with 1-5-6.

— Vinni Lettieri had a goal, an assist and six shots against Springfield. On Lettieri’s goal, which tied the game at 10:15 of the third period, the play started when Chris Wagner gained possession in the Thunderbirds’ end. Justin Brazeau set up in front, screening Springfield goalie Vadim Zherenko. The puck went from Georgii Merkulov to Jack Ahcan to Lettieri, who fired it at the net. Neither Wagner nor Brazeau were credited with assists, but the goal doesn’t happen without them.

— Stick tap for Sammy Asselin for jumping in to defend Johnny Beecher after a hard hit in Bridgeport. He leads the team in penalty minutes with 29.

— Jakub Lauko had good games on Saturday and Sunday. He fought Springfield’s Luke Witkowski after Witkowski threw a big hit on Josiah Didier. He scored this third goal of the season and blew up a Hartford player with a hard check on Sunday.

— Justin Brazeau showed off his soft hands, scoring the GWG on Saturday. The play started with a strong forecheck by Vinni Lettieri. Then Luke Toporowski found Brazeau in front and he did the rest with a nice move to beat Vadim Zherenko.

— Joey Abate earned his first AHL assist with a good pass to Jakub Lauko on Sunday.

— If you like fights, this was your week. There was one bout on Wednesday and two each on Saturday and Sunday.

The scrap between Nick Wolff and Hartford’s 6-foot-7 Matt Rempe on Sunday was the best of the season so far at the AMP.

BAD

— Down by a goal in Bridgeport, Oskar Steen and Jakob Lauko broke in on a two on zero but came away empty-handed when Lauko hit iron.

— On Sunday, referees Mathieu Menniti and Jackson Kozari whistled Providence for eight penalties while giving only two to the Wolf Pack.

— The P-Bruins didn’t bring much juice in the first two periods at Bridgeport. They were outshot, 12-2, in the first period and had only nine shots after two periods.

— Providence didn’t muster a shot on Sunday until the game was 10 minutes old.

— Joona Koppanen snapped two sticks within a couple of minutes in the second period on Wednesday.

— I am asking once again that the use of the ice-level, behind-the-net camera be scaled way, way, waaaaay back on AHLTV broadcasts in Providence.

UGLY

— Injured/sick: Mike Reilly, Fabian Lysell, Kyle Keyser, Eduards Tralmaks, Matt Filipe

Keith Kinkaid makes one of his 46 saves against Hartford on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of the Providence Bruins.)

Luke Toporowski barrels to the net against Lehigh Valley on Nov. 18. The 21-year-old left winger scored a hat trick on Saturday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

There were some bumps along the way, but the Providence Bruins came home from their Thanksgiving week trip to upstate New York with five out of six points.

For starters, the P-Bruins let leads of 2-0 and 3-1 get away against the Rochester Americans on Wednesday before losing in overtime, 4-3.

Bouncing back from that deflating outcome, Providence showed lots of guts in Syracuse on Friday, scoring three times in the third period for a come-from-behind win over the Crunch, 5-3.

On Saturday, the P-Bruins led 2-0, 4-1 and 5-3, but Syracuse rallied to tie the game with an extra-attacker goal with 45 seconds left. Chris Wagner scored a wraparound goal in overtime for a 6-5 victory and a happy bus ride back to Rhode Island.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— As of Sunday night, Providence remained in first place in the Atlantic Division and first overall in the AHL. They’ve lost only twice in regulation time and have earned 29 of 38 points.

— It was a great weekend for Luke Toporowski. On Friday, he set up Sammy Asselin for goal with a slick pass on the power play, then scored the GWG in the third period. He had a hat trick on Saturday. His second score that night on an individual rush could be the Providence goal of the year to this point. With nine goals in 18 games, he’s a strong candidate for AHL Rookie of the Year.

— On numerous occasions this season Chris Wagner has delivered a big play when it’s needed most. He did it again in overtime on Saturday, scoring his seventh goal of the season. His reaction after the goal is clear proof that his competitive fire is burning as hot as ever.

— After going without a goal in his first 65 games as a pro, Nick Wolff buried his first in Rochester.

— Mike Callahan faked a shot to open a lane to the net, then fired a wrister for his first goal of the season on Friday in Syracuse. Later on in the game he made a smart play at the line that led to a goal by Justin Brazeau.

— Justin Brazeau had a good week with three goals and an assist in the three games. Oskar Steen had an assist on Friday and three more on Saturday. Sammy Asselin had 2-3-5 in the three games. His wrister for a goal in Rochester was an absolute sizzler.

— Keith Kinkaid shut the door in the second half of the game on Friday and finished with 38 saves in the win.

