Patrick WilliamsFeatures Writer for TheAHL.com
Already the winner of the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL regular season champion, the Providence Bruins have a chance to make history tonight.
The Bruins’ 54 wins are a league record for a 72-game season. But with 55 wins tonight at home against Utica (7 ET, 
), the B’s would finish with the best regular season record in the 90-year history of the AHL.
The streak — a .775 hitting percentage by the 57-13-10 Binghamton Rangers in 1992-93 — has stood for 33 years. The head coach Ryan Mougenel he said he has not discussed this record with his players. However, you really see its value.
“It’s an amazing thing that the players in this league have done,” said Mougenel, coming off the ice following Friday’s morning skate in Utica. “But we’re just playing and enjoying the moment.”
They will be facing a stubborn opponent who is fighting for his own playoff life. A 7-1-1-1 streak since March 25, including a 4-1 win over the Bruins in Friday’s opener of a home-and-home series, has the Comets in the North Division race. Utica needs to beat Providence while Rochester loses its final two games in regulation to pull off a surprise finish and contend for the fifth and final postseason berth in the North Division.
Mougenel did not wear the captain Patrick Brownall-AHL goaltender Michael DiPietroforward Riley Tufte again John Farinaccior defenders Michael Callahan, Victor Söderström again Christian Wolanin Friday night. Lukas Reichel he always misses Boston.
If anyone got a breather, it’s DiPietro. Voted a First Team AHL All-Star for the second straight year, DiPietro leads the AHL in wins, goals against average and save percentage while ranking fifth in minutes played. He’s also a big reason Providence is second in the league in goals allowed and fourth in penalty kills.
“It’s no secret why we won games that we shouldn’t have won,” said Mougenel. “Michael.”
This is the fourth time Providence has won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy (1998-99, 2007-08, 2012-2013). It is also the team’s fourth title in the last seven seasons. They’ve only lost back-to-back games twice all season, a remarkable achievement in a league where injuries, recalls, and games come at a team quickly – especially a top-flight team targeted by everyone who’s up against the schedule and ready to play.
Speaking of his leadership team, led by Brown who received the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award, Mougenel said, “They right the ship whenever you go the wrong way.”
Regular season success is nice, but the Bruins are hungry for more. They have won just one playoff series in the past eight years, a first-round victory over Springfield in 2025. And while they have appeared in the conference finals five times (2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2017), Providence has not reached the Calder Cup Finals since their championship season of 1998-99.
That team, led by a rookie coach Peter Lavioletteit was one of the best teams in league history; after going 19-54-7 the previous season, the 1998-99 P-Bruins won 56 games to improve by 70 points and went 15-4 in the playoffs to win the city’s first Calder Cup since 1956.
The 1992-93 Rangers are a cautionary tale. They posted 57 wins, a league record 124 points, and were led by the league MVP. Don BiggsAHL rookie and goaltender of the year Corey Hirschand a pair of Russian rookie phenoms in Sergei Zubov again Alexei Kovalev. But the Rangers barely survived a shock in Baltimore before losing to Rochester in the second round of the playoffs.
When the regular season ends this weekend, it’s all over again. Providence will have a first-round bye before jumping into play to face Bridgeport, Hershey or Springfield in the semifinals.
But first they can topple one of the AHL’s most important records.
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.
