PROVIDENCE — After a 3-2 victory over the Binghamton Devils on Friday night, the Providence Bruins will play the Devils for the final time in the regular season on Saturday night.

Jordan Binnington will start in net for the P-Bruins tonight at The Dunk.

Ryan Fitzgerald was the star on Friday night with a Gordie Howe hat trick. Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Colby Cave had strong games, too, said coach Jay Leach.

“We had a good start. Binghamton skated, they really did. They were hard on the forecheck and they were physical. There were moments where we were hemmed in because we couldn’t handle their pressure. (Zane McIntyre) did a nice job, made some big saves down the stretch,” said Leach.

“Our kid power play unit did a nice job converting a couple of chances, couple of nice goals. It was a good game – back and forth.”

In addition to the change in goal, Adam Payerl will be in for Josh Hennessy and Sena Acolatse replaces Connor Clifton.

“They were a hungry team. They played pretty well. It will be a test tonight. We’ll see if we can match that. It’s always hard to play a team two times in a row,” said Leach.

Providence’s lines tonight:

Hargrove-Szwarz-Czarnik

Agostino-Cave-Senyshyn

Blidh-JFK-Fitzgerald

Porter-Payerl-Hickman

D pairs:

Cross-Marshall

Breen-Acolatse

O’Gara-Zboril

McIntyre is the backup.

Injured: Johansson, Lauzon (both upper body)

Healthy scratches: Hennessy, Clifton, Gabrielle

PROVIDENCE — Cowbells were clanging at Schneider Arena on Friday night as No. 9 Providence College beat No. 13 New Hampshire, 5-2.

Here are three quick hits on the game.

ERIK FOLEY

The junior winger and Winnipeg draft pick, who scored two goals and an assist, is hard for opponents to contain when he’s on his game, which he has been for the past month.

“Offensively, he’s a horse. When he attacks the net and makes strong plays he gets good scoring opportunities,” Friar coach Nate Leaman said after the game.

“The play he made on Vimal Sukumaran’s goal at the end of the second was the exact same play as earlier in the second, where he walked up the wall and made a soft backhand play and it was a turnover. Instead, he went to his forehand side and made a strong play to Sukumaran. If he makes strong plays, good things happen.”

Foley — now tied for second in scoring in Hockey East with 9-9-18 in 13 games — is coming into his own as one of the best forwards in Hockey East.

“He’s a terrific player.  He can do it all,” UNH coach Dick Umile said.

THE FOURTH LINE

The Friars got a terrific game from the junkyard dog line of  Robbie Hennessey (1 assist), Sukumaran (2 goals) and Shane Kavanagh (1 assist).

“Vimal just has a knack for getting to the net. He scored 8 goals last year getting to the net. The puck seems to find him when he gets there. He struggled early on faceoffs. He got better as the game wore on, but I thought he had a pretty good game tonight,” said Leaman.

“Since those three have been together, they’ve had an identity. It’s the first time we’ve seen our fourth line have a real identify. When they play to their identity, they give us energy and they finish hits and they work. Our team needs that desperately right now.”

JACOB BRYSON

PC’s best defenseman bounced back strong after being an uncharacteristic minus-3 in last Saturday’s loss to Clarkson.

On Friday, Bryson was plus-5 with two assists. He is among the top-scoring D-men in Hockey East with 1-11-12 in 15 games.

“Bryson had a really good game, but I think (plus-5 is) kind of fluky in some ways because some of those were forechecking goals. He’s a heck of a player, without a doubt,” said Leaman.

No doubt, plus-minus is just one stat among many. But when you are on the ice for all five of your team’s goals in a game and none of the other team’s goals, well, that’s a decent night’s work.

Not to be overlooked, Tommy Davis, Bryson’s partner, was plus-4 on Friday. He is second in Hockey East with plus-10.

