By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter / X @BlackAndGold277
The American Hockey League Providence Bruins returned home to the Amica Mutual Pavilion last night after splitting a two-game road trip out in Cleveland, Ohio, last weekend. The Bruins got back in the win column with a 3-2 shootout victory over the visiting Springfield Thunderbird in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Entering last night’s action, the Providence team had a 3-3-0 record against the Atlantic Division rival Thunderbirds and outscored Springfield by a 19-16 margin this season.
With no scoring in the first period at the AMP, Providence got on the board early in the second period at the 4:12 mark with a goal from veteran forward Tyler Pitlick, who scored his 13th goal of the season. Pitlick’s goal snapped a four-game goalless streak, and he now has two points in his last five games. The assists on Pitlick’s goal came from forwards Jeffery Veil and Patrick Brown.
Springfield would get a second-period goal from Matt Kessel at the 15:31 mark to tie the game at one apiece and later get a 2-1 go-ahead goal at the 7:00-minute mark of the third period courtesy of Birds forward McGing. The Bruins would tie the game at two apiece at the 16:05 mark of the final period courtesy of forward Max Jones, who notched his tenth goal of the season.
Jones has goals in two consecutive games and four tucks in his last five AHL contests. The helpers on the Jones goal went to forwards John Farinacci and Fabian Lysell. With an assist on this goal, Boston Bruins prospect Fabian Lysell snapped a three-game pointless streak and now has 3-5-8 numbers in his last ten games.
After an unsuccessful five-minute overtime session between the home Providence Bruins and visiting Springfield Thunderbirds, a shootout was needed to determine the eventual game-winner. Providence forward Vinni Lettieri would be the game’s hero with the only goal in the three-round individual skills competition, capturing the 3-2 home victory in front of the 7,703 B’s fans in attendance. Fellow Bruins teammates Georgii Merkulov and Ian Mitchell also participated in the shootout session but were unsuccessful in their attempts.
Brandon Bussi got the start in goal last night in Providence as the B’s netminder got back in the win column after taking a 3-2 loss last Saturday night when the team was out in the state of Ohio. Bussi stopped 25 of 27 for his ninth victory of the season and was sensational in the overtime and shootout sessions. Since being pulled in the first eight minutes of the game against Springfield at the MassMutual Center, Bussi has responded well, going 3-1 and playing much better than his first-half showing. In 20 games played this season, the undrafted netminder has a 9-9-1 record with a 2.93 goals-against-average and a .899 save percentage.
The Providence Bruins are back in action tonight as they shift venues and travel to Springfield, Massachusetts, for the final game of this back-to-back, home-and-home series against these two Atlantic Division foes. The Bruins now have a 4-3-0-0 record against the Thunderbirds, but they have not played well on the road in Springfield, going 1-2 and being outscored 13-12.
If you or your family want to watch tonight’s Providence Bruins road game vs. Springfield, we highly recommend getting a paid subscription to the FloHockey.tv streaming service. FloHockey gives hockey fans exclusive access to action across the American Hockey League and lower developmental leagues throughout North America.
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