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Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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The puck slides into the net behind Hartford goalie Talyn Boyko after Providence’s Billy Sweezey (6) bulled his way to the net. It was Sweezey’s first goal of the year. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins have had some sluggish starts in recent years, but not this season.

They won both their games over the weekend, improving their record to 4-0.

The P-Bruins started with a 5-3 road victory over the Bridgeport Islanders on Friday night. At home on Saturday, they beat the Hartford Wolf Pack, 5-2.

“I think we had a great camp,” coach Ryan Mougenel said of the fast start. “Everybody had a hand in it, from the (Joey) Abates to some of the guys that are even in Maine. It just started off on the right foot. The compete level was evident from day one.

“We’ve been talking about how important the start is. This is probably the first year we got off to the start we really wanted, playing good winning hockey early on. The goaltending’s been awesome.”

In both weekend games, Providence was able to grab the lead and extend it.

“We talked about creating doubt tonight and how important that is. The way you create doubt is by sticking to our structure. Offensive players are going to find ways to create ice and create space for each other and that’s what our offensive guys did. They made a lot of pretty special plays. I liked that we understood the momentum swings.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The power play was on fire on Friday, clicking on three of six chances. It took Providence only five seconds to score on one of the power plays. After an offensive zone faceoff, all five Providence skaters touched the puck before Alex Steeves put it in the net. It went from Matt Poitras to Victor Soderstrom to Matej Blumel to Georgii Merkulov and then to Steeves. The PP has a 37.5 percent success rate, third-best in the AHL.

— Four of the top 10 scorers in the league are Bruins: Georgii Merkulov, Fabian Lysell, Alex Steeves and Matej Blumel.

—  Riley Tufte  scored twice and added an assist in Bridgeport, then chipped in with a goal and an assist against Hartford.

— Patrick Brown had a goal and an assist on Friday and two assists on Saturday.

— Georgii Merkulov recorded two assists against Bridgeport and a goal against Hartford. With 186 points, he is now tied for second all-time with Sergei Zholtok in points with the P-Bruins.

— Dans Locmelis, Jonathan Aspirot and Billy Sweezey scored their first goals of the season over the weekend.

— Blumel had two assists against the Islanders and one against the Wolf Pack.

— Mike DiPietro made 27 saves on 30 shots against Bridgeport. Simon Zajicek stopped 31 of 33 shots against Hartford.

— The P-Bruins are one of seven teams that has not lost a game.

BAD

— A turnover behind the net by Michael DiPietro handed Bridgeport a goal in the first period on Friday.

— The P-Bruins gave up two goals on the penalty kill against the Islanders. The PK is at 76.9 percent, which is 19th in the league.

UGLY

— For the second straight week, there’s no ugly.

P-Bruins preview: Vibes are good

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Optimism leading into a Providence Bruins season is nothing new.

Most years that positive feeling proves to be justified.

The P-Bruins haven’t missed the playoffs since 2012, which was Bruce Cassidy’s first year as head coach. They have consistently delivered entertaining hockey with regular season wins outnumbering losses most years.

This season, however, the high hopes are higher than ever.

The P-Bruins head into their first weekend with the deepest roster, top to bottom, they’ve had in recent memory.

There’s a top goaltender, proven scorers and strong defense. All the ingredients for success are there.

You never know what you’re going to get in the six-and-a-half-month battle of attrition that is the AHL regular season, but Providence starts out with the makings of a very strong team.

From the net out, here’s how it looks.

GOALTENDING

The P-Bruins have gotten some of the best goaltending in the league in recent seasons.

Brandon Bussi is gone, but Michael DiPietro returns. He was the AHL’s goaltender of the year and a first-team All-Star last season.

The backup will be Simon Vajicek, a free agent signing from Czechia, who has looked good in the preseason, but is unproven on this side of the Atlantic.

“Goaltending has been a real strong suit and we’ve got Dipper back. I really like Simon. He’s got a tremendous upside,” said coach Ryan Mougenel.

DEFENSE

There’s a good mix of experience and youth on D.

Mike Callahan, Billy Sweezey and Jonathan Aspirot are good, experienced defenders. Frederic Brunet is an up-and-coming two-way defenseman. Victor Soderstrom put up 37 points in 49 games and earned Defenseman of the Year honors in Sweden last year.

Loke Johansson is a first-year pro drafted in the sixth round in 2024.

Ty Gallagher, Jackson Edward, Max Wanner and Colin Felix will battle for ice time.

