With a win on Sunday, the Providence Bruins have slid in into second place in the Atlantic Division. Despite losses to the Norfolk Admirals and Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the overtime victory over St. John’s solidified their place.

The line up is still missing part of their top end group in Maxime Sauve, Trent Whitfield and Jamie Tardif so line combinations have had to be switched up.

“We’re just trying to find some pieces that complement one another,” Cassidy said of the line of Lane MacDermid, Carter Camper and Zach Hamill. “We kind of want big bodies with them. We don’t have a lot of big bodies so we’re kind of limited.”

In Friday’s game, the Admirals opened the scoring at the 4:30 mark when Carter Ashton got a puck past Anton Khudobin. Khudobin turned to look for the puck but all he saw was it going into the net. Trevor Smith extended the lead with only 33 seconds to go in the period when he scored on a 2-on-1 putting Providence down 2-0 heading into the first intermission.

Dana Tyrell made 3-0 at just 2:49 of the middle frame. The Bruins continued to struggle as the period went on, only recording two shots through 10 minutes of play. It was not until 17:21 that the Bruins would break the shut out when Craig Cunningham scored the first goal of his pro career. Kirk MacDonald and Matt Bartkowski got the helpers.

Zach McKelvie and Carter Ashton exchanged punches early in the final period. Both were assessed with fighting majors and McKelvie got an extra two minutes for roughing that left Providence down a man. After creating offense during the previous penalty kills, this proved to be the best one when Stefan Chaput deflected a shot from Kevan Miller at 4:05 to make it a one-goal game.

It was the second period that turned things around for the Bruins as the ice was almost tilted in favor of the Admirals in the first period but they were the better team on the ice all night, winning most of the small battles.

“You can draw up all the Xs and Os you want,” Cassidy said, “If you win the share of the battles, that team will generally get better chances.”

That would be as far as the Bruins could come back however as just three minutes later Norfolk found the back of the net to make it 4-2. Khudobin made 37 saves in the loss to end a five game point streak for the team.

All the help from the young players is something that is important but as this point, Coach Cassidy is now looking for some of the more experience played to start producing.

“We sit here and talk about our inexperience but we’ve also got a lot of guys in the lineup that have been in the league that haven’t found their offensive game yet, he said Friday, “Seems like every night someone’s got their first professional goal.”

Back in action Saturday night, Providence fell 3-2 to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Michael Hutchinson made 25 saves in the start, his first since returning from injury. Chaput scored his second goal in as many games at 17:21 when he redirected a shot from Zach Hamill at the right point. Lane MacDermid had the secondary assist.

The game was tied after two periods after a goal form Justin DiBenedetto of the Sound Tigers. His teammate Casey Cizikas extended the lead for Bridgeport at 8:09 of the third period but Providence answered with a goal from Hamill at 12:02. Cizikas would score again to make 3-2 which would be the final score.

Only 3 penalties were called in the entire game; the Bruins went 0-for-2 on the power play but were 1-for-1 on the kill.

Sunday’s opening night rematch against the St. John’s IceCaps put Providence back in the win column when they came out on top 4-3 in overtime.

The first period was scoreless but both teams netted a pair in the second period to make it 2-2 heading into the final frame. Carter Camper notched the first goal then Chaput continued on his scoring streak with the second.

Kyle MacKinnon regained the lead for the Bruins just over 4 minutes into the final period but St. John’s answered at 11:44 where the score would stay tied until overtime. Overtime did not last long as Andrew Bodnarchuk got a puck past David Aebischer (30 saves) just 18 seconds in to give Providence the win.

The Providence Bruins take on their division rivals the Manchester Monarchs back-to-back this weekend on Friday and Saturday before they play Norfolk again on Sunday.

A day after the snowfall and power outages in Pennsylvania delayed their game, the Reading Royals were unable to continue where they left off Friday night as they were blanked, 2-0, by the Gwinnett Gladiators Sunday. The loss put a damper on the pre-game ceremony which featured head coach Larry Courville's jersey number being retired.

