P-Bruins Moving Up in the East; Fallstrom Debuts Today

Fresh out of 4 years of college hockey at Harvard, Alex Fallstrom will make his professional debut today with Providence. He was signed to an entry level contract by the Boston Bruins yesterday. (Photo Credit: Bridget Samuels/Flickr: bridgetds)

Recap: Providence 5, Springfield 2

The Providence Bruins completed a home-and-home sweep of the Springfield Falcons on Saturday night in Springfield when they beat the Falcons for the 2nd time in 2 nights to move into 2nd place overall in the Eastern Conference. Niklas Svedberg got his 2nd start and 2nd win in 2 nights, giving the rookie goalie 30 wins on the season in his 27-save performance. Kyle MacKinnon scored twice, earning 1st star honors, while Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist and Torey Krug and Carter Camper each had 2 assists.

Providence put 35 shots on Springfield’s Curtis McElhinney, beating him 4 times and adding an empty-netter at the end. They first had to overcome an early deficit after Springfield’s Nathan Moon put the Falcons up 1-0 10:04 into the 1st period on his 2nd goal of the season from Dalton Smith.

Justin Florek tied it up at 17:45 of the 1st when he netted his 7th point in 6 games, and 2nd goal in 2 games. Florek’s 9th goal of the season was assisted by Colby Cohen and David Warsofsky.

The 2 teams remained deadlocked through the 2nd period, when Springfield out-shot Providence 12-7 but came up empty-handed. In the 3rd period, Providence jumped to the lead on their only power play opportunity of the night. Springfield’s Spencer Machachek was sent to the penalty box for interference 1:04 into the 3rd period, and 58 seconds later, Spooner had his 11th goal of the season from Krug and Camper.

Nick Drazenovic tied the game at 2 9:04 into the 3rd period. His 17th of the season came from Ryan Russel and Bryan Helmer. Kyle MacKinnon put Providenec back on top a few minutes later, 13:02 into the 3rd period, on his 11th of the season, assisted by Spooner and Graham Mink.

Max Sauve gave Providence it’s first 2-goal lead of the night at 16:36 of the 3rd. Craig Cunningham and Camper set Sauve up for his 9th of the season to give Providence a 4-2 edge. MacKinnon scored his 2nd of the night and added the insurance goal for a 5-2 victory at 18:35 after Springfield had pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. Krug picked up a helper on MacKinnon’s 12th of the season.

With the win, Providence leapfrogged Springfield in the conference standings to secure 2nd place, which they look to defend today against divisional rival Manchester Monarchs.

Preview: Manchester @ Providence

Providence sits atop the Atlantic Division and 2nd in the Eastern Conference with their 37-19-0-5 record, which gives them 79 points in 61 games this season. Manchester is 29-25-3-4 for 65 points in 61 games this season. They are 3rd in the Atlantic and 10th in the Eastern Conference, only 1 point out of 8th place and fighting for their playoff lives.

• Season Series: Providence has the edge so far at 6-4-0-0
• Last 10: Providence is 6-2-0-2; Manchester is 7-1-1-1
• At home, Providence is 20-9-0-3
• On the road, Manchester is 14-14-1-1
• Goal differential: Providence is +19; Manchester is +9
• Power play: Providence ranks 9th (18.4%); Manchestser ranks 22nd (15.0%)
• Penalty kill: Providence ranks 8th (84.9%); Manchester ranks 14th (83.6%)

Manchester’s top scorer, and top rookie scorer in the AHL, Tyler Toffoli, made his NHL debut with the Kings last night, and will not be with the Monarchs. They still have a top scorer in Linden Vey, who ranks 5th overall in the AHL in scoring with 55 points (15 G, 40 A), and 1st in the AHL in assists with 40.

Alex Fallstrom, who was signed to an entry-level contract yesterday by the Boston Bruins, will play today for Providence. Fallstrom is a native Swede who has played with the Harvard hockey team for 4 years. Before that, he attended prestigious Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a private high school that boasts alum such as Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews.