“I like our depth,” said Mougenel.

FORWARDS

The opening night lineup at forward is impressive.

“We have some offensive weapons, for sure. There’s guys that have had a lot of success at the American League level. I don’t know if in the past we’ve had gifted offensive players like we have up front,” said Mougenel.

At the top of the lineup, at least for the start of the season, are the two top goal-scorers in the AHL last season, Matej Blumel (39 goals) and Alex Steeves (36 goals). Blumel was a first-team All-Star; Steeves was a second teamer.

How it goes in Boston will likely determine if Blumel or Steeves will be around for the short term or the long term, but as long as they’re in Providence they should provide plenty of offensive punch.

Matthew Poitras put up 41 points in 40 AHL games last season. He’s determined to make his way back up to Boston sooner rather than later.

Georgii Merkulov, Providence’s top scorer the last three seasons, is back for a fourth year.

Patrick Brown had a strong camp in Boston. He’s a model captain.

“He does such a good job with all of our guys – teaching them how to be pros, how to act, how to train, how to live it every day,” said Mougenel.

First-rounder Fabian Lysell, in his fourth pro season, looks to rebound after a subpar year.

Riley Tufte, a consistent 20-goal scorer in the AHL, is back. Riley Duran and John Farinacci both got their first taste of the NHL last season. They are looking for more.

Dans Locmelis and Dalton Bancroft, both of whom finished last season with the P-Bruins after their college seasons were over, are expected to contribute offensively. Joey Abate will  continue to provide energy and enthusiasm.

Other forwards in the mix are Brett Harrison, Jordan Schmaltz and Shawn Element.

INTANGIBLES

Providence has outstanding leadership, starting with Brown, Callahan and Sweezey.

“We’re very fortunate to have that around us. I don’t take that for granted,” Mougenel said.

Under Marco Sturm, Boston has made changes in their systems in the defensive zone and neutral zone. Providence will follow suit.

“We’re going to have a couple of tweaks in how we play. There’s going to be teaching moments in that for our D and for the coaches, too. We’re trying to paint a clear picture for our players,” said Mougenel.

“That’s going to be a little bit of a challenge but one that we welcome, too. We’ve played the same way for years. It was nice and refreshing to hear somebody else’s perspective on the game.”

MAINE MEN

Another potential change: It sounds like there could be more traffic this year between Providence and its ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners, who have a new coach in Rick Kowalsky.

“We’re going to use Maine as much as we can. They’re a big part of it. I don’t like young players sitting in the stands. I don’t think it does anything for anybody,” said Mougenel.

PREDICTION

With the current roster, there’s every reason to expect the P-Bruins to be in the hunt for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Get your popcorn ready.

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Riley Duran is denied on a breakaway by Kaapo Kähkönen in the second period of Game 2. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins are in trouble.

After losing the first two games of their best-of-five Atlantic Division semifinal series at home against the Charlotte Checkers on Friday and Sunday, Providence’s season will be on the line in Game 3 in North Carolina on Wednesday.

The P-Bruins fell behind in the opening minutes and lost Game 1 on Friday, 5-1. They started slowly again in Game 2 on Sunday, mounted a furious push in the third period, but lost, 2-0.

“I didn’t like some of our compete tonight. It’s a little disappointing,” said coach Ryan Mougenel on Sunday. “It’s something that, I know this group can turn it around. It’s a special group in the fact that we have great leaders and we have some young guys that are full of life and energy. We’ve got to just keep playing our game, where we’ve had success. I feel like we’ve gotten away from it.”

Mougenel referenced a conversation with Boston assistant coach Chris Kelly, who attended Game 1.

“The biggest thing he said to me was in the regular season you earn a paycheck. The playoffs are about your reputation. That was a message to the guys today,” Mougenel said.

“We want guys playing meaningful games, we want to see how you play in meaningful games. We want to see you play like a man. You’re going to be bumped, you’re going to get hooked. You’ve gotta fight through it. Some guys fight through it, some guys didn’t. It’s about being a pro and being a man and playing like a man.”

The Bruins have their work cut out for them.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins outshot Charlotte, 15-2, in the third period of Game 2.

“That third period we took it to them and started playing our game. We’ve got to find a way to start that way and play that way for a full 60. I feel like it’s going to give us a little confidence going into the next game,” said Matt Poitras.

“We’re going to go to Charlotte, take it one game at a time and see what happens.”

