Hanson and Robins Lead P-Bruins to Victory Over Baby Penguins

Christian Hanson returned to the lineup after sitting out with injury since March 10th. He reinvigorated his linesmates, who accounted for all of the P-Bruins points in regulation and the shootout. He got the game-tying goal in the 3rd period and the game-winning goal in the 8th round of the shootout. He is awesome.

It’s been 7 games since Christian Hanson has played for the Providence Bruins, but he didn’t miss a step when he rejoined the lineup tonight in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Hanson had a goal to tie the game in the 3rd period, sending the game to a shootout, where his 8th round goal clinched win number 41 of the season for Providence.

The gritty BuzzSaw Line was happily reunited – Hanson, Bobby Robins, and Justin Florek – and provided all the scoring for the P-Bruins, who went 0-for-7 on the power play and gave up 2 power play goals to the Penguins. The team was shorthanded with a last minute scratch to leading scorer Ryan Spooner, and although Torey Krug was sent back to the AHL after practicing with Boston this morning, he was not able to join Providence in Wilkes-Barre in time. Without their top scorers in the lineup and the other top scorers invisible on the scoresheet, the BuzzSaw line got the job done.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened the scoring up at 13:15 of the 1st period on a power play goal from Dylan Reese, who netted his 7th goal of the season with Alex Khokhlachev sitting in the penalty box. Reese’s goal was assisted by Riley Holzapfel and Trevor Smith.

The Bruins tied the game up late in the 1st period on a goal from the most unlikely of sources – the excellent Bobby Robins. Robins got his 4th goal of the season at 18:37 of the 1st assisted by Florek.

The Penguins got a 5-on-3 power play opportunity in the latter half of the 2nd period when Robins was in the box serving a minor for charging and Garnet Exelby joined him with an interference penalty. Reese got his 2nd goal of the game with this 2-man advantage, his 8th goal of the season, assisted by Smith and Beau Bennett at 15:01 of the 2nd.

Hanson scored his 10th goal of the season to tie the game at 2 4:58 into the 3rd period, with an assist to Robins. Although Providence would get a full 2 minute 5-on-3 late in the 3rd period, they were unable to capitalize, and the game went to overtime.

Niklas Svedberg turned aside 4 shots in overtime, making his save total on the night 26 saves on 28 shots faced. Penguins goaltender Brad Thiessen made 26 saves on 28 shots as well. In the shootout, both goaltenders were perfect through 6 rounds. Thiessen stopped Bruins top scorers who failed to provide scoring all night – Craig Cunningham, Max Sauve, Jamie Tardif, Khokhlachev, Carter Camper, and Trent Whitfield.

Svedberg, too, stopped 6 shooters, but at the start of the 7th round, the Penguins’ Chris Collins beat Svedberg. Florek had to score to send the shootout to an 8th round. With one assist already on the night, and +2 rating and leading all skaters with 6 shots on net, Florek came up big with a goal in the shootout.

On to the 8th round, the Penguins put out shooter Adam Payerl. When he failed to beat Svedberg, Hanson was given the opportunity to clinch the win for Providence. And he did.

Robins was awarded 3rd star honors; Reese 2nd star; and Hanson was the 1st star in his 1st game back. He helped propel the Bruins to the top of the Eastern Conference, as the win – now giving them a record of 41-20-5 in 66 games – gives them 87 points. With a loss in overtime tonight, the Syracuse Crunch have 87 points as well, but have 1 more game played and 2 fewer wins. They are also tied with the Texas Stars for 1st place in the entire league. The Providence Bruins aren’t too shabby.

Svedberg’s win gives him 32 on the season – only 1 shy of the great record Tuukka Rask posted the last time Providence made the playoffs in 2008-2009. That year, Rask went 33-20-4. With 10 games left in the season, Svedberg is 32-7-2.

As the standings are right of this moment, the Providence Bruins would face the Hershey Bears in the 1st round of the playoffs. A good sense for how that playoff series might go can be seen tomorrow night when Providence takes on the Bears in Hershey for the 1st meeting between the two teams this season. This will be a must-see game, so consider going to the AHL website and checking out AHL live if you can’t physically be at the game. It’s gonna be a big game!

Pregaming: Providence @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Svedberg owns. Pass it on.

