Providence Bruins Rookie Camp

Rookie Camp in Kitchener
August 27, 2009
by T. Chace Jr.

The Bruins yesterday announced their 24-man roster for their upcoming rookie camp in Kitchener, Ontario. The team departs on Saturday, Sept. 5 and returns Thursday, Sept. 10, with three games in between against the Maple Leafs, Senators, and Penguins.

Here's the travel roster by position (note 2009 first-round pick Jordan Caron is absent due to injury). For more details, click "full entry" below.

Goaltenders (3): Adam Courchaine, Matt Dalton, Mike Hutchinson.

Defensemen (7): Ryan Button, Scott Fletcher, Brad Good, Alain Goulet, Mark Isherwood, Rob Kwiet, Marc Zanetti.


Forwards (14): Jamie Arniel, Chris DeSousa, Zach Hamill, Jordan Knackstedt, Jason Lawrence, Lane MacDermid, Taylor MacDougall, Matt Marquardt, Jeff LoVecchio, Levi Nelson, Tyler Randell, Max Sauve, Peter Stevens, Jason Wilson.



Here's more from the press release from the Bruins:

BOSTON -- Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today the 24-man rookie roster that will participate in the team’s rookie camp in Kitchener, Ontario. The team will depart Boston for Kitchener on Saturday, September 5 and return on Thursday, September 10. The team will play three games total, one each against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The travel roster includes the eighth overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Zach Hamill, and three members of the Bruins ’09 NHL Draft Class, as Ryan Button (third round, 86th overall), Lane MacDermid (fourth round, 112th overall) and Tyler Randell (sixth round, 176th overall) will all skate in the camp. The Bruins first round pick in the
’09 draft, Jordan Caron, will not participate due to injury.

Other recent draft selections making the trip are: Max Sauve (2008, second round), Mike Hutchinson (2008, third round), Jamie Arniel (2008, fourth round), Alain Goulet (2007, sixth round), Jordan Knackstedt (2007, seventh round) and Levi Nelson (2006, sixth round).

Rounding out the travel roster are players acquired through trades or free agency Jeff LoVecchio, Matt Marquardt, Rob Kwiet, Scott Fletcher, Matt Dalton and Adam Courchaine and rookie camp invitees Chris DeSousa, Jason Lawrence, Taylor MacDougall, Jason Wilson, Mark Isherwood, Peter Stevens, Marc Zanetti and Brad Good.

INFO PROVIDED BY: CHRIS FORSBERG @ Boston.com & Providence Bruins.com

Providence Bruins Roster Moves

Spring/Summer Player Movement
August 5, 2009
by T. Chace Jr.

Since the Providence Bruins playoff series ended with Hershey there have been signings and releases of players this past spring and in recent weeks. Statistics of each player are listed after transaction.

- Buyout of the final year of Peter Schaefer's contract. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=19344

- Byron Bitz, 24, signed to a new multi-year contract. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=72626

- Defenseman, Johnny Boychuk, 25, signed to a one year contract. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=55353

- Goaltender, Dany Sabourin, 28, signed to a one year deal. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=35765

- D-Man, Drew Fata, 25, signed to a one year deal. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=55336

- Center, Trent Whitfield, 32, to a one year deal. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=24718

- Center, Drew Larman, 24, to a one year deal. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=71844

- Defenseman, Rob Kwiet, 20, to a one year deal. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=89804

- Defenseman, Zach McKelvie, 24, to a one year deal.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=93742

These transactions are current, as of 8/5/09.
Updates to follow.

Bruins Now Affiliated With Reading Royals

ECHL's Reading Royals will be a Boston Affiliate in 2009-10
August 5, 2009
by T. Chace Jr.

The Providence Bruins have announced that the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins have entered into an affiliation with the Reading Royals of the ECHL. Under the arrangements, the Bruins will be able to designate players within their development system for assignment to Reading,during the 2009-10 season.

