BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
PROVIDENCE, RI – The Providence Bruins scored three power play goals on their way to a 6-3 win over the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Sunday. Jack Studnicka contributed a four-point effort while Aaron Ness added two goals for the Bruins.
Providence (24-14-3) slid into second place with a .614 winning percentage. The loss put the Wolf Pack (25-16-4-2) in third place with a .596 winning percentage. Their following action is Wednesday against the Belleville Senators in a rescheduled contest.
Special teams were the order of the day as the two teams traded six power play goals in the first two periods of play.
In the third period, the Pack took a penalty leading to a Bruins goal as Aaron Ness scored from Studnicka from the right-wing. For Ness, it was his first goal of the year and was the Bruins’ third power play goal of the afternoon. The goal made the score 5-3.
Ness would pot an empty-net goal at 16:55 to clinch the win.
WOLF PACK SCORE
The Wolf Pack got their first power play goal in the second period as Nils Lundkvist was in almost the same spot he was Friday when he scored. He earned his second point on a five-on-three as Tim Gettinger tallied his tenth on a beautiful re-direct of Lundqvist’s shot and sent it upstairs.
Just before the goal, Tarmo Reunanen was stopped by Troy Grosenick on a point-blank turnaround shot early in the second period. Pack starter Keith Kinkaid was beaten as Ian MacKinnon jammed it in on the right side of the Wolf Pack cage.
Studnicka was all over the ice and got his seventh goal of the season at 14:41 off an Alex Olivier-Voyer shot on the power play. Matt Filipe tipped in Tyler Lewington’s shot for his fourth goal of the season at 16:12. All totaled, it was a four-goal second and came in a game that saw rare five-on-five play.
WOLF PACK TIE THE GAME
The Wolf Pack tied it at two when Ty Ronning scored his 12th of the season very late in the first period. Brady Lyle blew a tire behind the net and looked to wind it past Anthony Bitetto. But, as his stick went over the puck, it went to Anthony Bitetto instead. He dished it off to a wide-open Ronning with three seconds left in the period.
The Bruins took a 2-1 lead as Justin Brazeau tallied his second goal of the period off a flipped-in-the-air pass by Samuel Asselin, which landed in the Wolf Pack zone behind the Pack defense. Asselin made a strong move on his eighth goal of the season, going backhand to forehand to beat Kinkaid at 13:57.
They tied the score at one goal each at 57 seconds after the Wolf Pack scored the first goal.
A wide-open Brazeau made no mistake about it as Cam Hughes made a backhanded pass after winning a one-on-one battle to keep the biscuit in the Wolf Pack end of the ice twenty seconds into a power play opportunity.
Asselin had a late shorthanded bid turned aside, and Matt Lorito was turned aside by Grosenick.
Hartford got the lead scoring the first goal on the road as Nils Lundkvist put a quality chance on the net, and Anthony Greco made a perfect tip on the power play.
LINES
Ronning-Richards-Greco
Gettinger-Brodzinski-Whalen
Ruesschoff-Lorito-Fritz
O’Leary-DiGiacinto-Khordorenko
Robertson-Lundkvist
Giuttari-Tinordi
Skinner-Bitetto
Reunanen
Kinkaid
Huska
SCRATCHES
Pajuniemi (upper-body, out since February 4th)
Luchuk (lower-body, out a minimum of three weeks)
Taylor
James Sanchez
Wall
NOTES
The two teams play their last game in April.