 

PROVIDENCE — Zane McIntyre will start in goal tonight for the Providence Bruins against the Binghamton Devils at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

The P-Bruins will finish their season series with the Devils at home on Saturday night, and then will travel to Bridgeport for a Sunday afternoon game against the Sound Tigers.

Even though McIntyre gave up eight goals in his last start in Charlotte on Saturday, he kept the P-Bruins in the game for two periods, according to coach Jay Leach. Providence trailed, 3-1, after 40 minutes before being outscored, 5-1, in the final period.

“We did not stay the course. And because we did not stay the course, he was the guy who took the fall. We talked about that after the game. We were not happy about that. Hopefully we can get him some redemption tonight,” Leach said this morning.

Providence beat the Devils twice in Binghamton, 4-1 on Oct. 27 and 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 22. There were two fights in each game.

The P-Bruins start the weekend in third place in the Atlantic Division with a .611 winning percentage. Binghamton is seventh in the North Division with a .447 winning percentage.

Brown University grad Nick Lappin leads the Devils with 10 goals. Providence College alum Kevin Rooney leads the AHL with 3 shorthanded goals.

Providence’s lines tonight:

Hargrove-Szwarz-Czarnik

Agostino-Cave-Senyshyn

Blidh-JFK-Fitzgerald

Porter-Hennessy-Hickman

D pairs:

Cross-Marshall

Breen-Clifton

O’Gara-Zboril

Billington is the backup.

Injured: Johansson, Lauzon (both upper body)

Healthy scratches: Acolatse, Gabrielle. Payerl

 

As expected, the Providence Bruins are in the thick of the playoff hunt in the American Hockey League’s Atlantic Division as they reach the quarter pole of the season on Friday night.

Coach Jay Leach has had to deal with the usual challenges – NHL callups and injuries. And on most nights he’s had at least a half-dozen rookies, and at times as many as eight, in the lineup.

Watching the youngsters develop – or not — is one of most intriguing aspects of watching the P-Bruins.  A year ago, Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Matt Grzelcyk and Peter Cehlarik were finding their way in Providence. Now they’ve all graduated to Boston.

As the next crop of rookies climbs the ladder, I asked Leach for a progress report, keeping in mind that it’s still very early.

C JAKOB FORSBACKA KARLSSON, 5-7-12 in 18 games

Leach: “JFK shows flashes of his offense, how cerebral he is. Nice hands. We use him in all situations. Overall for a 21-year-old kid, as a centerman, he’s done a nice job. He does have moments where he’s watching – not as engaged as he should be. He’s probably been able to get away with that (in college) because it’s a lower level and he thinks the game better than everyone else. Now he’s facing men and he’s realizing that sometimes he’s got to dictate a little more. The game Saturday night, he’d probably say it wasn’t his best. On Sunday he made up his mind that he was going to be engaged, starting with faceoffs, and he competed all night on pucks. He’s learning that consistency.’’

W ZACH SENYSHYN, 2-7-9 in 17 games

Leach: “Seny’s really been open to everything we’ve talked about. He’s willing to take any sort of role. We started him on the third or fourth line and he’s worked his way up and down the lineup. He’s worked his way onto the power play. There have been nights when he’s been penalty killing. He’s done everything that we’ve asked and he’s done a nice job. In years past I think he’s been more on the outside with wide speed. We’ve tried to get him to get on the inside and he’s completely willing to do so. He’s done a lot and we’re encouraged to see where it goes. Nothing but positives.’’

W RYAN FITZGERALD, 5-3-8 in 17 games

Leach: “When Fitz is good he’s inside people, uses his feet and  is hard on the puck. Obviously, he’s got some instincts on the power play. He probably has had more games where he’s effective than not. There’s been a couple where he maybe hasn’t moved his feet as much and been a little careless with the puck. Overall he’s been pretty good, pretty consistent. As we like to say, he’s a hockey player. He likes to get the puck and try to make plays with it. It’s encouraging.’’