Although he did not dress the last 2 nights, Michael Hutchinson will start for Providence today.

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).

Providence Seeks Season Series Split with Springfield

Kyle MacKinnon had a power play goal last night, and has 3 points in the last 2 games. After starting the season with limited ice time, he has emerged as an important role player while the P-Bruins struggle with injuries. The 25-year-old Providence College alum has 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists) for the Baby Bruins this season.

Tonight, the Springfield Falcons will host the Providence Bruins tonight at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA in the Falcons’ “Pink in the Rink” night. The Falcons are 32-14-4-3 (71 points) in 53 games this season, which puts them atop the Northeast division and 2nd in the Eastern conference. The Providence Bruins are 32-18-0-4 (68 points) in 54 games this season, 1st in the Atlantic division and 3rd in the Eastern conference.

The P-Bruins are coming off an impressive come-from behind 3-1 victory over the Worcester Sharks last night, in which they scored 3 unanswered 3rd period goals, including a power play goal by Kyle MacKinnon, the game winner by Alden Hirschfeld, and the empty netter by Trent Whitfield.

Springfield is coming off a semi-double header yesterday against the Adirondack Phantoms in which they completed a game that had previously been suspended two weeks ago when Wade MacLeod suffered a seizure after being boarded during the 2nd period of the game. The 2 teams finished that game last night, then played another full game. Springfield won the resumption of the previously suspended game in a shootout by a score of 3-2, then destroyed the Phantoms in the 2nd game in a 7-2 victory. So although the Falcons may be tired coming off a game and a half played last night, they are riding high off winning 2 games in one night.

On the road, the P-Bruins are 15-10-0-1 this season. At home, the Falcons are 17-7-1-3. In the last 10 games, the P-Bruins are 7-2-0-1, and the Falcons are 6-3-1-0.

The P-Bruins have a +9 goal differential this season but Springfield is an impressive +45. The Falcons 129 total goals against this season is the 2nd fewest in the entire league, with the Wilkes-Barres/Scranton Penguins giving up 1 fewer (128). The Falcons PP is 7th in the AHL and the P-Bruins is 14th. On the PK, Springfield is 5th and Providence is 15th.

This will the 6th of 10 meetings between Providence and Springfield this season. The Falcons are leading the season series 3-2-0-0, with all games being decided in regulation. The Falcons have outscored the P-Bruins 15-12, including one shutout.

 

Image courtesy of Springfield Falcons.

The last time the teams met was on January 12th, when Springfield won 4-2 behind 2 goals from their leading scorer Jonathan Audy-Marchessault (17 goals, 34 assists = 51 points) and 23 saves from goaltender Allen York. Michael Hutchinson was in net for Providence, losing his 2nd game to Springfield in 2 starts against them this season.

Audy-Marchsessault of Springfield and MacKinnon of Providence both have a goal and 2 assists each in the last 2 games for their teams. 2/3 of Providence’s leading scorers will miss tonight’s game with injury: Ryan Spooner (10 goals, 28 assists = 38 points, 1st on team) and Carter Camper (6 goals, 29 assists = 35 points, 3rd on team) continue to be out of the lineup. Jamie Tardif, 2nd on the team in scoring (26 goals, 11 assists = 37 points), returned to the lineup last night and had an assist. Craig Cunningham is 4th in scoring for Providence (14 goals, 12 assists = 26 points) along with  defenseman and CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month Torey Krug (9 goals, 17 assists = 26 points).

League Leaders:

• Audy-Marchessault leads the AHL in assists with 34, and is tied for 3rd in points with 51.
  
