P-Bruins Top Hershey Bears in Overtime, 2-1
October 6, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Providence Bruins News Release
HERSHEY, PA.. - The Providence Bruins closed out the first weekend of 2019-20 season with a 2-1 overtime win over the Hershey Bears. Ryan Fitzgerald scored his first goal of the season in the first period and Brendan Gaunce scored the game-winning goal in overtime for Providence. Dan Vladar recorded 21 saves on 22 shots in his first start of the season.
COACH'S QUOTE
"It was a gutsy road win," said Jay Leach, head coach of the Bruins. "We love these, especially early on. They're great team builders. Those are two buildings (PPL Center & Giant Center) that are tough to play in and we were able to come out with four points. It was a heck of a weekend so we're excited.
"It was a little bit of a slow start. They were obviously very urgent at the start after losing the night before. Vladdy (Dan Vladar) bailed us out on multiple occasions and played terrific. After that we were able to find our legs, get in on the forecheck and generate some chances then Fitzy (Ryan Fitzgerald) did a nice job and capitalized. It was pretty back-and-forth after that for the last two periods. I really liked our third and I thought we were effective at five-on-five. Our penalty kill was great for us in the last five minutes of the game, as well as in overtime, and we were able to come away with two big points."
THOUGHTS FROM THE PLAYERS
Brendan Gaunce (1 goal, 1 assist)
"It's always good to contribute. I want to be a 200-foot player so I think there's more to my game that I want to show aside from scoring, but obviously scoring is big. I knew a couple guys on their team were out there for the whole power play and were pretty tired. Petro (Alex Petrovic) won a battle in the corner and put it on net and I was lucky enough to put it in.
"You're learning your systems at the start of the year and you have to really compete to win games. I think that's something we had in both games and that's great to see. This league is not an easy league to win in. You learn that over the years and it was really exciting to watch the guys compete in both games."
Alex Petrovic (1 assist, 3 shots)
"Getting two wins is huge. It's obviously hard going on the road into two tough buildings, but I thought we fought hard. It may not have been pretty, but everyone battled hard and the work ethic was there. It gives us good momentum heading into this week of practice and getting ready for next weekend."
STATS
With a goal and an assist tonight, Gaunce has recorded three points (2G, 1A) through his first two games.
Along with Fitzgerald and Petrovic, Jack Studnicka (1A) and Cameron Hughes (1A) each recorded their first points of the season.
Vladar recorded 12 saves in the first period, six in the second and three in the third for his first win of the season.
Providence went zero-for-four on the power play and seven-for-seven on the penalty kill.
NEXT GAME
The Bruins will play host to the Rochester Americans on Saturday, October 12 at Dunkin' Donuts Center. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.
American Hockey League Stories from October 6, 2019
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