( Above Photo Credit:  Bojangles Coliseum )

By: Mark Allred         Follow Me On Twitter @BlackAndGold277

The American Hockey Leagues Providence Bruins traveled to the state of North Carolina last night for the first time since 2011 to play the Charlotte Checkers and were completely unprepared dropping game one of the Mid-Atlantic road trip 8-2 to the hands of the top minor-pro affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. Both teams are back in action today for a 1 pm puck drop from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The B’s were outshot 43-17 and were horrendous on the penalty kill giving up three goals on eight chances.

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Providence goaltender Zane McIntyre who was left out to dry on many occasions giving up all eight goals was hardly the problem when you dissect the lopsided loss. The former 2010 sixth-round pick was pretty much the only player that showed up stopping 35 of 43 Checkers shots. The Baby B’s are shorthanded with a few key players up with the National Hockey Leagues Boston Bruins covering for injured players, but as much as it’s not easy moving forward with a constant shuffle of players, the goals-against team stat is taking a beating lately.

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After an AHL rookie season (2015-16) that McIntyre posted a record of 14-8-7 he bounced back after a solid offseason training regiment to be one of the best goaltenders in the top minor-pro league of the NHL to post a record of 21-6-2 with two shutouts and the recipient of the AHL’s best Save percentage of .930 during the 2016-17 season. The 2017-18 campaign, on the other hand, is not going as well in previous years as he’s 5-4-1 with a goals-against-average of 3.11 and a .892 Save %. With giving up eight goals last night, he has now let in 22 goals in his last five games.

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As healthy player return to the Boston Bruins team and covering players up with Boston on recalls, the Baby B’s can only get better and if you look at the previous three to four years this Providence team seems to not be all together on the same page until a new calendar year approaches and then turns it up for a Calder Cup Playoff push which they’ve appeared in for the last five years. Also important to know that this AHL Bruins roster had a few additions of rookie players to start this season and look to make adjustments wherever place in the lineup. As history tells in the recent past, I believe everything will be fine with a little chemistry and orchestrating from first-year Providence Head Coach Jay Leach as the team currently sits in the fifth position in the Atlantic Division with 20 points in 17 games and when thinking about the Eastern Conference Calder Cup Playoff picture just after the Thanksgiving holiday, the B’s sit in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

If you have the stomach to watch the highlights from last night’s Providence game, Click the link provided below.

http://ahl.neulion.com/ahl/video/providence-bruins-vs-charlotte-checkers/18544