P-Bruins Outlast Crunch for 51st Win of the Season
AHL Providence Bruins

P-Bruins Outlast Crunch for 51st Win of the Season

Published on April 3, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Providence Bruins News Release


Syracuse, NY - The Providence Bruins outlasted the Syracuse Crunch 4-2 for their 51st win of the season on Friday night at Upstate Medical University Arena. Defenseman Max Wanner netted the game-winning goal in the middle frame, while captain Patrick Brown scored twice. Georgii Merkulov posted two assists and goaltender Simon Zajicek stopped 24 shots to earn the victory.

How It Happened

Colin Felix flung a wrist shot from the point that hit Mutter in the slot and bounced across the goal line to give the P-Bruins a 1-0 lead 2:52 into the first period.

Matthew Pecca's redirection from the slot went past the blocker of the goaltender to tie the game at 1-1 with 13:02 to play in the first frame.

James Hagens slung the puck to Merkulov in the right circle, before he sent a cross-crease pass to Brown at the left post, where he shoved it into the back of the net for a power play goal to give Providence a 2-1 lead with 4:55 left in the first period.

Nick Abruzzese's one-timer from the low slot zipped inside the right post to tie the game at 2-2 just 1:35 into the middle frame.

Wanner received a feed at the right point, shoulder faked a defender and fired a wrist shot into the upper-left corner of the net to give the P-Bruins a 3-2 lead with 16:04 remaining in the second period. Jake Schmaltz and Billy Sweezey received the assists.

Brown hit the empty net with 43 seconds to play to make it 4-2. Merkulov and Michael Callahan were credited with the assists.

Stats

Mutter and Wanner scored their first goals as Providence Bruins.

Ryan Tattle made his AHL debut.

Brown recorded his third multi-goal game of the season.

Zajicek stopped 24 of 26 shots faced. The P-Bruins totaled 28 shots.

The power play went 1-for-2 and the penalty kill was 1-for-1.

The P-Bruins improve to 51-14-1-0. With six games remaining in the regular season, the next win will clinch the Atlantic Division regular season title.

Up Next

The Providence Bruins travel to the Rochester Americans on Saturday, April 4 at Blue Cross Arena. Puck drop is set for 5:05 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.

Check out the Providence Bruins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2026


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