• Tardif is 2nd in the AHL in power play goals with 12.
• Bobby Robins is tied for 2nd in minor penalties (36), major penalties (31), and penalty minutes (251).
• Dalton Smith of Springfield is 3rd in AHL rookies in penalty minutes (90) and tied for 2nd (10).
• Ryan Craig of Springfield is 4th in power play points in the AHL with 22, and 1st among active AHLers.
• Niklas Svedberg is tied for 1st in goaltender wins in the AHL with 26, and is 1st in AHL goaltender rookies in wins. Curtis McElhinney is 2nd with 22.
• McElhinney is 1st in shutouts with 7.
• Svedberg is tied for in shootout wins with 5.
• Svedberg’s 2.30 GAA is tied for 9th best in the AHL, while McElhinney is 14th 2.37.

Don’t Forget:

• Check out this Bobby Robins blog post from February 28.
• Today is Michael Hutchinson’s 22nd birthday. Happy Birthday to him!

Preview: Springfield Falcons at Providence

Ryan Spooner had a goal in Providence’s 6-3 win over Springfield in December. (Steph Vail/Flickr)

This afternoon the Providence Bruins (17-12-0-2) host the Northeast division-leading Springfield Falcons (18-9-2-3) at the Dunkin Donuts Center in the 4th match-up between the 2 teams this season. The Bruins won 2 of the 3 previous games, although the one loss was a frustrating shutout at home in October. All 3 previous games have featured starting goaltenders Curtis McElhinney and Niklas Svedberg and at least one goal by the Falcons’ Nick Drazenovic. The last time the 2 teams played was in December at the Dunk and the Bruins won 6-3 in a game where the scoring was started on a shorthanded goal by Lane MacDermid and finished with an empty net hattrick by Jamie Tardif.

A tight race for 2nd place in the Atlantic division is taking place between the Bruins, the Worcester Sharks, and the Manchester Monarchs, so it is critical for the Bruins to get 2 points today. Currently, the Sharks are 1 point ahead of Providence, but the Bruins have 1 game in hand. Both teams play today. Manchester, which is tied with Providence in 3rd place with 36 points, does not play today, and also has played 4 more games than Providence. If the Bruins can win today, and Worcester loses, they can take over 2nd place in the division.

Rank	Atlantic Div	GP	Record	PTS
1	Portland	34	20-12-1-1	42
2	Worcester	32	17-12-1-2	37
3	Providence	31	17-12-0-2	36
4	Manchester	35	16-15-2-2	36
5	St. Johns	36	15-19-1-1	32

MacDermid’s shorthanded goal in the last game against Springfield set the tone for the rest of the game and the Bruins must do the same to kill penalties as well as convert on their own power play opportunities if they want to win. The Bruins penalty kill has been a major liability this season and Springfield has a potent power play, currently ranking 9th in the league in power play percentage at 18.8%. Cam Atkinson has the 3rd best power play point total in the AHL with 18 total points on the man advantage. Meanwhile, Providence’s penalty kill percentage is ranked 25th at 80.3%. The Bruins take more penalties than any other team, so first of all they must stay disciplined and stay out of the penalty box.

The futility of the Bruins power play in the last game was almost their undoing, and they cannot let it continue to drain momentum. Although Providence’s power play is right in the middle of the league’s overall rank at 15th (16.5%), Springfield has a great penalty kill that is ranked 6th overall at 85.6% efficiency. Carrying the puck into the zone has been sloppy, and the defensemen on the points in particular have been slow to get to the puck when it gets to them at the point – often unable to handle it at all. If they can just get the puck on net, they have been strong in the crease and jumping on rebounds.

• In their last 10 games, Springfield is 4-5-1-0, while Providence is 6-4-0-0.
• Providence is 8-6-0-2 at home, while Springfield is 10-4-1-0 on the road
• The previous 3 games have seen the team that had fewer shots win the game.
• The shot totals from those 3 previous games are 93 for Springfield and 92 for Providence, making McElhinney’s save percentage against Providence this season .902 (.927 overall on the season) vs Svedberg’s .924 (.921 overall on the season). I assume both will start today, although I have not read or heard anything about the AHL at all because of all the NHL lockout buzz.
• Another important stat is goal differential: on the season, the Bruins have a -6 goal differential (78 goals for versus 84 goals against) but Springfield has a +27.