Warning: this preview turns into an Iginla rant for a short while. I’m only a little bit sorry about that.

The Providence Bruins will look to get 2 points closer to clinching a playoff spot tonight as they take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barres, PA. It will be the 2nd and time these two defensively-solid teams faceoff this regular season, although there is a good possibility they will see each other in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Providence is currently 5 points from clinching a spot in the playoffs as the season is in its final weeks. Tonight will be game 66 in a 76-game season for the P-Bruins, who are, as of right now, the only team in the AHL to hit the 40-win milestone. Despite that, they sit in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the AHL with 85 points. They are comfortably atop the division, however, with a 10-point cushion on 2nd place Portland. Their current record is 40-20-0-5.

The Penguins are 35-28-2-1, which is 3rd in their division (the East division), and 7th in the Eastern Conference. In 66 games, they have 73 points – only 2 ahead of the Hershey Bears, a divisional rival nipping at their heels.

The Penguins are a defensively solid team with a little trouble scoring goals. They have an even goal differential with 155 goals scored and 155 goals given up. They have one of the best penalty kills in the league, and give up the fewest goals per game, but also score the fewest goals per game as well. Here are how the teams match-up:

• Last 10: Providence is 8-2-0-0; WBS is 6-4-0-0
• Goal differential: Providence is +22; WBS is 0
• At home, WBS is 17-13-2-1; Away, Providence is 17-11-0-2
• Against the East division, Providence is 2-0-1; Against the Atlantic division, WBS is 2-0-1
• PP: Providence is 7th (18.9%); WBS is 25th (14.2%)
• PK: WBS is 2nd (86.9%); Providence is 7th (84.9%)
• Goals Per Game: Providence is 15th with 2.88; WBS is 28th with 2.35
• Goals Against Per Game: Providence is 3rd with 2.54; WBS is 1st with 2.35
• Shots Per Game: Providence is 1st with 33.91; WBS is 18th with 29.83
• Shots Against Per Game: Providence is 7th with 28.71; WBS is 2nd with 26.00

In the only previous game between the two teams this season, Providence shutout the Penguins and won by a score of 2-0. Michael Hutchinson got the shutout in net, turning aside 20 shots. Jeff Zatkoff, one of the top goaltenders in the AHL who is currently unavailable for WBS, got the loss that night despite his splendid numbers on the season.

Ironically, Zatkoff and Hutchinson will both sit out tonight, as Hutchinson is still sidelined with an injury in which Adam Morrison is on recall for. Morrison will be on the bench to back-up Nicklas Svedberg tonight. Of the two P-Bruins that scored against the Penguins in the previous game this season, which was earlier this month, only one will appear tonight – Craig Cunningham, who was credited with the game-winning goal, will play while Graham Mink, who scored the games 2nd goal, will not play tonight. Both players scored last game as well (a 3-2 win on Wednesday over Portland). It is unclear why Mink is not playing.

Unfortunately the P-Bruins will be without two other top scorers: Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug. Spooner is a last minute scratch with an upper body injury. Krug is still on recall in Boston, along with Matt Bartkowski, who didn’t get traded. What a mess. Well, at least Alex Khokhlachev will play tonight. Hopefully he will get his first professional point.

Here’s another interesting fact: Mark Divver also commented that Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli would like to see if he could get Svedberg in to play a game or two for the Boston Bruins before the season ends. Don’t know how that will be possible with the busy schedule of the AHL and the playoffs but with the way they are treating the team like expendable pieces to sit around and stew while trades don’t happen and jerks choose WBS’s parent team in Pittsburgh to screw the Bruins organization over, I’m sure they will find a way.

No, I’m not mad about that at all. Go Bruins! (Sorry that wasn’t a very good preview…I totally had one ready, but then it all fell apart. Kind of like that Iginla trade.)

In summary, all you need to know going in to tonight you now know. Cunningham: hot hot hot. Also, Chad Kolarik, who played for the Connecticut Whale earlier this season, is a WBS Penguin now, so look out for him. Recently signed University of Minnesota-Duluth defenseman Chris Casto (ELC for Boston, ATO for Providence) will not play tonight, although he is expected to join Providence.

Brad Thiessen will probably get the start in net for the Penguins. Their other top scorers aside from Kolarik include Trevor Smith, Riley Kolzapfel, Paul Thompson, Beau Bennett, Brian Gibbons, and defensemen Dylan Reese and Brian Dumoulin.