BAD

— It was a tough night for some of Providence’s top players in Game 1. Matt Poitras finished with a minus-4. Ian Mitchell, Dans Locmelis and Vinni Lettieri were minus-3.

— Referees Mike Sullivan and Jim Curtin whistled the P-Bruins for three penalties in the first 12 minutes of Game 2.

— Halfway through Game 2, Providence had only seven shots.

— The power play is 0 for 8 through two games.

“Our power play has to be better. (Charlotte is) an aggressive bunch. We’ve got to take a deep breath and be able to make the next play. We haven’t been able to make the next play,” said Mougenel.

UGLY

— Providence gave up two unassisted shorthanded goals on the same penalty in the first five minutes of Game 1. It was a grotesque way to start a series.

— Going into Game 3, Providence has gone 111:43 without a goal.

— Injured: Georgii Merkulov, Billy Sweezey, Trevor Kuntar

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

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Mike DiPietro congratulates Brandon Bussi on his shutout on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins were without some of their top players as Vinni Lettieri, Mike Callahan and Matt Poitras were recalled by Boston, but you wouldn’t know it from the results on the ice.

The P-Bruins swept all three of their games last week and by late Sunday they held down second place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 21-13-3-1 and 46 points.

Their first win was a gritty 3-2 shootout decision on the road against the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday. Providence returned home for the weekend and beat the Crunch, 5-0, on Saturday and then blanked the Springfield Thunderbirds, 4-0, on Sunday.

“It shows our leadership, for sure. As a group sometimes you can wonder about what’s not in your lineup, but the guys did a great job celebrating what we had in the lineup. I can’t say enough about our goaltending and our back end. They really stepped up,” said coach Ryan Mougenel after Sunday’s game.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The goaltending was superb in all three wins. On Wednesday, Michael DiPietro kicked out 37 of 39 shots and four out of five in the shootout. He followed that up with a 26-save shutout on Saturday. DiPietro’s 1.95 goals-against average is second in the AHL.

Brandon Bussi stopped all 27 shots on Sunday, including a couple of 10-bell saves.

— Tyler Pitlick had a terrific week. He tied Wednesday’s game with a third-period goal and scored in the shootout, too. After posting an assist on Saturday, he had 2-1-3 on Sunday. With 11 goals on 42 shots, his shooting percentage is 26.2.

— The power play went 1 for 2 on Saturday and 1 for 3 on Sunday. The PP is 13th in the league at 18 percent.

“One unit has a lot of poise and makes a lot of positive plays. Obviously, (Georgii Merkulov) makes it go. I thought (Ian Mitchell) did a real good job on it (Sunday), had a good focus and was clean and efficient. There was a lot of structure. The one thing (assistant coach) Matty Thomas does is explains the ‘why’ all the time. That’s had a big effect on our power play,” said Mougenel.

— Merkulov has points in five straight games with 2-4-6.

— Riley Tufte scored the deciding goal in the shootout win in Syracuse.

— Frederic Brunet made a slick pass to set up Pitlick’s first goal on Sunday. He played a strong two-way game and was plus-3.

— Max Jones scored twice in Saturday’s game.

— John Farinacci scored a goal on Saturday and made a pretty pass to set up Brett Harrison’s score on Sunday. Farinacci has 2-8-10 in his last 9 games.

— Trevor Kuntar snapped a streak of 12 games without a goal with his tally on Saturday.

BAD

— In Syracuse, Fabian Lysell had chance after chance but had zero puck luck and went home without a goal.

— Jeffrey Viel continues to lead the AHL in minor penalties with 29.

— Syracuse and Springfield ended up with twice as many power plays – 10 – to only 5 for the P-Bruins on Saturday and Sunday.

UGLY

— Sick: Fabian Lysell

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Riley Tufte is knocked down after depositing his 11th goal of the year in the net against Bridgeport on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The Providence Bruins split their two games over the weekend.

They beat the Bridgeport Islanders, 4-1, at home on Friday. They lost to the Springfield Thunderbirds, 6-4, on the road on Saturday.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— Michael DiPietro and Mike Callahan got word on Wednesday that they will represent the P-Bruins at the AHL All-Star Classic in Palm Desert, Calif. on Feb. 2 and 3. Both are worthy selections. Vinni Lettieri would have been a deserving pick, too.

— DiPietro stopped 34 of 35 shots in Friday night’s win. He is 12-5-3 with a .925 save percentage. His 2.05 goals-against average is third in the AHL.

