P-Bruins Defeat Pirates 5-3
March 21, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Providence Bruins News Release
Providence, RI - The Providence Bruins reclaimed second place in the American Hockey League's Atlantic Division with a 5-3 victory over the Portland Pirates Wednesday evening at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. With the win, the P-Bruins jumped one point ahead of the Hartford Wolf Pack and now sit at 82 points (39-26-1-3), just three behind the first place Manchester Monarchs. Providence got a pair of goals from rookie David Krejci and additional tallies from forwards Petr Kalus, T.J. Trevelyan and Nate DiCasmirro.
Krejci opened up the scoring for Providence just 3:24 into the first period by trickling the puck past Portland goalie Gerald Coleman for his team-leading 26th goal of the season. DiCasmirro and Dennis Packard earned the assists, the first for each on the night. The Pirates evened the game at one with a power play score midway through the period as Matt Keith rebounded a Bjorn Melin shot attempt on Hannu Toivonen for his 12th goal of the year. Only 11 seconds later, however, Kalus gave the P-Bruins a 2-1 advantage with his 13th goal, sending a shot past Coleman's left side into a partially open net. Krejci set up the play with his second point and rookie Sean Bentivoglio also received an assist. With less than five minutes remaining in the frame, Providence took a 3-1 lead on Trevelyan's 22nd goal of the year, again dribbling the puck past Coleman, with the assists going to Mark Stuart and Packard. After the period, Coleman was pulled with eight stops on 11 shots faced.
Portland scored twice in the second period as Drew Miller and Geoff Peters lit the lamp less than three minutes apart early in the frame. Joe Motzko, Mark Hartigan, Mike Hoffman and Ryan Carter all earned assists.
The P-Bruins added a pair of their own in the final period, scoring both in the first 3:56 of the third. Krejci netted his 27th goal of the season 1:07 into the frame, poking home the rebound on a Jay Leach attempt as Stuart also picked up a helper. The goal gave Krejci his second consecutive three-point contest. DiCasmirro then put the finishing touches on with a goal from the low wing for his ninth score. Nate Thompson and Nathan Dempsey each registered assists. Both goals came against Sebastien Caron, who blocked 11 of the 13 shots he faced in relief of Coleman.
Toivonen earned the win, his ninth, with 15 saves as Providence out-shot Portland 24-18, including an 11-3 first period and 9-2 third frame.
Penalty minutes surpassed 100 between the two teams for the third time this year as the Pirates led the way with a 64-40 advantage. Providence killed three of four penalties successfully but failed to score in six power play opportunities.
The game marked the regular season finale between Providence and Portland with the P-Bruins winning the final six contests and eight of 12 overall.
The action continues on Friday with Providence hosting Manchester at 7:05 p.m. on Mark Stuart Bobblehead Night. The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive free bobbleheads courtesy of Digsafe, Washington Trust, and the Wood & Wire Fence Company. The P-Bruins travel to Massachusetts Saturday to take on the Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center at 7 p.m. and then conclude the weekend with a home game versus Hartford at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. Information on tickets and Providence Bruins season ticket packages for the 2007-08 regular season can be obtained by calling the team's ticket office at (401) 273-5000 or by logging onto the team website www.providencebruins.com.
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