It's not often that the Providence Bruins play on a Wednesday, but judging how this one went, perhaps they should do it more often. Three timely goals from Jordan Caron, Dave Warsofsky and Trent Whitfield and an OT tally from Craig Cunningham lead Providence over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in overtime. This is no small feat, as Wilkes-Barre tends to do well against Providence; additionally, they currently sit in second place in the entire AHL, points-wise.

Josh Hennessy got things going early, dishing the puck to Jordan Caron for a tap-in in front on their first shift of the game, 48 seconds in, past University of Alabama-Huntsville product Scott Munroe. The P-Bruins' Jamie Tardif, then Jordan Caron, each took a penalty following the goal. The 5th-in-the-AHL penalty kill made short work of both man-advantages, and shortly after, Dave Warsofsky took advantage of the "vulnerable minute," putting another one in the net from the top of the slot with 3:05 remaining in the period to make it 2-1. The baby Pens answered, ruining Anton Khudobin's shutout bid about a minute later, as Colin McDonald cut to the net and made it 2-1.

Providence increased their lead back to two goals again early in the second, making it 3-1. Bobby Robins, up on an ATO from the Chicago Express, threw one to captain Trent Whitfield for the goal, at which point Munroe, who had allowed three goals on 10 Providence shots, was yanked for former Northeastern star Brad Thiessen. Thiessen wouldn't let another one by him for the rest of regulation. After some ridiculous penalty killing by both sides, including 1:44 of a 5 on 3 for the baby Pens, with defensemen Andrew Bodnarchuk and Nathan McIver in the box, the teams finished the third period with the score still 3-1.

The Penguins came out charging and answered in the third, first on a goal by defenseman Joey Mormina six minutes into the frame before Providence could even register a shot on goal. Geoff Walker tied it up shortly after, and from there it was a mad scramble of shot-blocks and missed opportunities, all the way to overtime. It was a short OT period, though, as Providence roared into the extra time frame; they pounced on a bad turnover and Craig Cunningham scored his ninth of the season, unassisted, to put the game away. Cunningham took home the game winner and the game's #1 star.

Of note, Providence has taken points in their last five games, winning four of five. They are only three points out of a playoff spot. It goes without saying, but the recent return of defenseman Nathan McIver, who was sorely missed to begin the season, is definitely helping out recently. McIver has appeared in 11 games so far this season.

The last place power play had some action this weekend to move up a spot in the rankings as the Providence Bruins extended a point streak to four games with two wins and an overtime loss this past weekend.

According to The Providence Journal Bruins Blog, Providence Bruins captain Trent Whitfield is out indefinitely with an eye injury.

Whitfield sustained the injury during the third period of Sunday's 2-0 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The forward was hit in the eye by the stick of Scott Howes late in the period and Whitfield fell to the ice. He had his gloves off holding his face and in obvious pain but play continued and there was no call on the play. After a few moments Whitfield skated off the ice and immediately headed to the dressing room.

The Providence captain had only returned to the line up less than two weeks earlier after missing the beginning of the season due to concussion.  

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.

 

Photo courtesy of Scott Slingsby

Viatcheslav Voynov is solid, aggressive, quick thinking and unselfish. Called Slava by his teammates and fans, Voynov is in his second season as a defenseman for the Monarchs. This 21-year-old was a second round pick in 2008 for the Kings organization, and he has gone above and beyond his call of duty. Last season, Voynov accrued 10 goals and 29 points in 79 games for Manchester.

This season, he leads defenders in scoring and already has 40 points and 12 goals. He almost never turns pucks over, but in crucial moments he finds the open space to attack and the intuition to score. Voynov sees the ice completely, knows where his teammates will be at all times and isn’t afraid to use his tremendous slapshot to light the lamp. His +/- score so far is 17, the highest on the team and a strong indication of his abilities as a puck-moving defenseman. Voynov also had the honor of playing in the AHL All-Star game for 2011 in Hershey and helped to lift the Eastern Conference team to an 11-8 win over the Western Conference. Though Voynov’s first language is Russian, we had a chance to talk to him with the help of a Russian translator, Glen Frieden.

Sometimes you find out a particular player went undrafted in an NHL Entry Draft and you wonder why. Carter Camper is one of those players.

The rookie forward is headed to the AHL All-Star Classic to represent the Providence Bruins and is one of 13 rookies selected.

The Providence Bruins are headed toward another weekend with three straight victories with wins against the Portland Pirates and Worcester Sharks before they face the Bridgeport Sound Tigers this afternoon.

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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.  

Photo courtesy of Scott Slingsby

There’s something to be said about a mother’s intuition. In December we talked to Colten Teubert’s Mom, Shauna Poppy, and though she said she’d love to visit Manchester again, she never knew where Colten would be playing. Sure enough, Teubert's career as a Manchester Monarch was halted yesterday when he was traded to the Oilers Organization--along with a first-round draft pick in 2011 and a conditional draft pick in 2012--for forward Dustin Penner. At only 20-years-old, Teubert is making some trades of his own: he's packing up his snowy New Hampshire condo and California dreams for a plane trip to Oklahoma City and a contract with a homeland team.

Colten had become an integral part of the Monarchs defense and a physical contributer. He was a first round pick for the Kings in 2008 and was selected 13th overall. Though he tallied 2 goals and 8 assists this season and has a shockingly hard slapshot, he is primarily a stay-at-home defenseman. He's solid in front of the net and hardly ever turns pucks over. At 6'4" and 195 pounds, he's a big body with some speed a lot of grit. Teubert isn't afraid to skate hard into the corners, commit to checks or mix it up on occasion. Like any player, there are things you'd like to see him do more of, but what he will bring to the Oiler's organization is an aggressive defensive mindset. He'll report to Oklahoma to play with the Barons in the AHL, and with the trade deadline being just a week shy of his 21st birthday, Teubert is just beginning his professional career. His future is bright, his potential enormous. While the Oilers gave up offensive consistency in Dustin Penner, they invested in guys like Colten who will help the organization develop in the next few years to come.

Though Colten is a jokester with his teammates and his family, he's serious and focused on the ice and in the locker room. There's no doubt he got the brightness of his personality and his blond hair from his mother Shauna, who is sweet, friendly and like most hockey moms, doting. Though she was once the mother of a King, she won't have to use her passport when she goes to watch Colten as an Oilers uniform in the next few years. Good luck in Oklahoma City and Edmonton, Colten. Thank you for all your hard-work in Manchester and your contributions in a Monarchs Country. We talked to both Shauna and Colten about growing up in British Columbia, making sacrifices for the game and Colten's missing teeth.