PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In a high-scoring affair, the Providence Bruins emerged victorious over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 6–3 on Friday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
Providence jumped out to an early lead when forwards Zach Senyshyn and Sam Asselin applied intense pressure on the forecheck, which led to a turnover and a power-play goal from forward Matt Filipe. This lead was increased to two when forward Steven Fogarty found some open space on a power play and muscled the puck through Phantoms goaltender Kirill Ustimenko for the second P-Bruins goal of the period. This was the extent of the scoring, but the score did not tell the whole story of how much Providence dominated the period. The two teams headed back to the locker room with the P-Bruins holding a 17–6 shot advantage, and the overall scoring chances were also reflected in those totals.
Lehigh Valley had no intention of being pushed around and stormed back with a much better period. Phantom Defenseman Egor Zamula held the blue line, neutralized a P-Bruin breakout chance, and ripped a shot that tipped off of forward Garrett Wilson and past Providence netminder Jon Gillies to cut the lead in half at 2–1. Unfortunately for Lehigh Valley, this would not last very long. Nearly 90 seconds later, Senyshyn utilized his speed on the forecheck once again and forced a turnover to Fogarty, who made a touch pass back to Senyshyn, which led to a one-timer that found the back of the net and gave the P-Bruins a two-goal advantage once again.
The P-Bruins would tack on another goal later in the period when forward Jesper Froden carried the puck into the zone and made a no-look drop pass that found Senyshyn’s stick. The winger gripped it and ripped it past Ustimenko, and gave Providence a 4–1 lead. However, the Phantoms were not done as Wilson gained body position on a dump-in and fed the puck to forward Gerry Mahew, who found the netting and cut the deficit to 4–2. This score would hold for the remainder of the period. Despite facing a big deficit, the Phantoms did have a much better period, outshooting Providence 15–8.
Providence once again had a hot start to the third period as forward Jack Studnicka converted on a nice pass from forward Jakub Lauko and revitalized the three-goal lead less than a minute into the period. This lead would hold for a while before the Phantoms created positive momentum off of a goal from forward Brennan Saulnier with under eight minutes to play. That would be the extent of the scoring for the Phantom’s, and Senyshyn would complete his hat-trick later on via an empty-net goal, giving Providence a 6–3 victory.
Gillies was solid in the cage, making 31 saves off of 34 shots. The win improved the P-Bruins record to 5–4–1–1, and the team is back in action Saturday, November 12th, when they host the Hartford Wolf Pack.
