Providence opened last weekend with a 3-2 home loss to the Albany Devils in the teams' first meeting since New Jersey moved its top AHL affiliate from Lowell, Mass., to upstate New York. The P-Bruins held a 2-1 lead early in the second period, thanks to Jordan Knackstedt's second goal of the contest and third of the year, but the Devils scored twice in a span of 10 minutes, including Stephen Gionta's winner with just 2:33 remaining, to retake the lead and secure the victory. Providence's offense was powered by Knackstedt and rookie Joe Colborne, who notched his first multiple-point game of the season with two assists.
On Saturday, late heroics were enough to gain Providence a point as first-year defenseman Steve Kampfer scored a shorthanded goal with 3:01 left in regulation to force overtime in Worcester, but the Sharks prevailed with a 2-1 extra session triumph after Nick Petrecki's deciding goal 3:17 into overtime. Rookie Michael Hutchinson had a standout performance in net for the P-Bruins, blocking a career-best 41 shots.
The weekend wrapped on Sunday as Providence's home woes continued with a 6-1 loss to Worcester to end a home-and-home series. With the defeat, the P-Bruins fell to 0-4-0-1 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, the lone bright spot coming on Colborne's first career goal as a professional late in the second period.
"Not good enough," said P-Bruins coach Rob Murray of the weekend. "Friday night, I think that I keep saying this and I don't want to say it anymore, but it's probably a game we should have won and we didn't. We should have gotten a point out of it at least, which we didn't and so that was disappointing.
"Saturday, actually, all in all, I'm happy with a point in that game, especially because we scored late, but then Sunday, obviously, it was an opportunity for us to bounce back at home and we didn't do it. We really got in kind of a situation where you're a little bit embarrassed about losing by as much as we did."
Through nine games, Providence has scored a total of 10 goals in its two wins and just eight in the seven defeats. The club will look to improve upon that trend this weekend with another three-in-three and six points up for grabs.
Rob Murray's Player of the Week: Joe Colborne
"Joe Colborne was the best player by far. He had a couple of assists on Friday. Jordan Knackstedt had two goals, but he didn't follow it up on Saturday. I thought Joe was good on Saturday and then, on Sunday, Joe scored our only goal, which, all in all, in a 6-1 game is not much, but his line with Kirk MacDonald and Jeremy Reich, in a 6-1 game, were plus-one, so there's something to be said about that. I liked [Colborne's] game this weekend. He's playing better all the time."
Back to Boston
Ninth-year veteran enforcer Brian McGrattan is back in Boston after a three-game conditioning stint in Providence last weekend, during which time the forward went scoreless with a minus-four rating, four shots and, most surprising, zero penalty minutes. He made his P-Bruins debut against Albany last Friday, marking his first AHL action since 2008-09 with San Antonio. McGrattan, who has nearly 200 NHL games under his belt, has yet to don Boston's spoked-B.
Milestones
Veteran captain Jeremy Reich remains just three goals shy of 100 for his professional career. Now in his 11th season, the left wing has scored 95 AHL goals while playing for Providence, Bridgeport, Houston and Syracuse, plus two NHL goals as a member of the Boston Bruins during the 2007-08 campaign.
Colborne, now in his first professional season following two years at the University of Denver, scored his first pro goal in Sunday's loss to Worcester. The goal came at even-strength with the P-Bruins down 4-0 late in the second frame, limiting any potentially exuberant goal celebration. Colborne found the back of the net 32 times in 79 games with the Pioneers and the center now has the first one out of the way in 15 career pro outings.
On the Mend
Max Sauve, tied for Providence's goal-scoring lead with three, has missed the P-Bruins' last five games after suffering a wrist injury at Manchester on Oct. 16. The rookie is not expected to be available this weekend.
Killer Performance
The P-Bruins got off to a slow performance on the penalty kill this season, successfully stopping just 18 of 29 opposing man-advantages for a league-low 62.1 percent entering last weekend, but the club has turned things around over the last three games, going a remarkable 13-of-14 when short-handed, better than 92 percent. Providence, though still ranking 30th in the league, is now converting nearly 73 percent of the time when down a man.
Leaders
Goals: Jamie Arniel, Jordan Knackstedt, Max Sauve (3)
Assists: Joe Colborne, Steve Kampfer (4)
Points: Kampfer (6)
Plus/Minus: Colborne, Kampfer, Jeremy Reich (+2)
PIM: Lane MacDermid, Nathan McIver (18)
Power Play Goals: Yury Alexandrov, Arniel, Wyatt Smith (1)
Short-Handed Goals: Kampfer, Kirk MacDonald (1)
Shots: Arniel (34)
Wins: Michael Hutchinson, Nolan Schaefer (1)
GAA: Schaefer (3.06)
Save Percentage: Schaefer (.895)
This Weekend
The P-Bruins have a tough weekend ahead with Bridgeport visiting The Dunk on Friday before back-to-back road contests in Portland and Albany to close out the weekend.
The Sound Tigers, sixth in the Atlantic and just two points in front of the P-Bruins, enter Friday's action with consecutive wins for the first time all year following last Friday's 3-2 overtime decision at Manchester and Wednesday's shootout victory over Springfield. Several Tigers have been hot of late, most especially Jon Sim, who netted a hat trick and shootout goal in his AHL season debut on Wednesday, as well as Jesse Joensuu, currently riding a five-game point-streak, including two goals and six assists to share his team's scoring-lead with Rob Hisey. Additionally, rookie David Ullstrom has scored goals in four straight games, tacking on two helpers as well.
The Pirates, meanwhile, are 9-3-0-0 and their 18 points are good for first in the league. First-year phenom Luke Adam, the AHL's Rookie of the Month for October, paces Portland with nine goals and 16 points and both totals rank among the league's best. Several players have achieved great success this year with four already cracking the double-digit barrier in points and seven skaters showing a plus-five rating or better. Adding to the challenge that awaits for Providence, Portland is perfect in six games at the Cumberland County Civic Center this season.
On Sunday, Providence wraps up its brief two-game season-series with Albany. Goalie Jeff Frazee has had the hot hand of late, riding a four-game winning streak while stopping shots at a .960 clip over that span. And, whether it's been Frazee or Mike McKenna between the pipes, offense has been hard to come by for the opposition this year as the Devils have allowed an average of just 2.50 goals per contest, tied for fourth fewest in the league. Albany, too, has been offensively-challenged, however, as no active player shows more than four points. The Devils sit in a four-way tie for fourth in the crowded East Division.
