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: Bridgeport @ Providence

Max Sauve has scored 3 goals in 4 games, which means 30% of his total goals scored this season have come in the last 4 games. He returned from injury on March 3 after missing 9 games. He has 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 games against Bridgeport this season. He is also from France (not relevant but fun fact).

The Providence Bruins look to extend their winning streak to 4 games tonight as they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence. The P-Bruins hope to leave for their extended road trip on a positive note; after tonight’s home game, they will be on the road for the next 7 games, not returning to The Dunk until April 12th.

This is the 7th of 8 meetings between the 2 teams this season. Providence, after losing the first 2 games of the season series, has won the last 4, including sweeping a home-and-home on February 15th and 16th by a total score of 12-6 in 2 games.

Team Stats

• Providence is 1st in the Atlantic division, 2nd in the Eastern Conference, and 3rd in the AHL overall with a 38-19-0-5 record after 62 games.
• The Sound Tigers are fighting for their playoff lives with 15 games left in the season, currently sitting at 4th in the Northeast Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference. Bridgeport has a record of 26-25-6-4 in 61 games, but their 62 points is only 6 points behind 8th place Connecticut.
• Providence has a favorable home record (21-9-0-3), and the visiting Sound Tigers have a poor road record (11-17-3-1).
• Providence is 7-2-0-1 in the last 10; Bridgeport is 4-2-3-1.
• Power Play: Providence ranks 8th in the AHL (18.5%); Bridgeport is 13th (17.2%)
• Penalty Kill: Providence ranks 8th (84.9%); Bridgeport is 27th (80.3%)

Goaltending Match Up

• Hutchinon v Reiter

The starting goaltenders for both teams will have the night off as Bridgeport’s Rick DiPietro will miss the game due to illness and Niklas Svedberg will rest up for a game against Worcester tomorrow night. This means Michael Hutchinson will get the start in net for Providence. Hutchinson is 8-12-3 this season, posting a .911 save % and 2.38 GAA. He has 1 shutout. Hutchinson started 1 game against Bridgeport previously this year, which was the 1st game against the Sound Tigers back in October when the Bruins lost 4-2.

Starting in net for Bridgeport will be rookie Kenny Reiter. He has yet to post a win this season, going 0-4-1 with a .913 save % and 2.69 GAA.

Fresh Faces and Line Up Notes

Bridgeport announced the addition of 2 new players to the roster today with the signings of 2 forwards – Sean Wiles out of the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers (to a PTO) and Joey Diamond out of the University Maine of the NCAA to an ATO.

Meanwhile, Alex Khokhlachev will make his much-anticipated professional debut for the Providence Bruins. He will center a line with Jamie Tardif and Kyle MacKinnon.

Unfortunately, Providence will be without top forwards Ryan Spooner (still on NHL callup, obviously), Chris Bourque (upper body), and Christian Hanson (hand). Tyler Randell and Jared Knight are also out with injuries, although Knight is optimistic about returning to the lineup soon. On defense, Colby Cohen and Tommy Cross will be healthy scratches.

Scoring Leaders

• Camper, Cunningham, Krug, Tardif
• DeFazio, Wishart; Niederreiter, Nelson, Donovan

In the season series between Providence and Bridgeport, Carter Camper has 7 points in 6 games. All 7 points are assists. Torey Krug has 6 points in 6 games (2 G, 4 A), and an uncharacteristic fighting major. Craig Cunningham has 5 goals in 6 games against the Sound Tigers.

Camper has 37 points this season (6 G, 31 A), 3rd on the team behind Spooner and Tardif. Camper has only appeared in 44 of the 62 games for Providence.

Cunningham is right behind Camper on the scoring sheet with 33 points (20 G, 13 A). Krug also has 33 points (9 G, 24 A).

Cunningham is the only player to appear in all 62 games for Providence this season.

