P-Bruins Drop Second Straight Game

Georgii Merkulov scored his ninth goal in ten games, but the Providence Bruins fell 3-2 to the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday evening at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Justin Brazeau tallied the other goal for the P-Bruins. Goaltender Kyle Keyser stopped 25 shots in the contest.

How It Happened

Merkulov took the puck up the left wing and into the offensive zone, firing a snapshot from the left dot into the upper right-hand corner to give the P-Bruins a 1-0 lead with 2:37 left in the first period. Dan Renouf and Jack Ahcan were credited with the assists.
Brady Lyle’s shot through traffic from the point on the power play tied the game at 1-1 with 14:17 remaining in the second period.
Skating the puck up the middle of the ice, Mitchell Hoelscher crossed the blue line and snapped a shot that beat the goaltender blocker side to give the Thunderbirds a 2-1 lead with 11:17 to play in the second period.
Brazeau intercepted a breakout pass between the hash marks and quickly beat the goaltender with a wrist shot on the glove side to tie the game at 2-2 with 1:24 left in the second period.
A stretch pass sent Hoelscher on a breakaway up the middle, where he beat the goaltender through the five-hole to give the Thunderbirds a 3-2 lead with 14:26 remaining in the third period.

Stats

Ahcan is riding a five-game point streak with seven total points in that span.
Merkulov has 14 points on nine goals in his last ten games.
Keyser made 25 saves. Providence totaled 37 shots in the contest.
The P-Bruins power play went 0-for-3, and the penalty kill was 1-for-2.

Next Game

The P-Bruins host the Charlotte Checkers on Friday, February 24 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.