By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277
The American Hockey League Providence Bruins were back in action last night at the Amica Mutual Pavilion as the Utica Comets visited the downtown Providence, Rhode Island venue. After losing to the Bridgeport Islanders last Sunday afternoon at the AMP, the top minor-pro affiliate of the Boston Bruins got back in the win column, beating Utica 4-2 in front of the 7,330 in attendance.
With the victory over the Comets, Providence improved to 16-7-3 on home ice and 6-3-1 in the team’s last ten games. Looking at the Atlantic Division standings, the AHL Bruins are currently in third place with a 28-16-4-1 record and 61 points. The B’s have done a 180 since the second half of the season started and are now only four points from division-leading Hershey Bears, who could possibly produce a three-peat Calder Cup Championship this Spring.
Providence goaltender Michael DiPietro got the start between the pipes, stopping 22 of 24 Utica shots to improve his remarkable 2024-25 regular season record to 18-7-4 with a 2.00 goals-against-average and .928 save percentage. DiPietro is 6-3-1 in his last ten games and wouldn’t be shocked if the former Vancouver Canucks draft pick gets a thank-you game or a few towards the end of the season. The 25-year-old Ontario, Canada, native will be an unrestricted free agent next season, and looking at the landscape ahead of him, might not want to return to pursue a better path to the NHL with the Bruins Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo locked up for the foreseeable future.
The Providence Bruins got on the scoreboard first at the 15:01 mark of the opening frame courtesy of forward Vinni Lettieri, who put on a show pretty much going through the whole Utica Comets team to score his 16th of the season on a breakaway. The assists on the Lettieri goal went to forward Fabian Lysell and defenseman Frederic Brunet. Lettieri snapped a two-game pointless streak on this goal and continues to be a huge part of this Providence lineup offensively and for the leadership factor to younger developing prospects.
In the second period, the visiting Comets would tie the game at one at the 7:12 mark and get the 2-1 go-ahead goal at the 11:11 mark, both via Utica forward Ryan Schmelzer, who scored his 13th and 14th of the year. Providence captain Patrick Brown would eventually tie the game at two apiece on the power play, scoring his 12th of the season. The assists on Brown’s 12th went to defenseman Ian Mitchell, who ended up with three points on the night, and forward Brett Harrison, snapping a five-game pointless streak.
Entering the third period tied at 2-2, Providence would strike again on the man advantage via a one-time bomb from defenseman Ian Mitchell, who scored his fourth goal of the season at the 5:18 mark. The helpers on Mitchell’s howitzer went to forward Vinni Lettieri, who notched his 11th multi-point game of the year, and forward Jeffery Veil, who extended his season-high point streak to four games with the secondary assist.
With Providence ahead in the game 3-2, Utica Comets Head Coach Ryan Parent pulled his goaltender Isaac Poulter for an extra attacker as his team was desperate to tie the game at three apiece. Bruins forward Tyler Pitlick would eventually seal the deal in this game on home ice by getting an empty-net goal at the 19:06 mark, giving the Providence team a 4-2 victory. The assists on Pitlick’s goal in the yawning cage went to defenseman Ian Mitchell and forward Patrick Brown. Captain Brown would end the night with a multi-point game, his sixth of the season, and extend his current point streak to four games.
Tonight, the Providence Bruins are on the road in Hartford, Connecticut, to face the Hartford Wolf Pack for the second game of three this weekend. Providence is currently 4-2-0 against the Pack and 2-1 when the teams face each other at the XL Center in Hartford. So far this season, Providence has outscored Hartford 18-13, with four games remaining between each other in this 2024-25 season.
The Wolf Pack are winless in their last four regulation games and are currently in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with 46 points. At home, the Hartford team is 12-12-1 at the XL Center. Puck drops tonight at 7pm and can be viewed live on the FloHockey.tv streaming service.
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