It was a duel between both goaltenders. Joe Palmer put on his best performance of the season, but Gwinnett's Jeff Jakaitis was better as he stopped all 33 shots.

"I thought [Palmer] played very well, especially in the third period," Courville said. "He made some quality saves for us to kind of keep us in."

The Royals themselves put forth a strong effort in the loss. Courville said he thought it was the best game to date for the team.

The Royals came out of the gate with a good first period, but Gwinnett was able to get on the board with two minutes left in the period. Reading was unable to clear the zone and a harmless shot wide somehow found its way to Nikita Kashirsky's stick and was tipped-in past Palmer for a late 1-0 lead.

The league's third best power play unit lost its luster as they went 0-for-4 in the game. After a failed attempt on the third opportunity in the third period, Corey Fienhage exited the penalty box and sprung Andy Brandt on a breakaway. He fired a shot that beat Palmer low and gave the Gladiators a 2-0 lead with 3:58 left in the game.

With the Royals on their fourth power play and Palmer pulled for an extra attacker, Marvin Degon seemed to have scored a goal, but the referee waived it off, claiming Matt Schepke ran into Jakaitis.

Bad bounces and Jakaitis not allowing second chances kept the Royals off the scoreboard.

"We're still getting the opportunities, just not scoring," Casey Haines said. "Ryan [Cruthers] hit the crossbar there, I hit the post there, [Chad] Painchaud hit the crossbar there at the end, a goal that should have been allowed got disallowed...We just need to work hard and that's how you get the bounces in hockey."

The Royals look towards changing the season around on their upcoming five-game road trip.

"You have 23 guys for five days – it can be a bit much – but that's how you get to know each other and gel as a team and hopefully something good will come out of it, like two points each game." Haines said.

COURVILLE'S NUMBER RETIRED
A special pre-game ceremony was held in honor of Courville. He was recognized by the Royals by having his No. 22 retired.

He spent parts of five seasons playing with the Royals starting in 2001-02. He became an assistant coach with the team in 2008-09 and became head coach part way through the same season.

"It was definitely an honor," Courville said. "I was very happy and it was nice to be recognized by this organization for all the years that I've been here."

INJURY UPDATE
Matt Caruana was injured in Friday night's game against the Trenton Titans. He has been placed on three-day injured reserve.

According to Courville, Karel St. Laurent has a "slight injury." He has been checked out by doctors and will have pictures taken tomorrow.

It was safe to say the Reading Royals got off to a far better start than their last game, but the outcome was still the same. They lost Thursday night, 4-1, to the South Carolina Stingrays in Karel St. Laurent's first appearance in net for the Royals.

"All-in-all, I didn't think we played all that bad of a game," coach Larry Courville said. "We kept them under 25 shots...I thought we competed, but the mistakes that we made cost us."



After a scoreless first, the Royals needed only took 37 seconds into the second period to strike. Rob Kwiet's shot from the blue line off a faceoff win by Casey Haines was deflected before sneaking between South Carolina's Philipp Grubauer. Haines was credited with the goal.

South Carolina was able to rebound from the goal as Danick Paquette was able to tie the game on a second effort with St. Laurent down on the ice. Paquette attempted to stuff the puck past St. Laurent, but the rebound came right back to him.

The Stingrays took the lead late in the second period, which would end up being the game winner, as Trent Campbell passed the puck to David de Kastrozza who shot it into an empty net with just 56.8 seconds remaining. They took a 2-1 lead into the intermission and never looked back.

Despite having the second best power play in the ECHL, the Royals were unable to score on their three chances in the game. The Stingrays, however, were able to convert on one of their four chances.

With Matt Caruana in the box for the third time in the game, the Stingrays made the Royals pay. Zach Tarkir fed the puck from behind the net to a waiting Jerry Pollastrone all alone at the top of the crease. He buried it above St. Laurent's shoulder for a 3-1 Stingrays lead 6:02 into the third period.

