Pre-game Puckbag: P-Bruins vs. Connecticut Whale

Opening draw
The Providence Bruins will try to avert their first empty three-game weekend of the 2011-12 campaign in Part I of a 10-game season series with the Connecticut Whale at the Dunkin Donuts Center Sunday afternoon.

The Whale were idle on Saturday and were thus inevitably bound to lose their one-point edge for first place of the Northeast Division with Bridgeport facing Springfield. (The Falcons prevailed, 4-1, to usurp the division lead.)

After a 5-1-2 start, the Whale have seen things grow more congested, as evidenced by the Pangaea-like compression in their division as well as their own recent results on the ice. Connecticut is 3-3-1 in its last seven outings, with all three wins coming in overtime or a shootout and all three regulation losses at the hands of the St. John’s IceCaps.

Notable names
Rookie Carl Hagelin is riding a six-game production streak and has inserted a goal in each of his last four outings. Overall, he is tied for the Whale team lead with John Mitchell for the team lead with an identical output of seven goals and 12 assists.

Winger Aaron Voros, who since 2004 has appeared in 251 AHL and 162 NHL games, joined Connecticut this past Tuesday on a professional tryout. He has yet to suit up for extramural action this season.

Since coming down from the parent New York Rangers, blueliner Tim Erixon has put in six appearances and charged up a 1-4-5 scoring log. Erixon enters Sunday’s contest on a three-game point streak, including most recently two helpers in a 3-2 overtime win over Bridgeport on Friday.

Miscellany
Overall, Connecticut has been involved in more shootouts than any other AHL team, upholding a 3-2 record in that scenario.

The Whale are led in the one-on-one department by Mitchell, who is 2-for-5 in his shootout attempts, Brendan Bell (2-for-3) and Mats Zuccarello (a perfect 2-for-2, and he was 2-for-6 throughout last year). For the P-Bruins, Jamie Arniel is 2-for-3 while Zach Hamill, Carter Camper and Josh Hennessy have each converted one shootout try.

The Whale will help to both usher in and end the P-Bruins’ longest hiatus from home ice (12 days) to date this season. After Sunday’s bout, Providence will hit the road for a Thanksgiving Eve visit to Hershey followed by a two-night stay in Norfolk. From there, the Bruins will return home a week from Friday, Dec. 2, to confront Connecticut at The Dunk yet again.

This Date In Providence Bruins History: November 20

1992: Glen Murray’s overtime goal beats the visiting Springfield Indians and elevates the P-Bruins to a 10-10-1 record, marking the first time the new franchise hits the .500 mark in its young history.

1998: Jim Carey charges up a 31-save shutout while Landon Wilson comes up an assist shy of the Gordie Howe Hat Trick in a 3-0 home win over the expansion Lowell Lock Monsters. With that, the P-Bruins improve their winning streak to a franchise-best seven games. Prior to the streak, they had a sub-.500 transcript at 4-5-1.

1999: Peter Ferraro assists on both Providence goals, including Sean Pronger’s overtime strike in a 2-1 win over the Lowell Lock Monsters at Tsongas Arena.

2004: Andy Hilbert scores the eventual winner and assists on each of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes’ two strikes in a 7-1 romp of the host Portland Pirates.

2005: Alexander Suglobov’s hat trick accounts all of the Albany River Rats offense while the P-Bruins cultivate three strikes of their own to force a shootout. The one-on-one period runs for 12 rounds, culminating in Eric Healey’s game-winner to give Providence the extra point in a 4-3 decision at The Dunk.

2009: Kirk MacDonald breaks a 2-2 tie only 34 seconds after the Springfield Falcons had forged it with 14:35 remaining in regulation. Guillame Lefebvre and Jamie Arniel tack on the insurance for a 5-2 home victory.

Pre-game Puckbag: P-Bruins @ Portland Pirates

Opening draw
A week to date, the Providence Bruins let the Portland Pirates pipe burst on the rest of the American Hockey League. Now this Saturday is their chance to quickly plug it back up with a return trip to the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Before clipping the visiting P-Bruins, 4-2, last week, the Pirates had not won consecutive games on the year. But that victory has since led to a three-game winning streak, prolonged with a 4-2 Tuesday triumph over Adirondack and a 3-2 shootout decision Friday night at the expense of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Providence, on the other hand, has followed a strict loss-win-loss pattern over its last nine outings dating back to Oct. 29 and continuing with Friday’s 7-2 submission to the Springfield Falcons. The Bruins have not formulated a win streak of any length since a four-game tear that coincidentally culminated in a 4-3 seesaw triumph at Portland on Oct. 23.

Notable names
Portland winger Jordan Szwarz, who was pointless in seven appearances prior to the P-Bruins’ last visit, has since notched a point in every installment of his team’s winning streak. An assist against Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton sandwiched a goal against Adirondack that came on his only shot on net in any of the last three outings.

Goaltender Marc Cheverie, called up to fill in for an injured Justin Pogge, has made one appearance thus far for the Pirates. After consensus starter Curtis McElhinney authorized two unanswered Adirondack goals on seven shots in less than nine minutes, Cheverie stepped in and repelled all 17 Phantoms bids while his mates sculpted a four-goal rally.

Productive rookie Andy Miele has at least one assist in each of his last five games for a total of six helpers in that span.

Miscellany
P-Bruins forwards Carter Camper and Kirk MacDonald have notched at least one point in all three meetings with the Pirates so far this season. Camper has charged up a goal-assist value pack in both of his first two visits to the Cumberland County Civic Center and leads all participants in the season series with a 2-3-5 transcript.

The Pirates are currently second in attendance among New England AHL teams behind the P-Bruins, drawing an average of 5,588 spectators per night.