— Joona Koppanen made an unselfish play to get the puck to Justin Brazeau for an empty-netter on Friday. Koppanen, who is very good on the penalty kill, might be Providence’s most underrated forward.

— They are 6-0-1-0 in one-goal games.

— Providence had 21 shots in the first period on Friday. That’s the most by any AHL team in the first period this season.

— Eleven Providence players recorded points on Friday.

— When Johnny Beecher was victimized by a tough hit from Shawn Element on Friday, Dan Renouf stepped in and fought Element.

— They got a great break on Saturday when the referees wiped out a Syracuse goal because of goalie interference. “That’s just an outrageous call against the Crunch,’’ said the hometeam’s play by play guy and he wasn’t wrong.

BAD

— As of Sunday, the P-Bruins had given up 677 shots, the most in the AHL. They were allowing an average of 32.74 per game. In four of their last seven games they’ve allowed more than 40 shots.

— It sure looked like Syracuse’s Darren Raddysh slew-footed Sammy Asselin on Saturday, but the refs called him for roughing. Former Bruin Gemel Smith embellished the crap out of a Luke Toporowski high stick in the same game and, of course, drew the call.

— The power play went 1 for 15 in the three games. It’s now 29^th in the league at 15.3 percent.

— The P-Bruins had good chances in OT in Rochester – including a glittering opportunity for Fabian Lysell — but couldn’t finish.

— Providence was whistled for 13 minor penalties on Saturday night.

UGLY

— Talk about buzzard’s luck. On Wednesday in Rochester, ex-Bruin Anders Bjork was a ghost all night until his shot bounced off P-Bruins defender Kai Wissman and into the net to tie the game. Then, with the clock running down in overtime, Ethan Prow lofted a Hail Mary pass that somehow came down on the stick of Linus Weissbach, who skated in alone and buried the winner with six ticks left on the clock.

— Injured: Nick Wolff, Kyle Keyser, Eduards Tralmaks, Matt Filipe

With NHL scouts watching, Mike Reilly scored a goal and added an assist in his first game with the Providence Bruins on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

After soaring to the top of the AHL standings in the first five weeks of the seasons, the Providence Bruins fell back to earth a bit over the weekend.

They earned two out of six points, but came out on the short end in all three games, losing in regulation time, in a shootout and in overtime, all at home.

The P-Bruins started with a lackluster 4-2 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday. They were beaten, 3-2, by the Phantoms in a shootout on Saturday. On Sunday they led going into the third period but lost in overtime to the Bridgeport Islanders, 3-2.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Despite the three losses, Providence is still first in the Atlantic Division and in the AHL with 24 points and a .750 points percentage in 16 games.

— Vinni Lettieri’s goal with 6:43 left in the third period on Saturday tied the game and allowed the P-Bruins to earn a point. He scored a power play goal on Sunday, converting a good pass from Fabian Lysell. Lettieri, who has a six-game point streak, assisted on Mike Reilly’s goal on Friday. He leads the team in scoring with 9-7-16 in 16 games. His goals this weekend were the 101st and 102nd AHL goals of his career.

— With a number of NHL scouts in the building, Mike Reilly was a standout on Friday, with a goal, an assist and six shots. He made a picture-perfect pass to Oskar Steen for Providence’s first goal. He also he played well on Sunday.

— Marc McLaughlin scored his first goal of the season on Saturday night.

— Connor Carrick had a pair of assists on Sunday. He has 1-9-10 in 14 games.

— Nick Wolff flattened Zayde Wisdom of Lehigh Valley with a clean open-ice hit on Saturday.

— Brandon Bussi kicked out 43 shots on Saturday and has the best save percentage in the AHL at .949. His 1.84 goals-against average is second.

— Attendance was solid: 6,828 on Friday, 8,097 on Saturday and 7,167 on Sunday. Providence is sixth in the league with an average of 6,898.

BAD

— Providence gave up 35, 46 and 39 shots in the three games.

— On the penalty kill Friday, Oskar Steen made a blind drop pass in the Lehigh Valley zone that sent the Phantoms off on a three on two that culminated in their first goal. Wrong time, wrong place for such a pass.

— Whoever is directing the AHL TV productions of home games needs to cut way back on the use of ice-level cameras located behind the nets.

— Providence’s Justin Brazeau put the puck in the net at the end of a very well-executed play on the power play on Friday. Unfortunately, the goal didn’t count as the puck went in just after time ran out in the first period.

— The P-Bruins will spend Thanksgiving in Syracuse.

UGLY

— Injured: Kyle Keyser, Eduards Tralmaks, Matt Filipe

Chris Wagner scores Providence’s second goal on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Chris Wagner takes the puck to the net against the Charlotte Checkers. He scored twice on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

With wins in both of their games over the weekend, the Providence Bruins continue to hold down the top spot not only in the Atlantic Division standings but in the entire American Hockey League.

