By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
The Providence Bruins headed to Connecticut’s capital, riding a three-game winning streak, ahead of their matchup against the Hartford Wolf Pack at PeoplesBank Arena. On Feb. 22, Hartford defeated Providence 5-2 at Amica Mutual Pavilion, which was Providence’s second consecutive loss after winning 13 consecutive games.
Eager to avenge that loss, Providence would do just that by defeating Hartford 3-2 to improve to 42-10-1-0 overall on the season. In the beginning, Providence had no momentum, but rallied back for another win.
First period
The first period was Hartford-dominant. Trey Fix-Wolansky scored 2:38 into the period to give Hartford a 1-0 lead. Fix-Wolansky’s goal was one of 11 shots on goal that Hartford had offensively to Providence’s six.
Hartford led 1-0 over Providence heading into the first intermission.
Second period
Hartford’s offense remained hot in the second period and recorded 18 shots on goal for the period. Derrick Pouliot scored a powerplay goal 6:36 into the period to extend Hartford’s lead to 2-0. Even with trailing 2-0, Michael DiPietro’s goaltending kept Providence in the game, and the team’s offense finally woke up.
Fredric Brunet scored on a slapshot to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 7:28 remaining in the period. Brunet’s goal was a controversial one after Hartford thought goaltender interference could have waived off the goal, but the goal stood. Just 1:28 after Brunet’s goal, Providence’s offense kept the momentum going.
Riley Tufte scored his team-leading 23rd goal of the season for Providence on a powerplay to tie the game at two. Trailing 2-0 and having no momentum, to then score two goals in a span of 1:28 to tie the game with six minutes remaining in the period was pivotal for Providence to have confidence heading into the second intermission.
Providence and Hartford were tied at two after the second period, and a big third period awaited.
Third period
The majority of the third period was a stalemate, with both teams having quality scoring chances. DiPietro went toe-to-toe against Wolf Pack goaltender Dylan Gerand. Overtime seemed like it was on the horizon late in the third period, but Matthew Poitras had other ideas.
With 1:49 remaining in regulation, Poitras scored to put Providence up 3-2, for the team’s first lead of the game. Four seconds after Poitras’ goal, Providence got a powerplay opportunity, which hurt Hartford’s chances of scoring a goal to tie the game with Gerand pulled. Providence would hold on to win the game 3-2 to extend its winning streak to four games.
DiPietro’s 39 saves helped him earn his 25th win of the season.
Another back-to-back this weekend
After two days off, Providence will return to action with a back-to-back this weekend. Saturday’s game will be a 5 p.m. ET puck drop against the Bridgeport Islanders at Total Mortgage Arena. Providence recently swept a back-to-back at home against Bridgeport, with both games resulting in Providence winning 3-2.
On Sunday, Providence returns home for one game to host the Hershey Bears at Amica Mutual Pavilion, with puck drop being scheduled for 5:05 p.m. ET. Providence has won two of the three meetings against Hershey this season, with Providence winning the last two games on the road.
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