I had more numbers for today’s game preview, but the NHL coming back to life is throwing everything into utter chaos. I don’t want to give any wrong information so I’ll just leave it at this for now.

I will be live-tweeting the game from our twitter account, @ACupABruin. See you at 3pm!

Bruins Beat Falcons 6-3

 

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

The Providence Bruins improved their win streak to four games last night after beating the Springfield Falcons at home by a margin of 6-3.

The Bruins were eager to build off of the momentum and confidence instilled in their three-in-three victorious weekend.  Currently they sit in first place, tied in points with the Portland Pirates, a far cry from the fifth seed they had just a week and a half ago.

Through the opening twenty minutes the game remained scoreless with each goaltender performing outstanding, turning away every shot they faced. It would be Lane MacDermid who would open up the scoring in the second period as he tallied his second goal of the season.  Feeding off of the energy from the crowd the Bruins soared through the period as Jamie Tardif netted a power play goal and 13 seconds later Craig Cunningham was able to put one past McElhinney.  heading into the locker room for the third and final frame Svedberg helped turn all eight of Springfield’s opportunities to preserve the 3-0 Bruins lead.

In the opening minutes of the third period the Falcons began to claw their way back as they scored two goals in a span of 18 seconds, cutting the Bruins lead to one.  However, the Falcons streak was short-lived as Jamie Tardif struck again, improving the lead to 4-2. Cam Atkinson was able to net one past Svedberg, but Ryan Spooner answered right back for Providence, keeping the two-goal cushion and 5-3 lead heading into the final minutes. As the Falcons pulled their goalie Tardif would net his third of the game for his first hat trick of the season and end the game 6-3.

The Bruins next game is tonight against the Albany Devils at 7pm and can be seen online at AHL Live.

Game Notes…

• Goaltending: Niklas Svedberg improved to 11-4-1 and stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced. Curtis McElhinney dropped to 13-3-2 and made 28 saves on the 33 shots he faced.
• Shots on Goal: Providence  12-8-10 (30) Springfield  9-13-12 (34)
• Power Play Opportunities: Providence  1/3  Springfield 0/5
• Three Stars of the Game:

1. Jamie Tardif 3 goals (Providence)
2. Ryan Spooner 1 goal (Providence)
3. Max Sauve 2 assists (Providence)

 

All information is courtesy of the official score sheet from the AHL.

Preview: Providence Bruins Host the Falcons

Christian Hanson (photo courtesy of Ron Morin/ Ron’s Sports Photography)

Tonight the Providence Bruins host the Springfield Falcons at the Dunkin Donuts arena for face off that is set to start at 7:05pm.

The Bruins started out really rough through October and November but seem to have turned things around.  After a recent power surge and confidence builder in the past ten games, the Bruins have improved to a 12-8-0-2 record, a far cry from the 4-6-0-1 they started with.

Most of the team has finally found their legs, wit hmore than half of their team improving their plus/minus ratings.  Chris Bourque is leading the way offensively with 16 assists in 22 games, Spooner and Tardif hot on his heels. The only player looking to really step up is defenseman Torey Krug, while being able to register one goal in the past six game stint, he has fallen to a -9 on the season.  Early front runner Max Sauve has also petered off after missing action due to an injury and not registering a single point in the last month.

The series between these two teams is currently tied at a game a piece as we head into the third game tonight of ten.  The B’s will be counting on recent confidence boost to help them gain momentum through this one and hopefully beat netminder Curtis McElhinney who posed as the top threat saving all 33 of the Bruins shots in their last meeting.

Along with McElhinney, Cam Atkinson and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault should be on the radar as they have set the pace for the team offensively, averaging more than a point per game.

Tonight’s game can be seen on AHL Live for a small fee if you can’t make it to attend.

Bruins Snap Springfield’s Streak

Max Sauve (Photo Courtesy: Sarah Connors/Flickr)

Tonight the Springfield Falcons headed into their match up against Providence with a franchise best 3-0 start to their season.  However, that was cut short as Providence picked up their second win in the past two days thanks in large part to goaltender Niklas Svedberg.