— Lettieri had two goals and a helper on Friday. He is third in the AHL in scoring with 14-21-35 in 35 games.

— Fabian Lysell had a productive weekend with two assists on Friday and a tip-in goal on Saturday. He has 3-8-11 in the last 10 games.

— Georgii Merkulov scored a goal and an assist on Friday and set up a Patrick Brown power play score with a good pass on Saturday. He has 5-12-17 in the last 16 games. Seems to me he could contribute on Boston’s sputtering power play.

— Riley Duran played with energy in both games and scored a goal on Saturday.

— Brett Harrison took the puck to the net for a nice goal in Springfield.

— Riley Tufte, Frederic Brunet and Mason Millman are tied for the team lead with plus-10.

— Providence’s next two games are against Syracuse and they’ll face Rochester, Laval and Cleveland over the next couple of weeks. It’s a welcome break from the usual bland diet of Bridgeport, Hartford and Springfield.

BAD

— In Springfield, by the time the P-Bruins registered a shot on net nine minutes in, they were already two goals down.

— Brandon Bussi gave up two goals on six shots in the first 8:04 before being pulled against the Thunderbirds.

— Saturday night was a tough one for Providence’s top line. Matt Poitras was minus-four and Lettieri and Merkulov were minus-three.

— Maybe Poitras had a good reason to slash Springfield’s Corey Schueneman late in the second period. Unfortunately for Poitras, referee Chris Rumble was five feet away and couldn’t miss the infraction. The Thunderbirds scored the go-ahead goal two seconds after the penalty on Poitras expired.

— Merkulov and Lettieri broke in alone on Springfield’s Colton Ellis with 6:28 left in the second period but didn’t score as Ellis turned away Merkulov’s shot.

— After battling back from a two-goal deficit to tie the game, the P-Bruins fell behind again as they gave up a goal with 23 seconds left in the second period.

— The P-Bruins don’t play Bridgeport again for a month. Too bad. The P-Bruins are 8-0 against the last-place Islanders.

UGLY

— Injured: Ian Mitchell, Tyler Pitlick

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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The Providence Bruins headed home from their weekend in Hershey, Pa., with only one out of four points.

In their first game of the trip on Saturday night, the P-Bruins were on the cusp of being run out of the Giant Center in the first period as they fell behind by three goals. To their credit, they stopped the bleeding and went to work. They chipped away and tied the game in the third period and earned a point after losing, 4-3, in a shootout.

On Sunday, Providence held its own for just over a period before they were blitzed by the Bears, 5-1.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— The P-Bruins built some character with their comeback on Saturday night. Captain Patrick Brown and Vinni Lettieri put on a master class in veteran leadership as the team rallied from three goals down. Credit to Brown for going right after Matthew Strome after the Hershey winger elbowed Matt Poitras. Big props to Mike DiPietro for locking it down as his teammates clawed their way back to even.

— Brown scored an important power play goal on Saturday to put the Bruins on the board with 48 seconds left in the first period. The goal gave them a positive to build on instead of going to the room facing a 0-3 deficit. On Sunday, Brown set up a Max Jones goal that gave Providence the lead 80 seconds into the game. Brown has points in four straight games.

— Riley Tufte scored his 10th goal on Saturday.

— Vinni Lettieri’s 12th goal of the year tied the game in the third period on Sunday. He continues to lead the team with 12-20-32 in 31 games.

BAD

— Sunday’s game spun away from the P-Bruins went they allowed two goals within 30 seconds in the second period.

— They could muster only 19 shots on Sunday. It made for an easy night for Hershey’s backup goalie, Clay Stevenson.

UGLY

— Injured/sick: Ian Mitchell, Riley Duran, Tyler Pitlick

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins week

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Not a lot to be thankful for this week as the Providence Bruins season took a wrong turn.

The P-Bruins lost all three of their games, one on the road and two at home, while managing to score a total of only five goals.

They started the week with a game in Utica on Wednesday, where they came from behind to tie the game early in the third period before losing to the Comets, 5-3.

In a rematch against Utica on Saturday, Providence could not solve Nico Daws, who stopped all 33 shots in a 3-0 decision for the Comets.

On Sunday, the P-Bruins lost, 3-2, to the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— After Providence started slow on Sunday, Billy Sweezey gave his team a bit of a spark by dropping the gloves with Reece Newkirk.