The P-Bruins faced the Charlotte Checkers twice and came away with a 5-2 win on Friday and a 5-3 victory on Sunday.

They led 3-0 and 4-1 on Sunday, but were hanging on by a goal as the clock ran down in the third period before Chris Wagner sealed the victory with an empty netter.

“We definitely bended, that’s for sure, but we didn’t break,” coach Ryan Mougenel said after Sunday’s game. “I didn’t think we played a great game today. (Charlotte) came in with tons of energy and took it to us.”

Chris Wagner, Joona Koppanen and Oskar Steen “really showed the younger guys how important it is sometimes to make the plays (that are) in front of you. And (Johnny) Beecher’s line did a real good job, too.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Brandon Bussi, who is displaying a real knack for making timely saves, had another strong weekend. He is 4-0 with a .947 save percentage and a 1.84 goals against average.

— Chris Wagner scored twice, including the game-winner, on Sunday and played his usual strong game in all three zones.

— Oskar Steen potted an empty net goal on Friday and a goal and an assist on Sunday.

–Johnny Beecher scored a hard-working goal on Friday and did a lot of the little things right on Sunday, though he didn’t have any points.

“The points are going to be a bonus for him based on how he defends and how he comes back,” said Mougenel. “(He’s a) young pro learning what it takes to win and he’s going to be one of those players that you win with. (He’s) just building those habits into his game, those details that are so important,” said Mougenel.

— Providence has lost only one game in regulation time this season and that was three weeks ago. They’ve won five games in a row and earned 22 of a possible 26 points.

— Jakub Lauko scored three goals in 54 games last season. With goals on Friday and Sunday, he already has two goals in two games this season.

— Justin Brazeau scored his first of the season on a very well-executed power play on Friday. Vinni Lettieri and Georgii Merkulov made nice passes to set it up.

— Dan Renouf was plus-two on Friday and plus-three on Sunday and had an assist in both games. His partner Connor Carrick was plus-two in both games with an assist.

— Georgii Merkulov has points in four straight games. He dished an absolute beauty of a pass to Fabian Lysell for a goal on Friday.

— Kai Wissman made a sweet pass to set up Vinni Lettieri’s goal on Sunday.

BAD

— The P-Bruins had the fourth-best penalty kill in the league as of Nov. 6, but Charlotte scored four times on 11 opportunities on Friday and Sunday. As of Sunday night, Providence was 11^th on the PK at 82.7 percent.

— Providence continues to give up an awful lot of shots – 42 on Friday and 39 on Sunday. They are 25th in the league in shots against, yielding an average of 32.15 per game.

— They were whistled for too many men on both Friday and Sunday.

UGLY

— Injured: Nick Wolff, Eddie Tralmaks, Kyle Keyser, Matt Filipe

Georgii Merkulov is second in scoring for Providence with 4-8-12 in 11 games. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

Brandon Bussi came on in relief and nailed down a win in Springfield on Saturday, then pitched his first AHL shutout in Bridgeport on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The good times are rolling for the Providence Bruins.

After winning all three of their games this week, the P-Bruins were in first place in the Atlantic Division and led the American Hockey League in points with 18 and points percentage with .818 as of Sunday night.

They started the week with a 4-3 shootout win against the Utica Comets on the road. Providence was down by three midway through the game but rallied to tie it with a late goal and then won in the 11^th round of the shootout.

On Saturday night in Springfield, Providence trailed by a goal but again came from behind to win a 3-2 decision against the Thunderbirds. That victory was notable in that all three goal-scorers – Fabian Lysell, Luke Toporowski and Joey Abate — and winning goalie Brandon Bussi are rookies. “The kids make us go,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

In Bridgeport on Sunday, the P-Bruins got a third-period power play goal and rode back up I-95 with a 1-0 victory.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— With Keith Kinkaid on recall with Boston and Kyle Keyser out with an injury, Brandon Bussi came up from the ECHL and delivered terrific performances in the wins in Springfield and Bridgeport.

With the game on the line late in the third period on both nights he made sparkling saves to preserve the lead.

He finished the weekend with a 2-0 record, .961 save percentage, 1.10 goals against and his first AHL shutout.

— Connor Carrick scored his first goal with the P-Bruins – it was the game-winner in Bridgeport – and registered assists in Utica and Springfield. He has 1-6-7 in 10 games.

— Joey Abate’s first goal as a pro was the game-winner in Springfield and it was a beauty. He took the puck off a Thunderbirds defender then fired a wrister to the top shelf.

— Joona Koppanen scored in the 11^th round of the shootout to win the game in Utica.