Paquette added another insurance goal for South Carolina on a similar play. He scored his second of the night top shelf on St. Laurent off a feed from Anthony Maiani with 5:55 left in the game. The Royals lost their second straight game and are now 2-2-1-0.

"Before we were cheating, but I don't think we cheated at all tonight," Courville said. "We made some mistakes that cost us, so I think we're hopefully going in the right direction. We just got to get more pucks to the net, more traffic to the net."

* * *

Ryan Button, the Boston Bruins' third-round draft pick from 2009, suited up for the Royals. He was sent to the team from the Providence Bruins Wednesday. Courville had him in the starting line-up and he even saw time on the penalty kill.

"I thought for his first game, he played pretty well since he didn't know much of our systems," Courville said. "I thought he was one of our better defensemen out there tonight. He competes, he plays physical [and] he can move the puck well."

Button said the illness he had kept him off the ice for two and a half weeks and Thursday night was his first game in three weeks.

"[It] was a little difficult to get into it, but I thought as the game went along I got a little more accustomed to it," Button said. "For only being down here for a day, I feel comfortable, which is a credit to this team and this organization."

Reading fans shouldn't get too attached though, as Button said he is only here for the weekend.

"The team is playing well up in Providence, and that's a credit to them," Button said. "They're not going to change the line-up so they decided to send me down to get some games and I'll hopefully be right back up."

The first match up of the season with Northeast rival Montreal left the Bruins with another sour taste in their mouths and again lacking 2 points in the standings.  While they were able to out play the Habs physically for most of the contest and dictate play, they were unable to convert more chances in this one and come away with the W.  Give credit to Tim Thomas for his play tonight as he performed excellently.  Give more credit though to his counterpart from Montreal who was the difference maker in this one with 34 saves.

It's hard to say what the Bruins didn't do other than convert in this one- the physical play was there, the pressure down low, the speed up the middle and the work on the boards.  If there was one aspect to point to it would be the dismal power play efforts.  Outside of the fluke goal by Bergeron to start their 2nd power play, the B's extra man effort was disappointing.  Montreal was able to force the dump in at the blue line in most instances and then win races and battles for the puck.  A 3 man puck pressure attack with the extra hanging out on top of the crease defending warded off the Bruins hope of pushing themselves ahead in this contest.  

If this team is going to succeed then they need to show the same effort and ability on the man advantage as they were in earlier games.  More puck movement, more skating, more creativity.  They seemed too focused on maintaining a net front presence against Price which isn't a bad strategy except when it hinders your ability to keep a flow going.  If you can credit the B's with anything specifically wrong in planning for this one it may be that they overplanned for this one.


Highlights of the night:
-Brad Marchand showed that he's not going to back down to anyone and will do what it takes to lead this team.  From being a question mark on a Bruins roster ever  at the start of last season to the first line 2 way wing he's become, the progression of Marchand's game has been impressive and enjoyed by Bruins fans.

-Shawn Thornton and Benoit Pouliot both deserve recognition in this one.  When the team was at it's lowest both stepped on the ice with the aim of bringing them back and raising the energy.  Thornton's skating possessed and hitting of Subban gave life to the crowd and the team and helped turn the flow of the game after Montreal goals.  This could have been a much uglier affair without their effort on the ice.

Lowlights: 
-David Krejci was rough to watch tonight.  It seems as though he's not comfortable on the ice yet after coming back from injury.  His play at this point is hesitant, it's a bit lost and is hurting his line.  A number of shifts by his line lead to extended stays in the Bruins own end as moving the puck forward appeared to be impossible.  What he needs in order to get back to his puck possession, offensive, matrix like self is uncertain.  It is certain though that this team is hurting without him being a factor on every shift.

Friday 5 Questions:
-What does Julien need to do in order to make sure this team plays a complete game and gets the most out of all his players?