Brandon DeFazio has 6 points against Providence in 6 games this season for Bridgeport (3 G, 3 A). Ty Wishart also has 6 points in 6 games (2 G, 4 A). Wishart only 15 points total on the season (4 G, 11 A), while DeFazio is only slightly better with 17 points (9 G, 8 A).

Bridgeport’s leading scorers are Nino Niederreiter, who has 26 G and 19 A for 45 points. Behind him is Brock Nelson (17 G, 25 A = 42 Pts), and defenseman Matt Donovan (9 G, 23 A = 32 pts).

Who & What to Look Out For

• Khokhlachev, Krug, Sauve
• Special teams

Aside from the obvious (Khokhlachev), Bruins fans should keep an eye out for Krug (as usual), who is on a 5 game point streak in which he has tallied 7 assists. Max Sauve has also gotten hot as of late after having a disappointing season – he has 3 goals in the last 4 games.

Tardif is returning to the lineup after missing 2 games with a brief injury. He and MacKinnon, who has 3 points in 3 games, should benefit greatly from having Khokhlachev as their centerman. Tardif still is one of the league leaders in PP goals, ranking 2nd in the AHL with 12.

Speaking of power play goals – did you notice the Bruins PP ranking climbing along with the PK? They have been fantastic the last few months on special teams. PP success usually dictates individual game success for the Bruins in this 2nd half of the season. In the last 10 games, they have had a PP of 26.3% – scoring 10 PP goals in 38 opportunities. They have gone only 2 games in that span without a PP goal, but have twice scored 2 PP goals in 1 game.

Their PK has also been unreal – they haven’t allowed a power play goal since February 26th! That’s 9 games with a PK success rate of 100% on 35 penaly kills. In the last 10 games, they have killed 38 of 39 – that’s 97%.

Hopefully they can keep up the great work against a desperate Sound Tigers team tonight.

Khokhlachev Joins P-Bruins, Prospect and Injury Updates

Alex Khokhlachev’s OHL season ended when his team didn’t qualify for the playoffs and he joined the Providence Bruins for his first practice yesterday morning. The exciting prospect is expected to make his AHL debut tomorrow night. (Photo: Flickr/slidingsideways)

Alex Khokhlachev has joined the Providence Bruins and is expected to finish the season with the team. After his OHL team, the Windsor Spitfires, saw their season end with the OHL regular season as they didn’t qualify for the playoffs, Khokhlachev became eligible to play in the AHL.

Koko spent half the season in the KHL and joined his OHL team in January. He also played for Team Russia in the World Junior Championships this year in Ufa, Russia, helping his team earn a bronze medal.

In the KHL, he played for his father’s team, Moscow Spartak. In 26 games he only had 2 goals and 5 assists. When he re-joined his OHL team, where he played the previous 2 seasons, he was more successful with 22 goals and 26 assists in 29 games.

Khokhlachev was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2011 draft by the Bruins at #45 overall. The 19 year old from Moscow joined Providence for his first practice on Wednesday. In his first practice, he reportedly centered a line with Jamie Tardif and Kyle MacKinnon on his wings. He will make his Providence Bruins debut on Friday when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

In other Providence Bruins news, Jared Knight reportedly also joined Providence at practice yesterday. The 2010 2nd-round draft pick has missed the majority of his first professional hockey season due to a recurring hamstring injury. He wore a red jersey to indicate no contact, but skating with the team is hopefully a positive sign in his ongoing recovery.

Despite the progress, Mark Divver reports that P-Bruins Coach Butch Cassidy has ruled out Knight’s return to the line-up until at least April. Learning from mistakes already made this season, the team is being very cautious with Knight so as to not re-aggravate his injured hamstring:

 Even when he’s 100%, he might not play right away

Hopefully that will mean a healthy Knight for the playoffs. The P-Bruins are poised to make for the first time since the 2008-09 season. That year, the P-Bruins lost in the 3rd round to the Hershey Bears. They were able to have such a good playoff run that year because they had Tuukka Rask in net. Niklas Svedberg, who has already earned 30 wins in his rookie season, could take the team as far as Rask did. It should be an exciting playoff season, especially if Anthony Camara‘s OHL team’s season ends and he, too, can join Providence. Camara’s team, the Barrie Colts, face the Kingston Frontenacs in the 1st round of the OHL playoffs, which start tonight.

