By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter / X @BlackAndGold277
Last night, the Providence Bruins were on the road at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, for game one of a five-game road trip. The American Hockey League affiliate of the Boston Bruins got the trip off on the right foot, getting the 5-1 bounce-back win, and keeping pace with Atlantic Division-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Fabian Lysell put on a show, delivering two goals in the win over the Toronto Marlies, and Providence Goaltender Michael DiPietro stopped 35 shots for his eighth victory of the season.
Lately, the Providence team has been starved for offensive production, with key members and leading point-getters Matej Blumel and Riley Tufte up with Boston. Since the recalls of Blumel and Tufte, Providence has scored only three times and shut out twice in the previous three games before last night’s action. In last night’s game against the National Hockey League Toronto Maple Leafs affiliate, the message of more offense was certainly on display and executed precisely.
The offense got started last night for both teams when Bruins forward Fabian Lysell redirected a pass going top-shelf for his seventh goal of the season at the 7:03 mark of the first period. The assists on Lysell’s even-strength goal went to Georgii Merkulov, who snapped a five-game pointless streak, and Providence team Captain Patrick Brown, who notched his 12th helper of the season. Lysell, a former first-round pick in 2020, returned on this night after battling a lower-body injury that kept him on the shelf for a short period of time.
Finishing the first period at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, forward Patrick Brown would give the Providence team a 2-0 lead via a power play goal at the 12:15 mark. Brown planted himself at the top of the Toronto crease, receiving a pass in traffic to get two chances to advance the puck to the net via a rebound while getting cross-checked down low. The assists on Brown’s fourth man-advantage goal of the season went to forward Dans Locmelis, who snapped a three-game pointless streak, and defenseman Christian Wolanin, who notched his first point as a member of the Providence Bruins. Wolanin is here with the NHL B’s affiliate on a professional try-out due to the injuries the AHL B’s have had on their backend.
In the middle frame of this game vs. the Marlies, Lysell would strike again, getting back on the scoresheet with a highlight reel goal that made it on SportsCenter’s Top Ten of the night, bringing his B’s team to a 3-0 lead. The helpers on Lysell’s eighth of the season went to Wolanin, who got his second assist of the game, and in his second contest with the AHL B’s, the veteran blueliner has been so good at quarterbacking the Bruins’ power play.
In the third period, Toronto’s Captain Logan Shaw got his Marlies on the board at the 6:25 mark, scoring his fifth of the season. Providence would quickly put the game away when Bruins forward Georgii Merkulov scored his sixth of the year, giving him his fourth multi-point game of the season. Merkulov skillfully deked out the Marlies netminder, giving the B’s a 4-1 lead. The assists on Merk’s sixth went to Patrick Brown and the third assist of the night to defenseman Wolanin. With this goal, Merkulov snapped a nine-game goalless streak during which he had one assist.
Finishing off the offensive production for the Providence Bruins, forward Dans Locmelis would get his first power play goal of the season at the 15:52 mark of the final period at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. Locmelis would extend the Providence lead to 5-1 and seal the deal on the road victory as the B’s remain perfect on the road with a 6-0-0 record away from the Amica Mutual Pavilion. The assists on Locmelis’ sixth goal of the season went to Merkulov and Wolanin, who notched his fourth point of the game.
Providence starting goaltender Michael DiPietro got the bounce-back win over the Marlies after dropping his last two consecutive games when the team was involved in the previous five-game homestand before this current Canadian road trip. This was DiPietro’s eighth win of the season, with only two losses, and he now has a 1.80 goals-against-average and a .942 save percentage. DiPietro’s .942 save percentage is tied with fellow Bruins netminder Simon Zajicek. Both Providence goaltenders are certainly on their way to challenge for some prestigious netminding hardware in the near future.
Last night’s game was by far the best game I’ve seen Lysell play so far in his North American development, that is, in year four of the process. Fabian now has 14 points in 14 games this season, and in his last six games has 4-3-7 numbers. Regardless of recent lower-body injury, these numbers and play lately have been encouraging to watch from a player with an up-and-down developmental curve. With the Boston roster suffering an injury to forward Matej Blumel and the Bruins finishing their four-game road trip last night with a win over the host New York Islanders, I expect a recall soon.
Has Lysell done enough to earn this chance, or will he remain with Providence, with both sides looking for more consistency in his game, particularly on offense? It remains to be seen, but these are good signs for a player who’s looking to crack the 2025-26 NHL roster or a player looking to add value to his stock if he, in fact, is looking to be traded from the Boston organization for a better oppertunity.
The Providence Bruins are back in action after this 2025 Thanksgiving holiday on Saturday night, November 29th, with game two of this five-game road trip against the Belleville Senators. The Senators are currently in fourth place in the AHL’s North Division with a 10-8-2 record and a 3-3-1 record on home ice at the CAA arena. The Bruins will also play another game at the CAA Arena against the Senators on Sunday afternoon, with a 3 pm puck drop, before heading east to Laval, Quebec, to finish the Canadian part of this current five-game roadie.
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