As usual, special teams will be the difference – but especially in this case. With Spooner and Krug out, and Chris Bourque still injured, along with the Penguins great penalty kill, Providence could struggle to get the power play goals that usually give them the jump in their game or insurance goals they need to win games. Hopefully our other top scorers will come through – Carter Camper, Jamie Tardif, and Justin Florek, Kyle MacKinnon, and Max Sauve. Also, I’m looking at you David Warsofsky.

Pregaming: Providence @ Portland

Niklas Svedberg and his sweet Godfather mask will be back between the pipes tonight for Providence.

The Providence Bruins will meet divisional rival Portland Pirates for the 10th and final time in the regular season tonight when they face off in Portland, Maine. Portland spent much of the season atop the Atlantic division – the position that Providence now comfortably holds with an 8 point lead.

Team Numbers

• Providence (39-20-0-5) has 83 points in 64 games vs Portland’s (35-24-3-2) 75 points in 64 games.
• Providence sits 1st in the Atlantic, 3rd in the East, an 4th overall in the AHL; Portland is 2nd in the Atlantic, 5th in the East, and 10th overall in the league.
• Late 10: Providence is 7-2-0-1, Portland is 3-5-0-1.
• Providence is 17-11-0-2 at away games; Portland is 21-8-2-1 at home.
• Providence has 184 goals for and 163 goals against to Portland’s 189 goals for but 194 goals against.
• That’s a goal differential of +21 for Providence and -5 for Portland.
• Power Play: Providence is 8th in the AHL at 18.9%; Portland is 20th at 84.4%. Portland has let in a league-high 15 shorthanded goals-against; Providence has allowed 8.
• Penalty Kill: Providence is 9th in the AHL at 84.6%; Portland is 11th at 84.4%.

Goaltending

Niklas Svedberg will be getting the start after sitting out last weekend. He has a record of 30-7-2 with a GAA of 2.26 and .922 save %. Svedberg has started 7 of the previous 9 games against Portland this season and has a record of 4-2-1 so far with a 1.99 GAA and a .930 save %.

Mark Visentin will get the start in net for the Pirates. He has a record of 12-11-1, a 2.92 GAA, and .906 save %. Visentin has played 5 of the 9 games against Providence earlier this season, with 3 other goaltenders getting the start between the pipes previously for Portland. Visentin has fared with a record of 2-3-0 versus the P-Bruins this year with a 2.82 GAA and a .913 save % in 5 games.

Leading Scorers

Ryan Spooner will return to the Poovidence Bruins after a brief call-up to Boston. He remains the leading scorer for the P-Bruins with 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists). His points and assists totals place him 2nd in the AHL active rookies. He also has 14 assists on the power play, which is good for 3rd in the AHL among rookies.

Jamie Tardif is 2nd in scoring with 39 points (27 goals, 12 assists), followed by Carter Camper‘s 38 points (7 goals, 31 assists), and the streaking Craig Cunningham (37 points with 22 goals and 15 assists). Cunningham has scored 11 points in 9 games (8 goals, 3 assists), including 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in the last 2 games.

Torey Krug is 5th in Providence scoring, and 1st in Providence defense scoring with 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists). This point total places him 3rd among AHL rookie d-men.

For the Portland Pirates, Alexandre Bolduc leads them in scoring with 47 points (22 goals, 24 assists), followed by Andy Miele (39 points – 14 goals, 25 assists) and their top rookie scorer, Chris Brown (36 points – 24 goals, 12 assists). Close behind is Chris Conner with 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists) and top defense scorer David Rundbland (8 goals, 24 assists for 32 points).

Head to Head Match Up

In the previous 9 meetings this season, Providence has won 5 in regulation, lost 3 in regulation, and lost 1 in a shootout (5-3-0-1). They have gone 2-2 in away games, with their last win in Portland coming on December 1st when they beat Portland 5-2. The most previous meeting between the 2 teams was a 7-1 victory in Providence. The last 4 meetings between the teams has seen at least 7 goals scored total, with 7-1, 6-3, 5-2, and 6-1 scores all coming out of games since January 25th. Each team has won 2 and lost 2 of those high-scoring affairs.