Prospect Updates

Camara finished the regular season with the 13th most goals in the OHL (36), and 6th in power play goals with 15. Like Khokhlachev, Camara was drafted by the Bruins in 2011. He went in the 3rd round at #81 overall. The Bruins 1st choice in that draft, of course, was Dougie Hamilton, who went at #9 overall  (Thanks Kessel!)

Prospects from the 2012 entry draft that currently play in the OHL are doing well – specifically Boston’s #1 pick that year (at 24th overall), Malcom Subban. PK’s younger brother is the goaltender for the OHL’s Belleville Bulls. Subban has led the Bulls to the #1 seed in the playoffs, as they face off against the Mississauga Steelheads in the 1st round starting tonight.

In the 68-game regular season, Subban appeared in 46 games for the Bulls and had a 29-11-4 record. He had the best GAA (2.14) and save percentage (.934) in the OHL this season. He had the 5th most wins in the OHL among goaltenders, despite missing time to join Team Canada as the starting goaltender at the WJC, and had the 2nd most shutouts (5), with 2 goaltenders tied for 1st at 7. Despite Canada’s disappointing appearance at the WJC, Subban was not entirely to blame.

Picked by the Bruins in the 5th round at 131st overall, Seth Griffith is also a league leader in the OHL with his team, the London Knights (despite missing a number of games with a hand injury).  In 54 games this season, he has 33 goals, 48 assists (11th best in OHL), and 81 points (also 11th best). His 22 power play assists are tied for 10th best.

Cody Payne was drafted in 2012 at #145 overall in the 5th round.

In 66 games played, the 19 year old RW scored 24 G & 21 A for the Whalers this season, while also chipping in 75 PIM in a display of his more physical side… – From The Hockey Writers, a nice post about the prospects as the OHL regular season ended.

Subban, Griffith, and Payne are not eligible to join Providence, however, since they do not have contracts with the Bruins yet. Camara recently signed a contract and therefore will be eligible.

Transactions

In transaction news from Providence, goaltender Adam Morrison has been reassigned to Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL. He joined the P-Bruins last week while Michael Hutchinson nursed a hip injury, but Hutchinson is back to 100%. He did not appear in any games over the weekend although he dressed as Svedberg’s backup on Friday and Saturday. Defenseman Ryan Button has also been reassigned to the ECHL, to the South Carolina Stingrays.

Other Injuries

In delayed injury news, Chris Bourque is out indefinitely after Cody Goloubef of the Springfield Falcons delivered a cheap shot last weekend. Goloubef was suspended for 2 games by the AHL for the hit.

Christian Hanson, who is out with an injured hand, is “50-50” for this weekend, as is Tyler Randell. Hanson’s injury has had a noticeable impact on the Bruins, especially in the faceoff circle. Hanson, a very underrated role player, is Coach Cassidy’s go-to guy in the faceoff circle – even more reliable to win draws than Captain Trent Whitfield and Ryan Spooner. Hopefully he will be back soon.

Providence currently sits at 2nd overall in the Eastern Conference with 81 points. If the playoffs started today, they would face the Hershey Bears. I recommend checking out the AHL’s daily playoff primer for more information as we prepare to enter the final stretch of the AHL regular season and start the playoffs.

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 Top Penguins 2-0; Face Worcester Tonight

Christian Hanson has 24 points this season and is currently on a 5 game point streak (1 goal, 4 assists).

Recap: Providence 2, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 0

Michael Hutchinson got his 1st shutout of the season, making 20 saves to blank the Wilkes-Barres/Scranton Penguins in the P-Bruins 2-0 win on Friday night. Craig Cunningham scored his 4th goal in 2 games and Graham Mink notched his 8th goal of the season. The Penguins, who have the top-ranked penalty kill in the AHL, gave up 2 power play goals to Providence on 5 P-Bruins PP opportunities.

