By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter / X @BlackAndGold277
Last night at the Amica Mutual Pavilion, the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins set a franchise record of 13 straight wins when they beat the Belleville Senators 5-2. The top minor-pro affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins improves its home record to 19-5-0 and has won the last seven straight in front of the Ocean State faithful.
Leading the way offensively last night was Providence forward Brett Harrison, who notched goals seven and eight of the season, with his first tally in last night’s victory coming 27 seconds into the game. Forwards Riley Tufte (21st), Matej Blumel (10th), and Joey Abate (2nd) also got involved in the Friday night goal production. Forwards Georgii Merkulov, Blumel, and, of course, Harrison finished the game with two-point games.
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Providence goaltender Michael DiPietro got the start and won last night over Belleville, stopping 25 of 27 Senators shots for his 22nd victory of the season. The former Vancouver Canucks draft pick has only lost five games and is carrying a 1.65 goals-against-average and a .942 save percentage in 29 games this season. The 26-year-old netminder from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, is currently on a nine-game winning streak and, over that span, has a 1.21 GAA and a .958 save Percentage.
Bruins Head Coach Ryan Mougenel, during last night’s postgame media availability, talked about the franchise-record 13th consecutive win. “Yeah, the players must feel really good about it. I think in this league, it’s a really difficult thing to do. You know, lineups change. You know, it speaks volumes about the character of the people we have in the room. We’ve got great leadership that, you know, you can only win 13 games in a row with great leadership. You know, everybody is kind of pulling on the rope. And I thought, you know, tonight they really showed a really good team game.”
When asked about the response towards the end of the second period in a 2-2 game, and how the team grabbed the momentum. “Yeah, I think they understood that, you know, that’s a team that we were playing that’s a little bit reckless and loose. And if we play our system and have some structure, you’re going to get chances. And it’s good to see certain guys rewarded. I thought, you know, Dalton Bancroft stepping up and getting in a good fight. I thought that, you know, it showed that he put things on the line. And I think it changed the mindset of everybody.”
Mougenel offered his thoughts on how he and his staff coach these tremendous highs and when to get after his club when stepping off the gas a little. “Yeah, that’s a great question. There are teaching moments all the time, whether it’s wins and losses. I think it’s really important that we value things and keep building our team’s kind of identity and brand. And we talk about those things. It’s great that we have leaders who go out and play the right way and lead by example. So it makes my job a lot easier when we have guys who understand how to manage a game. And, you know, they they, you know, they practice well.”
Mougenel was asked about what’s been the most impressive part of this 13-game winning streak, and he responded, “I just think, like, the schedules. It’s tough. It’s hard. You know, the American League is a grind, and I think – To have that quality of play for that long, for over a month, speaks volumes of the group. I think the Bruins have done a great job of finding quality guys. We have guys who contribute in many different ways. We don’t have much firepower at times. We just have a really good team game, and it translates to wins.”
Next Up For the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins
Providence is back in action tonight for game two of three this weekend as the Bruins are on the road in Springfield, Massachusetts, to face the Springfield Thunderbirds. So far, in six games of 12 played this season, Providence leads the Thunderbirds 4-2 and has outscored the Birds 22 to 15 in Atlantic Division battles.
The last time these two teams played at the MassMutual Center was on December 31st, 2025, with the Thunderbirds getting a 4-2 victory on home ice. Springfield is second to last in the Atlantic Division with a record of 19-25-4-2 on the year and 10-9-2-1 in front of their Western Mass faithful. The Birds are 5-5-0 in their last ten games and looking to make it two wins in a row if they can get the two points tonight over the visiting Bruins.
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