Offense and goaltending led the Providence Bruins to three straight victories.
The Providence Bruins continued their December schedule with three games in the last week. Providence won all three, and offense was the big reason why.
All in all, Providence scored a 16 goals in three games. That’s a crazy number at any level.
This all started last Saturday when Providence defeated Springfield 5-4 in overtime. Peter Cehlarik picked up a goal and an assist, while Paul Carey scored the game winner.
The offense carried over into the next day when Providence put five more goals past Springfield. Jeremy Lauzon scored the opener for his first goal of the year, and his team went on to win 5-0. Dan Vladar had a 42-save shutout.
Providence managed another shutout on Wednesday, this one courtesy of Max Legace. He made 38 saves in the effort. Jack Studnicka scored another goal to lead his team to a 6-0 victory. He continues to be a superstar-in-the-making in the Boston organization.
Jack Studnicka looks like the real deal
Providence’s entire forward group stepped up over the past three games, but Studnicka continues to stand out. He seems to find the back of the net every time he laces up the skates.
After his goal on Wednesday, Studnicka now has 13 goals and 12 assists in 29 AHL games. He has 11 of his goals in his last 16 games.
Studnicka has more goals than any other AHL rookie. If he keeps it up, he’ll finish with one of the best rookie seasons in Providence history.
Safe to say the Bruins look like they have a keeper in Studnicka. He should be a fixture down the middle for years to come.
Back-to-back shutouts for Vladar and Legace
While the offense really stood out for Providence, the goalies were huge the past two games.
Vladar and Legace pitched back-to-back shutouts. And these weren’t ordinary shutouts; combined, they stopped 80 total shots in the two games.
Legace is in the middle of one of the best professional seasons of his careers. He already has 13 wins in 19 games, so he’s set to surpass his career high of 19 wins.
Athough he made only six appearances because of injury, Vladar has been impressive as well. He’s 4-2 in his six games, and he has a .945 SV%.
Urho Vaakanainen leaves game but eventually returns after big hit
There was a scare in the Wednesday’s game when Urho Vaakanainen took a big hit from Anthony Agello of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Urho Vaakanainen was on the receiving end of this brutal hit by Anthony Agello last night. No penalty was called, but Angello absolutely unloaded on Vaakanainen from behind and plastered him into the boards. Vaakanainen returned later, but that’s a very dangerous play. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/KRqB5KbXR5
— Bruins Network (@BruinsNetwork) December 19, 2019
Vaakanainen left the game with an apparent injury, but fortunately for Providence he came back later in the same game.
The hit was clearly from behind, but the referees didn’t call any penalty on the play. Nonetheless, according to Mark Divver, the AHL will likely review the hit.
After a slow start to the season, Vaakanainen turned it on en route to a recall to Boston. He used that as a stepping stone, as he’s been one of Providence’s best defenders since his return.
Providence plays Wilkes-Barre/Scranton again on Friday, so maybe there can be some retribution if Peluso is in the lineup.
After that, Providence takes on Hartford on Saturday to conclude their weekend schedule.