Spooner, Zach Trotman, Trent Whitfield, Camper, and Christian Hanson have each been credited with game-winning goals against Portland this season. Spooner also leads in points against the Pirates this year, netting 10 in 8 games (4 goals, 6 assists) and has a rating of +5. 5 other P-Bruins each have 7 points against Portland this year: Cunningham and Tardif (each with 4 goals, 3 assists), Krug (3 goals, 4 assists), Justin Florek (2 goals, 5 assists), and Hanson (2 G, 5 A).

On the flip side, Portland’s Jordan Szwarz, Phil Lane, and Brown have had game-winning goals against Providence. Rob Klinkhammer, who is up with the Phoenix Coyotes in the NHL, has by far the best record against Providence this season. Next in line is Jordan Martinook, who has 14 total points on the year, and 5 points in 6 games against Providence alone, as well as Brown, who has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 7 games.

Roster Updates

Hanson, who hasn’t played since March 10th with a hand injury, is reportedly a “maybe” for tonight. Michael Hutchinson, on the other hand, will not dress as Svedberg’s back-up due to an upper-body injury. As a result, Adam Morrison was recalled from Utah of the ECHL earlier this week to fill in as Svedberg’s back-up.

The Bruins recently-signed Chris Casto, a defenseman fresh out of Minnesota-Duluth of the NCAA, is expected to join Providence, although it is not clear if he will play tonight.

Shark Attack in the 3rd Period Beats P-Bruins

Defenseman Kevan Miller had his first multi-point night of the year with 2 assists in Providence’s 5-3 loss to Worcester on Saturday evening.

The Providence Bruins fell to the Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA on Saturday evening in a 5-3 loss that was uncharacteristic of the previous 11 meetings between the 2 teams. It was the last game between the divisional rivals this year and despite the loss, Providence came out on top with a 6-5-0-2 record. Instead of hitting the 40 win mark tonight, however, the P-Bruins hit the 20 loss mark and had their 5-game winning streak broken. They are now 39-20-0-5 with 12 games left in the regular season, still good for 1st in the division but fall to 3rd overall in the East.

Read more after the cut.

Pregaming: Providence @ Worcester

Tonight is the final game between Providence and Worcester this season. Goaltender Harri Sateri will be getting his 7th start in a row and only his 3rd against Providence this season. Jamie Tardif looks to keep the P-Bruins successful power play rolling.

Providence faces off against the Worcester Sharks tonight in Worcester in the 12th and final meeting between the teams this season. Providence, looking to extend their current winning streak to 5 games (and win streak over Worcester to 6 straight) leads the season series 6-3-0-2, but all of the games have been nail-biters. 5 have gone to shootouts, with Providence having the 3-2 edge in shootouts. Their last meeting on March 9th in Worcester also ended in a shootout and Providence skated away with a 4-3 victory.

The P-Bruins have 63 of 76 games under their belts and have earned a 39-19-0-5 record thus far. They sit atop the Atlantic division, 2nd in the Eastern Conference, and 3rd in the AHL.

Worcester is coming off of a loss. They have played 60 games but only have 63 points with a 28-25-1-6 record, placing them 4th in the Atlantic division and 12th in the East. They sit 6 points out of the 8th and final playoff spot, which is currently occupied for the Hershey Bears, who have 69 points.

Read more after the cut!

P-Bruins Silence Sound Tigers

Good job being awesome, Cunningham. Keep up the good work.

The Providence Bruins have extended their winning streak to 4 games with a 3-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night. Craig Cunningham has 2 goals and Justin Florek had the empty netter to insure the victory. Michael Hutchinson made 26 saves in net in helping the Bruins improve to 39-19-0-5 this season.

Penalties were aplenty in this game and although both teams had a power play goal, the scoring didn’t begin until halfway through the game. About midway into the 2nd period, Cunningham scored his 21st goal of the season with assists to Graham Mink and David Warsofsky. Mink now has 4 points in his last 4 games.

Bridgeport tied the game up at 8:44 of the 3rd period. With Colby Cohen – a last minute addition in lieu of Matt Bartkowski‘s Boston recall – in the penalty box for slashing, Sean Wiles got his 1st goal of the season. The power play goal was assisted by Jon Landry and Matt Donovan.

