Portland, ME -- The Providence Bruins defeated the Portland Pirates 2-1 this evening at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Bobby Robins and Ryan Spooner scored for the Bruins and Niklas Svedberg made 36 saves for the win and first star honors.

Providence goaltender Svedberg set the tone early in the first period, denying the Pirates any scoring opportunity and the P-Bruins forwards provided some balance, spending much of the period in Portland's zone. As usual, Robins provided Providence with a much needed spark for the P-Bruins. However what is normally a physical punch, Robins provided a scoring punch for the Bruins at 2:08 of the first period. Christian Hanson and Torey Krug assisted on the opening goal. Robins provided his usual physical spark halfway through the frame as he exchanged shoves and pleasantries with separate Pirates players. Despite being outshot in the first frame, Providence held the Pirates off the board and went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins added an insurance goal at the 12:03 of the second period on a power play goal by Spooner, his third goal of the season and the go-ahead point in the Bruins' point race. Veteran Chris Bourque, who trails Spooner by one point in the scoring race, assisted on the goal. Providence's defense was strong as they held off five Portland power play opportunities. Going into tonight's game, the Bruins penalty kill was ranked 19th in the AHL with a 81.5% success rate.

The third period welcomed fast paced and back and forth action as both Providence and Portland were able to generate a number of quality opportunities. The P-Bruins racked up a number of scoring opportunities, but were unable to capitalize. Svedberg was solid between the pipes, but was unable to hold off Phil Lane at 9:07 as the Pirates cut the deficit to one. The Bruins held off a late Pirates surge to hold on for the 2-1 win, their second win in as many nights.

Svedberg's 36 saves earned him the win and first star honors. Mark Visentin fell short with 24 saves on 26 Providence attempts. The Bruins went 1-for-5 on the power play and was flawless on the penalty kill.