PHN photo essay: Providence downs Whale, 4-3

PROVIDENCE, RI – The Providence Bruins defeated the Connecticut Whale 4-3 recently at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center . Jamie Arniel tallied a goal and Carter Camper added three, recording his first professional career hat trick. Looking to bounce back from last night’s disappointing loss in Springfield, the P-Bruins controlled the tempo of the game from the opening faceoff. Their hard forecheck paid off at 5:47 when Calle Ridderwall caused a turnover low in the Connecticut zone allowing Zach Hamill to feed Camper from behind the net. Camper, all alone in front, easily snuck a one-timer past Cameron Talbot ‘s glove side to take a 1-0 lead. However, the lead wouldn’t last long as the Whale answered just over a minute later with a tally from Andre Deveaux to tie the game at one. The teams exchanged opportunities throughout the remainder of the frame, but both goalies were solid between the pipes and went into the first intermission tied 1-1. Providence continued to crash Connecticut’s net in the second frame. It didn’t take long for their efforts to pay off as Camper added his second of the night at 2:36 to give the P-Bruins a 2-1 lead. Hamill and Ridderwall collected their second assists of the night on the go-ahead goal. Three minutes later, Arniel made it 3-1 when his quick wrist shot from the right circle beat Talbot right under the cross bar. Craig Cunningham and Max Sauvé assisted on the play. Play started to get chippy as the minutes ticked off the clock, but Providence’s penalty kill, ranked 8th in the league, was flawless until 17:17 when the Whale was finally able to crack the P-Bruins’ penalty kill unit, cutting the deficit to one heading into the final frame. The Whale tied the game at three just 1:55 into the third period when Kelsey Tessier scored on an empty net after Anton Khudobin was taken down behind the net and no call was made. Providence didn’t let up, however, and continued to pressure all facets of the Whale’s game, causing multiple turnovers. The line of Hamill, Camper and Ridderwall continued to impress and at 8:43 Camper collected the rebound of Ridderwall’s shot and backhanded it past a sprawling Talbot for his third goal of the game and his first professional hat trick. Ridderwall tallied his third assist and point of the night on the goal. Despite late penalties, Connecticut couldn’t connect on the man advantage and Providence held on for the 4-3 victory. Khudobin earned the win, blocking 29 Connecticut attempts, while Talbot fell short, stopping 35 of 39 Providence shots.

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Thomas.Chace@prohockeynews.com