W JESSE GABRIELLE, 0-0-0 in 14 games

Leach: “Jesse’s had a tough start. We’re trying to find him a role. He can skate like the wind. He’s got a nice shot, nice hands. He’s a physical specimen. We’re still looking for him to bring the consistency – up and down heavy winger that can score. We teach the game a certain way. We want to make sure we take care of the puck. As we know, if you go up to the NHL and you don’t take care of the puck, it’s done, it’s over. I think Jesse is learning that and he’s also playing against men. It’s a different game. He’s going through that process right now.’’

D  JEREMY LAUZON, 0-2-2 in 15 games

Leach: “He always will compete. It’s never an issue. He’s physical down low. He’s had moments when he lets the game come to him – I guess that’s the best way to describe it. He’s in position and he’s clean and it’s a simple game for him. There’s other moments when he shows his youthfulness, when he’s a little more aggressive and tends to get out of position, and the game becomes a lot harder. He’s learning to find the balance.’’

D JAKUB ZBORIL, 0-0-0 in 15 games

Leach: “Z is kind of in the other direction (from Lauzon) in that there’s times when he seems to be really engaged and skating and really good. And then there have been games where he’s just not engaged enough and he’s a little lax. He tends to lose a couple of battles and he’s not playing as hard a defensive game. He’s got to find that balance the other way – igniting a little bit more.’’

D EMIL JOHANSSON, 1-2-3 in 10 games

Leach: “We’ve asked Emil (a left shot) to play the right side, which is a hard thing for young D-men. That’s a challenge and he’s gotten right into it, for sure. He’s had moments where he’s complicated the game and it comes back to bite him. He’s had other moments where he’s starting to learn how to simplify. When he does that, he’s really effective. He’s a good shot-blocker, he’s willing to engage. He uses his skating ability nicely. Emil had a tough time early and lately he’s showed some progress.”

D CONNOR CLIFTON, 0-1-1 in 9 games

Leach: “Like Lauzon, he can be really aggressive. He’s learning his positioning. I think he comes from a completely different system that he’s been used to playing for a long time, so it’s been a process for him to break those habits and get inside and do the things that we talk about. But he has shown the ability to change, to keep it simple. He competes like a you-know-what.’’

BOSTON – The Boston Bruins aren’t going anywhere this season unless Tuukka Rask finds his game. Rask took a big step in the right direction by backstopping the Bruins to a 3-2 win over the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.

The rested Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the Lightning, who played Tuesday night in Buffalo, then withstood a third period push by the visitors.

Here are three quick hits on the game:

NET GAIN

Rask was called on to make just 19 saves, but he came through with some beauties.

His stop on Nikita Kucherov, one of the NHL’s top snipers, in the final minute of the second period was probably his best.

“Those are the saves that people expect you to make,” Rask said.

“(If we lose) you talk about after the game, ‘He should’ve saved that to keep that lead’ and now you talk that it’s a timely save, so it’s always something you want to do, and you try to do, and hopefully more often than not you save those.”

“He helped himself big time tonight. That’s what we need,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “It’s an imperfect game. We’re not going to be mistake-free every night. We’d like to correct some of those things, especially with a lead, but he was really good there. I’m sure it affected his confidence, too, between periods. It has to when you make big saves. It’s what you’re paid to do, right?”

Right.

McAVOY MUNCHES MINUTES

Even though the Bruins dressed seven defensemen, Charlie McAvoy, still three weeks from his 20th birthday, logged a game-high 28:11 on the ice while scoring a goal and an assist.

Is that too much ice time?

“I think that’s something you have to be mindful of,” Cassidy said. “Now, we don’t play until Saturday so if you’re going to do it, today’s the day. But, you’re playing against one of the best offensive teams in the league, so you’ve got to be a little more mindful of your matchups – especially when they split Kucherov and (Steven) Stamkos after the first (period), so now you want to make sure you don’t get exposed there with mismatches, and obviously everybody can play against everybody in this league, that’s why they’re here, but there’s certain ones you want to tilt towards in your favor.