— Luke Toporowski continues to be a revelation. He scored goals in Utica and Springfield. The goal against the Thunderbirds came at the end of a strong 200-foot shift. He is third on the team with 5-4-9 in 10 games.

— Fabian Lysell turned on the afterburners, flew in on a breakaway and put Providence in the lead at 1:44 of the first period on Saturday. He’s second on the team with 3-7-10 in nine games.

— Chris Wagner scored a big goal to tie the game against the Comets with 2:41 left in the third.

— Providence killed all nine shorthanded situations in the three games. The PK is fourth in the AHL at 87.8 percent.

— They’ve won all five of their road games so far.

— Providence’s next five games are at home. They don’t play outside Rhode Island again until Nov. 23.

BAD

— After a brilliant performance in stopping 10 of 11 shooters in the shootout win in Utica, Kyle Keyser left the game in Springfield in the first period with a leg injury.

— Providence gave up two goals in 59 seconds late in the first period in Springfield.

— They mustered only two shots in the first period on Sunday.

— Seven of Providence’s 11 games so far have been against Springfield (4) and Bridgeport (3). A little more variety would be nice.

UGLY

— Injured/ill: Kyle Keyser, Nick Wolff, Georgii Merkulov, J.D. Greenway, Matt Filipe

Vinni Lettieri beats Joel Hofer of Springfield in the shootout on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

It wasn’t a perfect weekend for the Providence Bruins, but it was pretty close as they earned five out of six points.

The P-Bruins got off on the right foot by scoring a late goal to beat the Charlotte Checkers, 2-1, at home on Friday.

In Springfield on Saturday, they scored a late power play goal to force overtime and then earned the extra point by winning the shootout against the Thunderbirds, 4-3.

In a rematch back home on Sunday, Providence trailed by two goals with less than three minutes left, then stunned the T-Birds with a pair of five-on-three power play goals to send the game to OT. Springfield prevailed in the shootout, 3-2, but the P-Bruins took home a well-earned and unexpected point given the way the first 57 minutes went.

“There were a lot of positives. I really like our team. I like the kids. We’re finding ways, which is good,” said coach Ryan Mougenel. “We played not great (on Sunday), but it’s to be expected in a three-in-three. We’re still finding our way, building some chemistry.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— It wasn’t just a good weekend for Vinni Lettieri, it was a great weekend.

After setting up a goal on Friday, he stepped up with a big-time game on Saturday. He registered seven shots on goal and tied the game with a power play tuck with 29 seconds left in regulation and an extra attacker on the ice. Then he buried the only goal in the shootout as Providence won the game. Lettieri bettered that performance on Sunday, scoring twice in 45 seconds on 5 on 3 power plays to tie the game and send it to OT. He then scored Providence’s only goal in the shootout.

Lettieri is tied for the team lead in scoring with 5-4-9 in eight games and is tied for the league lead in power play goals with four.

— Providence received a month’s worth of favorable calls from the referees late in Sunday’s game. Then they took advantage with a pair of 5-on-3 goals.

— Fabian Lysell scored a goal on Friday and added assists on Saturday and Sunday. He had a nice backcheck on Saturday that prevented a Springfield scoring chance. He’s tied with Vinni Lettieri for the team scoring lead with 2-7-9 in six games.

— Georgii Merkulov made plays all weekend. He had an assist on Friday and two more on Sunday. He has 4-4-8 in eight games.

— Luke Toporowski continues to produce. He dished the puck to Oskar Steen for the GWG on Friday. He went to the front of the net to pot his third goal of the season on Saturday and he fed Vinni Lettieri for a goal on Sunday. With 3-4-7 in eight games, he’s getting a good start on earning an NHL contract.

— Keith Kinkaid stopped 34 shots and all three Springfield attempts in Saturday’s shootout win.

— Nick Wolff threw the clean hit of the season on Friday, flattening Charlotte’s Gerry Mayhew. It’s unfortunate Wolff was injured on the play.

— Connor Carrick recorded assists on Friday and Saturday and made a great defensive play to thwart a scoring chance in OT on Saturday.

— Johnny Beecher played his best game of the season on Friday and scored his first goal of the year on Saturday.

— Oskar Steen’s first goal of the year was the winner on Friday. He had eight shots on goal on Sunday.

BAD

— They’ve gone five straight games without scoring in the first period.

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

— Providence is giving up a lot of shots. They gave up 30 on Friday and Sunday and 37 on Saturday. Going into Sunday’s game they were allowing 33 shots per game, more than all but two teams in the AHL.

— They allowed the first goal once and the first two goals twice over the weekend.

— Providence’s next three games are on the road against Utica, Springfield and Bridgeport. They are 2-0 away from the AMP so maybe road games don’t belong in the bad category.

UGLY

— Injured: Nick Wolff, Matt Filipe