Providence Profiles: Kyle MacKinnon

Calle Riddewall and Kyle MacKinnon (right) (Credit:Flickr/goaliej54)

I take special pride in writing about Hockey East players that make it into the Boston Bruins system and Kyle MacKinnon is one of those guys. MacKinnon spent his Hockey East days playing for the Providence College Friars before being signed by the Providence Bruins in July.

Before the P-Bruins, MacKinnon led the Friars in goals scored his Junior and Senior years playing. During his senior year,  MacKinnon as co-captain totalled 14 goals and finished second with 23 points. He finished his career at Providence College with 71 points on 37 goals and 34 assists.

Besides doing really well in college hockey, MacKinnon was named to the Hockey East All-Academic team for all for seasons. So not only can he score on ice, but he can score when it comes to getting A’s? Now that’s the kind of guy we want playing for us.

This season for the Providence Bruins, MacKinnon has played in 24 games so far, registering 3 goals and 6 assists. He is currently in his third season for the P-Bruins and I have a feeling he will have many more to come.

So as you know by now I love posting videos to go along with these profiles so you can get a sense of what kind of player these guys are.

Like this video for instance, MacKinnon being 5’11” and 185 isn’t exactly the biggest player out there. But he can throw down and fight if necessary:

Oh and did I mention before he can score?

Before the Friars, MacKinnon played for the Chilliwack Chiefs in the BCHL which is where he scored that goal.

You can look forward to a new Providence Profile every Monday right here at A Cup A Bruin!

 

Bergeron Homeward Bound

Just after Christmas Patrice Bergeron will be playing for Team Canada in the Spengler Cup Tournament in Switzerland. Bergeron will be joined by Bruins teammate Tyler Seguin for the tourney. After the tournament, Bergeron is reportedly homeward bound to North America  leaving his HC Lugano club.

The current Selke trophy winner has played in 21 games for the Swiss “A” League registering 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists).

Here’s a clip of his first goal for the league:

As you can see, Bergy is still Bergy even overseas. Though I enjoy watching him score goals, I would obviously prefer him to be rocking the black and gold jersey.

Overseas playing aside, it seems as though Bergeron isn’t the only NHL player to be returning to our neck of the woods following the end of December. With Christmas day being the big 100 day of the NHL lockout, players are coming back to wait for a positive or negative solution.

Twitter is a buzz saying that the NHL and NHLPA will hold a face-to-face meeting after Christmas. The next few weeks will determine whether a 48-game regular season can come from this mess of a lock out. As of now games are cancelled up until January 14th. If the rest of the season is officially cancelled after that day, most players will head back to Europe.

Though most of my optimism for a season is gone at this point, I can only hope for a Christmas miracle.

Bruins Beat the Whale 3-1

12-8-12: Jamie Tardif against the Connecticu Whale (Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Vail/Flickr)

Last night the Providence Bruins headed to Connecticut to take on the Connecticut Whale for their last game before a short holiday break.  Thanks to Jamie Tardif, Chris Bourque and Christian Hanson the Bruins improved their record to 15-10-0-2 with a 3-1 victory.

Scoring wouldn’t open up until 4:44 of the second period when the Whale instilled a 1-0 lead from Chad Kolarik beating Michael Hutchinson.  At 12:06, Jamie Tardif would net his second goal in as many games to tie the game.  Tardif, who is currently the P-Bruins leading goal-scorer has scored at least one goal in 7 of his last 11 games and registered points in 9 out of those 11. The tie would hold through the rest of the period and the Bruins would go into the locker room for the final frame with a 16-14 advantage in shots.

Chris Bourque earned the B’s their first lead of the night as he opened the scoring up in the final frame with his third goal in the past two games.  At 19:15 Christian Hanson sealed the deal with an empty net goal, assisted by Zach Trotman for his second assist of the night.  Hutchinson stood tall between the pipes and preserved the victory for the Bruins who are now on a 4-day break for the holiday season.  Their next game is scheduled for Thursday, December 27 against the Portland Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Game Notes…

• Goaltending:

Michael Hutchinson saved 24 out of the 25 shots he faced and improved to a record of 4-5-2-1.  For the Whale Cameron Talbot fell to 10-11-1-0 in saving 20 of the 22 shots he faced.