“So, Charlie got a lot of work. And he’s an efficient player, he can handle it, but 28 (minutes) is a lot. So, we’ll have to take a look at that and try to get it to a more reasonable number, for sure.”

VATRANO STEPS UP

When you’re a fourth-liner looking to stay in the lineup every night, you do the kinds of things that Frank Vatrano did on Wednesday night.

First, he went after Cedric Paquette when the Lightning pest hit Torey Krug square on the numbers and ran him into the end boards early in the second period.

Vatrano cost the Bruins a power play, but standing up for a teammate is never a bad play and is something that teammates notice and appreciate.

“Frankie responds pretty well. Might take a power play away from us, but shows we’re not going to stand for it,’’ David Backes said.

Then, with the Bruins clinging to a one-goal lead late, Vatrano took a hard check from Paquette in front of the Boston bench, but not before making a smart play with the puck. Backes noticed that, too.

“He took a hit to make a play, advances the puck. (The Lightning are) worried about hitting bodies rather than scoring goals, and we end up with two points,’’ he said.

Vatrano came up from Providence a couple of seasons ago as a one-dimensional player — a shooter. His willingness lately to do more than just rip pucks at the net is going to help him stay in the NHL.

There was more good than bad for the Providence Bruins last week, as they sandwiched two wins around a punishing defeat that is the low point of the season so far. They won in overtime, 2-1, in Binghamton on Wednesday, were blitzed, 8-2, in Charlotte on Saturday, then bounced back to beat the Checkers, 2-1, in a shootout on Sunday, earning four out of six points.

“The boys had a great response (on Sunday). Great to see,’’ said coach Jay Leach.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

*** The P-Bruins showed a lot of character by quickly parking Saturday night’s disaster and gutting out a win on Sunday afternoon.

*** Colby Cave had a terrific game on Sunday. He scored in the shootout to keep Providence alive.

*** With goals in three of the last four games, Colton Hargrove leads Providence in goals with six. He scored the OT winner in Binghamton.

*** Ryan Fitzgerald scored Providence’s first goal on Saturday, then buried the winner in Sunday’s shootout.

*** Jordan Binnington wasn’t all that busy on Sunday, facing 19 shots. But he came up big on Charlotte’s Grade A chances and was stellar in the shootout. Binnington is 4-1-1 with a .931 save percentage, fifth in the AHL.

*** Despite numerous callups, Providence got through November with a 4-4-2 record. Five of their next six games are at home.

BAD

*** The penalty kill gave up three goals on eight chances in Saturday’s loss.

*** After allowing eight goals on Saturday, Zane McIntyre’s save percentage is .892, 36th in the AHL.

*** The P-Bruins gave up shorthanded goals on Wednesday and Sunday.

*** Tough night for the D pair of Emil Johansson and Chris Breen on Saturday, both on the ice for three even-strength goals against. They weren’t alone: Kenny Agostino (-3), Austin Czarnik, Chris Porter and Zach Senyshyn (-2).

UGLY

*** After a scoreless first period on Saturday, the wheels came off for the P-Bruins, as they were outscored, 8-2, over the final 40 minutes.

*** The P-Bruins managed only 17 shots on Saturday.

*** Providence’s defensive coverage around the net on Saturday was as poor as I’ve seen it in recent memory.

*** Injured: Jeremy Lauzon (upper body).

Zane McIntyre starts in goal for the Providence Bruins on the road against the Charlotte Checkers this evening at 6.

The teams will play again tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Rob O’Gara, just back from Boston, is in the lineup for the P-Bruins.

Jeremy Lauzon didn’t make the trip after suffering an upper-body injury in the win at Binghamton on Wednesday.

It is the first Providence-Charlotte game since March 2011, when the P-Bruins won, 4-2, at The Dunk.

