AHL All-Stars Andy Wozniewski, Mikko Lehtonen Keeping Providence Bruins Afloat

The Providence Bruins are struggling this season, but a pair of studs have been giving the P-Bruins fan base plenty to cheer about, as Andy Wozniewski and Mikko Lehtonen will be headed to the AHL All-Star Classic in Portland, Maine, next week.

Both players — Wozniewski of the United States and Lehtonen of Finland — have been named to the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team roster for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic.

The seventh-year Wozniewski, 29, is heading to his first AHL All-Star event. The defenseman is tied for second in the league among defensemen in points with 27 and leads the P-Bruins in assists with 20. The Illinois native churned out his best month of the year in October, when he was named the P-Bruins' Player of the Month after recording 15 points (five goals and 10 assists) in just 10 games.

Lehtonen is no stranger to the spotlight either. The 22-year-old led Providence last season with 28 goals to go with 53 points in his first pro season. This year, he is 30th in the league in points with 30 and leads the Baby B's with 11 goals.

These two All-Stars are doing all they can to dig the P-Bruins out of the Atlantic Division basement. Through 41 games, the team is second-to-last in the eight-team division with a 19-20-2 record for 41 points — a good nine points ahead of last-place Springfield. But the journey out of the No. 7 slot isn't as bad as it sounds, since Providence is just 10 points away from the third-place Worcester Sharks.

While the P-Bruins are stacked with noteworthy talent — including Zach Hamill, Brad Marchand and Jamie Arniel — it's been Woznieswki and Lehtonen stealing the show and apparently bringing fans back for more. Despite their standing, Providence is fifth in the league in attendance, averaging 5,621 fans per game. The Baby B's are one of just 10 teams in the 29-team league to eclipse the 100,000-fan plateau as they've welcomed in 118,048 fans in 21 home games.

Another factor that has been drawing the fans to the Dunkin Donuts Center in downtown Providence has been local boy Lane MacDerid from nearby Hartford, Conn. The scrappy player has tallied 76 penalty minutes in just 38 games for Providence, good for second on the team behind Guillaume Lefebvre's 102. Also calling New England home is Kevin Regan of South Boston. Regan, a UNH alum, is Providence's backup goalie and the owner of a 3-5-0 record to go with a 2.31 GAA.