— Trevor Kuntar was credited with a first period assist in Utica and later scored his first goal of the season, snapping a stretch of 14 straight games without a goal.

— Matt Poitras didn’t get a lot done in the two games against Utica, but he was productive against Springfield on Sunday with two assists. He has 0-5-5 in 8 games.

— Defenseman Mason Millman scored his first goal of the year on Sunday.

BAD

— They finished the weekend in seventh place in the eight-team Atlantic Division with a record of 8-10-2-0 and they are 13th in the 15-team Eastern Conference.

— Providence has had some of the best goaltending in the AHL the last couple of years. Last week, not so much. Brandon Bussi wasn’t sharp on Wednesday and Michael DiPietro allowed a leaker on Saturday and another on Sunday.

— The P-Bruins are in the bottom half of the league on both the power play (23rd at 14.7 percent) and the penalty kill (19th at 81.9 percent).

— While shorthanded in the second period on Wednesday, Max Jones and Jeffrey Viel broke into the Utica zone on a two on zero, but Nico Daws stopped Jones’ shot. You have to find a way to bury one there.

— Providence had a good start on Wednesday and took the lead early on a Vinni Lettieri goal, but finished the first period trailing by a goal even after outshooting Utica, 14-6.

— After the P-Bruins tied the score early in the third period in Utica, they allowed the Comets to retake the lead just 17 seconds later.

— Utica scored on two of its first four shots on Wednesday.

— Georgii Merkulov was minus-3 in Utica.

— They outshot Utica,13-6,but didn’t score in the third period on Saturday. They outshot Springfield, 13-7, in the third on Sunday and scored only once.

— With referees Tanner Doiron and Harrison O’Pray in charge, the power plays on Sunday were five for Springfield to two for Providence.

— Brett Harrison scored his last regular season goal on Feb. 9, 33 games ago.

UGLY

— Injured: Alec Regula, Fabian Lysell

Good, bad & ugly from Providence Bruins weekend

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Georgii Merkulov beats Lehigh Valley goalie Parker Gahagen for the winning goal in overtime on Saturday night. (Photo courtesy of Providence Bruins)

The first six weeks of the season have been a slog at times for the Providence Bruins, but things are looking up.

The P-Bruins won both of their games over the weekend, starting with a thorough start-to-finish win at home over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 3-0, on Friday night. At the AMP again on Saturday, Providence beat the Phantoms, 2-1, in overtime.

“Really, if you look at our last seven games, I think they’ve been a step in the right direction, building it the right way,” coach Ryan Mougenel said late Saturday.

“The D did a real good job. (Mike) Callahan and (Billy) Sweezey have been good lieutenants back there, showing the young kids how we need to play. (Ian) Mitchell was excellent (Saturday) and our goalies made the saves that they need to make. It’s going in the right direction. We’re building our team game.”

Here’s the good, bad and ugly.

GOOD

— A week ago, the P-Bruins were in sixth place in the Atlantic Division as of Sunday night. This week they are fourth with a record of 8-7-2. They are one point behind the second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

— Providence’s goaltending was outstanding all weekend and team defense was much improved. On Friday, Brandon Bussi played his best game of the season in posting a 30-save shutout. He made several 10-bell saves in the third period. On Saturday, Mike DiPietro stopped 22 of 23 shots.

— Georgii Merkulov didn’t sulk after being sent down from Boston. He was credited with a primary assist on Friday and won Saturday’s game with a nifty breakaway goal in overtime. Second on the team in points with 3-10-13 in 14 games, he is riding a seven-game point streak.

— Vinni Lettieri made a beautiful play to set up Riley Tufte’s second period goal on Saturday. Lettieri leads the team with 8-6-14 in 17 games.

— Fabian Lysell snapped a nine-game stretch without a goal when he scored his second goal of the year in the first period on Friday.

— John Farinacci made a pretty pass to set up Frederic Brunet’s goal on Friday.

— Matt Poitras recorded two assists in Friday’s game.

— Providence’s next five games are against teams that are below them in the standings: Utica (3), Springfield and Bridgeport.

BAD

— Trevor Kuntar (14 games) and Brett Harrison (13 games) are both still looking for their first goals of the season.

— The P-Bruins are averaging 15.06 penalty minutes per game, eighth most in the AHL.

— On the road, Providence’s penalty kill is 27th in the league.          

— They are 0-4-1-0 when trailing after two periods and 0-4-0-0 when outshot.

UGLY

— Injured: Alec Regula