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With playoff races heating up, both Providence and Atlanta are in dire need of points down the stretch. For Providence, it’s more about securing home ice in the first round while Atlanta simply needs to get into postseason contention using its games in hand.
Providence Bruins
It was a disappointing weekend against last-place Bridgeport. Providence dropped the road leg of the home-and-home series on Friday, 4-2, in part to a three-goal first period from the Sound Tigers.
Local product Bobo Carpenter and former Bruins camp invitee Mason Jobst each had two-point nights while Chris Gibson made 44 saves. Jack Studnicka and Brendan Woods tallied goals for Providence.
On Sunday, Providence fell in overtime to Bridgeport, 2-1. Josh Ho-Sang had two points for the Sound Tigers, both assists, while it was Grant Hutton netting the winner 3:50 into overtime.
Player of the Week: Dan Vladar & Brendan Woods – Vladar relieved Max Lagace after one period on Saturday and stopped 39 of 41 shots he faced on the weekend. As for Woods, he tallied points in both games, the lone P-Bruins’ forward to do so.
UP NEXT: With a long weekend for Presidents’ Day, Providence gets to stay at home in the midst of a six-game homestand. On Friday, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton comes to town for a 7 p.m. faceoff. That’s followed by a pair of 3 p.m. puck drops against Laval on Sunday and Bridgeport on Monday.
In terms of playoff contention, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is one-point back of fourth-place Providence and Laval, in the opposite division, is four points out of a Wild Card spot.
Atlanta Gladiators
With a northeast road trip on the schedule for the ECHL club, another split was in order. Defensively, Atlanta has allowed 20 goals over its past three games following a shutout win over Norfolk over a week ago.
First up, a 7-2 drubbing at Reading on Friday night. Atlanta trailed 7-0 late in the third before a pair of consolation goals got the Gladiators on the board. On Saturday night in Worcester, Atlanta led 4-3 before the Railers equalized with 13 seconds left to play. But 5:21 into overtime (they play seven minutes in the ECHL), Cody Corbett won it for Atlanta, 5-4.
Player of the Week: Logan Nelson – A pair of two-point performances amassed two goals and two assists on the weekend for Nelson. He also totaled five shots on goal and a plus-1 cumulative rating for the weekend.
UP NEXT: It’s back to business for Atlanta with four divisional games over the next week, including three against the Florida Everblades. They’ll host Florida at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday for Education Day before heading down to Estero for a pair on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m.). Atlanta wraps up the weekend with a 3 p.m. faceoff on Sunday at Orlando.