2 minutes later, at 10:49 of the 3rd, Cunningham would strike again. With Bridgeport’s Ty Wishart in the box for a delay of game call, Cunningham put Providence ahead for the 2nd time that night with his 22nd goal of the season and 2nd goal of the game. Zach Trotman got the primary assist, and Warsofsky also picked up an assist for his 2nd of the game.

In the final minute of the game, the Sound Tigers – already on a power play thanks to a cross-checking penalty to Trotman – pulled goaltender Kenny Reiter for a 6-on-4 advantage to push for the tying goal. Florek picked up the shorthanded empty netter to ensure the 3-1 victory for the P-Bruins, notching his 10th goal of the season at 19:51 of the 3rd period with assists from Garnet Exelby and Colby Cohen.

Alex Khokhlachev made his debut tonight, but his name only showed up on the score sheet under the penalty column. He was whistled for tripping 30 seconds into the 2nd period. He recorded 1 shot on net. His wingers had a handful of shots – 2 for Kyle MacKinnon and 3 for Jamie Tardif – but Providence spent the majority of the night killing penalties or (with the exception of Cunningham’s goal) trying to convert on their own power plays with futility.

The goaltenders were both strong – Hutchinson earned the 2nd star and Reiter, who made 27 saves, was 3rd star. Cunningham was the 1st star. Cunningham has scored 7 of his 22 goals this season against Bridgeport.

Florek has been making a big impact in the month of March. His goal tonight was his 5th this month, meaning he has scored 50% of his goals this season since his 2-goal game on March 3rd.

Providence travels to Worcester tomorrow to face the Sharks in their final game of the weekend.

Providence Looks for 2nd Win in 2 Days vs Springfield

Chris Bourque had a goal in regulation and the only goal in the shootout in last night’s win over Springfield. He has had 5 points (1 G, 4 A) in 5 games versus the Falcons this season.

Recap: Providence 3, Springfield 2 (SO)

Providence gave up a 2-goal lead in the 3rd period but managed to get the 2 points in the shootout against the Springfield Falcons at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Friday night. Niklas Svedberg improved to 29-7-2 on the season and 7-2 in shootouts. Svedberg made 25 saves on 27 shots and stoned all 5 Falcons shooters in the shootout. Springfield goaltender Curtis McElhinney made 31 saves.

Chris Bourque scored the only goal in the shootout. He also scored the 2nd Providence goal of the night, putting the Bruins up 2-0 at 4:26 into the 2nd period. His 9th of the season came from Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski. The goal came during 4-on-4 play. Justin Florek opened the scoring at 7:47 into the 1st period with his 8th of the season, assisted by Kyle MacKinnon and Bobby Robins.

Providence remained ahead by 2 until the final 5 minutes of the game, when Ryan Craig netted his 17th goal of the season, assisted by Trent Vogelhuber and Nathan Moon. Springfield then tied the game with the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker with 20 seconds left in the game. Ryan Russel got his 7th of the season from Nick Holden and Craig.

The 1 point for Springfield put them at 77 on the season as Providence moved into a tie for 2nd in the Eastern Conference, also with 77 points.

Preview: Providence @ Springfield, 7pm

The winner of tonight’s rematch, which will take place in Springfield, will move into sole possession of 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. The P-Bruins currently have a record of 13-19-0-5 to Springfield’s 24-16-5-4. Providence is 3-3-0-1 against Springfield thus far this season.

• Last 10: Providence is 6-2-0-2; Springfield 4-4-1-1
• Providence on the road: 16-10-0-2
• Springfield at home: 19-7-1-3
• Power Play: Springfield 18.9% (7th); Providence 18.1% (10th)
• Penalty Kill: Springfield 85.9% (4th); Providence 84.8% (9th)

Jamie Tardif and Tyler Randell, who both played last night, will sit out tonight. Tardif, who sustained a groin injury. was a -2 last night with 2 shots on net. Randell sustained a hand injury, perhaps during his fight against Dalton Smith halfway through the 3rd last night. Randell had had 7 fights in the last 8 games.

Michael Hutchinson, who didn’t dress last night due to a hip injury, is still questionable for tonight. Adam Morrison dressed as Svedberg’s back-up last night and has not played an AHL game yet this season.

Look out for Bourque tonight, who has 5 points in 5 games versus Springfield this season. Max Sauve also has 5 points against the Falcons this year, in 6 games. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault has 8 points (4 G, 4 A) in 7 games versus Providence this year. Nick Drazenovic also has 8 points in 6 games versus the Bruins this year (3 G, 5 A).