The scoring didn’t start until the 3rd period, and action didn’t pick up until the 2nd period after a slow 1st period that saw each team put just 3 shots on net apiece. 2 seconds into the middle frame, however, the intensity picked up when the Penguins Zach Sill and P-Bruins Tyler Randell dropped the gloves. Colby Cohen picked up a fighting major 5 minutes later, and soon after a 3rd fight broke out between Bobby Farnham and David Warsofsky. Chris Minella and Kevan Miller dropped the gloves just another minute later – all before the halfway mark of the game.

Bobby Robins, despite wearing a full cage due to a broken nose sustained last week, didn’t hesitate to mix it up himself. He went with Philip Samuelsson at 12:35 of the 2nd period, and each player was assessed an additional 10 minute misconduct for “continuing altercation.” Robins was also given a 5 minute major boarding call on the play leading up to the fight.

By the time the 3rd period rolled around, shots were 12-10 in favor of the Penguins with W-B/S goaltender Jeff Zatkoff stopped all 10 shots faced. That changed when Alex Grant was assessed an interference penalty at 4:58 of the 3rd period and red-hot Cunningham converted on the ensuing power play. Cunningham’s 18th goal of the season – 2nd on the team only behind Jamie Tardif – was assisted by Tardif and Ryan Spooner at 5:58 of the 3rd.

After Providence successfully killed off a penalty to Cohen mid-way through the 3rd, they were put on the power play again at 13:53 of the 3rd when Trevor Smith was sent to the box for roughing. Providence, who went 2-for-5 on the PP last night, scored their 2nd goal and 2nd power play goal of the night when Mink converted on his 6th of the season from Christian Hanson and Cohen.

Although he didn’t pick up any points, Torey Krug led all skaters with 5 shots on net. Chris Bourque, in his first game back in the AHL since early January before the NHL lockout ended, registered 1 shot on net and picked up 1 minor penalty.

Preview: Providence @ Worcester, 7

Niklas Svedberg will get the start in net tonight against divisional rival Worcester Sharks. Defenseman Garnet Exelby, who sat out last night’s game due to suspension, will return to the lineup in place of Tommy Cross.

Providence continues to lead the Atlantic division with 73 points in 57 games (34-18-0-5). They are 3 points ahead of 2nd place Portland Pirates. Worcester is 4th in the division with a record of 26-23-1-5 (58 points in 55 games). Worcester is fighting for a playoff spot, as they currently sit 11th in the Eastern conference, while Providence sits comfortably in 3rd.

This will be the 11th of 12 meetings this season between the 2 teams. Providence currently leads the season series 5-3-0-2. 4 of the previous games have been decided in the shootout, with each team winning 2 of those shootouts. Providence has picked up points in 4 straight games and are 14-4 in the last 18 games.

Team Numbers:

• Last 10: Providence is 7-1-0-2; Worcester 5-5-0-0
• On the road, Providence is 15-10-0-2; at home, Worcester is 10-10-1-3.
• Providence has a goal differential of +16 (161 goals for, 145 goals against); Worcester’s goal differential is -18 (135 GF, 153 GA)
• PP: Providence ranks 13th in the league with 17.6%; Worcester is 19th with 15.5%
• PK: Providence is 12th with 84.3%; Worcester is 14th at 83.5%

After tonight’s game in Worcester, the P-Bruins will host the Connecticut Whale in Providence at 3pm.

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!

Providence Beats Bridgeport in Shootout

Fresh off his 1st All-Star game, rookie Niklas Svedberg earned 1st star in Providence’s 3-2 shootout win over Bridgeport on Thursday night. He is one of the AHL leaders in many goaltending categories, including wins.

