P-Bruins' Comeback Effort Thwarted by Phantoms
Published on March 18, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Providence Bruins News Release
Allentown, PA - The Providence Bruins' comeback effort was thwarted by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as they fell 6-3 on Wednesday night at the PPL Center. Joey Abate recorded a goal and an assist, while Alexis Gendron notched two assists. Matthew Poitras and Riley Duran also found the back of the net.
How It Happened
Lane Pederson hammered a one-timer from the left circle that snuck past the diving goaltender to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead with 3:39 remaining in the first period.
David Jiricek's wrist shot from the right circle found the upper-right corner of the net for a power play goal to extend the Lehigh Valley lead to 2-0 with 13:03 to play in the second frame.
Brett Harrison received a pass above the crease and redirected it into the back of the net to give the Phantoms a 3-0 lead just 11 seconds after the previous tally.
While on a breakaway, Christian Kyrou fired a shot under the goaltender's pads to extend the Lehigh Valley lead to 4-0 with 9:58 left in the second period.
Gendron danced his way past a defender in the left circle and dished the puck to Abate cutting towards the right post, where he redirected it into the back of the net for a power play goal to cut the Phantoms' lead to 4-1 with 17 seconds remaining in the second period. Goaltender Michael DiPietro received a secondary assist.
Gendron snapped a cross-ice feed to Poitras on a 3-on-1, before he fired a shot from the bottom of the left circle off the crossbar and across the goal line to shrink the Lehigh Valley lead to 4-2 just 38 seconds into the third period. Georgii Merkulov was credited with a secondary assist.
Abate sent the puck to Jake Schmaltz in the left corner, where he slipped a pass across the crease to Duran at the right post for a redirection goal to cut the Phantoms' lead to 4-3 with 13:59 to play in the third frame.
Oskar Eklind collected the puck in the low slot and slung a wrist shot inside the left post to give Lehigh Valley a 5-3 lead with 12:14 left in the third period.
With 24 seconds to play, Anthony Richard found the empty net to make it 6-3.
Stats
Gendron's assists were his first points in a Providence uniform.
Abate posted his second multi-point game of the season.
DiPietro stopped 15 of 20 shots faced. The P-Bruins totaled 31 shots.
The power play went 1-for-4 and the penalty kill was 2-for-3.
The P-Bruins fall to 45-13-1-0.
Up Next
The Providence Bruins travel to the Utica Comets on Friday, March 20 at the Adirondack Bank Center. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Every minute of Bruins hockey can be watched online with the league's streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. AHLTV on FloHockey provides its subscribers access to not just every regular season and Calder Cup Playoff game for all 32 AHL teams, but also more than 21,000 hockey contests from other professional and junior leagues on FloHockey, as well as access to all other live event streams and replays across FloSports.
American Hockey League Stories from March 18, 2026
- Two Goals from Hanas Leads Stars Past Wolves - Texas Stars
- Wolves Swept Away by Stars 5-4 - Chicago Wolves
- Monsters Surge Late to Down Belleville 7-2 - Belleville Senators
- Penguins Open Road Trip with 5-1 Loss at Laval - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Monsters Roll Senators in 7-2 Road Victory - Cleveland Monsters
- Dylan Roobroeck Strikes Twice as Wolf Pack Down Checkers 5-2 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- P-Bruins' Comeback Effort Thwarted by Phantoms - Providence Bruins
- Checkers Drop Second Straight to Hartford - Charlotte Checkers
- Series Preview- Tucson Roadrunners at Manitoba Moose - Tucson Roadrunners
- Cole Eiserman Signs with Islanders - Bridgeport Islanders
- Barracuda Cool Firebirds, 5-1 - San Jose Barracuda
- Matthew Murray Makes 32 saves in Shutout Victory for Milwaukee - Manitoba Moose
- Reign Preview - Ontario vs. Abbotsford - Ontario Reign
- McLaughlin Signs with Phantoms - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Murray, Admirals Blank Manitoba - Milwaukee Admirals
- Griffins Recall Jacob Truscott from Toledo - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Texas Stars Sign Michigan Tech Defenseman Jack Anderson to a Tryout - Texas Stars
- Preview: Phantoms vs. Providence, Game 60 - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Gulls Rally past Colorado - San Diego Gulls
- Henderson Hogties The Wranglers, Wins 6-5 - Henderson Silver Knights
- Eagles Squander Late Lead, Fall to San Diego 6-5 in Shootout - Colorado Eagles
- Stars Silence Wolves in Nail-Biting Win - Texas Stars
- Wolves Fall to Stars 2-1 - Chicago Wolves
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
