AHL Providence Bruins

Hilbert looks to make history this week

January 31, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Providence Bruins News Release


The Providence Bruins begin the week in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with their 22-18-2-6 record (52 points). The Black and Gold is four points behind the Lowell Lock Monsters, and five behind the Worcester IceCats. The Bruins will have the chance to make up ground, with six games remaining against Worcester, and five against Lowell.

The Providence power play unit surged over the past week, connecting 10 times in 23 chances over a four-game stretch (43.5%). The unit struck four times in Friday night's 7-5 win over Bridgeport, and three times in Saturday's 5-3 win at Portland. The offensive explosion propelled the Bruins to second place on the man-advantage in the AHL (48/219; 21.9%). The Bruins lead the league in power play efficiency on home ice, clicking at a 30.0% success rate (27/90).

The Bruins play three games this weekend, beginning on Friday, February 4 at 7:05 p.m., when they host the Hartford Wolf Pack. After visiting the Springfield Falcons on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m., the Black and Gold returns home to host the Worcester IceCats on Sunday, February 6 at 2:05 p.m.

Friday's game will be the second "McDonald's Family 4-Pack" night of the season. Fans will be able to purchase four tickets to the game, and will receive coupons good for four FREE McDonald's Extra Value Meals, for just $48. Additional game tickets can be ordered for only $12 each. Each additional game ticket includes a FREE McDonald's Extra Value Meal. Please note that "McDonald's Family 4-Packs" are not available on game nights or at the box office. "McDonald's Family 4-Packs" are available only by calling the Providence Bruins ticket office at (401) 273-5000 or by logging on to www.providencebruins.com. Extra Value Meal coupons can be redeemed at any participating McDonald's restaurant in Rhode Island.

There are still five more "McDonald's Family 4-Pack" nights upcoming, including this Friday.

The "Family 4-Pack" nights are listed below:

Friday, February 4 Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 p.m.
Sunday, February 20 Springfield Falcons 4:05 p.m.
Sunday, February 27 Manchester Monarchs 4:05 p.m.
Friday, March 18 Lowell Lock Monsters 7:05 p.m.
Friday, March 25 Worcester IceCats 7:05 p.m.

Left wing Andy Hilbert is poised to cement his place in Providence Bruins history this weekend. Hilbert, who turns 24 on Sunday, needs just one point to tie the late Sergei Zholtok as the all-time scoring leader in franchise history. The former University of Michigan star has 90-95-185 totals in 203 career games from 2001-05. He is already the franchise career leader in goals (90) and power play goals (32), and ranks eighth in games played (203). Hilbert who was named last week to the PlanetUSA Team at the AHL All-Star Classic for the third time in his four-year career, leads the team and is tied for fourth in AHL scoring with 26-28-54 totals in 48 games. He also leads the league with 209 shots on goal, while being tied for third in goals. Hilbert had a team season-high five-game goal streak (7) snapped on Sunday, but had an assist in the game, improving his team season-high and career-best point streak to seven games (7-4-11).

THIS WEEK
(ALL GAMES EST)

Friday, February 4 vs. Hartford, 7:05 PM, Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence
WDDZ AM 550 www.providencebruins.com
The Bruins and Wolf Pack play the eighth game of their 10-game season series...The Bruins are 3-2-0-2 in the previous meetings...LW Andy Hilbert has 5-2-7 totals in seven games against Hartford...Hartford C Dominic Moore has 3-4-7 totals against the Bruins...Moore leads the team in scoring with 12-25-37 totals...G Steve Valiquette leads the AHL with a 1.63 GAA and .938 save percentage...G Jason LaBarbera, last season's Most Valuable Player in the AHL, ranks fourth with a 2.01 GAA and with 21 wins...D Lawrence Nycholat is tied for fourth among AHL blueliners with 5-25-30 totals...The Wolf Pack have given up a league-low 98 goals...Hartford has the AHL's best penalty killing unit (89.4%)...Hartford is in second place in the Atlantic Division (32-13-1-2).