• Shots on Goal: Providence  6-8-9 (23)  Connecticut  9-7-9 (25)
• Power Play Opportunities: Providence 1/3  Connecticut 0/5
• Three Stars of the Game:

1.  Chris Bourque – 1 gaol (Providence)
2. Chad Kolarik – 1 goal (Connecticut)
3. Jamie Tardif – 1 goal (Providence)

Sharks Bite the Bruins 5-4

Jamie Tardif tries to put the puck past Portland goaltender Mark Visentin (Photo Credit: Ron Morin/Ron’s Sports Photography)

Last night the Providence Bruins hosted the Worcester Sharks at the Dunkin Donuts Arena for the fifth meeting this season.  Despite efforts from Chris Bourque, Craig Cunningham and Jamie Tardif, the Sharks walked away with a 5-4 victory.

In a night filled with penalties the Bruins were lucky they didn’t find themselves in a bigger hole right from the get-go. In the opening half of the period the Bruins had three penalties giving the Sharks some key opportunities. To their advantage both teams were having a hard time getting the ball rolling and it wouldn’t be until the second period that scoring opened up after a lot of chippy play.

The second period provided what almost every NHL fan likes to see, lots of fights and scoring.  A total of 22 penalty majors were handed out in the second frame and Chris Borque was able to net the first goal for the baby B’s to tie the game at a goal a piece.

The third and final period would be the deciding factor as the Bruins began to play their best hockey of the game, coming out with a a goal from Bourque just 34 seconds in.  The lead didn’t last long though as James Sheppard evened the score once again.  They each traded goals back and forth, scoring every three minutes or so for the remainder of the game until the final 10.5 seconds when the Sharks would beat Svedberg over the shoulder and win the game.

The Bruins next game is tonight against the Connecticut Whale and will be the last game before their holiday break.  The Bruins will see action on the 27 of December when they head to Portland to take on the Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Preview: Providence Hosts the Sharks

Providence adopts ‘You Can Play Project’
(photo courtesy of Ron Morin/ Ron’s Sports Photography)

Tonight the Bruins are back at the Dunk as they host the Worcester Sharks in hopes of staying off of the losing path after they were beat 4-0 buy the IceCaps on Sunday afternoon.

This is the fifth time they are meeting on the season with the Sharks holding a 3-1 advantage on the series.

Currently the men to watch are, go figure, Chris Bourque and Ryan Spooner who lead the way offensively for the Baby B’s.  While it is uncertain if Trent Whitfield will be in the lineup or not, he was practicing with the team today and is expected to be back in action shortly.

Niklas Svedberg is expected to be in net tonight against top notch goaltender Alex Stalock, who has posed as the Bruins biggest threat along with Tim Kennedy.

Tonight’s game can be seen on AHL Live for a small fee, face off is at 7:05pm. #LetsGoBruins

Congratulations Whitter!

Trent Whitfield appearing in warm-ups for the Boston Bruins last season. (Photo Credit: spotboslow/Flickr)

Today the AHL announced that Trent Whitfield, captain of the Providence Bruins will captain the 2013 All-Star Team.  Captains are selected by the league president and chosen in recognition of their outstanding service and leadership to the AHL.

Whitfield has spent the past four of his fifteen seasons with the Providence Bruins, but has recently been sidelined with an injury.  However, the Bruins reported that Whitfield was on the ice today in a regular jersey for practice after being out with an upper body injury since the fifth game of the season.

Whitfield has played in 769 career AHL games and is a four-time 20-goal scorer, totaling 240 goals and 343 assists for 583 points with Portland (1998-2005), Peoria (2005-09) and Providence (2009- ).(via Bruins.com)

Happy Birthday Soupy!

Today we here at A Cup A Bruin want to wish Gregory Campbell a big Happy 29th Birthday! Campbell has been with the Bruins since 2010 in a deal that gave us not only Soupy but Nathan Horton as well. Recently, Campbell was re-signed to a three year deal with the B’s so we have much more time with the Center to look forward too.

Besides being easy on the eyes because let’s be real, he is, Campbell has been an asset to the fourth line more commonly known as the “Merlot line”. Soupy along with Shawn Thornton and Daniel Paille have been one of the most effective fourth lines in the NHL.

And because it’s his birthday what better way to celebrate then with a tribute video:

 

Providence Profiles: Lane Macdermid

Lane Macdermid (Credit:flickr/Sarah_connors)

This week’s Providence Profile is all about Lane Macdermid. Macdermid is currently in his 4th season with the P-Bruins and is becoming one of the AHL’s top enforcers. The 6′ 3″ left winger is as physical of a player as they come. I would say Macdermid has Shawn Thornton like tendencies when it comes to intimidation.