Bummed about the Boston Bruins loss? Me too. But here is some great news: the baby Bruins won in a shootout tonight in a come-from-behind shootout victory against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Craig Cunningham and Jamie Tardif scored in regulation, Torey Krug had 2 assists, and Carter Camper had the deciding shootout goal to give the P-Bruins a 23-16-0-3 record on the season. They are now at 49 points – only 3 points behind the Atlantic division-leading Portland Pirates!

Niklas Svedberg made 34 saves and stopped all 5 Bridgeport shooters in the shootout, earning his the 1st star of the game. The Bruins out-shot the Sound Tigers 41-36 on the night.

Ty Wishart scored both goals for Bridgeport, including the opening goal of the game at 18:05 of the 1st period. It was his 3rd of the season, assisted by Matt Watkins.

Cunningham scored a huge goal before the end of the 1st period to tie the game at 1. The P-Bruins were on the power play, and Cunningham notched his 9th of the season 25 seconds remaining in the period, with assists from Camper and Krug.

Wishart scored his 4th of the season and 2nd of the game at 13:08 of the 2nd period on the power play from John Persson and Watkins. Bridgeport held a 2-1 lead until 14:47 of the 3rd period, when Tardif scored his team-leading 21st goal of the season from Ryan Spooner and Krug.

Garnet Exelby took a tripping penalty with 1 minute left in the 3rd period, and Providence successfully killed off the power play for the remainder of regulation and into overtime. The two teams remained tied and went into a shootout, where Spooner, Tardif, Max Sauve, and Cunningham all were shut down by Bridgeport goaltender Kevin Poulin before Camper scored on the last shot. Svedberg shut out all 5 shooters for Bridgeport to secure the win – his 20th of the season.

Bobby Robins, sporting one of the alternate captain ‘A’s on his sweater tonight, dropped the gloves with fighting opponent of the past, Brett Gallant, about halfway through the 1st period. Tyler Randell, playing for the sick Christian Hanson, fought with Bridgeport’s Jordan Hill a few minutes later. Providence went 1-for-2 on the power play and Bridgeport was 1-for-4.

Krug also led all Bruins skaters with 6 shots on net, followed by 5 shots from Justin Florek. Jordan Caron, in his 2nd game back from injury, recorded 2 shots and no points.

Ryan Spooner, as Mark Divver of the Providence Journal points out, has had an excellent month of January:

Spooner dished to Tardif for late tying goal. Puts wraps on very good Jan. for rookie — better than pt. per game since returning…from injury. 2-9-11 in 10 games. Maybe most impressive stat is his team-high plus-9.

Lots of Bruins seem to be getting hot heading into crucial months down the stretch. Camper had 11 points in January after totaling only 14 in the previous 3 months. In the last 3 games, Camper had 5 points. Cunningham also has a 3-game point streak, notching a point per game. Torey Krug has been particularly hot with 6 points in the last 3 games and 8 of his 14 points on the season coming in the month of January.

Things could get very exciting for this team if things keep going this way! They host the Albany Devils at the Dunkin Donuts Center tomorrow night to kick off the month of February.

Update: Apparently Caron took a slapshot to the face tonight, according to this facebook. He uploaded this picture:

Pregaming: Providence @ Bridgeport

Carter Camper, pictured here against the Sound Tigers earlier this season, had 3 points against Bridgeport when Providence beat them 5-4 on January 11.

Providence Bruins, 22-16-0-3=47 points in 41 games, 2nd in Atlantic division, 5th in Eastern Conference

@ Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Baby NY Islanders), 19-19-2-2=42 points in 42 games, 4th in Northeast division, 12th in Eastern Conference

Tonight, Bridgeport and Providence meet for the 4th time this season. Bridgeport has won 2 of the previous 3 meetings this season. Providence was victorious in the most recent match-up, which took place on January 11, when they skated away with a 5-4 win.

Providence has all the momentum coming into tonight. They are 5-4 in the last 10; Bridgeport is 2-7-1-0. Providence is riding a 2-game winning streak prior to the All-Star break; Bridgeport is coming off of a 5-0 shutout at the hands of the Norfolk Admirals. Bridgeport’s leading scorer, Nino Niederreiter (19 goals, 17 assists) recently asked for a trade because he is unhappy playing in the AHL.

