The Bruins are looking to bounce back quickly after losing Game 1 | TheAHL.com
Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Enough practice, enough writing, and enough preparation.
The Calder Cup chase is now on for the Providence Bruins.
Winner of the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL regular season champion, the Bruins have been out of action since April 18, and received a rough welcome back from a 3-2 loss to Springfield in Game 1 of their Atlantic Division semifinal on Friday night.
Providence posted 54 wins — an AHL season record of 72 games — and finished 38 points ahead of the Thunderbirds in the standings. All that means nothing now.
So the Bruins went to their refuge on Saturday: the practice rink. Adaptation has always been the head coach’s forte Ryan Mougenel and his players. While the games pile up quickly and relentlessly during the regular season, the Calder Cup Playoffs offer a respite, with games on a very rare night.
“I’m talking about how important practice is at our level,” Mougenel said at the end of the regular season, adding that sometimes players must learn to practice well in order to play well.
There is every reason for the P-Bruins to believe they can win their Calder Cup since 1999. Start with everything. Michael DiPietro after all, they voted for the AHL’s best goaltender and MVP this season. Behind the bench is Mougenel, who won the Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s top coach this season. Their 27 home ice wins led the AHL. On the road, they matched the Grand Rapids Griffins with 27 more victories. The power play finished ninth overall with 20.8 percent. Punishment killing? It ranked fourth with 84.3 percent. Using points, their 3.32 goals per game ranked sixth overall. At 2.25 goals against per game, they finished second.
Their goal scorers can match any team in the AHL. Riley Tufte (32 goals), George Merkulov (24 goals), Matěj Blümel (21 goals), and captain Patrick Brown (20 goals) all scored 20 points. He was thrown into the middle Fabian Lysell again Matthew Poitrasand has a deadly top six. Their defense forces include the elite Frederick Brunet, Michael Callahan, Billy Sweezey, Victor Söderström and the 2025 Calder Cup winner Christian Wolanin.
Even before their Game 1 loss, DiPietro knew that Springfield would not have an easy game.
“We’ve had targets on our backs here for a while,” he said, “so it seems like every night we get the best of the team, and they’ve been no different. They’ve been playing us hard all year.”
Mougenel won his Pieri Award for reasons beyond the win column. His team is a very detailed team, playing with extreme order and composure. Now they have to carry that level into Game 2 tonight.
Maybe it was that long break from game action. Or a hungry opponent. Playoff jitters. Or all of the above. Whatever the combination of factors, Providence has little time to waste getting back into the series.
“Don’t ignore them,” DiPietro said of the Thunderbirds. “They will not ignore us.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
