The first 17 minutes were highlighted by Providence goaltender Niklas Svedberg making a great save on Brandon McMillan and a heavyweight bout between Mark Louis and Bobby Robins. With 2:59 left in the period, the Pirates got the scoring started, as Brandon Gormley took a feed from Gilbert Brule and slapped it past Svedberg to give the Pirates the 1-0 lead. Gormley’s goal was his first of the year, and Brule’s assist was his 7th straight game with a point. Keven Veilleux also assisted on Gormley’s goal, his first point as a Pirate. Despite a flurry of shots at the end of the period, Pirates goaltender Louis Domingue stood strong, stopping all 12 Providence shots in the period.
Darian Dziurzynski extended the Pirates lead in the second period after a scrum in front of Svedberg’s net, pushing the rebound into the Providence net for his first goal of the year. Mathieu Brisebois picked up the assist on the goal at 10:19 of the second for his first professional point. The Bruins would fight back after a delay of game penalty on Louis Domingue, with Carter Camper scoring on the power play with 8:28 left in the second. Former Pirate Nick Johnson would tie the game for the Bruins, tallying his 11th goal of the year and second against his former team with 4:26 left in the second and the period ended tied at 2.
Any Miele got the go ahead goal for the Pirates with 11:54 left in the third, snapping a 5 game pointless streak for the Pirates leading forward. Chris Brown and Brisebois picked up the assists on Miele’s 7th of the year, giving Brisebois his first career multipoint game. Providence put the pressure on Domingue, but with less than a second left, Tobias Rieder sealed the victory for the Pirates with an empty net goal, giving him his team leading 9th goal of the season.
Louis Domingue’s dominance over the Bruins continued, as he stopped 31 shots for his third career AHL victory in his third AHL start, all against Providence. Domingue improved to 2-0-0 on the year with the Pirates, lowering his goals against average to 2.27 in 4 appearances.
Brandon Gormley’s goal was just the third by a Pirates defenseman this season, but was the start of a good offensive day for the Pirates defensive corps, which contributed 3 points. Brisebois and Miele had multipoint games, with Miele picking up the lone assist on Rieder’s goal.
The Pirates get back to action Wednesday when they face the Bruins at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, their second of three meetings in a week’s time. Puck drops at 7 PM. Pirates fans who bring a canned or non-perishable food item to the game will receive a pair of tickets to an upcoming January Pirates game. Tickets are available by calling the Colisee Box Office on Friday at (207) 283-2009 ext. 525 and online at thecolisee.com.
