Providence Profiles: Kevan Miller

Kevan Miller (Left) (Credit: Flickr/ Goaliej54)

Another Providence Profile, another opportunity to write about a Hockey East player. This time it’s former University of Vermont player, defenseman Kevan Miller.

Following his senior season at UVM, Miller signed an amateur tryout contract with the P-Bruins. He played 6 games that season, finishing with a +2 rating despite no points and nine penalty minutes.

In October of 2011, Miller was signed to a two-year entry-level by the Bruins and spent his first pro season In Providence. He was the second-leading scorer amongst the P-Bruin defenseman with 3 goals and 21 assists in 65 games and had a team-best +20 with 98 penalty minutes.

So far Miller has played in 21 games this season with one assist and 15 penalty minutes. Needless to say Miller is a smart defenseman and an asset for any organization. I also really enjoy that he’s always willing to drop the gloves if necessary.

Like here:

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So on that note, Happy New Year from all of us at A Cup A Bruin!

Spengler Cup Champions

Spengler Champions (Credit:Twitter/@TylerSeguin92)

The Spengler Cup Tournament has come to a close and Team Canada has come out with the win over HC Davos.  Not only did Team Canada win, but two of your Boston Bruins players helped make it happen. Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin can now add Spengler Cup champions to their resume.

So this means that Bergeron is now a Spengler Cup champ, a Stanley Cup champ, World Junior gold medalist, and Olympic gold medalist. Not too shabby huh? And as pointed out by teammate Milan Lucic he might be the only one in the world with that credential list.

(credit:Twitter/@MilanLucic4)

So on behalf of A Cup of Bruin, congrats boys! Hopefully with the tourney ending, and both guys coming home it’s only a matter of time before we can get to some NHL action.

New Years Resolutions:Boston Bruins

So long 2012 (Photo Credit: blackandwhitegold.com)

The end of 2011 left us as Boston Bruins fans spoiled. The Bruins had just won the Stanley Cup, despite a slow and rocky start they turned their season completely around in November/December and went into the playoff run with our heads held high.  We were ‘golden.’ We began 2012 on a high note that carried us into the playoffs yet again.  Unfortunately, the dream was cut short as Joel Ward ended the Bruins playoff stint and sent the B’s into an early summer vacation. However, with each downfall and crap moment that the past season has brought there comes a solution.  

Bruins Fall to the Sharks 3-2

Justin Florek takes a face-off against the Worcester Sharks (Photo Credit: Stephanie Vail/Flickr)

The Providence Bruins took on the Worcester Sharks this evening in Worcester and despite Chris Bourque extending his goal scoring streak and Justin Florek netting his second goal in as many games, the Bruins fell short and lost to the Sharks 3-2.

The first period provided the Bruins with a lot of golden opportunities, the best coming just 45 seconds after a Worcester penalty expired as Chris Bourque was able to beat stone wall Alex Stalock to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. A little over a minute later Stalberg was able to beat Hutchinson and tie the game at 1 into the first intermission.

Through the second period the Bruins came out ready to play once again and Justin Florek put them on the board at 7:55, instilling a one-goal lead for the second time of the evening.  Unfortunately, once again the Bruins couldn’t hold onto the lead and the Sharks capitalized again in the final seconds of the middle frame.  The Bruins held a 15-11 edge in shots and went into the final frame determined and hungry for a third straight win.

The Sharks came back fighting with a vengeance as they inched closer and closer to scoring and eventually their tiresome efforts paid off as Brandon Mashinter was able to beat Hutchinson in the final 3:37 to play. The Bruins tried to pull one more goal out of the hat as they pulled Hutchinson from the net for the extra attacker, but the Sharks held on and improved their series record to 5-1, tallying yet another 1-goal game in the books between them.

Game Notes…

• Goaltending:

Michael Hutchinson saved 24 out of the 27 shots he faced and fell to 4-6-1 on the season.  Meanwhile Alex Stalock improved his record to 11-6-1 in saving all but 2 of the 32 shots he faced.

• Shots on Goal: Providence 10-15-7 (32)  Worcester 7-11-9 (24)
• Power Play Opportunities: Providence 0 / 5; Worcester 0 / 2
• Three Stars of the Game:

1. Brandon Mashinter – Game-winning Goal (Worcester)
2. Alex Stalock – Game-winning goalie (Worcester)
3. Craig Cunningham – 2 assists (Providence)

The Bruins next game is Wednesday, January 2 against the Portland Pirates, a game that is not on the schedule because it is the make-up game from Thursday, December 27 that was cancelled due to inclement weather. With Providence losing tonight’s game in regulation they fall to third place in the Division, 2 points behind the leading Portland Pirates and 1 point behind second place Worcester Sharks.

Preview: Will the Bruins Pull off a Win Against Worcester?

Will Jordan Caron be sent back to Providence? (Credit:Bridget Samuels/Flickr)

Tonight the Providence Bruins head to Worcester in hopes of coming up victorious against the Sharks once again.  The Division rivals have met a handful of times already this season with the Sharks holding a tough 4-1 record.  However, all of the games have been decided by one goal, three of them being decided by a shootout.

The two teams combined tallied 144 penalty minutes the last time they faced off against each other with the Sharks skating away with a 5-4 victory. Currently the Bruins are 1 point ahead of the Sharks in the Atlantic Division.