Bridgeport does have one advantage: their power play is ranked 6th (20.3%) while Providence’s is 24th at 15.3%. Providence’s penalty kill is mediocre at 16th overall in the league, an 82.5% success rate. Bridgeport’s is ranked lower, at 22nd, for 81.1% success rate.

Look for Niklas Svedberg to get the start in net for the P-Bruins tonight. The rookie goaltender is 18-6-2-1 this season, posting a 2.34 GAA and 0.921 save %. Jordan Caron will also suit up for the 2nd straight game after returning from injury. Colbey Cohen will play in his first P-Bruins game since he sustained an injury in early December, while Christian Hanson will miss the game with the flu. He will be replaced with Tyler Randell.

Leading scorer Jamie Tardif (20 goals, 9 assists) is 1 point away from 30 points on the season. Carter Camper, with 19 assists, surpassed Ryan Spooner (18 assists) as the team leader in that category, finally showing offensive spark after a tough early portion of the season. Spooner has one of the highest +/- ratings on the team with +8. And while the Boston Bruisn and Buffalo Sabres NHL game promises to be a boxing match, Bridgeport and Providence have had some brutal clashes in the past – notably between two of the leading fighters in the AHL in Bobby Robins and Nathan McIver (to name a few). Just take a look at the score sheet from the November 18 game in Providence.

The game starts at 7:00 pm tonight!

Providence Finishes Weekend With a Win

David Warsofsky was sent back down to Providence, but undoubtedly will get another shot with Boston in the future. (Photo Credit: Steph Vail/Flickr)

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Boston Bruins AHL affiliate – when the NHL lockout ended, they lost their top scorers and defensemen to NHL training camp. When training camp ended, Boston kept Providence’s leading scorer, Chris Bourque, along with another vital team leader and forward Lane MacDermid. Boston also kept defensemen David Warsofsky, at least up until Sunday, when they sent him back down to Providence after recalling defensemen Aaron Johnson, who had been sent down to Providence on a conditioning stint for a few days.

In his 2 games with the P-Bruins on Friday and Saturday, Johnson was a -1 with 1 assist on a Spooner power play goal Friday. Providence lost both games, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Portland Pirates on Friday and a 3-1 loss to the Manchester Monarchs on Saturday. Today, however, Warsofsky was back in the lineup with Johnson back in Boston, and the Providence Bruins came away with a 4-1 victory over the Connecticut Whale.

Warsofsky was the #1 star. He had the game-winning goal, an assist, a +2 rating, and 4 shots on net. Warsofsky’s goal was his 3rd of the season in the AHL, and assisted by Ryan Spooner and Matt Bartkowski. The goal came at 17:57 of the 1st period.

The Connecticut Whale opened up the scoring in the 1st period at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence on Sunday with a goal by JT Miller at 4:26 of the 1st period. It was Miller’s 7th of the season, assisted by Brandon Mashinter. Jamie Tardif tied the game at 1 at 16:23 of the 1st on his team-leading 18th goal of the year from Spooner and Justin Florek. Tardif and Spooner were sent back down to Providence from Boston training camp on Friday, and on Sunday Tardif earned the #3 star while Spooner earned the #2 star.

In the 2nd period against Connecitcut, Carter Camper got his 4th of the season, a PP goal, from Warsofsky and Florek at 7:34. In the 3rd, Kyle MacKinnon secured a 4-1 lead with a goal at 14:49. It was also his 4th of the season, assisted by Graham Mink and Christian Hanson. Providence outshot the Whale 38-15 in the end.

A big part of this game was the physical play as each team racked up dozens of roughing minors and fighting majors. The 4 players for Providence that received fighting majors were Bobby Robins, Tyler Randell, Ryan Button, and Tommy Cross; for Connecticut, it was Chris Bourque’s little brother Ryan Bourque, Sam Klassen, Jason Wilson, and Dylan McIlrath.