P-Bruins Best Sharks in Shootout

Craig Cunningham scored twice tonight and for the 6th time in 3 games. He has now hit the 20 goal mark in each of his 2 seasons with the Providence Bruins.

Trent Whitfield scored the shootout winner in the 7th round to propel the Providence Bruins over the Worcester Sharks 4-3 on Saturday night in Worcester. Niklas Svedberg stopped 6 of 7 shooters and made 45 saves en route to his 28th win of the season as the P-Bruins improved to 35-18-0-5 on the season. Christian Hanson scored his 9th of the season while Craig Cunningham added 2 power play goals and the only other Providence shootout goal to reach the 20-goal milestone on the season.

Cunningham’s 20 goals now place him 2nd on the team, behind Jamie Tardif with 26, but it also ties his personal best in the AHL when he had 20 goals as a rookie last season for Providence. Last season, Cunningham had 36 points in 76 games and is poised to beat that this season as he stands at 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points in 58 games this season. Cunningham has scored 6 goals in the last 3 games.

Hanson also extended his own point-scoring streak with his 6th point in 5 games with his 3rd period goal. Hanson’s goal put the Bruins ahead 3-2 before Worcester tied it up in the final minute of play with the goaltender pulled for the extra attacker.

Worcester opened up the scoring at 9:40 of the 1st period on Sebastian Stalberg‘s 9th of the year from Denny Urban and Tommy Grant. Svedberg denied Worcester the opportunity for a 2-goal lead when James Livingston was awarded a penalty shot at 13:33 of the 1st period. Svedberg has stopped both penalty shots he has faced this season – in November, he stopped Chad Kolarik, then of the Connecticut Whale – and leads the AHL with 6 shootout wins. Needless to say, Svedberg is excellent in one-on-one shooter situations.

Providence didn’t get on the scoreboard until 21 seconds into the 2nd period on a carry-over power play. Daniil Tarasov was sent to the penalty box for slashing at 19:06 of the first period, and Cunningham was able to convert on the power play. Cunningham’s 19th of the season came from Torey Krug and Chris Bourque. It was Bourque’s first point since returning to the AHL from Boston, and Krug’s first point in 5 games – since the end of February.

Cunningham scored his 20th of the season later in the 2nd period on a 2-man advantage. Adam Comrie went to the box at 10:16 of the 2nd for cross-checking and was joined by teammate (and older brother to Dougie Hamilton) Freddie Hamilton 35 seconds later when he was whistled for hooking. Bourque and Krug each picked up their 2nd assists of the night on Cunningham’s ensuing 5-on-3 goal, which marked his 20th of the season and 9th power play goal.

Providence stayed ahead for only a few minutes before Hamilton redeemed himself with his 8th goal of the season at 13:02 of the 2nd period, with assists from Travis Oleksuk and goaltender Harri Sateri.

The score remained locked at 2 until late in the 3rd period when Hanson scored his 9th of the season from Matt Bartkowski and Justin Florek at 16:36 of the 3rd period. Unfortunately, with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker in the final minute of play, Worcester tied the game once again at 3 to send it to overtime. John McCarthy, who led all skaters with 8 shots on net, scored the game-tying goal at 19:00 of the 3rd; it was his 9th of the season from Bracken Kearns and Tarasov.

For the 5th time in 11 games this season, overtime produced no goals and the game went to a shootout. Denny Urban converted for Worcester and Cunningham for Providence, sending it to extra rounds. Trent Whitfield beat Sateri in the 7th round to give the P-Bruins the 2 points.

Providence went 2-for-3 on the power play and was a perfect 1-for-1 on the penalty kill as they pulled ahead to 6-3-0-2 in the season series versus the Sharks. They have 1 more game against the divisional rival this season.

The 3 stars of the game were: (3) Svedberg; (2) McCarthy; and (1) Cunningham. Providence faces off against the Connecticut Whale tomorrow afternoon at 3pm at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence.

Cunningham Hat-Trick Highlights P-Bruins 7-1 Win

Craig Cunningham may not be on a lot of Boston fan radars, but his hat-trick on Sunday afternoon and team 2nd-best 17 goals show what an exciting young prospect this 22-year-old BC-native (drafted in 2010, 4th round, by the Bruins) is turning out to be.