Providence got goals from Alain Goulet, Trent Whitfield (2) and Stefan Chaput. Anton Khudobin kicked out 25 shots.

Providence starts the night in third place in the Atlantic Division with a .625 winning percentage. Charlotte (.579) is fifth.

Here are the lines for Providence:

Agostino-Czarnik-Senyshyn

Porter-JFK-Fitzgerald

Blidh-Cave-Acolatse

Gabrielle-Hennessy-Hargrove

The D pairs:

Cross-Clifton

Breen-Johansson

O’Gara-Zboril

Binnington backs up McIntyre.

Zane McIntyre will start in goal for the Providence Bruins tonight as they play their second and final game of the season in Binghamton against the Devils.

In maybe their strongest game to this point, Providence beat the Devils, 4-1, in Binghamton on Oct. 27.

The P-Bruins start the night in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a .600 win percentage. Binghamton is fifth in the North Division with a .433 win percentage.

Providence will get back Ryan Fitzgerald (lower body, missed one game) and Jakub Zboril (upper body, missed three games) tonight.

Jordan Szwarz, sent down by Boston this afternoon, will not play tonight.

Zach Senyshyn, with a goal and seven points in his last six games, is trending up after a slow start and looks to continue his solid play tonight.

“There was an adjustment going from junior to my first full season pro, definitely some growing pains at the start. I’m starting to hit my stride and feel more comfortable, getting a lot more confidence,” he said after recording two assists on Sunday.

Senyshyn has become more noticeable as he figures out how to take advantage of open ice.

“My speed is my strong point, I want to use it as much as possible. (Finding room to skate has) had a lot to do with my coaches, watching a lot of video and showing me what I need to work on to open up space and work more efficiently. That’s been a big thing for me. I’ve also been playing with some good players. They’ve been opening up room for me to skate, as well,” he said.

I thought Senyshyn struck the right tone with his answer after I asked how closely he is following fellow 2015 first-rounder Jake DeBrusk, who benefited from a full year in Providence before graduating to Boston.

“Jake’s a great player and it’s always nice to see him with success, but I think we’re two different players, have two different paths. He’s doing great things up there. I have my own path. When I’m ready, I think I’ll be able to go up there and succeed. Right now I’m working on my game here. It’s nice to watch him and take a few things away from what he does really well, but I’m focused on getting wins down here,” Senyshyn said.

Coach Jay Leach is pleased with the progress show by the 20-year-old, who is fourth on the team in scoring with 2-6-8 in 14 games.

“He’s a kid that’s trying to find his way. He’s done a terrific job of listening and doing what’s asked, using his speed when he can. The points are more or less secondary to the way we want him to play. He been doing that and because he’s been doing that, he finds himself in the right spots.

“He really has come here with an open canvas, wanting to just get better. He acknowledged early with us that he wasn’t where he needed to be. He wants to get better and that’s what you’re seeing,” Leach said.

“I still don’t know if we know exactly what he is, which is not a bad thing at all. We don’t want to put a cap on anybody. He can do a lot of different things. I wanted to get him on the (penalty) kill (on Sunday), but it was a tight game and I didn’t, but that’s something that I want to do. DeBrusk killed, Heinen killed and that got them more minutes and now they can kill up (with Boston). That’s going to be something we do with Seny.”

Tonight’s lines*

Agostino-Czarnik-Fitzgerald

Blidh-Cave-Senyshyn

Porter-JFK-Acolatse

Hargrove-Hennessy-Hickman

*Right wings could be shuffled a bit, per Leach

Defense pairs

Lauzon-Cross

Breen-Johansson

Zboril-Clifton

Binnington will be McIntyre’s backup

 

 

Riddled with callups and injuries, the Providence Bruins split two games at home over the weekend. They did not play well in a 4-1 loss to the Hershey Bears on Friday night, their fourth defeat in a row. But they bounced back with a strong 4-1 win over the Bears on Sunday afternoon.

