( Photo Credit: Tessa McAndrews / Providence Bruins )

By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277

The American Hockey League Providence Bruins got the weekend’s games off to a great start as they beat the visiting Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-0. Stopping all 30 Phantoms shots and earning his first shutout of the season was last night’s starter, Brandon Bussi, who got his second victory of the season.

Providence forward and Boston Bruins prospect Fabian Lysell got the game’s first goal at the 8:01 mark of the first period, scoring his second of the season assisted by forwards Max Jones and Matt Poitras. NHL Bruins defensive prospect Frederic Brunet would get the B’s to a 2-0 lead at the 15:27 mark, scoring his second of the season with helpers going to forwards John Farinacci and another point for Poitras in this game. The final goal came from veteran forward Tyler Pitlick, who’s still here with Providence on a Professional Try-Out at the 18:42 mark of the third period after going scoreless in the middle frame.

https://twitter.com/AHLBruins/status/1860163742681677859

Starter Brandon Bussi was fantastic in this first game of back-to-back home games this weekend at the AMP. The undrafted netminder has certainly had his struggles in this early part of the 2024-25 AHL season, but so has the team in front of him. This was a game where you could see vintage Brandon Bussi, which is a positive sign moving forward, as the player is doing so, helping his team dig further out of the Atlantic Division hole.

This was a good response game for Providence as Head Coach Ryan Mougenel practiced his team hard this week, preparing for this weekend’s two games vs. Lehigh Valley. Last weekend, the minor-pro affiliate of the National Hockey League Boston Bruins dropped three straight games, and Mougenel demanded that his team work harder and turn this roller coaster season around.

Providence is back on the ice tonight for the weekend’s final game at the Amica Mutual Pavilion vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. With last night’s victory on home ice, the Bruins move up to the fifth position in the Atlantic Division with a 7-7-2-0 record and 16 points. If Providence can continue their winning ways tonight, earning two points, they’ll be in a better position with the higher echelon clubs in the division, as the B’s are only three points out from second place Wilke-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who have 19 points.