P-Bruins top Falcons 4-1

(WPRI) - The Providence Bruins extended their point streak to six games as they defeated the Springfield Falcons 4-1 this evening at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The P-Bruins had goals from Josh Hennessy, Jamie Tardif, Trent Whitfield and Lane MacDermid.

The P-Bruins caged the Falcons right off the opening face-off. It only took 1:12 for Providence to break the seem. Jordan Caron and Kevan Miller caused a turnover in the neutral zone, allowing Hennessy to rush down the left wing. He easily beat Springfield goaltender Paul Dainton with a beautiful wrist shot top-shelf for his 14th goal of the season.

Just over a minute later, tempers began to flare as Bobby Robins, the P-Bruins' newest tough guy, squared off with Greg Amadio, but both fell to the ice before any serious punches could be thrown. The play began to slow down as the minutes ticked off the clock and the Falcons and P-Bruins traded scoring opportunities. However, strong play from Anton Khudobin kept the Falcons off the board and sent the P-Bruins into the locker room leading 1-0.

The P-Bruins got the scoring started early in the second frame to take a 2-0 lead over the Falcons. Amid commotion in front, Tardif was able to sneak the puck past Dainton at 3:17, netting his 10th goal of the season. Calle Ridderwall and Kirk MacDonald assisted on the insurance goal. The Falcons got on the board nearly four minutes later when off a pass from Alexandre Giroux, Dan Byers' shot from the top of the circle found its way past Khudobin to bring Springfield within one.

The teams began to exchange pleasantries and at 9:50 MacDonald squared off with Theo Ruth. He absolutely dominated the Falcon, throwing three punches while holding Ruth on the ice. Both received five minutes for fighting and MacDonald was also assessed with a 10 minute major. The P-Bruins seemed to gain some momentum from the fight and continued to press the Falcons hard in all zones.

The hard forecheck paid off at 18:44 when Whitfield read Springfield's breakout and created a turnover on the blue line. He left the Falcons' defense standing with dangles and beat Dainton with a quick wrist shot to regain the two goal lead going into the final intermission.

The Falcons continued to struggle to breakout of their own zone and the P-Bruins continued to read their plays. Their forecheck paid off halfway through the frame. Robins caused another turnover in the neutral zone and MacDermid collected the puck. He dangled the Falcons defender and then beat Dainton top shelf with a backhander. The P-Bruins didn't let up the rest of the frame and held on for the 4-1 win.

Khudobin's 23 saves earned him the win, while Dainton suffered the loss, stopping 23 of 27 Providence attempts.