Macdermid’s skills must be paying off because in July of this past season he was re-signed to a one-year contract by the Bruins. He made his NHL debut back in March of the 2011-2012 season and got into a fight less than three minutes into his first NHL game. He was called up to play for Boston after Daniel Paille was out with an injury. In five games, he had no points but had five penalty minutes.

Speaking of penalties, in 69 games for the P-Bruins in the 2011-2012 season, Macdermid was second on the team for top penalty minutes with 121 minutes. The only person that had more was veteran Bobby Robbins. He ended that season with four goals and 12 assists.

If you were wondering about that NHL fight I mentioned, you can check it out here:

With every season Macdermid continues to improve and be a strong presence for the Providence Bruins.

Next week check back for a profile on center Kyle Mackinnon.

IceCaps Stop the Bruins Streak Defeating them 4-0

Mike Hutchinson. (Photo Credit: Steph Vail)

Today the Providence Bruins hosted the St. John’s IceCaps in what they hoped would be their ninth victory in ten games.  Unfortunately, their win streak came to an end as the IceCaps shut them out 4-0.

Scoring would open up just 45 seconds into regulation as Aaron Gagnon beat Hutchinson right in front, giving the IceCaps an early 1-0 advantage.  While Craig Cunningham would have a great opportunity in the second half of the period, penalties proved to be costly to the Bruins and they headed into the locker room down by 2 after a goal by Postma.

As the puck dropped to start the second period things wouldn’t get any easier for the Bruins as they struggled to find a way onto the score board.  Once again the penalties killed the Bruins as Hanson went to the box on a kneeing call, Kael Mouillierat extended the IceCaps lead to 3-0.  The Bruins had a golden opportunity with Lane MacDermid and Bobby Robins, but unfortunately could not beat  Dekanich and went into the final frame down by three.

In the final frame the Bruins did everything in their power to try and fight back against the IceCaps, but unfortunately a turnover in the defensive zone went in favor of the IceCaps and put them up 4-0 with around 13:00 remaining.  The Bruins managed to post 40 shots on net, but had trouble lighting the lamp, ending what would have been a five-game win streak.

The Bruins next game is  Friday, December 21 when they host the Worcester Sharks at 7:05pm.

Game Notes…

• Goaltending:

Mike Hutchinson made 24 saves out of the 28 shots he faced and fell to 3-5-2-1 on the season.  Meanwhile on the other side of the ice, Mark Dekanich improved to 6-6-0 and saved all 40 shots he faced.

• Shots on Goal: Providence  12-17-11 (40) St. John’s  11-10-7 (28)
• Power Play Opportunities: Providence 0/4 St. John’s:  2/4
• Three Stars of the Game:

1. Mark Dekanich – Shutout (St.John’s)
2. Aaron Gagnon – 1 Goal (St. John’s)
3. Paul Postma – 1 Goal, 1 Assist (St. John’s)

 

Bruins Beat the Devils 2-1 in Shootout, Face IceCaps Today

Niklas Svedberg makes a save against Portland (Photo Credit: Ron Morin/ Ron’s Sports Photography)

Last night the Providence Bruins took on the Albany Devils in what proved to be their longest win-streak of the season.  The Bruins have not lost a game since December 2 in a shutout loss to the Worcester Sharks.

Zach Trotman opened up the scoring for the Bruins as he slammed a slapshot top shelf on Devils’ goaltender Jeff Frazee to give Providence the early 1-0 lead.  Jamie Tardif got the assist giving him a 5-game point streak, registering 8 points since December 7.  Heading into the second period the Devils had a 12-8 advantage on the shot clock, the Bruins with the only tally of the period.

At 5:58 the Devils power play would come into play as Bobby Butler redirected a Joe Whitney shot after Ryan Button found himself in the box for a delay of game penalty. The game would remain tied through the rest of the period and the final frame, sending the game into overtime.

In the added minutes the Devils had two man advantage opportunities, but came up empty handed both times.  Christian Hanson provided the Bruins with the best opportunity as he tried to bank rebound after rebound past Frazee until Burlon stepped in and cleared it away.

The shootout took nine rounds for the deciding marker which came from Dave Warsofsky who placed his shot low near the left post to put Providence up for good.

Today the Bruins take on the St. John’s IceCaps at the Dunk at 3:05pm.  Today’s game marks the fourth time these two have met up on the season and the Bruins hold a 2-1 advantage in the series.