Sunday’s 4-1 win was an important positive note to end an otherwise tough weekend on. The 3-2 shootout loss on Friday came despite out-shooting Portland 39-21. Spooner and Robins (his 2nd of the season) scored for Providence, and Darian Dziurzynski had both regulation goals for Portland. In the shootout, only Spooner and Camper converted for Providence, while Chris Conner, Ethan Werek, and Jordan Szwarz converted for Portland for the win.

On Saturday night, things did not get any easier for Providence as they were handed a tough loss at the hands of the Manchester Monarchs. They out-shot Manchester 46-47 and went 0-for-8 on the power play. Tardif scored late in the 3rd period (assisted from Camper and Florek) to make it 2-1, but soon after that, Stefan Legein sealed the Monarchs win with an empty net goal.

Niklas Svedberg got the win today and the shoot-out loss on Saturday, and Michael Hutchinson got the loss on Saturday. Svedberg was particularly big in net to preserve the lead against Connecticut today. Providence faces Manchester again this Wednesday in Manchester for a rare weekday game. Providence is now 20-15-0-3 with today’s win, giving them 43 points, lead-frogging Worcester for 3rd place in the Atlantic division. However, Manchester (20-17-2-2) won again today, giving them 44 points and the 2nd place spot in the division. The Pirates remain in first with 50 points.

Providence found it’s scoring touch with a 4-1 win today and hopefully that will carry into Wednesday, because it isn’t likely they will get their leading scorer in Bourque back anytime soon. Their top scorers found ways to score this weekend – Spooner, Tardif, and more importantly, guys who needed to score who hadn’t been, such as Camper. Craig Cunningham has also stepped up the scoring recently, and look for him to continue to do so. Wednesday’s game against Manchester will be a big one as the two rivals continue to battle for playoff positioning in the division and conference.

The win on Sunday marks the 20th win of the season for Providence. “To get 20 wins in the 1st half of the year…is pretty good The guys should be proud of themselves,” said Coach Butch Cassidy after the game.

Knight, Trotman Injured, Providence Calls Up 2 and Sign 1

Randell has been recalled from South Carolina of the ECHL despite having a disappointing season (Photo Credit: Denins Pause/Flickr)

In last night’s 5-4 win over Bridgeport, the Providence Bruins lost forward Jared Knight again as he re-injured his hamstring, and also lost defenseman Zach Trotman to an upperbody injury. To fill out these roster spots, Providence has called up forward Tyler Randell from South Carolina of the ECHL as well as defenseman Wes O’Neill from Toledo of the ECHL.

In 37 games with the Toledo Walleye this season, O’Neill has 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points and 56 PIM. O’Neill was a teammate of Christian Hanson at Notre Dame in 2005-06 and 2006-07. The 26-year-old New York Islanders 4th round draft pick has also played in the ECHL for the Johnstown Chiefs and Kalamazoo Wings and in the AHL for the Lake Erie Monsters and most recently last season for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He has a total of 5 NHL games for the Colorado Avalanche from the 08-09 and 09-10 seasons with no points, 6 PIM, and an overall -1 rating.

Randell, a 6th round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2009, played 30 games in Providence last season and only had 2 goals and a -11 rating. He played 1 game with the AHL club this season before being sent down to the ECHL, where he has been under-performing. His lack of production likely meant he was going to stay in the ECHL, but the dire circumstances with the Providence Bruins current roster has warranted calling him up.

Providence has also signed Graham Mink to a professional try out contract. The 33-year-old is a “proven AHL scorer” who has played for the Hershey Bears, Portland Pirates, Worcester Sharks, and Rochester Americans. Says The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver:

At 6’3 and 220 pounds, Graham Mink gives P-Bruins needed size on wing. 243 goals in 686 AHL games for 33-year-old who played at Vermont

The P-Bruins face the Springfield Falcons tonight. Look for a preview coming soon!