The Royals have played in Reading, Pennsylvania, since 2001 and are also the ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins did not have an ECHL affiliate last season but several players enjoyed time with both Providence and Reading in 2008-09, including Brock Hooton, Ned Lukacevic, Kirk MacDonald, Levi Nelson, Kevin Schaeffer and Dinos Stamoulis. For more information on the Royals, visit royalshockey.com.

Source Info from providencebruins.com

AHL Announces Its Schedule Format

Providence Opponents Determined
July 8, 2009
by T. Chace Jr.

The opponents have been determined, but the dates and times have to wait a bit. The American Hockey League has come out with their format schedule for all their teams, as well as some re-alignments and new teams. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers join the Providence Bruins in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference to make an eight team division.

Here is the complete breakdown of the Providence Bruins' opponents and how many times they will face each other, along with the conference and divisional alignments:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC DIVISION

PROVIDENCE BRUINS (Boston)
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders) - 3 H, 3 A
Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers) - 5 H, 5 A
Lowell Devils (New Jersey) - 5 H, 5 A
Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles) - 5 H, 5 A
Portland Pirates (Buffalo) - 4 H, 4 A
Springfield Falcons (Edmonton) - 5 H, 5 A
Worcester Sharks (San Jose) - 5 H, 5 A

EAST DIVISION

Adirondack Phantoms (Philadelphia) - 1 H, 1 A
Albany River Rats (Carolina) - 1 H, 1 A
Binghamton Senators (Ottawa) - 1 H, 1 A
Hershey Bears (Washington) - 1 H, 1 A
Norfolk Admirals (Tampa Bay)
Syracuse Crunch (Columbus) - 1 H, 1 A
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh) - 1 H, 1 A


WESTERN CONFERENCE

NORTH DIVISION

Abbotsford Heat (Calgary) - 2 H, 2 A
Grand Rapid Griffins (Detroit)
Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal)
Lake Erie Monsters (Colorado)
Manitoba Moose (Vancouver)
Rochester Americans (Florida)
Toronto Marlies (Toronto)

WEST DIVISION
Chicago Wolves (Atlanta)
Houston Aeros (Minnesota)
Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville)
Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis)
Rockford IceHogs (Chicago)
San Antonio Rampage (Phoenix)
Texas Stars (Dallas)


The AHL will continue to feature an Eastern and Western conference. Three new teams join the AHL this upcoming season, including the Texas Stars, Abbotsford Heat, and the Adirondack Phantoms, giving the league a total of 29 clubs vying for the 2010 Calder Cup.

Hershey Bears Eliminate Providence

Hershey Bears: Eastern Conference Champions
May 26, 2009
by T. Chace Jr.

The bigger, stronger, faster, more experienced, more determined Hershey Bears eliminated the young resilient Providence Bruins on Memorial Day afternoon. Hershey never trailed in Monday's game, winning the game 5-2 and the series four games to one. Hershey will now move on to the Calder Cup Finals against the Manitoba Moose. The top team in the East during the regular season meets the top team from the West, the cream of the crop going for the Calder Cup.

The first period was completely dominated by the Hershey Bears and it started on a power play about 2:00 into the game. The puck never left the Bruins zone for what seemed like the rest of the period. Providence netminder, 22 year-old Tuukka Rask, held the Bears off the scoreboard by making thirteen saves in the first period. The Bears had two power play opportunities and outshot the Bruins by a wide 13-3 margin. Providence's best chance occurred with 2:36 left in the period on a Brad Marchand shot that Bears goalie Michael Neuvirth made a nice save on. No score after one period.

