HERSHEY, Pa. — One night after losing at the Giant Center, the Providence Bruins went back on the same ice Sunday evening and routed the Hershey Bears 6-1, with forward Mikey Eyssimont scoring three of the goals.
The result flipped a weekend that had started badly. Hershey won the Saturday opener of the two-game set 5-3 and came into Sunday on a four-game winning streak with a 4-1 record, while Providence arrived at 1-5. The Bears had also been dominant early in games, outscoring opponents 8-1 in first periods.
That trend did not hold. Eyssimont finished a 2-on-1 rush only 4:29 after the opening faceoff, and Jake Schmaltz doubled the margin before the first intermission. Eyssimont added a power-play goal and then a redirect with 41 seconds left in the second, sending Providence to the break up 4-0.
Brendan Gaunce made it 5-0 early in the third. Joey Anderson broke the shutout with a Hershey power-play goal, and Brian Halonen, who also had two assists, closed the scoring for his first goal with Providence. Goaltender Jiri Patera turned aside 27 of 28 shots.
Providence outshot the hosts 34-28 and kept its discipline on special teams, converting once on five power plays and killing three of four Hershey chances. Jordan Harris and Tobie Paquette-Bisson set up two goals apiece, and Ryan Tattle picked up an assist for the first point of his pro career. Anderson, the lone Hershey scorer, had moved onto the Bears top line this weekend after Jonny Brodzinski was called up by the Washington Capitals.
It was the second hat trick in four games for Eyssimont, who now shares the AHL goal lead with seven, and the first by a Providence player in Hershey since 1994. The win moves the P-Bruins to 2-5. They visit the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m.
Section: More Providence RI sports news
Filed under: Providence RI Sports News