The Providence Bruins went 2-0-0-1 this weekend, improving their overall record to 33-18-0-5 (71 points) in 56 games this season. They sit atop the Atlantic division and currently sit 3rd in the Eastern conference.

With less than 20 games left in the season, the P-Bruins are poised to make their first playoff appearance since the 2008-2009 season. That season, they finished 43-29-2-6 (94 points), 2nd in the division at the time. In the 1st round, they defeated the Portland Pirates 4 games to 1, then defeated the Worcester Sharks 4 games to 2 in the 2nd round. In the 3rd round – the Conference Finals – they lost 4 games to 1 to the Hershey Bears, who went on to win the Calder Cup in the next round. Were the playoffs to start today, the P-Bruins would face Hershey in the 1st round.

Some notable players on that 2009 P-Bruins team that went to the Eastern Conference finals include current Boston Bruins Brad Marchand, Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid, and Tuukka Rask – all of whom played in all 16 games of the postseason. That should give you a pretty good idea of 1. Why the AHL is important and successful in developing players and 2. How potentially good the P-Bruins team is this year and definitely how good the potential of the prospects on the team are.

After defeating the Worcester Sharks 3-1 in Friday night, the P-Bruins followed up with an unfortunate 2-1 shootout loss to the Springfield Falcons. They rebounded Sunday with a 7-1 win over the Portland Pirates, a team they needed to beat in order to maintain first place in the division.

Jordan Caron scored the lone goal for the P-Bruins in Saturday’s loss, sparked by being placed on the Buzz Saw line in the spot previously filled by Lane MacDermid. His Buzz Saw linemates, Christian Hanson and Bobby Robins, had the assists on Caron’s 9th of the season. Placing Caron on this line was a much needed spark for the struggling winger, who many thought would be a shoe-in for the open 3rd line spot in Boston this season. The positive results continued for Caron – and the P-Bruins whole team – into Sunday’s victory.

Ryan Spooner returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing a handful of games with a lower body injury. He has 2 assists, 1 shot, and a +1 rating. The P-Bruins top scorer was far from their top scorers Sunday, however, as many P-Bruins recorded multi-point games and even multi-goal games. Justin Florek had a 4 point night (2 goals, 2 assists) and Craig Cunningham, a former Vancouver Giant of the WHL (fun fact: he won the Memorial Cup with Milan Lucic), recorded a hat-trick.

Hanson scored a shorthanded goal, as well as the primary assist on Caron’s goal. In total, 11 different P-Bruins recorded at least one point: Florek, Cunningham, Hanson, Spooner, Caron, Kevan Miller, Matt Bartkowski, Tommy Cross, Bobby Robins, Alden Hirschfeld, and Kyle MacKinnon. In net, Niklas Svedberg made 29 saves on 30 shots, recording his 27th victory of the season.

Justin Florek opened the scoring at 7:23 of the 1st period when he beat Portland goaltender Mike Lee. Florek’s 6th goal of the season was assisted by Miller and Bartkowski. At 18:27 of the 1st, Providence struck again on the shorthand with Bartkowski in the penalty box. Christian Hanson converted on the shorthanded opportunity for his 8th goal of the season.

2:20 into the 2nd period, Cunningham scored his 1st of the night and 15th of the season on the power play, assisted by Spooner and Cross. Providence went 1-for-5 on the PP.

Portland struck next bringing the score 3-1 at 3:15 of the 2nd on Jordan Martinook‘s 5th of the season from Phil Lane and Chris Summers. Portland outshot Providence 15-7 in the 2nd period, but the score remained 3-1 going into the 3rd period.

Florek regained Providence’s 2-goal cushion at 4:31 of the 3rd period on his 2nd of the night and 7th of the season, assisted by Spooner (his 2nd of the night) and Robins. Cunningham made it a 5-1 lead at 7:53 with his 2nd of the night and 16th of the season, with an assist to Alden Hirschfeld.

Jordan Caron hit the 10-goal plateau at 13:17 of the 3rd period, getting assists from Hanson and Florek. With just over a minute left in the game, Cunningham completed the hat trick with his 3rd of the night and 17th of the season with helpers from MacKinnon and Florek – capping off Florek’s 4 point night as well.