In Friday’s match the Bruins scored the first three goals of the game, then allowed two to be scored in a matter of five minutes. They then went on to score another goal and allow one more, Jordan Caron providing a hat trick for a season first.  Caron is the first person to score a hat trick since Carter Camper last season.

Tonight the Bruins were without Justin Florek, Matt Bartkoswki, Colby Cohen, and Jared Knight allowing Buckner his season debut.  The Falcons were the first to get on the board after a penalty was called on David Warsofsky for hooking.  At just 2:26 into the first period Nick Drazenovic scored the power play goal.  Immediately after the Bruins would get another penalty called on them, but were able to hold off them off and bounce back.  Craig Cunningham would tie the game up just two and a half minutes later with assists going to Carter Camper and Chris Bourque.  Heading into the second period the Bruins needed to pick up the pace and Warsofsky needed to stay out of the box.

As the second period began fans were able to witness a welcomed transformation.  The Bruins managed to stay out of the box and gain their first lead of the game at 6:31, shortly after Chris Bourque hit the ice after taking a puck to the face.  Garnet Exelby took a long shot just inside the blue line as Maxime Sauve created a screen in front of Curtis McEhinney.  His goal would be the lone one for the twenty minute round with shots split evenly at 22.  Svedberg was proving once again to be solid in between the pipes, but the defense needed to pick it up and take care of the puck.  Through most of the period they iced the puck to clear it out of the zone, they needed to focus on control and setting up plays.

Through the first half of the third Springfield maintained possession and applied pressure to the Providence defense.  Caron, Bourque and Camper providing the majority of chances in the offensive zone with Krug and Miller holding the blue line. At 15:08 Maxime Sauve would sneak the puck in behind the pad of McEhinney with the defense sprawled out in front to try and prevent it. Sauve’s goal was the second power play goal of the night, putting them 1/3 on the night as opposed to 3/4 in Friday night’s match.  In the final minutes Svedberg was littered with shots and Warsofsky stepped up to the plate helping to keep it out of the crease.  Bruins were hardly able to maintain possession in the final minutes and Springfield pulled their goalie for a six-on-five opportunity.  Despite a valiant effort, the Providence Bruins held on for the win and ended the night with a W.

The final shots on goal were: Providence 30 Springfield: 34

The stars of the game:

#1 Nicklas Svedberg

#2 Maxime Sauve

#3 Nick Drazenovic(Springfield)

The next game for the Bruins is Friday, October 26 at 7:00pm at the Dunk against the Falcons.

 

Providence Preseason Starts Tonight

If you were hoping to get some Bruins related hockey back into your life come October, look no further than the Providence Bruins. Though all preseason NHL games have been cancelled, tonight marks the preseason opener for the P-Bruins. On hand to play these games is a slew of Bruins prospects/familiar names to B’s fans.

The P-Bruins will face off tonight against the Springfield Falcons at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough and you can be sure that prospects like Jared Knight, Ryan Spooner, Torey Krug, Justin Florek and Tommy Cross will be getting a lot of playing time.

Providence Coach Bruce Cassidy had this to say about his lineup:

“All our tryout guys will play in the first two games,” said Cassidy. “Our young guys like Florek, Krug, Spooner and Knight will play at least one and maybe both games [in Marlborough]. The odd guy might play in all three [preseason games], and then it will be our probably lineup playing Saturday.” (Via CSNNE)

Because of the lockout, Cassidy has his hands full of Bruins/P-Bruins talent and there are only so many spots on the team. Odds are a lot of these guys will end up in the ECHL until the lockout comes to an end. I think he is taking this preseason as a try out of sorts for the younger guys.

Whatever happens, happens but if you’re craving some Bruins action in your life then be sure to check out a Providence game in the future. And be sure to check back here as we’ll be keeping you updated with the progress the team makes, and transactions of players.