In less than a minute of the second period another penalty was called on Providence, an interference call on Martin St.Pierre at the :58 second mark. Rask made a huge save on a blast from Chris Bourque to keep it scoreless. Another call on Providence's captain Jeremy Reich for hooking at 1:23 gave the Bears a five on three advantage. At 2:17, Andrew Gordon scored his 5th goal of the playoffs on the power play with assists to Alexandre Giroux and Bourque to take a 1-0 lead. Providence got their chance on the power play soon after the Bears goal. While on the power play, Bruin's Johnny Boychuk got tangled up with Bears Steve Pinizzotto and was hurt on the play and went to the dressing room. The Bruin's Marchand found the net at 4:45 on the power play with assists to Peter Schaefer and Jeff Penner to tie the score at 1-1. Boychuk later returned to the ice and took his normal shift. Providence outplayed Hershey in the first half of the period but Hershey dominated the latter half. At 16:20, while on the power play again, Giroux scored his team leading 9th goal of the playoffs with helpers given to Bourque and Bryan Helmer. The second period ended with Providence on the power play and the score 2-1 in Hershey's favor. Shots were nearly even at 14-12 in favor of Hershey.

Rookie Mikko Lehtonen scored on a wrist shot over the left shoulder of Neuvirth while on the power play at 1:57 of the third period to tie the score at 2-2. Andrew Bodnarchuk and Reich battled to keep the puck in along the blue line to set up Lehtonen. At 6:46, the Bears scored while shorthanded. Boychuk cheated in along the right boards to try and keep the puck in the Hershey zone but it bounced past St. Pierre at the point and Chris Bourque grabbed the loose puck, skated in, and blasted a slapshot past Rask for an unassisted goal to make it 3-2. Hershey's Darren Reid scored at 10:19 of the third period after forechecking near the Bruin net to make it a 4-2 lead. Hershey played keep away and were satisfied to just clear the puck from their zone for the rest of the period. Quintin Laing, who has been out injured for quite some time, returned to play on Friday night for the Bears, scored an empty netter at 19:03 to seal the victory for the Hershey Bears. The final shot totals were 38-29 in favor of Hershey. Hershey was 2 for 5 on the power play while Providence went 1 for 5 with their opportunities with the extra man. The three stars of the game were Chris Bourque, Alexandre Giroux, and Mikko Lehtonen.

Providence had their chances in this series. They had a 3-0 lead in Game 3 and a 2-0 lead in Game 4, but they witnessed the relentless offensive attack of the Hershey team to overcome and take both games. Nobody scored more goals during the regular season than Hershey, they played true to form and were the more deserving victor. Hats off to Providence and their very young club, they were a resilient bunch all year and first year Head Coach Rob Murray and Assistant Coach "Butch" Cassidy deserve kudos for their efforts this season.

Hershey Comes Back Again

Providence Loses in OT 3-2
May 24, 2009
by T. Chace Jr.

Friday night the Providence Bruins grabbed an early 3-0 lead, only to see it evaporate in the third period when Hershey scored four unanswered goals for a 6-4 victory. Sunday night at The Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence was eerily similiar for the Bruins. Staked with a 2-0 lead in the first period, the Bruins could not score again. The Bears scored once in the second and again in the third to force an overtime. Graham Mink scored his second game winner of the series at 15:10 of the first overtime to give the Bears a 3-2 victory and an opportunity to wrap up the series in Providence tomorrow afternoon.

The Bruins came out flying in the first period and got the crowd into it with their first goal at the 5:32 mark. Peter Schaefer's third playoff goal with assists to Mikko Lehtonen and Adam McQuaid got the Bruins on the board for a 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes later on the power play, red hot scoring rookie defenseman Jeff Penner netted his sixth goal of the playoffs and third in two games. Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand assisted on Penner's goal for a commanding 2-0 lead on home ice. Providence played spirited hockey in the first and held the 2-0 lead as they headed into period two.

Hershey began the second period with several power plays, they did not cash in on the first one but Bryan Helmer made sure the Bears got on the board with their second chance. Chris Bourque set up Helmer for his third playoff goal at 7:31 with McQuaid in the box for hooking. Providence's lead was now cut in half at 2-1. Hershey outshot the Bruins 10-6 in the second period and 20-16 in the game.

