THIS WEEK IN PROVIDENCE: HEADED UPSTATE

The first place Providence Bruins (49-13-1-0) will make an upstate New York road trip this week, taking on three North Division opponents. The P-Bruins will meet the Utica Comets on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., face-off with the Syracuse Crunch on Friday at 7:05 p.m., then conclude the road trip against the Rochester Americans at 5:05 p.m. on Saturday. Providence holds a nine point lead over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the division with a game in hand. The P-Bruins also lead the Grand Rapids Griffins by two points for first place in the league standings. 

Riley Tufte netted four goals between Wednesday and Saturday’s victories last week. The forward opened the scoring in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory in Springfield, before netting a hat-trick and adding an assist in a 6-4 win over Bridgeport on Saturday. The Coon Rapids, Minnesota, native’s 31 goals (tied for second in the AHL) and 53 points are career-best numbers through 57 games this season. 

James Hagens made his professional debut on Wednesday in the 2-1 victory at Springfield, before scoring his first professional goal on the power play in the final frame of Saturday’s 6-4 win over Bridgeport. The forward then added an assist in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to Springfield. The Hauppauge, New York, native was originally selected by Boston in the first round (7th overall) of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. 

Joey Abate extended his point streak to six games with an assist in Sunday’s loss to Springfield. The forward totals eight points in that span with four goals. The Bloomingdale, Illinois, native has a career-best 12 assists and 20 points through 57 games this season, and has tied a career-high eight goals. 

Georgii Merkulov notched a goal and an assist in Saturday’s win over Bridgeport and scored a goal in Sunday’s loss to Springfield. The forward is tied for first on the team with 53 points and is second on the team with 21 goals and 32 assists. The Ryazan, Russia, native also boasts a career-best plus-13 rating. 

The Comets are led by Xavier Parent, who totals 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points this season. Brian Halonen and Angus Crookshank are also tied for the team lead with 19 tallies, while Ryan Schmelzer leads the team with 21 assists. Goaltender Jakub Málek has posted a 2.80 goals against average and a .892 save percentage through 27 games played, while Nico Daws totals 14 wins in 40 games played. 

BRUINS AND COMETS BY THE BOOK

BRUINS

Record: 49-14-1-0

Division Ranking: 1st Atlantic

GF: 217

GA: 144

PP: 20.4% (42/206)

PK: 83.9% (30/186)

Goals: Tufte (31)

Assists: Brown (33)

Points: Merkulov, Tufte (53)

GAA: DiPietro (1.95)

Save %: DiPietro (.930)

Wins: DiPietro (31)

COMETS

Record: 25-30-5-4

Division Ranking: 6th North

GF: 172

GA: 202

PP: 18.0% (38/211)

PK: 82.2% (37/208)

Goals: Crookshank, Halonen, Parent (19)

Assists: Schmelzer (21)

Points: Parent (34)

GAA: Málek (2.80)

Save %: Málek (.892)

Wins: Daws (14)

LOOKING AHEAD

• Bruins at Comets | Adirondack Bank Center | Wed. Apr. 1, 7:00 p.m. | FloHockey

• Bruins at Crunch | Upstate Medical University Arena | Fri. Apr. 3, 7:05 p.m. | FloHockey

• Bruins at Americans | Bluecross Arena | Sat. Apr. 4, 5:05 p.m. | FloHockey

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03.31.2026