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 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.

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.

Baby Bruins Begin March with Exciting Win over Worcester

Alden Hirschfeld and Kyle MacKinnon stepped up big tonight, which is especially important in the absence of many key injured players. What great depth the Bruins have even in their farm system.

With the game knotted at 1-1 with less than three minutes left in regulation in Friday night’s match up between divisional rival Worcester Sharks and Providence Bruins at the Dunkin Donuts center in Providence, P-Bruins forward Alden Hirschfeld was in on the forecheck in the offensive zone against two Worcester Sharks defenders. His aggressive pursuit of the puck caused a turnover, and he made no mistake when he rushed in on Worcester goaltender Alex Stalock, netting his 3rd goal of the season and the eventual game-winner at 17:33 of the 3rd period to give the P-Bruins their first lead of the game. Trent Whitfield added an empty-net goal 90 seconds later to secure the 3-1 victory, halting the P-Bruins 2-game losing streak and giving them a proper start to the month of March.

The victory also carried on the impressive streak of rookie goaltender Niklas Svedberg, who had a 10-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday against Portland: Svedberg has not lost 2 games in a row in regulation this season, at all. Svedberg made 18 saves on 19 shots and picked up his 26th win of the season as Providence improved to 32-18-0-4 in 54 games this season – and 17-8-0-3 at home. Although they now sit in first place in the Atlantic division with 68 points, they have played one more game than the Portland Pirates, who sit in 2nd place with 66 points in 53 games.

The game remained scoreless until the final minute of the 2nd period, when Worcester’s Marek Viedensky beat Svedberg on a shorthanded opportunity with his 2nd goal of the season (unassisted, at 19:15 of the 2nd).

Providence’s power play seemed to be suffering heavily, and even failed at a 5-on-3 earlier in the game, but were given yet another 5-on-3 in the 3rd period when Nick Petrecki joined Brodie Reid in the penalty box about halfway through the final period. Reid’s cross-checking minor expired, but Providence kept pressure on with the remaining time in the man-advantage. Craig Cunningham sent a pass to Jamie Tardif, who in turn gave a beautiful set up to Kyle MacKinnon. MacKinnon’s 10th goal of the season, a power play goal, came at 12:53 of the 3rd period and tied the game at 1-1.

After Hirschfeld’s brilliant goal that gave Providence the go-ahead goal late in the game was assisted by Garnet Exelby, who picked up another assist on Whitfield’s empty net goal. Whitfield’s goal may involved a great individual spin-around effort to hit the open net and earn his 5th of the season at 19:02 of the 3rd period, with the secondary assist to Exelby and the primary assist to Christian Hanson.

Notes:

• The games three stars were: (3) Alex Stalock; (2) Craig Cunningham; (1) Alden Hirschfeld.
• Providence out-shot Worcester 23-19.
• Providence was successful in killing off all 4 of Worcester’s power play opportunities, and although they were 1-for-6 on the power play, they also gave up a shorthanded goal.
• Bobby Robins picked up his AHL-leading 31st major penalty of the season.
• Jordan Caron had 2 clear breakaway opportunities, and was stopped by Stalock on both. He was a -1 on the night.
• This was the 10th of 12 meetings this season between Worcester and Providence. Providence now leads the season series 5-3-0-2, including the last 4 wins in a row.
• Tardif returned tonight for the first time since February 17th, when he suffered a back injury.
• The P-Bruins are plagued by injury. They are currently without forwards Ryan Spooner (lower body), Carter Camper (upper body), Max Sauve (knee), and Jared Knight (still; hamstring, again/still); and defensemen Zach Trotman (recurrent concussion symptoms), David Warsofsky (knee), and Ryan Button, (lower body). Camper and Trotman are hopeful to return next week.
• Torey Krug was named CCM/AHLRookie of the Month for February!!
• Providence faces off against the Springfield Falcons tomorrow night at 7pm in Springfield.

Providence Wins 4th in a Row

Craig Cunningham’s 14th goal of the season was the game winner tonight and earned him the 2nd star in Providence’s 3-1 win over Worcester to wrap up a 3-0 weekend.

The Providence Bruins went undefeated this weekend and extended their winning streak to 4 games with a 3-1 win over divisional rival the Worcester Sharks this afternoon. With the win today, Providence remains in 1st place in the Atlantic division, clinging to a 1-point lead over the 2nd place Portland Pirates. The P-Bruins are now 30-17-0-3 this season.

Niklas Svedberg played in Friday and Saturday’s wins over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, extending his personal winning streak to 9 games. Today, Michael Hutchinson got the start in net for the P-Bruins and earned number one star honors with 32 saves on 33 shots.

Jordan Caron, who was named number one star in Friday night’s victory, was 3rd star in today’s win; Craig Cunningham was the 2nd star. Caron had a goal and an assist, while Cunningham had the game-winning goal.

Providence played today without one of their top scorers, Carter Camper, who was injured in the 2nd period of Saturday’s game.

Caron opened the scoring after Worcester’s Matt Tennyson went to the penalty box for goaltender interference at 7:41 of the 1st period. 9:31 into the period, Caron converted on the power play to record his 8th goal of the season with assists from Christian Hanson and Matt Bartkowski.