-How important is the Bergeron line really to this team? How else can the team build around that unit to succeed?

-Would anyone dare to split up Lucic and Seguin at this point in order to make Seguin a center again?

-How will this Bruins team respond Saturday night as the home and home heads to Montreal?

-Finally, would you be willing to make a call up from Providence to shake things up and try to make a difference or build chemistry?

Take all the questions that came pregame and throw them out the window.  The rivalry is alive and thriving and this 2nd period showed it.  

The highlight of the fiasco: PK Subban throwing down in his first fight in Boston against none other than Brad Marchand.  The fight took 3 attempts to actually happen as refs interrupted it with "holding" calls and "delay of games".  When it did happen though both proved it was worth the waiting.  Coming directly out of the box to square off both took the helmets off, loosened up and went for it.  Subbans first swing put him almost on the ice and then the two engaged.  While Subban may have gotten more shots in, his inability to handle the much smaller Marchand made the Garden explode.  

So while the energy of the second did favor the Bruins, the scoreboard did shift slightly back into tie game as a a point shot, a tip and a screen lead to the puck finding it's way behind Thomas on Erik Cole's 2nd of the year.  Even though the score ended at 1-1, the chances of the period were plentiful.  A breakaway by Cole almost gave him 2 in the period but a pad stacking Tim Thomas was there with the save of the year.  At the other end, the Bruins continued with the shoot and pressure down low with Milan Lucic setting up for what could be called #OccupyCarey.  
The 3rd will be a battle.  Both teams will pressure down low and go for the hardworking goals that are needed to beat either of these goalies.  Look for both to be willing to spread the ice when the chance apears though.  It's going to come down to who wants it more.

Old friends and a new season.  While there were enough compelling stories heading into tonight's game, the question still remained; would the drama from last year carry over into this new season?  Would PK Subban renew his hate affair with Bruins fans and closer to his heart, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton?  Would Pouliot come out and show his old team that it was a mistake to let him go this off season?  Which goalie would lead their team and set the tone for the series, the Northeast and potentially the league? Oh and would there be any additional drama from that little thing that happened between Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty (our sources say that just in case something did happen, 911 doubled their call center capacities for the evening).

With that series of questions we went into the first and from it we found a few answers: No there wouldn't be immediate drama between Chara and Pacioretty.  Yes the fans in Boston would still bring their dislike for Subban to the Garden and more importantly, so would Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton.  Pouliot would come out looking to deliver against his old teams (along side past fight night dance partner David Krejci) but the question is still out on if he will deliver.  And the battle between Thomas and Price while intense and showcasing a high level of talent (especially from Price who saw the majority of the pressure in the period) did leave Thomas ahead as the 1 - 0 lead the Bruins obtained could only be put at the feat of the Montreal goaltender.

The only goal of the period came from the Bruins to start their 2nd of 3 power plays of the 1st.  On a fluke play, Patrice Bergeron lost a draw to Plekanec while breaking his stick.  He did manage to deflect it slightly though and as the draw came directly at Price, Carey was unable to sweep it away properly and the puck slide between his legs, off his skate and in the net.  Compared to the chances put on him during the period, the goal was shocking.  After fending off the Bruins down low for fourteen minutes, the one goal that snuck through was a routine play.  Coaches put this one in your back pocket as it exemplifies why you always put the puck on net.

At the other end of the ice Montreal was able to create a few opportunities.  Their ability to get onto the rush, create space and find opportunities was apparent.  If not for alert wings and defensemen down low the outcome of the period could have been much different.  While Thomas played well, the odd angle of plays left room for Montreal to potentially put one in three times.

Going into the second expect Montreal to come out and attempt to take over play.  Higher risk, higher reward plays as well as more effort in attempting to draw calls.  From Boston there will be more of the same from the first; pressure, hitting and work down low.

