SHARKS ATTACK IN PROVIDENCE

Captain Reich Scores Lone Goal for Providence in 4-1 Loss

Providence, RI - The Providence Bruins were defeated by the Worcester Sharks 4-1 on Friday evening at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The P-Bruins' only goal came from Jeremy Reich midway through the third period. 

Providence came out of the locker room flying and played the opening minutes with high energy. However, Worcester answered any opportunity that the P-Bruins had, picking off Providence break out passes and stalling several offensive efforts. Worcester got on the board first at the 11:16 mark when a Jonathan Cheechoo shot took a lucky bounce over a sprawled out Michael Hutchinson. Former P-Bruin T.J. Trevelyan and Tommy Wingels assisted on the play. Nick Petrecki picked up his third goal of the season just over two minutes later when his wrist shot from the right circle blanked Hutchinson to put Worcester up by two. Andrew Desjardins and Sean Sullivan picked up the helpers. The P-Bruins were able to pick up the momentum and started to challenge Alex Stalock. A late rush by defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk, who dished it off to Nathan McIver for a shot wide from the point, almost put the P-Bruins on the board, but the Sharks were able to keep the deficit at 2-0 going into the second period.

Worcester's two unanswered goals in the first lit a fire under Providence as the team dominated the second period from the opening face-off. The P-Bruins pressured the Sharks, causing the Worcester defense to makes mistakes and create turnovers. Veteran David Ling capitalized on a neutral zone turnover by the Sharks early in the period and was able to pass the puck up to a breaking Jamie Arniel, who fired a shot at Stalock from the right circle, but Providence couldn't finish on the rebound. After largely being outplayed offensively, Worcester's frustration surfaced in multiple scuffles, resulting in matching roughing penalties assessed to Jordan Knackstedt and Joe Loprieno at the 7:46 mark. Providence continued to dominate the play offensively, intercepting Worcester's break out attempts and neutral zone passes. Despite opportunities from Kirk MacDonald and Zach Hamill, Stalock managed to stonewall any Providence attempts to send the P-Bruins into the third still trailing by two.

Worcester got the scoring started early in the third period when Trevelyan stripped the puck off a Providence defender and blanked Hutchinson for an unassisted goal at the 5:20 mark. The P-Bruins' frustrations were evident as they struggled to connect in front of the net. However, Reich gave Providence a much-needed lift at the 9:36 mark when Arniel found Reich for a one-timer in the slot. Worcester answered two minutes later when Dan DaSilva beat Hutchinson up high. Desjardins picked up his second helper of the game on the play. Providence rallied with a late surge of power play opportunities, but couldn't find the back of the net. 

Hutchinson suffered the loss, blocking 15 of 19 attempts, while Stalock stopped 35 Providence shots in the win. The P-Bruins went 0-for-2 on the power play and 3-of-3 on the penalty kill. 

After a rare Saturday off, the P-Bruins get back to work on Sunday at The Dunk, playing host to the Portland Pirates for Silly Band Night at 4:05 p.m. The silly band packs are free to the first 1,000 kids age 12 and under. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the P-Bruins ticket office at (401) 273-5000 or log on to the team website at providencebruins.com. 

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