Last night Niklas Svedberg made 43 saves while Justin Florek, Lane MacDermid, Jordan Caron and Chris Bourque led the B’s to a 4-2 victory improving their record to 9-1-0-1 in their last 12 games.

Important Numbers:

 

 

	Worcester	Providence
Goals For	2.76	2.57
Goals Against	2.93	2.75
Shots For	30.72	33.46
Shots Against	30.52	29.89
PIMS	24.41	19.21
Fighting Majors	40	31

Tonight’s game is at 7:00 pm and can be heard on AHL Live for free or seen online for a small fee.

#LetsGoBruins

 

Bruins Beat the Phantoms 4-2

MacDermid earns his spot as a Bruin today, fighting Mike Rupp on his first shift. (Photo Credit: Stephanie Vail)

Last night the Providence Bruins headed to Adirondack to take on the Phantoms and improved their record to 16-10-0-2, capturing first place in the Atlantic Division and snapping the Phantom’s 3-game win streak.

Justin Florek put the Bruins on the board first with a goal just 4:43 into the first period.  The goal game shortly after the only penalty of the period expired, with the Bruins keeping possession the entire two minutes.

6:15 into the second period Christian Hanson was able to put another puck past Cam Heeter to give the Bruins a 2-0 advantage, to which Jordan Caron added on to just three minutes later to give the Bruins a 3-1 advantage after Brayden Schenn scored on a breakaway.  Caron’s goal ended a 9-game drought where he didn’t register a single point.

At 19:21 Chris Bourque would seal the deal with an empty net goal in the third period and earn the Bruins a much needed victory. Tonight they head to Worcester to take on the Sharks in hopes of earning another two points.

Game Notes. . . 

• Shots on Goal-Providence 15-9-11 (35)  Adirondack 14-13-18 (45)
• Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0 / 3; Adirondack 1 / 4
• Three Stars of the Game

1. Niklas Svedberg – game winning goaltender (Providence)
2. Brayden Schenn – 1 goal (Adirondack)
3. Lane MacDermid – 1 goal (Providence)

Seguin to Leave Swiss League

(Credit:Flickr/Slidingsideways)

When the Spengler Cup comes to an end on December 31st so does Tyler Seguin‘s time overseas. EHC Biel, the team Seguin has been playing for since the start of the lockout, announced today that he would be leaving following the tournament.

Seguin is currently representing Canada in the Spengler Cup alongside teammate Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron as reported last week, has the same plan to come back in hopes of the lock out coming to an end.

For EHC Biel, Seguin led his team in points during the 29 games he played, tallying 25 goals and 15 assists. It’s nice to see Seggy hasn’t had a slump in scoring since the lack of NHL playing.

The club had nothing but positive thoughts on the sendoff tweeting the following:

(Credit: EHC Biel Twitter)

 

 

Preview: Providence Heads to Adirondack

Chris Bourque
(photo courtesy of Ron Morin/ Ron’s Sports Photography)

Despite missing last night’s tilt against the Portland Pirates due to inclement weather, the Providence Bruins are on the road to take on the Adirondack Phantoms.  Toonight’s game marks the second game of the season between the two with the Bruins taking the first game 3-2 in overtime.

The Bruins are looking to build off of their 3-1 victory over the Connecticut Whale on Saturday and remain out of the losing column.  The Bruins currently sit in 2nd place in the Division, just 2 points (or 1 win) away from the Division-leading Portland Pirates.

Tonight Chris Bourque looks to keep his scoring streak alive with three goals in the past two games. Jamie Tardif is also looking to keep his hot streak alive as he has registered 9 goals this month, two of them from his past two games.

Niklas Svedberg is expected to be in net for the Bruins tonight after being Hutchinson’s back-up against the Whale.

Tonight’s game is at 7:00pm and can be heard on AHL Live for free or seen for a small fee.

#LetsGoBruins

Providence Game Postponed

Tonight the Providence Bruins were supposed to travel to Portland, Maine to take on the Pirates for their third game of the season. Unfortunately, due to the lovely white out conditions of the current snow storm, the game has been re-scheduled for Wednesday, January 2,2013. So, if you are around the Portland area on Wednesday stop by and show your support for your baby Bruins as they look to keep their win streak alive. Anyone who has purchased tickets to tonight;s game can use the stub for entrance to Wednesday;s game or get a full refund by 5:00pm Wednesday.  The game will still be at 7:00pm and held at the Cumberland County Civic Center. #LetsGoBruins

Santa Claude and the Night Before Christmas

Santa Claude (Credit:Bruins Twitter)

Happy Holidays from all of us at A Cup Of Bruin. In the midst of the NHL lockout, we were trying to figure out a way to bring the holiday cheer to Boston Bruins fans and it’s safe to say we found it with this video.

Coach Claude Julien as we all know can be quite the “grinch” on the bench yelling at the referee’s when they’re not exactly making calls in favor of our beloved B’s. But this past Tuesday he traded in his coach persona for “Santa Claude” at Four Seasons Boston’s Teddy Bear Tea.

The four seasons hotel delivers hundreds of teddy bears to children in need through nonprofit organizations and hospitals every December. And since the Bruins mascot is a bear, it seems only appropriate for the Bruins organization to get involved.

So ladies and gentleman on this Christmas Eve, I give you the gift of Santa Claude reading “The Night Before Christmas”.