Stat of the period: with Bergeron's power play goal the Bruins are now 5 for 34 on the power play this season (14.7%)

The Providence Bruins grabbed five out of a possible six points this weekend and hope to carry that momentum into next weekend’s gaggle of games.

Friday nights bout against divisional rivals the Worcester Sharks was the Bruins’ second straight shootout win.  The Sharks have never been behind in a game prior and that night was no exception as the Bruins had to battle from behind the entire game.  The Sharks got two goals past Anton Khudobin in the opening period to give them a comfortable lead. Providence’s players were pretty rattled by going down so quick with two back-to-back heated fights with Tyler Randell and Curt Gogol dropping the gloves before Brandon Mashinter and Lane MacDermid exchanged punches following the next face off.

Providence got on the board 6:14 into the middle frame when MacDermid buried a rebound from Kirk MacDonald.  That was the only goal that period but the pace of the game changed from there. Worcester scored merely 28 seconds into the third period but Providence bounced back when Calle Ridderwall got his first professional goal at 1:46. The home team was within a goal once again and kept going hard up until the final 30 seconds of play when Jamie Tardif hit the back of the net to tie the game. Neither team could finish it off in overtime and it went to a shootout where rookie Carter Camper got the winning goal in the 5^th round of the shootout. Khudobin made 40 saves in the victory.

“It was a huge win,” Camper said, “We came back and battled. It was a big character win for us.”

Being in the win column certainly upped the morale in the locker room and the players were proud of their play.

“Nobody wants to start off with three losses, everybody wanted to turn it around as soon as possible and the fact that we’ve done this now shows a lot about our team,” Ridderwall said Friday.

Following Friday’s win, head coach Bruce Cassidy said the team will take a win anyway they can get them and the weekend prior was very important.

“We needed something good to happen,” he said, “I’m kind of glad we got away from the Dunk because we were not playing up to expectations for the fans or for ourselves. Getting away for a bit and not having to impress anybody was good for us.”

Rookie goaltender Karel St. Laurent got his first professional start and stopped 37 shots in Saturday night’s 4-3 win over the Portland Pirates up in Maine.

The first period was scoreless but the second period went back and forth in goals. Providence struck first when Stefan Chaput got his first of the season at 2:14 but Portland answered shortly after at 6:16. Jamie Arniel put the Bruins ahead just 40 seconds after the Pirates tied it up and held on until the final two minutes of play when the game got tied up again.

Ridderwall got his second goal in as many games to put the Bruins in the lead again at 6:21. The hero from Friday night Camper got his first official goal of the season in the form of the game winner for a second night in a row on the power play to solidify the win for the Bruins.

Sunday the Bruins continued on their point streak when they were defeated 3-2 in overtime by the Albany Devils.  Zach Hamill notched both goals for Providence and Khudobin made 35 saves in the loss.

Friday coach Cassidy made sure to note the team he stands behind on the bench is very young and inexpereienced. Both Ridderwall and Camper recognized it too following the game.

“When you’re a rookie and you’re new like this, you’ve got to be an energy guy,” Ridderwall said, “Basically, you try not to get too fancy.”

Rookie Camper is already providing heroics early in the season and he too recognizes the youth of the team. “We are a young team this year and we have to rely on the younger guys a bit,” he said Friday, “Hopefully soon the young guys can contribute on a nightly basis.”

Providence had two important players return to the line up this weekend that impacted the play on the ice. Matt Bartkowski returned in time for Friday night’s bout and he contributed more than just the assist on the game tying goal in the third period.

Cassidy was glad to have Bartkowski back for his experience in the league and to alleviate some stress and minutes off the younger players. “That’s where it becomes important,” Cassidy said, “Not only having him in the lineup but then allowing him to move some other guys around to play around in situations where they can have success in instead of having to play up where maybe they’re overmatched.”

Jordan Caron returned to the lineup for only Sunday’s game and has since been recalled back to play in Boston.