The Bruins had defensively shut down league MVP Alexandre Giroux and his linemates to this point in the game, but the Bears continued to extend pressure on the young Bruins in the third period. At 13:12, Keith Aucoin scored his third goal with assists to Giroux and Bruin nemesis Graham Mink. The score was now tied at 2-2 with time running out. No penalties were called in the final period and Hershey outshot Providence by an 11-5 margin. Shots were 31-21 in favor of Hershey after three periods of play. Providence and Hershey were both 1 for 3 on their power play opportunities during regulation.

Entering the overtime, Providence carried the play early and almost scored five minutes into the extra session. But once again, Hershey began to outchance the Bruins and had the better scoring opportunities. At 15:10, Mink knocked the puck past Tuukka Rask, for his fifth playoff goal and a 3-2 victory. His second consecutive game winner was assisted by Giroux and Aucoin. Mink was named the number one star, followed by Penner and Helmer. Hershey outshot the Bruins 43-27 and now has a commanding 3-1 series advantage. Game 5 is at "The Dunk" on Monday, Memorial Day, at 4:00 pm. Hershey can wrap up the series and head to the Calder Cup Finals if they can beat the Bruins one more time. It's clear that no lead is sufficient for Providence or any team when they face the very talented, high scoring Hershey Bears.

Hershey Takes Game 3 From Providence

Hershey Overtakes Providence, Leads Series 2-1
May 22, 2009
by T. Chace Jr.

The Hershey Bears had every reason to believe it was not going to be their night. Down three goals after 23 minutes, it would seem that the Bears had reason to worry. "The Dunk" was rockin' and the Bruins were flying, and then things began to change.

Only 1:56 into period one, Zach Hamill scored his first playoff goal on a steal in the Hershey end. The first period of hockey was one of the best played periods I've seen all year. Tremendous intensity, heavy hitting, and momentum swings throughout the period. At 15:32, Bruin rookie defenseman Jeff Penner, who has steadily improved all year, scored his fourth goal of the playoffs on the power play with assists to Martin St. Pierre and Vladimir Sobotka to make it 2-0. Providence only outshot Hershey 11-9, yet seemed to carry the play for the most part.

Peter Schaefer scored for Providence at the 3:01 mark of the second period on another power play opportunity, while Bears d-man Bryan Helmer sat for roughing. Assists to Penner and Mikko Lehtonen on the 2nd playoff goal for Schaefer, now making it 3-0. Hershey finally responded with their first goal of the night only :25 seconds later, to make the score 3-1. League MVP Alexandre Giroux netted his 7th goal of the playoffs and 2nd against Providence with a helper to former Bruin Keith Aucoin. Hershey answered the bell again at 9:05 with a Chris Bourque tally with assists to Jay Beagle and Patrick McNeill to close the gap to 3-2. The Bears outplayed the Bruins in the second period and now enjoyed an emotional edge heading into the third period.

That edge was short lived, however, when Jeff Penner scored his second goal of the game just :38 seconds into period three on another power play goal with assists to Johnny Boychuk and St. Pierre. That made the score 4-2 for the Bruins and momentum back on the Providence side. About five minutes later though, the whole game turned. Andrew Gordon scored for Hershey at 5:32 to make it 4-3. Giroux netted his second goal of the night at 6:52 to tie the score at 4-4. As the young Bruins held their sticks a little tighter, the scoring continued for Hershey. Graham Mink, who threw his weight around all night, tipped in his 4th playoff goal at 13:58, for a 5-4 lead for Hershey. Helmer got back a power play goal himself at 18:25 to stake the lead to 6-4. That score was the final.

Hershey scored four unanswered goals in the third period and now hold a 2-1 series lead in the best of seven series. Final shots on net favored the Bears 32-28. Providence was three of four on the power play, while Hershey went one for four on their chances. The three stars of the game were Giroux, Penner, and Helmer. Game 4 is on Sunday night in Providence and Game 5 is on Monday afternoon, Memorial Day, at 4:00 PM EST in Providence as well.