While the NHL paused last week for the All-Star Break, minor league hockey continued full speed ahead with both Boston Bruins affiliates taking the ice. While AHL outfit Providence continues to string together results, ECHL affiliate Maine has endured a forgettable season to date.
Providence continued its recent resurgence with a series sweep at the Charlotte Checkers (Florida Panthers) over the weekend, winning both games by a 4-2 margin. Providence has now won six straight and boasts an 8-1-1 record in its last 10 contests.
The Maine Mariners welcomed Western Conference foe Rapid City Rush (Calgary Flames) to Portland for a three-game series. Maine won the opener in dramatic fashion, 3-2, but collapsed in the final period of game two with a 6-4 defeat. In the finale on Sunday, Rapid City cruised to a 5-0 triumph to clinch a series win.
Providence Bruins
28-13-5, 61 points, 2nd in Atlantic Division
Providence’s slow start to the current campaign is a distant memory now as the AHL Bruins have won six straight games. That streak continued last weekend with a pair of 4-2 wins over Charlotte.
In Friday’s triumph, Providence opened up a 2-0 lead that was quickly cancelled out by a pair of Checkers’ goals, evening the contest at 2-2 after two periods. Patrick Brown’s tally just 34 seconds into the final frame put Providence ahead for good. Justin Brazeau scored late to pad the lead, while Brandon Bussi stopped 26 shots to earn another victory.
On Saturday, Providence again opened the scoring with Fabian Lysell notching his second goal of the weekend, and Dan Renouf following suit to give the visitors a 2-0 lead at the first intermission. Charlotte cut the deficit in half after two periods, but Providence again struck in the opening minute of the third period with Jayson Megna finding twine. Charlotte tallied again three minutes later, but Georgii Merkulov notched a goal to restore the two-goal cushion for good. In net, Michael DiPietro looked impressive again making 35 saves.
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