Providence next plays on Friday, March 8th, at the Dunk against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Make sure to keep an eye out, because this team is potentially getting really awesome.

Providence Loses to Norfolk in Shootout

Christian Hanson has 5 shots on net in last night’s loss, scored his 7th goal of the season, contributed to Miller’s 3rd period goal, and had another potential goal waived off. He has stepped up in recent games in the absence of other scorers and been a solid presence in the center position for the Providence Bruins all season.

The Providence Bruins collected 3 out of a possible 4 points in Virginia this weekend in their two games against the Norfolk Admirals after they lost the 2nd game of the back-to-back weekend match-up 3-2 in the 6th round of a shootout. Michael Hutchinson made 34 saves in net for Providence while Christian Hanson and defenseman Kevan Miller scored the P-Bruins regulation goals. To see highlights of the game, click here (courtesy of the Norfolk Admirals youtube page!)

Providence’s Tyler Randell and Norfolk’s Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond wasted no time in dropping the gloves, squaring off just 7 seconds into the game. Another fight broke out only 38 seconds later between Bobby Robins and Troy Bodie. Robins leads the AHL in total penalty minutes (242) and major penalties (51).

5:32 into the 1st period, Craig Cunningham was whistled for a holding minor, putting the Admirals on the power play. Norfolk then went on the 2-man advantage 17 seconds later when Trent Whitfield was sent to join Cunningham in the penalty box for a tripping infraction. Although the month of February has seen the Providence Bruins superb penalty kill successfully kill off 31 of 33 penalties prior to last night’s game, they were unable to overcome the 2-man deficit. Norfolk’s Dan Sexton scored on a feed across the crease from Luca Caputi, with a secondary assist to Sami Vatanen. Sexton’s power play goal was the 4th of the season and came at 6:49 of the 1st period.

Providence would get their own 5-on-3 power play opportunity later in the 1st period after Norfolk’s Brandon McMillan and Nate Guenin each took slashing minors at 7:40 and 8:40 of the 1st period. Another part of Providence’s recent success had been their power play (their February power play had been 13-for-50, or 26%, before last night), but it failed them last night. They went 0-for-6 overall on the power play last night, including a full minute on the 2-man advantage.

Providence finally beat Norfolk’s Frederik Andersen in the 2nd period on Christian Hanson’s 7th of the year. The goal, which game at 7:11 of the middle frame, was assisted by Justin Florek and Bobby Robins. Providence then took the lead at 9:24 of the 3rd period when Kevan Miller scored his 1st goal of the season. Matt Bartkowski assisted on the goal, earning his 4th assist in 2 games this weekend. Ryan Spooner also had an assist on the goal, adding to his team-leading 38 points. It was Spooner’s 28th assist of the season, which puts him 2nd overall in AHL rookie assist leaders (1st among active AHL players).

Providence was unable to hold onto the lead, however. At 15:34 of the 3rd period, McMillan notched his 4th goal of the season to tie the game at 2, with assists Emerson Etem and Sexton.

The game went to a shootout in which each goaltender allowed only 1 goal through the first 5 rounds (Graham Mink scored for Providence, Luca Caputi for Norfolk). In the 6th round, the newest P-Bruin, Nicolas Tremblay, failed to score and on the next shot, Norfolk’s Jordan Hendry beat Hutchinson to win the game for the Admirals.

Norfolk goaltender earned 1st star honors, making 37 savves on 39 shots and stopping 5 out of 6 shooters in the shootout. McMillan and Sexton were named 2nd and 3rd stars.

The P-Bruins are now 37-17-0-4 on the season, good for 66 points in 52 games. They remain in 1st place in the Atlantic division, 4 points ahead of 2nd place Portland but with 1 more game played than the Pirates. Providence has still earned a point in 6 straight games (5-0-0-1 in that stretch) and are 8-1-0-1 in the last 10.

Providence faces off against the Pirates on Tuesday, February 26th in Portland, Maine. Will they be able to finish off their dominant February on an equally dominant note? They will need their power play and penalty kill to come through for them again, and they will certainly need players like Torey Krug, who was on a tear at the end of January and for the majority of February, to start putting up points again. Hopefully other leading scorers Carter Camper and Jamie Tardif, among others injured, will be returning soon as well. Stay tuned!