By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter / X @BlackAndGold277
Last night at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Providence Bruins found a way to stay alive in this second-round Calder Cup series against the Charlotte Checkers. The top minor-pro affiliate of the Boston Bruins got a 3-2 come-from-behind victory on the road to make this best-of-five series 2-1 in favor of the higher-seeded Checkers team.
The home Checkers got on the scoresheet first at the 8:14 mark of the first period, courtesy of forward Will Lockwood’s first postseason goal. Almost four minutes later, forward Riley Tufte would tie the game at one apiece at the 12:54 mark of the opening frame, scoring the first power play goal of the series for Providence. This was Tufte’s third goal in these playoffs, which was assisted by forward Fabian Lysell and defenseman Frederic Brunet. Charlotte would finish the first period leading 2-1 with the go-ahead power play goal going to Checkers forward Rasmus Asplund, who scored his first of the postseason at the 15:04 mark.
In the second period at the 7:42 mark, the Bruins would strike again to tie the game at two apiece as Riley Tufte scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the playoffs. The helpers on Tufte’s fourth went to Frederic Brunet, who notched his first career multi-point playoff game, and forward Oliver Wahlstrom, who earned his third point in five postseason games this year.
Moving to the third period, Providence would finish the scoring in this game at the 4:44 mark of the final frame when Bruins forward Tyler Pitlick scored his first goal of these playoffs. The assists on Pitlick’s goal went to forward Jeffery Viel and Vinni Lettieri, closing the scoring in this game and giving the visiting Providence club the 3-2 road victory.
Bruins goaltender Michael DiPietro got the start last night as he has for the complete duration of this postseason for Providence. The 25-year-old netminder put together another stellar effort as the last line of defense for the B’s, stopping 38 of 40 Checkers shots for his third victory in these Calder Cup Playoffs in six games played.
This victory last night on the road was a resilient effort from the group that had their backs against the wall in this best-of-five series and avoided elimination at the hands of the Charlotte team in front of their home crowd faithful. Forward Riley Tufte was the game’s first star with his two-goal effort and second multi-point game of this postseason. Tufte leads all Providence Bruins players in scoring in these playoffs, posting 4-2-6 numbers in six games played.
The next game for the Bruins and Checkers teams is set for Friday night, May 9th, 2025, at the Bojangles Coliseum as both Atlantic Division clubs prepare for game four of the series. If Providence happens to pull off a road victory in game four and tie this series up at two apiece, the final game of this second-round series will be on Sunday afternoon, May 11th, with puck drop set for 3 pm.
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