“I don’t want to say we had our backs against the wall, but we had to have some urgency (on Sunday),” said coach Jay Leach. “Right from the start we were on our toes and skating and guys were engaged and helping each other out. We talked about it (on Saturday). We have a young group and our older guys are going to be asked to help that young group out in a lot of different ways. I thought they did that really well and the young guys followed.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

*** Colby Cave showed good hands in faking out Pheonix Copley for a goal on Sunday and later assisted on Colton Hargrove’s tally. He also spent a lot of time matched against Hershey’s top line of Chris Bourque, Travis Boyd and Wayne Simpson and helped keep them off the scoreboard.

*** With two assists on Sunday, Zach Senyshyn has 1-6-7 in his last 6 games.

*** In his first game since Oct. 28, Justin Hickman played well on Friday, scoring a nice breakaway goal for his first of the season.

*** The P-Bruins held Hershey to 18 shots on Sunday. And they were opportunistic at the other end, scoring four goals on 20 shots

*** Jacob Forsbacka Karlsson made an alert play on Sunday, pouncing on a Copley pass behind the goal line and stuffing it into the empty net to give Providence the lead just 1:43 into the game.

*** Kenny Agostino was returned to Providence late on Sunday afternoon. Some of the other callups are likely to follow as Boston’s injured players get back to good health.

BAD

*** Providence gave up two goals in the first 5:57 on Friday night.

*** The next three games are on the road, as the P-Bruins visit Binghamton on Wednesday and Charlotte on Saturday and Sunday.

*** Tough break for Jesse Gabrielle on Sunday. He was originally credited with an assist on Austin Czarnik’s goal, which would have been Gabrielle’s first point, but the helper was later changed — correctly — to Adam Payerl.

*** The P-Bruins aren’t getting many goals from their defensemen. Only Tommy Cross (2) and Emil Johansson have scored so far.

UGLY

*** Hickman’s goal on Friday was Providence’s first at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center since Oct. 22, a span of 163:02. During that time, Bridgeport and Hershey outscored the P-Bruins, 10-0.

*** Injured: Jakub Zboril (upper body), Ryan Fitzgerald (lower body)

PROVIDENCE — Chris Bourque of the Hershey Bears has even greater incentive to light up American Hockey League goalies this season.

The 31-year-old left winger, who has won two scoring titles and three Calder Cups in the AHL, is in the running for a slot on the U.S. team that will compete in the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, in February.

As usual, Bourque is putting up points this season. He was the league’s leading scorer with 7-16-23 in 16 games heading into Friday night’s contest in Providence.

“I had a couple of conversations with (USA Hockey) over the summer,’’ Bourque said on Friday morning. “They called me and let me know I was in the mix, that I was on their radar for making the team. I’ve had a couple of more conversations with them since then.

“I talked to (Olympic team assistant coach) Scott Young right before the season. He told me, ‘Do your thing and we’ll be in contact.’ Get off to a good start and all that kind of stuff. I’ve obviously been thinking about it a little bit, but I’m not worried about it right now.’’

Bourque is on an AHL contract with Hershey so he is eligible to be loaned to the U.S. team. Players with NHL contracts are not eligible to go to the Olympics.

He has a history with USA Hockey. He participated in Select festivals when he was a teenager, played on two World Junior Championship teams, and suited up for the U.S. in the Deutschland Cup in Germany a few years ago when he was playing in the KHL.

The Olympics would be the icing on the cake.

“Any time you get the opportunity to represent your country, you jump right on it. When it’s the Olympics, that’s a no-brainer. It’s a special chance for guys in my situation, where if the guys in the NHL were doing it, we wouldn’t have the opportunity,” he said.

“I’m excited about that, but obviously (USA Hockey has) some decisions to make. I’ve just got to keep playing well and hopefully things will take care of themselves. It should be exciting. We’ll see.’’