Friday on the farm: Jack Studnicka steps up for Providence Bruins

The Providence Bruins continue to deal with a shortened lineup. Jack Studnicka and his teammates look to step up to lead the team.

The Providence Bruins continued the November schedule with a couple games last weekend. How did things turn out down on the farm?

Providence welcomed the Hartford Wolf Pack to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center last Friday night. The Baby B’s protected home ice with a 4-3 shootout win. I guess some Bruins can score in the shootout!

Jack Studnicka scored his fifth goal of the season for Providence. Robert Lantosi had a goal, and he also scored the winner in the shootout.

Providence and Hartford completed the home-and-home on Saturday. Hartford won the second game 5-2. Ryan Fitzgerald scored the first goal, and then Studnicka added another.

Unfortunately, Providence goal Kyle Keyser surrendered four unanswered goals (before an empty-netter) to take the loss.

The weekend split brought Providence’s record to 9-7-2 over the first 18 games of the season. Providence sits fourth in the Atlantic Division.

Studnicka continues to be one of the biggest stories in Providence right now.

Jack Studnicka keeps up his streak

Studnicka had a goal and an assist in the first game against Hartford. Then, he followed that up with another goal the next night.

With points in both games, Stundicka now has six points in his last six games.

Mark Divver had a nice recap of Studnicka’s play over weekend. Studnicka dominated special teams, as he got a shorthanded assist and a power play goal on Friday. He scored on the power play again Saturday.

On top of that, Studnicka buried his shootout attempt to help Providence grab the extra point in the first game.

All in all, Studnicka looked impressive over the weekend. After a so-so start to the season, he now has 13 points in 18 games.

Studnicka’s been one of Providence’s best forwards over this last stretch of games. This is good news for Boston, as Studnicka remains one of the top prospects. Expectations are certainly high.

That said, we have to pump the brakes on Studnicka a little. He won’t be ready to make an impact in Boston this year, so he needs to continue his development down in the minors.

Providence hit hard by injuries

Injuries are a big issue in Boston, as the Bruins seem to face a new one every game. Providence felt these effects because Boston needed to recall a few players to the NHL.

To make things worse, Providence dealt with even more injuries at the AHL level.

Take a look at Providence’s current injury list: Chris Breen, Brendan Woods, Dan Vladar, and now Kyle Keyser. That doesn’t include Anton Blidh, who has yet to play this year after a preseason injury.

With so many players either hurt or in Boston, Providence has an uphill battle over the next few games. This is especially daunting given the nature of the AHL schedule.

AHL teams typically play games in bunches. There are a lot of back-to-backs over the weekends, for example.

Int his case, Providence has three games in three nights on the horizon. This is a tough task with a rather thin lineup.

New goalie to fill in for Keyser

Kyle Keyser is one of the newest Providence Bruins on the injury report. He joins fellow goalie Dan Vladar on the shelf.

With two goalies out, Providence needs to add another to backup Max Legace. According to Mark Divver, Brandon Halverson is likely to be the new goalie.

The New York Rangers drafted Halverson in the second round of the 2014 Draft, but he never made an impact in New York. He only made one appearance in relief two years ago.

Halverson split last season between Hartford in the AHL and Maine in the ECHL. He started this year with Norfolk in the ECHL.

Since he’ll sign a PTO, Halverson won’t be an official member of the Bruins organization. He still is set to see some ice time if Keyser isn’t ready to come back by this weekend.

Providence starts the three game stretch Friday night against Bridgeport. Then, Providence plays Springfield on Saturday and Hershey on Sunday afternoon. Let’s hope Studnicka and the rest of the top players step up and lead the team through this difficult run of games.