In the 2nd period, Providence again capitalized on the power play when Worcester’s Nick Petrecki was called for slashing at 15:48. Cunningham netted his 14th of the season on the man advantage at 16:45 of the 2nd from Tommy Cross and Graham Mink. Mink notably recorded his 500th career AHL point on Saturday night after playing in his 700th career AHL game on Friday night.

The Sharks cut the Bruins lead in half at 17:11 of the 3rd period on a goal by Yanni Gourde. Gourde’s 7th goal of the season was assisted by Jon Matsumoto and Danny Groulx.

The Bruins regained a 2-goal lead when captain Trent Whitfield buried an empty net goal in the final seconds of the game, solidifying a 3-1 victory. Whitfield’s 3rd goal of the season was assisted by Caron and Kevan Miller.

Providence was 2-for-5 on the power play today, and a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. They were out-shot 33 to 30 in the game.

Although Torey Krug‘s recent point streak ended this weekend, he recorded a team-high 3 shots on net, along with Colby Cohen.

The P-Bruins next play next Friday, February 22nd at the Norfolk Admirals.

Bruins Fall to the Sharks 3-2

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

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

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

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

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

Game Notes…

• Goaltending:

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

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

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

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

Bruins Beat Sharks in Shootout, Win 3-2

Max Sauve (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vail/ Flickr)

Last night Max Sauve was the star of the game, coming back from injury and scoring the game-winning shoot out goal he provided Providence with two points that ties them for third place in the Atlantic Division with the Portland Pirates after their win last night.

The Bruins went into the first period in hopes of carrying momentum over from Friday’s victory, but unfortunately got off to a slow start.  It would be Worcester that was able to make things happen as they got on the board a little over half way through the period.  The Bruins held a slight advantage in shots through the first twenty minutes with 9 shots to their 7, but were unable to beat Stalock and went into the first intermission 1-0.

To no surprise the goaltending is what made this game so interesting. Both teams provided golden scoring opportunities, but both Alex Stalock and Michael Hutchinson were on the ball doing everything but standing on their heads to keep pucks from going by them.  Scoring wouldn’t occur again until the final frame when Jamie Tardif came right out and blew a shot past Stalock 2:20 into the period.  Much like Boston, the baby B’s showed up strong in the third period and dominated the ice The Sharks were able to slip another one past Hutchinson around the 13:30 marker, but Bartkowski answered right back at 17:58 to tie the game in the final minutes.

After a scoreless additional five minute overtime period the game was sentenced to a shoot out. Hutchinson and Stalock both stopped all five shooters flawlessly making it look effortless.  It would come down to the sixth round when Max Sauve would find a way to slip the puck past Stalock and give the Bruins their second win of the weekend.

Next game is Sunday at 4:05pm at the Dunkin Donuts Arena against the Adirondack Phantoms.

Game Notes…

• Goaltending: Michael Hutchinson (2-4-1)- 32 saves out of 34 shots faced, five saves in overtime and all six shooters in the shootout. He has a save percentage of .885 and a 3.02 goals against average.  Alex Stalock (8-5-1) -28 saves out of 30 shots faced, two saves in overtime and made 5 out of 6 saves in the shootout.
• Shots on goal: Providence 9-7-12-2-1 (31)  Worcester 7-15-7-5-0 (34)
• Power Play Opportunities: Providence 0/4  Worcester  1/6
• Three Stars of the Game:

1. Max Sauve– 1SOG-GWG (Providence)
2. Alex Stalock– 32/34 saves (Worcester)
3. Matt Bartkowski– 1 Goal (Providence)

Preview: Providence Bruins Take on the Worcester Sharks

11-17-2012:Chris Bourque at center ice against the Portland PIrates (Photo Courtesy of Ron Morin/ Ron’s Sports Photography)

The Providence Bruins head to Worcester, Mass tonight to take on the Sharks in hopes of finding their first win of the series.  So far this season the two teams have faced off three times against each other, twice needing to be decided in a shoot out.

The Bruins are coming off of a 3-2 victory over the Manchester Monarchs last night and have won three out of their last four games played, collecting points in all four contests.  Last night defenseman Torey Krug and Kyle MacKinnon were able to record their first goals of the season in the victory.

Tommy Cross has appeared in all four games the Bruins have played since being called up last weekend and posted two assists in his first two games and currently has a +2 rating.  He made a good first impression against the Connecticut Whale helping to provide some momentum for the team as he threw a shot at the net that Jamie Tardif was able to tip in, originally getting credited for the goal.  Coach Butch Cassidy was impressed with his recent addition and stated:

“I thought he was battling in the tops of the circle in the defensive zone,” he said. “I thought there was a few plays in the neutral zone where he could have grabbed the puck and be a little more assertive. But I think that’s normal. It’s his first game back and you don’t want to be a go-getter and be too relaxed. So we’ll find that fine line for him.”(via Bruins Daily)

Tonight Chris Bourque is looking to extend his lead as he has earned points in six of his last nine games played, giving him a team high 15. Ryan Spooner is also looking to get back on the scoring sheet, registering only one goal in his last five games.  You can expect some blood to be shed as Bobby Robins leads the way in fighting majors with 14, ironically enough he has yet to fight a Shark. Perhaps tonight could be the night.  Game time is at 7:00pm ET and can be seen on AHL Live for a small fee. Let’s go Bruins!