Michael Hutchinson (33), Kevan Miller (28), Justin Florek (18) and Craig Cunningham (14) prepare for a faceoff against Springfield. Photo by Tracy Hill, used with personal permission.
This past weekend for the Providence Bruins wasn’t a very winning one as they dropped two out of their three games.
In the team’s first game of calendar 2013, they lost 2-1 to the Portland Pirates in Maine, Ryan Spooner scoring the lone goal for the P-Bruins. Two days later, in a rematch against Portland but at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center this time, the P-Bruins pulled out a 3-2 win. Chris Bourque kicked off the scoring less than a minute into the first period, Matt Bartkowski scored near the end of the first and captain Trent Whitfield scored the only goal of the third period to break the tie.
But then on Jan. 6, the Springfield Falcons came into town and dealt the P-Bruins a 4-1 loss. Jamie Tardif was the only thing keeping Providence from being shut out.
The team is gearing up for two things: a three-game weekend from Jan. 11 to 13 (Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Springfield and Manchester Monarchs) and the opening of Boston Bruins training camp, which could mean some of the guys head up to Massachusetts for a look and a chance to make the lineup or be considered in future.
Jordan Caron is injured right now, so he may not be rejoining the Boston lineup right out the gate at training camp, which is expected to open next week. He was often placed on the third line last season and, now that Brian Rolston is gone, there is room on that line for someone new. In all likelihood, that’ll be Caron once he is healthy again. But in the meantime, there’s a spot, and it would be kind of delightful to see Chris Bourque take it because of the sentimental value alone. Surely his father Ray would come to TD Garden to see his son play, right? Perhaps even bring Chris’ young son Kingston into the VIP suite with him, yes?
Adam McQuaid won’t be ready to go when the season starts, though he is at the Bruins’ informal practices, so there’s an opening on defense as well. While some of Providence’s d-men aren’t exactly the strongest options ever–mediocrity, thy name is Garnet Exelby–there are still some potential choices to fill in the space until Darth Quaider is back in top form. I’d go with Torey Krug. He had a look last season in Boston and recently scored his first pro goal. For a taller defensive option, try 6’4″ Zach Trotman.
Simply put, expect the Providence lineup to be missing a few guys this next weekend as some of them go up to Boston for training camp, but for those who remain to try to put up a winning weekend as the 2013 All-Star Classic draws closer.