Saturday, February 5 @ Springfield, 7:05 PM, Springfield Civic Center
WDDZ AM 550 www.providencebruins.com
The Bruins and Falcons meet in the eighth game of their 10-game season series...The Bruins are 5-2-0-0 in the season series...LW Andy Hilbert (4-5-9) and C Brad Boyes (2-7-9) lead the team in scoring against Springfield...Falcons RW Shane Willis, the 1998-99 AHL Rookie of the Year, leads the team in scoring with 14-13-27 totals...C Ryan Craig leads the team with 18 goals...C Craig Darby played at Providence College from 1991-93...G Brian Eklund played at Brown University from 1998-2002...The Falcons are in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with their 14-27-2-2 record.

Sunday, February 6 vs. Worcester, 2:05 PM, Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence
WDDZ AM 550 www.providencebruins.com
The Bruins and IceCats play the fifth game of their 10-game season series...The Bruins are 0-2-1-1 in the previous four games...Worcester C Blake Evans leads the team with 12-18-30 totals...D Dennis Wideman ranks fifth among AHL rookies and is tied for sixth among defensemen with 8-21-29 totals...C Eric Boguniecki was the 2001-02 AHL's Most Valuable Player with Worcester...The IceCats rank second in the AHL with an average of just 27.1 shots against per game...Worcester is in third place in the Atlantic Division with its 26-15-3-2 record.

Providence Bruins Schedule:
Tuesday 2/1 10:30 AM – RI Sports Center, Rte. 146; No. Smithfield, RI
Wednesday 2/2 10:30 AM – RI Sports Center, Rte. 146; No. Smithfield, RI
Thursday 2/3 10:30 AM – Dunkin' Donuts Center
Friday 2/4 10:00 AM – Dunkin' Donuts Center; Game vs. Hartford, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday 2/5 Game @ Springfield, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday 2/6 10:00 AM – Dunkin' Donuts Center; Game vs. Worcester, 2:05 p.m.
Monday 2/7 OFF

Slap Shots: C Brad Boyes has points (2-3-5) in three straight games, and is tied for second in the AHL with 13 power play goals...C Keith Aucoin has points (3-5-8) in four straight...D Kevin Dallman has points (1-3-4) in three straight, and leads all Bruin blueliners with 5-19-24 totals...C Patrice Bergeron has 1-5-6 totals in his last four games...D Milan Jurcina had a four-game point streak (1-3-4) snapped on Saturday...LW Jay Henderson will play his 252nd game as a Bruin on Friday, tying former D and coach Peter Laviolette for second place in franchise history...Former Bruin D Zdenek Kutlak is the all-time leader at 257.

Bruins Radio & Media: All 80 Providence Bruins games will be broadcast on WDDZ AM-550 and on the team website, www.providencebruins.com. Corey Masse brings you the action for home games, while Adam Alper calls the action on the road. Please contact Adam Alper for all interview requests.

Tuesday, February 1 WSKO AM-790, "Providence Bruins Weekly Presented by National City Mortgage"
Scott Gordon, Pat Leahy, Joe McDonald

Thursday, February 3 WNAC Fox-64 Sports Wrap 10:45 p.m. Jayme Filipowicz

Bruins In the Community: Please contact Adam Alper for any player appearances.

Tuesday, February 1 Shaw's Supermarkets, 15 Smithfield Rd., No. Providence 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Kevin Dallman, Tomas Kurka, Cody Rudkowsky

Wednesday, February 2 Quiznos, 63 Dorrance St., Providence 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Jay Leach, Hannu Toivonen, David Gove, Martin Samuelsson

Thursday, February 3 L.G. Norse School; Norton, MA 1:00 p.m. Dan LaCouture

Thursday, February 3 Grand Wireless, Silver City Galleria; Taunton, MA 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Dan LaCouture


Tickets: Information on individual game tickets and Providence Bruins season ticket packages can be obtained by calling the Bruins ticket office at (401) 273-5000 or by logging on to the team website, www.providencebruins.com.

Check out the Providence Bruins Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 31, 2005


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