The lineup was shaken up again on Thursday when St. Laurent was assigned to the Bruins’ ECHL affiliate the Reading Royals and Yannick Riendeau was recalled from the Royals.

Riendeau was assigned to Reading on October 11^th after playing in one game for Providence. He has since appeared in four games with the Royals notching a goal and an assist.

St. Laurent had one career start with Providence where he earned the win and played as relief for Khudobin in a game against the Manchester Monarchs.

Though nothing is official, Ryan Button has been sent to Providence as well according to his Twitter account. He has been a scratch as of recently due to illness but played in 9 games this season where he registered no points.

The Bruins return to the ice Friday night at the Dunk against the Norfolk Admirals before traveling to Bridgeport to take on the Sound Tigers Saturday night. Sunday afternoon Providence will match up against the St. John’s IceCaps for the second time this season; they lost in their first game against the new team 4-1 on opening night.

The Bruins' 2009 3rd round pick, defenseman Ryan Button, is headed to Reading of the ECHL today, according to his twitter account. Button has appeared in nine professional hockey games between last year and this year. This season, he has registered 0-0=0 totals and 2 PIMs, and was a -1 through two games.

The Reading Royals return to action in their second weekend of play on Thursday night against the South Carolina Stingrays. It's very possible that recent sickness, which kept Button off the ice, may play a factor in this reassignment; strong performance in the ECHL should see Button back in Providence fairly soon.

 

Midwest Division

Peoria Rivermen (STL)
The Rivermen took 5 out of 6 points this weekend and improved their record to 2-3-1-1.

Friday night, the Rivermen got their first win of the season in their 5-0 win over the San Antonio Rampage. Goalie Ben Bishop made 28 saves, while Jonathan Cheechoo scored twice, while Jay Bariball recorded his first professional goal. Brett Sterling tallied three points, one goal and two assists. TJ Hensick rounded out the scoring with his own goal. Peoria’s PP was 4-for-6, while the PK was 9-for-9.

Saturday, the Rivs took on the Texas Stars, losing 6-5 in overtime despite Phil McRae scoring his first professional hat trick. Mark Cundari and Derek Nesbitt each scored their first goals of the year. In the first, Peoria scored four goals on just 16 shots. Dan Spang gave Texas the lead a little more than half way through the second and starting goalie Jake Allen was pulled in favor of Bishop. Sterling took a high sticking penalty early on in overtime, which gave Matt Fraser the opportunity to score the game winning goal on the powerplay. Following the goal, a scrum took place at center ice. Stefan Della Rovere was assessed a match penalty and game misconduct, leaving him suspended until further review from the league.

Back in Peoria for the final of their 3-in-3 series, the Rivermen took on the Chicago Wolves and earned a 5-2 victory. Hensick tallied two goals, while Cheechoo, Adam Cracknell and Anthony Nigro had one each. While the Rivermen were 0-for-2 on the powerplay this game, they were a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. Bishop made 29 saves to earn the win.
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The Boston Bruins assigned Jordan Caron to Providence in time for Sunday's game against the Lowell Albany Devils, where he was reunited with former linemate Zach Hamill. The pair connected for a goal, and though it wasn't enough for the P-Bruins to take out a win in OT, the quick reignition of chemistry between the two was promising for P-Bruins fans hoping to see a winning record this year The line of Hamill centering Caron and veteran Jeremy Reich was potent at times last season.

Caron and Hamill skate against Binghamton last year at the Dunk.

But Caron's tenure in Providence this year, as well as his opportunities to build a rapport with his teammates, might be limited if he continues this week's course: Caron was called up after Sunday night's game in order to practice with the team in Wilmington on Monday.

No word on whether Caron will be reassigned for next weekend's games, but barring injury, with Benoit Pouliot seemingly having locked up a spot on the Boston Bruins roster, it might be for the best for Caron to simmer in Providence and see actual ice time rather than sitting in the press box gathering dust in Boston.